Jesus Christ - This is love: the extraordinary story of Jesus

THIS IS
LOVE
The Extraordinary Story of Jesus

MAX LUCADO

THIS IS LOVE

2009 Max Lucado. All rights reserved.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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Scripture references are from the following sources: The NEW KING JAMES VERSION (NKJV) 1979, 1980, 1982, 1992, 2002 Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publisher. The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. The Message (MSG), copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. New American Standard Bible (NASB), 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. The New Century Version(NCV). Copyright 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The Amplified Bible (AMP). The Amplified New Testament, copyright 1954, 1958, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. The Living Bible (TLB), copyright 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. All rights reserved. The Contemporary English Version (CEV) 1995 by the American Bible Society. All rights reserved. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible (RSV), copyright 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA.

Compiled by Terri Gibbs
Editorial Supervision: Karen Hill, Executive Editor for Max Lucado
Development Editor: Lisa Stilwell
Design: Koechel Peterson & Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, MN

Photographs unless otherwise noted are from photos.com
| aycee_2000 (Alan Carmichael)

ISBN 978-1-4003-2006-6
ISBN 978-1-4041-7510-5
This book is a portion of the previously published His Name Is Jesus, ISBN: 978-14041-418-6736

www.thomasnelson.com

Printed and bound in China

CONTENTS

JESUS WAS, AT ONCE, COMMON AND NOT ; alternately normal and heroic. One minute blending in with the domino players in the park, the next commanding the hell out of madmen, disease out of the dying, and death out of the dead. Who was this man who spoke as easily with kids and fishermen as widows and waves? It is the question that has echoed down through the centuries to us today.

HIS STORY WAS EXTRAORDINARY . He called himself divine, yet allowed a minimum-wage Roman soldier to drive a nail into his wrist. He demanded purity, yet stood for the rights of a repentant whore. He called men to march, yet refused to allow them to call him King. He sent men into all the world, yet equipped them with only bended knees and memories of a resurrected carpenter.

WE CANT REGARD HIM AS SIMPLY A GOOD TEACHER . His claims are too outrageous to limit him to the company of Socrates or Aristotle. Nor can we categorize him as one of many prophets sent to reveal eternal truths. His own claims eliminate that possibility.

WHO IS HE? My prayer is that as you read this book Jesus will emerge from a wavy figure walking out of a desert mirage to become the touchable face of a best friend. My idea is simple. Lets look at some places he went and some people he touched. Join me on a quest for his God-manness. You may be amazed.

More important, you may be changed.

MAX LUCADO

It encircled the angels and starstruck the shepherds
in the Bethlehem pasture.

Jesus radiates it.

John beheld it.

Peter witnessed it on Transfiguration Hill.

Christ will return enthroned in it.

Heaven will be illuminated by it.

One glimpse, one taste, one sampling,
and your faith will never be the same...

Glory.

Gods glory.

Every act of heaven reveals Gods glory. Every act of
Jesus did the same.

ITS NOT ABOUT ME

The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing,... and began to wash his disciples feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

JOHN 13:25 NIV

JESUS WASHES HIS DISCIPLES FEET

IT HAS BEEN A LONG DAY . Jerusalem is packed with Passover guests, most of whom clamor for a glimpse of the Teacher. The spring sun is warm. The streets are dry. And the disciples are a long way from home. A splash of cool water would be refreshing. The disciples enter [the room], one by one, and take their places around the table. On the wall hangs a towel, and on the floor sits a pitcher and a basin. Any one of the disciples could volunteer for the job, but not one does.

After a few moments, Jesus stands and removes his outer garment. He wraps a servants girdle around his waist, takes up the basin, and kneels before one of the disciples. He unlaces a sandal and gently lifts the foot and places it in the basin, covers it with water, and begins to bathe it. One by one, one grimy foot after another, Jesus works his way down the row.

In Jesus day the washing of feet was a task reserved not just for servants, but for the lowest of servants.... The servant at the bottom of the totem pole was expected to be the one on his knees with the towel and basin.

In this case the One with the towel and basin is the King of the universe. Hands that shaped the stars now wash away filth. Fingers that formed mountains now massage toes. And the One before whom all nations will one day kneel now kneels before his disciples. Hours before his own death, Jesus concern is singular. He wants his disciples to know how much he loves them....

You can be sure Jesus knows the future of these feet he is washing. These twenty-four feet will not spend the next day following their Master, defending his cause. These feet will dash for cover at the flash of a Roman sword. Only one pair of feet wont abandon him in the garden.... Judas wont even make it that far! He will abandon Jesus that very night at the table....