John 13:31-38
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John 13:31
When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.
With Judas gone, Jesus proclaims into motion His GLORIFICATION that He has mentioned throughout the gospel.
GLORIFIED comes from the Greek word doxa which means “to believe or to think.” It is used in a way that means “to be revealed in such a good way as to be thought good.”
“Therefore, the concept of glory in Jesus’ vocabulary meant that the truth He had been teaching and truth of His IDENTITY would be vindicated in the eyes of all humanity. His identity as the WORD in human flesh would be confirmed by by His going to the cross, rising from the dead and ascending to heaven.”
Charles Swindoll
The word was used as a companion to the Hebrew word nikbad, which has to do with God’s splendid activity.
Isaiah 48:
He said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”
The Son of Man designation comes from :
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Notice the evidence of splendor and glorification.
In giving of His Son, the splendor and glory of God was His selfless giving love:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
Jesus was going to be glorified by going to the cross and in turn God would be glorified. Paul described this in .
This will take place immediately in Jesus going to the cross. It is also referring to one indivisible act, once and for all.
Also notice the impact of how each of the members of the Trinity is illustrated. What happens to one happens to the others. When the Son is glorified, the Father is glorified. This is portrayed in Matthew 3:16-17:
Matthew
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
This is a repeat of :
Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
“My children,” or in a better use, “my dear children,” is a gentle appeal. The word teknia is used only by John in the gospels and by John again in 1 John. It is used by Paul in :
My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,
It is a gentle appeal; said with great tenderness and compassion.
Jesus is saying: “Understand what you have with me right now. Be mindful of the instruction you have been given.”
We must make use of the best of the help we have for our souls we can have while we have the opportunity. We need to make the most of the opportunity we have.
He has told the Jewish leaders this and it is recorded in 7:33-34 and :
Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
He told the Jews the could not enter because of their unbelief. However, the disciples would be able to do so later. This is revealed as we will see in verse 36.
John 13:34
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
The law proclaimed in was to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus says here to love as “I have loved you.” Jesus ups the ante. The measure of love for their neighbors was no longer the way they loved themselves, but Jesus’ love for them.
We see in this Gospel the love Jesus has for His disciples in 3 verses:
John
It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
John
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
John 15:
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
John also stated it :
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
This new kind of love was one in which led Jesus to lay down His life. A new command, a new love, a new life.
1 Thessalonians
Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.
and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
John 13:35
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Loving each other is the real deal of the gospel. There is no limit on this love. There is just the command to love.
Who is one another?
What does it mean to love like Jesus?
It includes all people. Regardless of age, color, gender, moral history, social status, influence, intelligence and religious background.
To love like Jesus is to love indiscriminately, universally and inclusively.
Does our congregation show that we have been with Jesus?
The proms of love is that God lives in us and His love is complete as in :
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
It is the outcome.
Mother Theresa is said to have prayed:
“Dearest Lord, may I see You today and every day in the person of your sick, and whilst nursing them, minister unto You. Though You hide behind the unattractive disguise of the irritable, the exacting, the unreasonable, may I still recognize you and say, ‘Jesus, my patient, how sweet it is to serve You.’”
John 13:36
Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”
Notice Peter skips right over the new commandment and inquires where Jesus is going. Knowledge of Jesus’ plans and continuing to be with Him are more important than obedience.
Jesus tells him that he can’t follow now. Only the Lamb of God can offer the sacrifice that is to be given for the sins of the world. Only the Son of God can perfectly reveal the Father in a way that both can be glorified. Peter will be able to follow later, after the path has been cleared. Peter will go on a similar path as described in and :
I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.
John 13:27
Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
Peter wasn’t sure exactly where Jesus was going, but he resolved that he would go also.
Peter declares his affection for Christ as well as his intention of affection. We should make Christ more clearer than our own lives.
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
Peter asks with sincerity: “Why can’t I go?”
David felt something similar:
1 Samuel 29:
“But what have I done?” asked David. “What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can’t I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”
Often, we like Peter, think we can do anything, keep up with everything…however, we all have limitations.
Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!
Peter’s intentions and self-assessment vastly outdo his strength. Good intentions spoken in a safe place after a good meal are far less attractive in a dark garden with a hostile mob.
The denials were as Jesus said. They are recorded later in , .
We are all capable of falling:
1 Cor
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!