John 13, Part 3

John 13:31–32 ESV

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.

Jesus’ death brought a threefold glory.

a. There was the Son of Man’s glory. The glory of Jesus was the cross. This was true in four senses.

Jesus was now ready to secure an eternal righteousness for man. He was now ready to take the final step as the Son of Man …

• as the One who was the Servant of all men

• as the One who was to secure perfect righteousness by dying as God willed

• as the One who was to pay the supreme price in obeying God (to die)

• as the One who was ready to die in obedience to God’s will so that God could save man

Jesus became the Perfect and Ideal Man because He was perfectly obedient to God, even in dying. As the Ideal Man, His righteousness and death could stand for every man’s righteousness and death. A person just has to believe the fact that Jesus’ death covers him. There was glory in being the Son of Man: in being every man’s Ideal righteousness and death. The cross glorifies Jesus as the Son of Man.

Jesus was now ready to make the final sacrifice for man, and He was ready to pay the supreme price to bring about the greatest event in all history: the salvation of man. The cross attracts and stirs men to give themselves to Jesus and to honor and praise Him. It is in the cross that men find their salvation; therefore, the cross is the glory of Jesus.

Jesus was now ready to triumph over Satan by breaking Satan’s power over death and over the souls of men.

⇒ Jesus spoiled principalities and power, triumphing over them in the cross.

⇒ Jesus destroyed the works of the devil.

⇒ Jesus broke the power and fear of Satan over lives and death. There is glory in the triumph and victory over Satan, especially over one so powerful and influential as Satan. The cross is the glory of Christ.

4) Jesus demonstrated what perfect sacrifice and self-denial, courage and strength, love and compassion really are when He died on the cross. There is great glory in every one of these qualities. The cross is the glory of Christ.

b. There is God’s glory. The glory of God was the perfect obedience of Jesus.

1) God was glorified by the supreme obedience of Jesus dying on the cross. His obedience in dying upon the cross glorifies God.

2) God’s justice was perfectly satisfied on the cross. His honor was restored by the cross, for the evil done against Him was justly punished upon the cross. The cross glorifies God.

3) God’s love was perfectly demonstrated on the cross. He gave His only Son to pay the supreme price for man: to sacrifice His life for man. The cross glorifies God.

c. There is Jesus’ glory “in Himself.” This glory is the resurrection, ascension, and exaltation. What is meant by “in Himself”? There are two possible answers.

⇒ Jesus was asking to be glorified in God Himself: with God’s own Person, with His very special presence and power and glory. This, of course, was done when Christ was set upon the throne of God Himself.

⇒ Jesus was asking to be glorified in His own Person: to be infused with a manifestation of God’s presence and power and glory. This was done in the resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of Christ (Ph. 2:8–11).

Note: Jesus said that God would “immediately glorify” Him.

John 13:33–35 ESV

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.”

Jesus’ death demanded a new commandment. Again, note the reference to Jesus’ death.

a. Jesus said that He was departing, that He would be with the disciples for only a little while longer. This was the reason Jesus had to give His disciples a new commandment. He was leaving. There were three reasons the new commandment on love was needed by every generation of believers.

1) There are times when believers differ. There is always the danger of becoming critical, judgmental, censorious, and divisive. Remember, the disciples had just been arguing over who should receive the highest positions of authority in Jesus’ new government. They had been struggling against each other and were highly critical and judgmental of each other. They had been deeply divided. The need for a new commandment and a new supernatural love existed then even as it does today.

2) There are times when believers feel a keen need for Jesus’ physical presence. Jesus knew this. That is the reason He said that the disciples would seek His presence. True, believers have the Holy Spirit, and He is the all-sufficient Comforter and the abiding Presence of God Himself. But being human, believers need another human presence with them. They need a brother or a sister, a genuine believer who loves them with the supernatural love of Jesus Himself. Jesus knew this, so He commanded believers to love each other. Believers are to meet the needs of each other for companionship and fellowship and for care and concern.

3) There is the need for some supernatural force to hold the disciples together. Jesus’ physical presence had been the cohesive force that had held the disciples together when He was on earth. But once He had gone, His followers would need something else to hold them together. They must stay and serve together in one spirit and purpose. But how? The new commandment is the answer.

b. The new commandment is to love as Christ loved. Note several points.

1) This is not the old commandment, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” It is not a human, neighborly love that is being commanded. This new commandment was given to disciples only. It is the spiritual love that is to exist between believers as brothers and sisters and as servants of God who minister together.

2) The love being commanded is the love of Jesus Himself which is the love of God Himself, the love that can be shed abroad in our hearts only by the Holy Spirit. It is not the normal physical love among human neighbors which is being commanded by God. It is a spiritual love that is wrought only by the Spirit of God.

Note: the distinctiveness of this love is that it is the love of Jesus Himself that dwells in the heart of the believer. Only the Spirit of God can put the love of Jesus there within the heart of the believer. The Holy Spirit can create within the believer the love of Jesus Himself, the very same love which Jesus had while here on earth. The love of Jesus is …

• the love of spiritual being: the love that causes one to hunger after union with God and God’s people

• the love of spiritual life: the love that shares the same life with all believers, both abundant and eternal life

• the love of spiritual union: the love that binds and ties believers together in life and purpose

• the love of spiritual attachment or fellowship: the love that shares needs and blessings and joys and sorrows and gifts together

The Holy Spirit can create within the believer a love that can melt and mold his heart to the hearts of other believers. But note: it is a commandment; therefore, it is conditional. The Holy Spirit can create such a love, but believers have to receive it. When the love of Jesus dwells in the heart of a believer, several things happen. The believer has a love that causes him …

• to bind his life to the lives of other believers

• to tie his life to the same purpose as other believers

• to surrender his will and to be of the same mind as other believers

• to understand and feel with other believers

• to forgive other believers—always

• to sacrifice himself for other believers—always

• to seek the welfare of other believers before his own

• to deny self completely

3) The new commandment is the mark of a true disciple. The distinguishing mark of a true believer is not the normal human love of neighbors, not even the love of brothers and sisters or of husband and wife. It is the spiritual and supernatural love of Jesus Himself that dwells within the life of the believer. By this love shall all men know that a person is a true disciple of the Lord.

Peters Denial

John 13:36–38 ESV

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.

Jesus’ death revealed stumbling and faltering loyalty. Note what Peter did. He paid no attention to the new commandment Jesus had just given. His Lord had just said that He was going away and leaving them, but Jesus had not been clear. He had spoken in dark, secretive terms. It was this that had gripped Peter’s heart. He must know what Jesus was talking about: if Jesus were talking about some spiritual truth and using symbolic terms or if He were really going to be leaving them.

Now note what Jesus did. He still used the same language: He was leaving, and where He was going they could not follow, not now. But they would follow Him later.

Peter was delving into things he could not yet understand. Jesus was returning to heaven and going back to the Father from whom He had come. He could not say it any clearer than what He had said. The disciples could not and would not understand until after the resurrection and ascension.

Thought 1. How often our curiosity is aroused by the hints of Scripture about future events, the details of which are kept secret—all because it is not yet time for us to fully understand. Just think! If all were revealed, how could we walk by faith and prove our faith? If we walked by sight (seeing and understanding all), there would be nothing to believe.

Thought 2. Note another fact. Peter got distracted and paid no attention to the greatest commandment Jesus had ever given His followers. It was the future event of Jesus’ return to heaven that aroused his curiosity. It distracted his attention from where it should have been.

Jesus used the occasion to reveal Peter’s stumbling and faltering faith. Peter stumbled for two reasons.

a. Peter misunderstood Jesus’ death. Jesus was going to die and arise from the dead and then return to the Father. He had drilled this fact into the disciples for some months now, using words as clear and simple as possible. Yet, they refused to accept His prediction. They thought of God’s kingdom in terms of a physical kingdom and government set up upon this earth. They saw the Messiah ruling over all the nations of the earth with Israel as the central capital of the world. They thought in terms of earthly freedom, position, power, fame, wealth, possessions, comfort, pleasure, and satisfaction. They saw the physical and were blind to the spiritual. They did not see …

• God’s concern with eternity and the need for the cross

• that man had to be created spiritually: created anew with the very same nature as God in order to live with God

• that the cross was God’s way for man to be saved: created anew, forgiven and made clean and acceptable before God (see 1 Pe. 2:24; 3:18)

Very simply stated, it was the idea of Jesus hanging upon the cross that was going to cause Peter to deny Jesus. Jesus had told Peter about the cross, but Peter had refused to believe it (see Mt. 12:22; 18:1). The fact that human flesh was so depraved that God would have to crucify His own Son in order to save man was just too much to grasp.

Thought 1. How many make the same mistake about the cross? Misunderstanding the cross and Jesus as the exalted Lord (as opposed to His being just a great teacher) causes stumbling and faltering faith.

b. Peter’s commitment was a carnal, fleshly commitment. It was caused by not knowing himself—his own personal weaknesses or the weaknesses of his human flesh. Peter’s self-image was strong. He saw himself as being above serious sin and failure. He asserted with all the confidence in the world that he would die for Jesus before denying Him.

Note several things.

1) Peter was a strong believer, one of the strongest.

2) Peter really failed to understand self and the flesh. The one sin that a believer should not commit is to deny Jesus. To die for Jesus rather than to deny Him is the one thing a genuine believer would be expected to do.

3) Peter believed strongly that he (his flesh) was above serious sin.

4) Peter failed not once, but three times, and all three failures were on the same night with Jesus right off to his side.

LEADERSHIP MINISTRIES WORLDWIDE: The Gospel according to John, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN : Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2004