John 13:1-38 - Love Like Jesus

If I were to ask each of you to give me a definition or an example of love, I bet I would get as many different answers as there are people in this room.

Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing because there are a lot of different legitimate descriptions of true biblical love.

But the world we live in, and especially the culture we live in, has a very different idea about love from what the Bible says.

The world says that love is a warm fuzzy feeling that makes you feel good.

And that comes from the so called object of your love meeting your needs and expectations.

That kind of love is prideful, selfish, and perpetuates the lies of the devil.

It’s actually loving yourself, not loving each other.

The world and our culture think this way because of the natural sinful state that all of us are born into.

Because of our sinful nature we tend to love ourselves instead of actually loving each other…

So, Jesus has given us his example and command to love each other like he has loved us.

In John chapter 13 Jesus shows and explains three ways that we, as his disciples, are to love like him.

We are to love humbly, unconditionally, and perpetually.

We’re going to look at each of these three ways to love like Jesus one at a time.

And the first way, in verses 1-17, is how we are to love humbly.

John 13:1–3 ESV

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,

John 13:4–7 ESV

rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”

John 13:8–11 ESV

Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

John 13:12–17 ESV

When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Here, Jesus gives us both an example and an explanation of how we are to…

Love Humbly (1-17)

The first three verses are the…

Context (1-3)

Verse one is the context for the entire upper room discourse from chapters 13-17.

The time and topic are found in verse 1.

This massive chunk of teaching happened just before the feast of Passover and just before Jesus would be glorified in his death, resurrection and ascension.

And the primary topic for the entire discourse would be Jesus’ love for his disciples and for us, his future disciples as he prepares them for his departure.

Notice how Jesus refers to the recipients of his love here.

John says that Jesus loved “his own who were in the world.”

Also notice that the extent of his love was “to the end.”

I think John means that Jesus had all of his disciples from all ages in mind, not just the twelve who followed him so closely during his earthly ministry.

So, when you read these chapters, if you are a disciple of Christ, a follower of Jesus, then Jesus has you on his heart.

He loves you, and he’s speaking to you directly in these pages as one of his own who are in the world that he’s loving to the end.

In verses 2 and 3 John narrows the context for this particular event and explanation in chapter 13.

This is happening during supper.

And the topic of this particular event is Jesus’ loving actions to all of his disciples in spite of Judas’ plans to betray him and in light of his own mission and imminent departure.

After giving the context, John describes Jesus’…

Humble Service (4-11)

Jesus humbly took on both the the role and the actions of the lowest servant.

In verse 4 he humbly took on that role as he got up from dinner and laid aside his rabbi robe to put on a servant’s smock.

This is very similar imagery to The Son of God humbling himself to become a man as Paul wrote…

Philippians 2:5–8 ESV

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus took on the form of a servant by becoming human, and he also took on the form of a servant here as he got up from dinner and changed from a master to a servant.

In verse 5 Jesus humbly took on the actions of the lowest servant as he begins washing his disciples’ feet.

This was the worst job, cleaning animal poop and road grime off of someone’s feet dodging all of their warts and toe fungus and thick yellow toenails.

In preparing to eat a meal people couldn’t wash their own feet because then the nastiness on their feet would spread to their hands, and then it would spread to the food they touched with their hands, and they would end up eating it and get sick and possibly die.

And if you washed someone else’s feet before a meal then you would need to wash the filth of of yourself before you could eat.

No one wanted to do it, but everyone needed it done.

At first glance it looks like Jesus is giving a simple example of what humble service looks like, but his interaction with Peter in verses 6-11 gives us some clues that he has more in mind with this example.

Peter didn’t want Jesus to wash his feet.

Maybe he just didn’t want Jesus to touch his nasty feet because it would be embarrassing for him…

Or maybe he thought it was beneath Jesus’ station to do something so humiliating…

We don’t get to know why, all we get to know is that he didn’t want Jesus to do this for him because he didn’t understand it.

Jesus tells him that he doesn’t understand it now, but he will understand it later.

None of the disciples understood the significance yet.

After Pentecost, the Holy Spirit would remind them of these things and reveal the significance of a lot of what Jesus had taught them and shown them.

Well, Peter, in his ignorance, refuses to let Jesus wash his feet.

He says, “You shall never wash my feet!”

And Jesus responds by explaining one aspect of the spiritual reality this foot-washing signified.

Namely, association with Jesus.

He says, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”

There is some aspect of sharing or participating with Jesus that is being depicted here, and Peter needs to experience it like we all do.

So, understanding what is at stake here, Peter very quickly changes his tune.

He pendulum swings from refusing to let Jesus do this, to insisting that Jesus do more for him than had been done for any of the other disciples.

Well, the pendulum swing was not terrible, but it was way more than necessary.

Peter says, “not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

Now, Peter’s head and hands did not need to be cleaned like his feet did, and Jesus takes Peter’s outburst and uses it to teach something profound.

Jesus explains that people who have already bathed do not need to wash all of themselves again, they only need to wash the parts that have picked up dirt and grime since their bath, specifically their feet.

What is Jesus getting at here?

Being under the new covenant means that we are washed clean from our sin by the blood of Christ, but we still have to deal with the presence of sin in our lives.

We don’t need to be bathed in the blood of Christ over and over just like we don’t need to be born again… and again… and again.

Jesus died once for all, and we only need to be cleansed once for the rest of our eternal life, we only need to be born a second time, not a third or fourth or 437th time.

But the reality is that sin still dirties our spiritual feet as we go through this life, and we need to have that sin washed out periodically.

And Jesus goes on to say that his disciples were already clean, already a part of the new covenant that would be inaugurated through his blood, but not all of them.

One of them was going to betray Jesus and prove that he had not been cleaned in the new covenant like the rest.

Jesus knew he would be betrayed by one of his close friends, and that knowledge would end up troubling him so much that he would reveal to his disciples the future reality of that betrayal before it happened.

Well, after his striking depiction of humble love, Jesus returns to his role and actions of the teacher giving his disciples and us an…

Explanation (12-17)

He explains that what he did was an example for all of his disciples to follow both then and now.

Jesus asks if his disciples understand what he had just done for them, but he had just told Peter that he wouldn’t understand it until later.

I don’t think any of them understood what Jesus had just done for them.

That’s why he goes on to explain it…

so that when the Holy Spirit brought this teaching back to their minds, they would have a massive “a-ha” moment.

Jesus is their teacher, their master, and if their master has behaved a certain way, then they should also behave that way.

This is the heart of discipleship.

Teaching by precept and by example.

Do what I tell you to do, AND do what I am doing.

If Jesus has washed the disciples’ feet, then they ought to wash each other’s feet.

Because Jesus has given them an example.

And not just to the twelve disciples.

Jesus has given us this example as well since we’re also disciples, followers of Christ.

That’s what the term “Christian” means… follower of Christ.

Remember, all of us who follow Jesus are Jesus’ own in the world who he is loving to the end by giving us this example to follow.

So, if we are to follow Jesus by washing each other’s feet, then what are some things we can do now in our culture that are similar to the humble personal service fo washing feet in that time and culture?

There’s nothing physically like it, and I think that’s kind of the point.

We aren’t supposed to do exactly what Jesus physically did here.

Let’s be honest, foot-washing ceremonies are really awkward.

Because they’re artificially imposing an aspect of a completely different culture that loses its significance.

Its awkward because its meaning is either missed or dampened by the difference between our cultures.

Jesus’ example of humble service here points us to the spiritual reality that all of us can help each other clean up the sin in each other’s lives.

Washing each other’s feet is church discipline!

We willingly and humbly get our hands dirty by digging into the poop and road grime of sin in each other’s lives and helping each other remove it while dodging the warts and thick yellow toenails of our personality quirks and reluctance to change.

There are a lot of spiritual things that are similar to this metaphor Jesus has given us in washing feet.

How about helping a fellow believer with their finances that have clearly been used for sinful purposes and then helping them overcome those temptations to sin with their money.

Or helping a fellow believer manage their sinful anger with their kids.

Or how about helping a fellow believer overcome their anxiety by pointing them to the sufficiency of Christ.

Or helping a fellow believer forgive someone who has wronged them by reminding them of the forgiveness they have in Christ.

As many ways as you can think of to help a fellow Christian overcome sin, that’s how we can follow Jesus in his example of washing each other’s feet.

And it’s important to remember the humble nature of this love as we follow Jesus’ example.

It’s very easy to approach each other’s sin in a prideful way…

To look down on them for their sin in disgust…

But that’s actually looking too closely at their sin and not close enough at who they are in Christ.

Nobody’s sin is beyond the forgiveness of Christ!

And nobody’s sin is bad enough for us to judge their worthiness to be loved.

Thinking that way about each other’s sin is not humble love, it is prideful hate, and it is not Christlike.

It’s actually a sin that needs to be washed off just like the sin that is being looked down on.

So, when we help each other overcome sin we have to remember to be humble and teachable and be willing for others to help us with our sin as well.

Well, Jesus finishes his statement about following his example with a sort of proverb or axiom in verse 17 about the blessing of doing what you ought to do rather than just knowing it and not doing it.

James also talks about this blessing.

James 1:22–25 ESV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

We can’t just nod along with the idea of helping each other fight against sin.

We have to actually do it, and we have to be willing to let our brothers and sisters in Christ dig into our messy lives and help us clean up as well.

So, the first way we are to love like Jesus is to love humbly by serving each other and helping each other overcome sin.

The second way we are to love like Jesus is in verses 18-30 where Jesus loves all of his disciples, and especially his betrayer unconditionally.

John 13:18–20 ESV

I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

John 13:21–25 ESV

After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?”

John 13:26–30 ESV

Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

So, here we see a perfect example of Jesus’ unconditional love, and how we are also to…

Love Unconditionally (18-30)

Before we see this unconditional love, Jesus gives his disciples an…

Announcement of his Betrayal (18-21)

Jesus had just told his disciples that they should humbly serve each other like he had done to them, but now he singles out one of them who he is not talking about.

Jesus doesn’t expect his betrayer to love in this way; he expects him to selfishly betray him.

But this betrayal is not going to break Jesus’ plan, it’s not going to break the Father’s plan set in motion from before the foundation of the world.

Jesus knows who he has chosen.

He chose all twelve of his disciples specifically and individually.

And he chose the disciple who would betray him, knowing that he would do that.

Jesus quotes Psalm 41:9 here, indicating that this verse is a prophecy that the Christ would be betrayed by a close friend, so close that they intimately shared meals together.

The historical context for Psalm 41 is likely when David had been betrayed by his close counselor and friend Ahithophel who conspired with David’s son Absalom to overthrow him as king.

It’s interesting to me that Ahithophel and Judas Iscariot both met the same demise, but that’s a story for later.

But Jesus says that he’s telling all his disciples about his betrayal now so that when it happens, they’ll be comforted to know that Jesus is the Christ, and that this betrayal had to happen this way.

As a final encouragement that this betrayal will not break the Father’s plan, Jesus explains again the nature of his mission being given to him from the Father, and that mission being passed along to Jesus’ disciples.

One disciple betraying Jesus, even a close friend, will not derail this plan, in fact, that betrayal is an integral part of the plan.

It has God’s sovereignty ensuring that it happens exactly as planned.

Jesus’ disciples sent out to seek and save the lost just as he was sent out by the Father to seek and save the lost.

The reception of Jesus’ disciples is a reception of him, and a reception of Jesus is a reception of the Father.

This is the plan, and this betrayal will not derail it.

In fact the betrayal is part of the plan.

Albeit a painful part of the plan.

Jesus is troubled in spirit and very plainly tells his disciples that one of them would betray him.

Jesus being troubled this way is very similar to the previous chapter where he was troubled because, in his humanity, he didn’t want to endure the agony of the cross.

Here he is troubled because in his humanity he didn’t want to endure the agony of a close friend betraying him.

This was an emotional weight that troubled him, so he shared the weight of it with his disciples.

He did not do it to call out his betrayer…

Notice he doesn’t call him out by name.

He did it to lighten the burden of the knowledge of his betrayal.

But after this announcement is where we really see Jesus’

Unconditional Love for his Betrayer (22-30)

The disciples had no idea who he was talking about.

None of them could fathom any of the other disciples betraying Jesus.

In Matthew’s account and Mark’s account the disciples one by one ask Jesus if they were the one to betray him.

They each had more doubt of their own loyalty than they doubted the loyalty of each other.

The author, John refers to himself here as one of Jesus’ disciples, whom Jesus loved, and he gives his personal account of this tense moment because he is so close to the action.

He was sitting right next to Jesus, and Simon Peter motions to him to ask Jesus who it is that will betray him.

So, John leans over to Jesus and asks him who it is.

And Jesus’s answer simply reveals that it’s one of his close friends like Psalm 41:9 depicts.

It’s one who is so close that they are sharing a meal together.

Jesus says that it is the one who will be given the piece of dipped bread.

Now, this was not some secret signal to indicate exactly who would betray Jesus.

I mean, who do you think Jesus would have given some bread that he had dipped?

All twelve of his disciples!

This was the institution of the Lord’s Supper.

They were all there, and Jesus served them all bread and wine.

Luke 22:14-20 records this, but in verse 21 Jesus says, “But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.”

Matthew and Mark record that Jesus’ betrayer was one who was dipping his bread in the dish with Jesus, and then both accounts go on to record the institution of the Lord’s Supper immediately after that.

That’s what Jesus means here when he says the one who will betray him will receive a dipped morsel of bread from Jesus.

It’s one of the guys eating dinner with them… right then!

It’s one of the guys participating in the very first communion service!

Well, John records that Jesus gave Judas the piece of dipped bread, not to reveal Judas’ betrayal to the rest of the disciples right then, but to reveal it to his audience, to us.

Judas was treated just like the other eleven disciples.

He was given a piece of dipped bread just like everyone else.

He got to partake in communion just like everyone else.

He was honored as Jesus’ close friend just like everyone else.

But John indicates that after this, Satan entered into Judas, and Jesus knows it.

Now, John couldn’t have known that in the moment, but as the author looked back on this event after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, it became clear to him that this was the crucial moment where Judas could not turn back.

The murderer and deceiver had gotten his hooks into Judas, and now there was no turning back.

Jesus described Satan back in John 8:44 “He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Now the ultimate murderer and deceiver has taken hold of Judas by deceiving him into doubting Jesus’ claim to be the Christ, and it will result in the murder of Jesus, and Judas’ own self-murder.

Jesus turns to him and says, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”

Jesus loves Judas enough to tell him to get it over with quickly, so that Judas won’t be tormented by Satan’s lies for very long.

The confused response of the rest of the disciples to Jesus’ statement to Judas clearly indicates that Judas was not called out on his betrayal here.

Remember they had no idea who Jesus had been talking about when he said that one of them would betray him… even John.

They still have no idea, and they assume Jesus’ statement to mean anything but betrayal.

Maybe Jesus meant for Judas to buy more food?

Maybe he meant for Judas to give some extra money to the poor?

Whatever they thought Jesus meant, it probably had to do with Judas’ trusted position of treasurer.

He was in charge of the money for their whole group.

Jesus had loved him so much that he gave him a trusted role among the disciples.

Jesus put him in charge of the money and left him in charge of the money even though he knew he would betray him.

This is truly unconditional love.

How many people have we withheld love from because we were afraid that they might turn around and hurt us or hurt others?

That is not the example of Jesus, and it’s not how we ought to treat those we may think will betray us or hurt us.

Very recently I’ve heard excuses from other believers for not loving a brother in Christ because they were afraid that this brother would hurt them in some way.

That is putting a condition on your love.

Like saying, “I’ll only love you if I am sure that you won’t hurt me.”

Jesus loved just the opposite.

He says, “I’ll love you, even though I know you are going to hurt me.”

Well, after this last act of love for Judas, he leaves Jesus’ side and joins the world in its darkness.

Very often unconditional love results in betrayal and pain, just like Judas did to Jesus.

No amount of unconditional love will ultimately prevent people from sinning against us.

But the motivation to love like Jesus is not to receive love from others or avoid being sinned against.

The motivation to love like Jesus is the next topic Jesus covers.

So, the first way we are to love like Jesus is to love humbly by serving each other and helping each other overcome sin.

And the second way we are to love like Jesus is to love unconditionally even in the face of inevitable betrayal.

Now the third way we are to love like Jesus is in verses 31-38 as we are compelled to continue Jesus’ love for us.

John 13:31–35 ESV

When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 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.’ 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. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 13:36–38 ESV

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.” Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 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.

So, here we see how we are to love like Jesus as we…

Love Perpetually (31-38)

Jesus makes a few statements after Judas left that indicate his desire for his remaining disciples to…

Continue loving like Jesus even after he is gone (31-35)

The first statement Jesus makes here is about his glory in verses 31 and 32.

This is the imminent glory of the cross.

Five times Jesus uses the word “glorify” in these two verses.

That’s a lot of glory.

The Son of Man is glorified by becoming our perfect high priest and our perfect mediator between God and man.

Hebrews 2:17 “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”

And not only is the Son be glorified, but the Father is glorified in the Son as well… as as the Father’s redemption plan unfolds in the Son’s obedient and loving sacrifice.

John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

And if the Father is glorified in the Son, then the Father will glorify the Son in himself, too… and glorify him at once.

Basically, the Son’s glory comes from the Father and from himself as the second person of the one Triune God.

And the Father’s plan would be accomplished very shortly.

That’s why Jesus says that the Father will glorify him at once.

The second statement that Jesus makes here is about his imminent departure from his disciples in verse 33.

Jesus calls his disciples “little children”

This is the Greek work teknia, a term of endearment for his disciples who were like his spiritual children.

This is the first clue that the statement Jesus makes about his departure is significantly different from his similar statement to the Jews.

Jesus says that he will be with them for a little while longer.

He would only be with them for a few more hours before his arrest, trial, and death.

A few more hours packed with teaching that John recorded for us in chapters 13-17.

And a few more hours filled with pain as Jesus is betrayed, arrested, falsely accused, abandoned by his disciples, beaten, shamed, and killed as John recorded in chapters 18 and 19.

Now, Jesus says the exact same thing here to his disciples that he said to the Jews back in 7:34 and 8:21, but the context is completely different.

The Jews were against Jesus, they were his enemies…

but the disciples are Jesus’ spiritual children, his friends.

The Jews would seek him because they wanted to get rid of him, even after his death and resurrection they would seek to stop his followers by persecuting the church…

but the disciples would seek him because they wanted to follow him even unto death.

The Jews would not be able to follow him where he was going because he was going to heaven and they would not be with him there because they would be judged for their own sin and cast into hell…

but the disciples would not be able to follow Jesus specifically to the cross since only he could bear the sins of the world and endure God’s wrath on our behalf.

Jesus will explain this further to Peter because this is the statement that Peter fixated on.

But the third statement Jesus makes in verses 34 and 35 is a command for his disciples to continue loving like Jesus.

Jesus says that this is a new commandment because it’s tied to the new covenant he had just symbolized in the Lord’s Supper.

Covenants with God are never without commands.

All of the covenants in the Old Testament were unilateral, God making a covenant with his people whether they agreed to it or not because God is sovereign.

But none of them were without expectations for God’s people.

The covenant with Noah and the earth in Genesis 9 was a relationship in which God promised to never flood the world again.

And the expectation for that relationship was obedience to the command to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, just like he had commanded Adam and Eve.

The covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15 was a relationship in which God promised to bless Abraham with more descendants than he could count and a land for all of his descendants to live in.

And the expectation for that relationship was implied faith that God would do what he promised.

The covenant with Moses in Exodus 34 was a relationship in which God promised to make the descendants of Jacob a legitimate nation with a land and a form of government.

And the expectation for that relationship was obedience to the governmental laws God set forth in the Ten Commandments and the amendments to that sort-of constitution that make up a lot of Exodus and Leviticus.

The covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7 was a relationship in which God promised to give David and his people eternal rest and peace as one of his offspring would righteously rule the nation of Israel forever in their own land, that descendant being Jesus Christ.

And the expectation for that relationship was faith that God would do what he promised.

This is remarkably like the relationship with Abraham.

Some of these covenants had expectations of obedience, and some simply had expectations of faith, but they all had expectations, and the new covenant is no different.

The covenant with all of God’s people after Christ in Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36 is a relationship in which God promises to give us a new heart with his law written on it, and forgiveness of our sins.

And the expectation for this relationship is faith in Jesus, the Son of God, to do what he promised, and obedience to the law that is written on our new heart.

That law written on our heart is what Jesus says here, to love each other like he does.

This new commandment is not new because it’s a new concept because it isn’t.

It’s new because it’s part of the new covenant.

And Jesus gives this commandment to his disciples and to us as future disciples.

We’re specifically commanded to love each other here.

Christians loving other Christians.

The example of this love that we are to follow is Jesus himself.

The most recent instance of this love is Jesus washing their feet.

Humble unconditional love as we help each other clean up the sin that splatters our feet as we navigate life in a sinful world and the temptations to sin that still plague us in this life.

Yes, we love unbelievers, but we don’t love them like this…

With other Christians we lovingly call out sin and help them repent to bring them back to pursuing righteousness because of the love of Christ in the gospel.

With those who are not Christians we lovingly call out sin and give them the gospel in the hope that the Holy Spirit will give them spiritual life so that they can repent.

It’s a subtle difference, but the reason for the difference is what Jesus comments on next.

The reason to love unbelievers is to hopefully be used by the Holy Spirit to bring them to faith in Jesus.

The reason to love other believers is to prove to the world that we are disciples of Christ.

Nothing else will prove this to the world.

People won’t know that we’re disciples of Christ because we loudly hold conservative political views.

People won’t know that we’re disciples of Christ because we refuse to work on Sundays.

People won’t know that we’re disciples of Christ because we pray before every meal.

People won’t even know that we’re disciples of Christ because we wear tee-shirts or have bumper-stickers that says so, or by posting a claim to follow Christ on our social media accounts.

People might know that we’re disciples of Christ as we tell them the gospel.

But mostly they’ll just think we are crazy.

When Christians care for each other humbly and unconditionally like Jesus did, when we help each other live righteously by cleaning the remaining sin out of each other’s lives, the world can’t help but know that we are Jesus’ disciples.

They won’t like it, but they also can’t help but know it.

After Jesus makes these statements…

Peter has some questions about Jesus’ departure (36-38)

Jesus had said that he was going somewhere, but he didn’t say where.

So, Peter asks him a very natural question.

Where are you going, Jesus?

And Jesus answers by clarifying his previous statement without actually answering Peter’s question.

Peter wanted to know where Jesus was going, but Jesus answers the heart of the question.

Peter’s question was not simply looking for information about Jesus’ future plans.

It was a question that came from his desire to be with Jesus wherever he was.

So, Jesus says that Peter cannot follow him into heaven now, but he will follow him to be with him in heaven later.

This concept is a big topic of Jesus’ teaching in the next few chapters of John.

Well, Peter is still confused about Jesus’ statement.

He doesn’t understand Jesus’ clarification because Jesus still hasn’t answered the question of where he is going.

Surely there isn’t anywhere in the world that Peter could not follow Jesus.

Peter and the rest of the disciples even followed Jesus back into Judea where they were seeking to kill Jesus and probably kill his disciples for good measure.

That’s why Peter says that he would follow Jesus even unto death.

He says, “I will lay down my life for you!”

Jesus, my whole life is yours, I’ll follow you wherever you go!

Well, Jesus knows Peter’s devotion, but he also knows that this very night he will be tempted to deny Jesus, and he will cave to that temptation three times.

This is not an indication of Peter’s overall loyalty to Jesus.

After all, Peter boldly proclaimed Christ after Pentecost, and ultimately died for the cause of Christ.

This is an indication that even the most loyal of Jesus’ followers would be tempted to abandon him because of the intensity of the events surrounding Jesus’ death.

Conclusion

Everything in this chapter has been setting up what Jesus would explain in further detail throughout the next few chapters.

Jesus expects them to continue his ministry of love after he is gone.

Jesus will go on to explain what that ministry of love looks like in detail and what life and ministry will look like after he is gone including the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the persecution that will arise for them.

And before all of that instruction, Jesus gave them his example and explanation of how to love like him.

Humbly, unconditionally, and perpetually.

We are to humbly love each other by serving each other and helping each other overcome the sin in our lives.

We are to unconditionally love even though we will likely be sinned against and even betrayed.

And we are to love perpetually as we continue Jesus’ love after he is glorified in his death and resurrection and ascended back to heaven.

Now, if you have no idea about this love I have been talking about…

If you do not believe in Jesus, then I beg you to believe in him.

He is the Son of God, who loves you humbly, unconditionally, and perpetually.

He loves you so much that he died in your place, so that you wouldn’t have to if you have faith in him.

And he rose from the dead three days later so that you could live with him forever.

So, please believe, and let us know that you believe so that we can rejoice with you and continue to love you like Jesus does.

Pray

Father, I pray that you would help us to love like your Son, Jesus.

Help us put off our pride and serve each other in any and every need.

I pray that you would keep us humble as we help each other fight sin.

And keep us humble as we let others help us fight our sin.

And Father, help us to love unconditionally.

It’s so easy to withhold our love and care for others when we are afraid that they might hurt us or betray our trust.

Give us the strength to fight that temptation and love even when we know that we might get hurt because of it.

Remind us of your love for us and your Son’s love for us at the cross.

Because that is what’s going to fuel our love.

Your love for us that we already have, not some expected reciprocation from others.

Help us perpetuate Jesus’ love as we wait expectantly for his return in glory.

It’s in his mane we pray all of this. Amen.

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