NO Claim on me.
It's Time To Move!
There is a series on Prime from the Wonder Project called House of David. It is in its second season. There is a scene where Saul’s son, Jonathan, is in a battle against a Philistine king. When the King sees Jonathan has sustained a wound on his side, he aims his next punch at the open wound. The focused punch to the current wound sends Jonathan reeling and falling to the ground. The Philistine king then says to Jonathan, “Your wounds betrayed you.”
What a great visual of a physical war to teach us about spiritual battles. The spiritual enemy of God is our enemy. Jesus’s victory on the cross severed the headship of Satan, however; it is our purpose in time on this earth to enforce the boundaries as the Kingdom of God advances. Like the King of Philistia, the enemy will always aim to land blows where he sees wounds.
Unless you have lived a very sheltered life, betrayal, humiliation, disappointment, mocking, and persecution have wounded you, some more severely than others. In contrast with Jonathan, the wounds we carry are not externally visible, but deep within the heart. Maybe we think we hold them in secret, maybe we don’t know they hold power, but at some point, like Jonathan–our wounds betray us. The good news is that while the enemy of our souls seeks to control us by aiming for our wounds, the King of the world went to the cross to free us from them.
In John 14, as Jesus is teaching his disciples about the coming Holy Spirit, with his betrayal and arrest on the horizon, we read these selected verses…
Vs. 25-27 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, do I give you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid….” Vs. 29: “And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.”
Jesus is doing the best to prepare the disciples for what is about to happen. To prepare for the trauma that they are about to experience. Judas will betray them. Their rabbi will be arrested, beaten bloody beyond recognition. They will witness a violent sham of a trial and, finally, see him hanged in humiliation. What could help them navigate their shattered reality? When the word is upside down, fear is rampant, shame, anger, doubt and bitterness overwhelm, we have the promised Helper…Holy Spirit. Jesus offers the promise in advance of the situation. The Father’s gift given to the Body of Christ, His Holy Wind.
He concludes with these verses: “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go up from here.” 30-31.
These last verses are interesting to me, and for clarity let us break them down.
CAN’T TALK NOW
We get a sense that this final — I want to say battle, but I think the word obedience fits better — is going to need all of Jesus’s attention. He is telling His disciples. Listen—what I have in front of me now requires all of me. “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming.” At this point before the cross, the ruler of this world had authority handed to him by Adam. Christ was about to undo history, but it would be a battle that agonized His flesh, so much so that in the Garden, we are told, He sweated blood. We remember that as He walked the earth, He was as human as you and I. He set His divinity aside to conquer death, hell and the grave and set a standard of how humanity is to live in the Kingdom.
NO CLAIM ON ME
Since the Spirit led Christ into the wilderness for 40 days with the enemy, where we are told, “the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13) we hear Christ acknowledge that the time has come. Christ’s ministry and miracles illuminated darkness, but in this last hour, darkness wages a campaign against light. “He has no claim on me.” Jesus’ words to His disciples. The actual phrasing from the Greek transliteration is something like, “echo ou oudesi en ego.” The ruler of this world has no hold on me; he will not find any echo of his darkness within my being (ego) to use against me. He Has No Claim On Me!
That is a bold statement that is tempting to dismiss because it is coming out of the mouth of The Christ. However; This is when He is in His humanity. That means that this state of being free from enemy torment is the standard set for all the disciples from then to eternity—that is, you and me. While the enemy has no claim, it doesn’t stop his attempts to steal, kill and destroy, even if he has to wait until an opportune time.
FOR THE FATHER I LOVE
Christ’s overcoming the enemy in the wilderness was by “the Spirit,” and it resulted in Him leaving the wilderness IN POWER. At this point in the story, Christ is walking toward the fulfillment of His mission, the cross. Still walking in power, the emotional, mental and spiritual torment of this obedience will take all the power He has, but there is one more thing that sustains, LOVE. “…but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.” The sustaining power of the love that Christ speaks of between Him and the Father would be the key to His success. That love washed over Christ at His baptism when the Father opened the heavens and poured down on Him (Luke 3:21-22). So, the world would know that He loved the Father, the purpose of obedience.
PHOTOGRAPHER DOWN
Just over a month ago, I hyper-extended my knee doing a senior photo shoot. After receiving its share of ice/heat/Aleve treatments and just when healing seemed imminent, there would be a setback. Finally, I scheduled a hot stone/neuromuscular massage. It turns out, my massage therapist explained, that the little muscle at the back of the knee had sustained the injury. The muscles in my calf and in my quad moved into a protective mode, not allowing me to walk properly, let alone heal. These two muscles would seize up and prevent full motion of the knee, protecting the injured area. After placing hot stones down my leg, from my lower back to right above my ankle, and allowing the bound up muscles to “melt properly” as she put it, she could work that little muscle with her hands until all of them, surrendered and relaxed. I walked out of there in complete alignment, and full stride, and healing was now possible.
RISE, LET US GO UP FROM HERE
We all carry hurts and wounds. Christ told His disciples before their scariest moment that it would be Holy Spirit to whom they would turn. The enemy of our souls is exactly like the Philistine King; he looks for an echo of darkness within our souls and aims his punches where wounds betray. Religion and faith are not just about the salvation of our souls at the end of life, but about freedom within our souls so that we may live fully as overcomers. We too are to challenge the realms of darkness and bring the light of Christ with us. We too have assignments that love has destined to our lifetimes as Kingdom people.
Sometimes, like that little muscle in my knee, we get bound up in other areas to protect that wounded part of us, causing us to walk with a limp, out of alignment and out of pace. Our identity then becomes our sorrow, and our identity is in our grief. That is not a victorious life; that is not honoring the full triumph of the Cross of Christ; it is but self-pity and unbelief. When the Lord was on the cross, He cried, “It is Finished.” That cry of victory in that moment still prophesies into eternity for humanity’s redemption. It is a cry for freedom from all bondage. When Jonathan was being mocked on the ground grabbing his side, he did not stay there and accept defeat; he rose in faith of Adonai and fought until victory was won. The Joy of the Lord is our strength.
In the scripture above, Jesus said to his disciples, Rise, let us go up from here. The word rise could also be translated wake up!
WAKE UP
…Your spirit man and quit listening to your flesh. Take EVERY thought captive, and if it does not line up with the Word of God. Do not entertain it for one more moment.
…to the deceptions that you have settled for in the name of tradition and conformity and that’s just who I am.
…to the places that you seem to struggle with day after day and quit allowing the enemy to echo in your heart. Allow Holy Spirit to strengthen and teach you so that you can boldly declare – “he has no claim on me.”
…from complacency and press into the helper, receive the healing of the cross, ask for a physical touch of Father’s Love. Live in the promise that “It Is Finished.” Your abundant freedom was purchased by precious blood.
…believers, the Father has assignments for you to advance the Kingdom of His Christ – Love is calling you out of fear and shame and doubt and unbelief and self-protection and into the journey of relational obedience. Yes, darkness will oppose you, but the promises and Love of God are superior and always bring victory.
We are to be Sons of God, Led by the Spirit of God in power and in love.
So the world would know that LOVE!
Arise, church, let us move on from here.
He has no claim on me…
Blessings
Kammy