John 13:31-35
Notes
Transcript
Love like HIM.
Love like HIM.
Good morning
Introduce yourself. I never know how long my sermons are going to be....
I wanted to open with a little 4th of July message - Country is 250 years old.
What did y’all do for the 4th?
"250 Years of Freedom"
"250 Years of Freedom"
This year America celebrates 250 years as a nation.
That's remarkable. Few nations in history have enjoyed this level of stability, prosperity, and freedom for so long.
But have you ever wondered where many of those ideas came from?
When the Declaration of Independence declared that all men "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights," it wasn't inventing a new idea. It acknowledged that our rights come from God—not from government.
The Bible teaches this truth from the very beginning.
"So God created man in his own image..." (Genesis 1:27)
Every human life has value because every human bears God's image.
The founders also understood something Scripture teaches plainly: mankind is sinful.
Jeremiah 17:9 says,
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"
Because men are sinners, power must be limited. That's why America developed checks and balances—not because men are naturally good, but because they are fallen.
Many of the men who helped establish this nation read Scripture regularly, quoted it often, and believed that virtue and morality were essential for liberty.
One of my favorite quotes comes from John Adams:
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
Freedom without virtue eventually becomes chaos.
But as Christians, we know there is an even greater freedom.
Jesus said in John 8:36,
"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
Political freedom is a tremendous blessing.
Spiritual freedom is an eternal gift.
This Fourth of July, let's thank God for the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. But let's remember that no earthly nation is our final home.
As Philippians 3:20 reminds us,
"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."
America is worth loving.
America is worth praying for.
But Christ alone is worthy of our ultimate allegiance.
May God continue to bless our nation—and may He bring many people to the true freedom found only in Jesus Christ.
Happy 4th of July everyone!!!
Picking things up in John today.
Pastor Christ preached an incredibly important message last week. Focus on Jesus.
How often do we compare ourselves to others? I know I do. Human nature I think. The flesh always finding a way to either boost ourselves up, or tear ourselves down. That’s why we don’t focus on ourselves.
We focus on our Savior and then, we focus on others, serving, teaching, helping. The gospel says die to ourselves. Seek the Kingdom of God, and everything else will work out.
FOCUS ON THE LORD.
Context builder - Setting the stage for today’s text.
The night before. Jesus will be arrested soon. It’s what I would imagine a sort of somber mood and energy. The Pharisees are finalizing their plan to arrest and PRIVATELY put Jesus on trial.
This was definitely not the custom. Trials were typically a public affair and held in day time. This was like an emergency meeting so to speak.
The trial became much more public after the Romans took over. As we know, the crowd calls for Jesus’ crucifixion and to free Barabas.
/but this is a very unique case. The Son of God is the center of it all.
We pick up this week after Jesus called out Judas, they were at dinner, betrayal, Judas leaves.
Now just Jesus and 11
In all counts of the last supper, there is no one else present. It’s literally just Jesus and the apostles.
This was a special time. Jesus is about to lay down amazing scripture. Some of the best chapters of scripture are coming up. As Pastor Chris mentioned last week, John slows down here. We have this moment after the feet washing with the Apostles at the dinner, the passage just before our text tells us it’s night time, and what I think turns into a walk through Jerusalem to the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus kicking straight knowledge which brings us to the High Priestly prayer in chapter 17.
So we are going to see this whole thing kickoff today with a new commandment from Jesus.
Let’s open in prayer.
The text - John 13 31-35
A New Commandment
A New Commandment
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.”
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.”
In this text, we find one of the most clear and genuine marks of discipleship.
Love one another. So deep yet so simple isn’t it….?
Let’s break these passages down, there’s a lot here.
When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
In this very first passage, we see something pretty powerful. The first word is…NOW.
Judas has stepped out, and the betrayal is in motion. The cross is coming. And Jesus calls it “glory”. The Son of man is glorified, and the Father is glorified in Him.
We see this beautiful moment of glory coming. Jesus in perfect submission to the Fathers will. The Father’s will coming to complete fruition.
Everything is about to come together.
A worldly view of the cross is humiliation, defeat, shame, death. But, we know now that is was nothing of this nature.
This is a moment in time that God had predestined, knew exactly how this was all going to play out. I didn’t understand this for so long. Why in the world would God do this? Why not just make everything perfect, why not just forgive the sin without sacrifice. Man…that bothered me for a long time. Like, why did Jesus have to die, and why on the cross? Why?
Let me answer that today if you have ever thought the same thing.
First of all, God is righteous.
But what does it mean to be righteous?
God's righteousness means He always does what is right
God's righteousness means He always does what is right
He never makes a wrong decision.
He never overlooks evil.
He never lies.
He never compromises.
I think this passage explains it pretty good….
“The Rock, his work is perfect,
for all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and upright is he.
"The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he."
Secondly - He is a good judge
So let’s define that….what is a good judge?
Example of non justice - and a bad judge
There are a ton of scripture that talk about God is a good judge….
God is Judge — Genesis 18:25
His character is perfectly just — Deuteronomy 32:4
His throne is founded on justice — Psalm 89:14
He judges impartially — Deuteronomy 10:17
His judgments are always righteous — Psalm 96:13
Therefore, sin must be punished — Romans 2:5–6
The cross satisfied God's justice while displaying His mercy — Romans 3:25–26
There’s a few…but here was my favorite.
But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for justice,
and he judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with uprightness.
"But the LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness."
He is the good judge.
Lastly….God is Holy.
What does holy mean?
Based on scripture I think this sums it up pretty well.
Holy (when describing God)
Holy (when describing God)
Holy (adj.): The essential attribute of God by which He is absolutely pure, completely free from all sin, morally perfect, and utterly set apart from all creation. God's holiness means that every aspect of His being, character, thoughts, words, and actions is perfectly righteous and incapable of evil.
So, as a Holy, Righteous, and Good judge, what can we expect from God?
Certainly not to ignore evil, not to dismiss a criminal or sinner unjustly, after they have committed a crime. or allow evil to prevail or overcome.
So now what? He is not going to let us slide folks. He is not going to just sweep our sin under the rug and pretend it never happened.
Now, the righteous thing to do is to judge us. Every last one of us according to our works.
Also punish us according to His judgement.
But wait….there’s more. Along with this holy, righteous judge, we also have a compassionate, understanding, loving and merciful God. All this wrapped up in the perfect Creator of the universe.
So now, put this all together, and we get the plan of salvation.
God so loved the world, so He sent His one begotten Son, as a way to satisfy the law. To satisfy the penalty of sin.
Jesus was perfect, and free of sin, so He has no sin debt to pay. Yet He took our debt, and hung on the cross where we belonged.
In this action, God can now dismiss our case. Legally, with holiness and with righteous judgement. No compromise for truth, or justice. Our debt is paid by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
This is how good our God is. He would crush His own Son, that we might be forgiven.
Sit on that for a minute. Next time you think you have been treated unjustly, remember this. Remember the unjust penalty Jesus paid on our behalf. Remember what we have been given.
Next verses
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.
This is speaking of the completed work that will transpire on the cross. God will be glorified in the Son. His mercy will be shown to all, His love covering all creation and preserving His remnant. Calling His people home.
God’s glory shown in the Son as the Son finishes the work the Father had predestined as a rescue mission to save His people. This moment in time is what the bible is all about.
Yes, His glory will be seen.
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.’
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.’
It’s interesting that Jesus calls the apostles little children. This is the only place He does that.
So I got curious and looked it up, The Greek word is τεκνία (teknia )
Now, this is not demeaning by any means. Jesus is not talking down to them. This is actually a term of endearment. He is not calling them immature, but speaking to them as a loving Father would to His family.
So after this He explains that He is about to go somewhere, and the can’t come.
He is preparing them. He is getting them ready. Like warning almost.
They will seek Him and He won’t be found. Now I was thinking this is in His death. They all scatter, and at that point they are lost, they are hopeless at one point. But Also in the Heavenly aspect.
Jesus will soon be ascending to Heaven.
Now they don’t understand all this. It’s unfolding as they walk. Making it a lot harder to have that faith and trust. Can you imagine the sorrow and feelings they had when Jesus was confirmed dead? Or even when He was sentenced to be crucified?
But, I don’t want to jump ahead too much, it’s hard not to, but the apostles will see this all work out and eventually witness the resurrection and ascension.
Last couple of verses in our text today are powerful.
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.”
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.”
So we’ve been defining stuff, let’s look at the love Jesus showed and what He means here.
Love one another.
What does it mean to love. Let’s go to our source in Corinthians. But, We’re going to expand on it a little bit based on the actions of Jesus.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Now, that’s a lot to consider. Love is patient…..ERRRRRRR I’m done.
The first word and I have already failed. But we have the standard, and the guidelines.
So how has Jesus loved His people? He taught them, He fed them, He served them, He washed their feet, Eventually, He laid down His life for them.
That is how to love my friends. So as we fail at this daily, we strive to love better tomorrow.
That’s what christianity demands of us. Growth. We need to grow in Christ, we need to grow in love, we need to grow in works and service, we need to grow in how we walk in this dark and evil world.
This is for believers. Now if you are not a believer…this love does not apply to you. The dictionary of today says something completely different.
Here is how the world defines love….Taken from websters dictionary.
Love=
Strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties.
Attraction based on sexual desire; affection and tenderness felt by lovers.
Affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests.
Warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion.
Two very different ways of looking at love.
Now if you are in the camp of non believers, today is the day to submit to the Lord. Today is the day to repent of your sins. Tomorrow, folks tomorrow is not guaranteed.
On Tuesday, I found out one of my friends for like 30 years died. He was younger than me. I don’t know all the details but, I don’t need to. He’s gone.
I don’t know where his heart was when he passed. I can only pray it belonged to God.
But his time is up. He does not have another chance at this. His fate has been sealed.
See that’s the thing, we all await death. When, we don’t know. But it’s coming. Nothing can stop it. Nothing can block it, nothing can change it. We will all taste death. Hard to hear that sometimes. Our human condition fears that naturally.
I have to tell you, my fear of death and Hell are two major factors that drove me to seek forgiveness. I was terrified.
I didn’t know how everything worked, but I knew I was an absolutely terrible person. A sinner that was incredibly self seeking.
Addicted, lost, blind, broken, full of fear and doubt.
But there was a calling on my life. I was called by God to repentance. He gave me a new heart and I know that many of you know my testimony. But it was the most incredible thing that has ever happened to me.
Share about the prayers and the following month and understand what happened.
Point being, Jesus is our only hope, He is our focal point, He is to be COMPLETELY trusted
Jesus saved me. He died for me, and then He gave me a new life. In that new life, I am learning how to love, and I am learning how to live.
A new identity in Jesus is the greatest gift a man can receive.
So what do we do with all of this?
Jesus didn't simply give us another rule to follow. He gave us Himself.
The command to love one another isn't just a suggestion for Christians to be a little nicer. It is the evidence that Christ has truly transformed a heart. We don't love in order to become His disciples—we love because we already are His disciples.
But if you're honest this morning, you've probably realized what I have realized. None of us loves the way Christ loves. We lose our patience. We become selfish. We hold grudges. We speak when we should be silent. We fail one another every single day.
That is exactly why we need a Savior.
The same Jesus who commanded us to love one another is the same Jesus who walked to the cross just hours after speaking these words. He wasn't dying for His own sins. He was dying for ours. He bore the judgment that belonged to us so that guilty sinners could be forgiven, made new, and reconciled to a holy God.
If you're here today and you've never trusted in Christ, don't leave this room assuming you'll have another opportunity. Scripture says, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." None of us is promised tomorrow. One day every one of us will stand before God, and on that day there will only be two possibilities: you will either stand before Him clothed in your own righteousness—which will never be enough—or clothed in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.
So I plead with you today: repent of your sin. Turn away from trusting yourself. Turn away from loving the things of this world more than God. Place your faith in Jesus Christ alone. He is a willing Savior. His arms are open. His sacrifice is sufficient. His grace is greater than your sin.
And for those of us who already belong to Christ, let's leave here determined to obey our Lord. Let's love one another. Let's forgive quickly. Let's serve humbly. Let's bear with one another. Let's be patient with one another. Let's make Christ visible to a watching world.
Because Jesus said, "By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
May our lives proclaim the gospel just as clearly as our lips do.
Let's pray.
