John 13
Notes
Transcript
31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.
33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”
37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.
1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
The first observation we have about Jesus is He is glorifying the Father. Look at verse 31
31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
I have a question for you this morning is what is Jesus talking about? If you remember from a couple of weeks ago, Jesus just finished washing His disciples feet and Judas just left to go betray Jesus. The final events of Jesus’ earthly life have begun. Within hours He will be arrested, tried and found guilty in a shame trail, condemned to die, He will be whipped and beaten and crucified. How does that glorify Jesus and the Father?
This is so opposite of human thinking isn’t it? Go to the cross is going to bring Jesus and the Father glory? Let’s look at what Paul has to say about the cross.
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
There is another truth about Jesus I want to highlight in our passage. Look at verse 33
33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’
Do hear the tenderness of Jesus. The term little children is a soft affectionate term. Jesus is being gentle with them. He knows what is about to happen and He knows how hard it is going to be on them.
This transitions into what does our text say about us?
37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.
We can be easily deceived when we examine ourselves can’t we? I relate to Peter in this passage. I think he truly believes what he is saying, but Jesus knows the truth. Jesus knows that Peter is not going to die for Jesus tonight, but Peter is actually going to deny Jesus. Why? Let’s look at Matthew 26 verse 41
41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Do you know how Peter died? Tradition holds that Peter was crucified. Some accounts report that he was crucified upside down because he did not count himself worthy to die like Jesus. So how did Peter go from denying even knowing to Jesus to being crucified for his faith?
49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
So if our spirits are willing but the flesh is weak. We need help, we need power, we must trust in the Holy Spirit. I love how it is described in this verse. This leads us into our final question this morning.
I want to look at what Jesus is commanding us to do this morning. Look at verse 34
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
That is odd, why does Jesus say this is a new commandment? We read in Leviticus 19
17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.
18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
I would argue this is a different kind of love.
32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.
35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel 3. Jesus Glorified and the New Commandment for the Disciples, 31–35
Minucius Felix declared with regard to the Christians, “They love each other even without being acquainted with each other.” And the scoffer Julian, “Their master has implanted the belief in them that they are all brethren.” In his commentary on John’s Epistles Jerome tells us that when John was asked by the brethren why he constantly said, “Little children, love one another,” he replied, “Because this is the precept of the Lord, and if only this is done it is enough.”
