A Call to Demonstrate Christ - John 13:31-38

John 13:31-38

©Copyright June 27, 2021 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

When you share bad news with someone, a very common reaction is for a person to say (and sometimes scream), “No.” That initial response of denial is because we don’t want to believe (and at times we can’t immediately comprehend) those words.

This was the response of the followers of Jesus when they were told Jesus was going away (meaning he was going to die). Many of His followers had been with Him for three years. They gave their lives over to following the One they believed was the Messiah who was going to rescue Israel. Now they were being told their dreams were going to come crashing down.

As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. 32 And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will give his own glory to the Son, and he will do so at once. 33 Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going.

Shocking News

The Bible tells us that when Judas left the dinner table to betray Jesus, the disciples dismissed this as Judas having to go and pay some bills or secure something for the group, since he was the treasurer. When he left Jesus began to prepare the disciples for what was coming. In other words, He gave His disciples the “bad news.” He was leaving.

Some of you have been to a doctor and have heard the horrible word “cancer.” It is one of those words that provokes a sick feeling in your stomach. It really doesn’t matter what kind of cancer it is. The word just by itself causes a feeling of great dread and throws all of life into uncertainty. Suddenly, all your plans are tentative. Your body suddenly rises to a heightened state of alert.

This is what it must have felt like if you were one of the disciples. All their plans were upended. All the dreams were quickly eroding. Confusion and uncertainty took over.

Jesus told them it was a good thing because he was entering into His glory. I’m sure they were confused. How much more so when He was executed on the torturous cross.

the glory of Christ.

First, His mission was accomplished on the cross. The purpose of Jesus coming was to point people to God, to alert them to their need for forgiveness, and then to give His life as a payment for our sin, so that forgiveness could be extended to us. What happened on the cross was arguably the most significant event in history. Here God took man’s place, suffered man’s penalty, and made it possible for us to stand in a new and right relationship with the Lord.

Second, the cross is also the glory of Christ because in the cross Jesus broke the hold Satan has over us. Satan is still very much alive, but Christ’s death on the cross makes it possible for us to escape our addiction to sin. The sin of Adam and Eve plunged all of creation into the spiraling mess of sin and bondage. We have blindly just followed them in their sinful choices. We have been raised to think only in terms of what WE WANT. We sin because we think it is the way to obtain what we need

Think of it like a disease that is passed on genetically from one generation to the next. Each generation not only has the “sin gene,” each person actively chooses to travel the course of sin. It is like the alcoholic who knows the family history but chooses to drink any way.

Jesus broke that power. We no longer HAVE TO sin. He made it possible for us to be delivered from the disease of sin. It is in principle, like gene therapy but on a MUCH more profound level. He makes it possible for us to overcome the sin disease and addiction. He paid the price that kept us in Satan’s debt. We are free!

The cross also glorifies the Father. The apostle Paul wrote,

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation [or substitute that satisfied the just wrath of a holy God] by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:23-26)

The cross revealed the righteousness of God. In other words, it shows that God does not simply shrug at sin. He is perfect, holy, and sinless. The cross showed God to be just in punishing sin while at the same time being the one who mercifully makes us right with God (the justifier). In other words, God remained true to His Holy standards. He punished sin, but He did it in a way that made it possible for us to be forgiven and made right with Him. He did it via a perfect substitute . . . the eternal Son of God.

Certainly, the disciples had no idea how profound all this was. What Jesus was about to do was the greatest act of love imagined. The disciples may have thought Jesus was abandoning them, but He was actually doing what He alone could do: make it possible for them to become true children of God!

Their Assignment: Love

While they were trying to wrap their heads around this, Jesus gave them a very practical (though not easy) assignment: Love each other.

34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

The potential for conflict among the disciples was great. These men came from diverse backgrounds. They had different strengths, different vulnerabilities, and different personalities. In a time of crisis these differences appear in stark contrast to each other.

The command itself is not new. In the book of Leviticus, the Law taught the Israelites to “love their neighbor as themselves.” (Leviticus 19:18) The golden rule tells us to treat others as we would like to be treated.

The command is however, new in scope. This command is more than just a command to love your family and friends. It is the quality that should govern our dealings with all people. . . especially other believers.

Let’s not skip past this. Our love starts in our love for Christ, and then moves to our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ! That is not just the Christians in our church . . . it is all those who are part of the family of God. It means loving each other across our differences. One of the things that discourages many non-Christians is the way Christians treat other Christians!

To love other believers means

· We should honor them and speak well of them (even when we disagree).

· We must extend to them the benefit of the doubt . . . love covers a multitude of sins.

· We should support them. Let me illustrate this negatively. One of the things that staggers us is the indifference other churches seem to have toward concerts we host. It is as if some think to support a concert in our church is to deny your faith in Christ! We would be much stronger if we would tap into the things other churches were good at doing.

· We will minister alongside of them. Have you noticed how chain stores (like a Lowe’s and Menard’s or Home Depot) seem to build almost across the street from each other? Sometimes it feels like churches are competing in that same way. It is as if we are letting the “consumer” have a clear choice between competitors. But here’s the problem . . . we are not competitors, but allies! Satan wins when we compete against each other!

As I said, this command goes even further. Jesus said if we love one another, it will show the world that Jesus is alive and in us. Not only will our love for each other show the world the loving nature of Christ, our love for those outside the church reveal the genuineness of our faith and the depth of our love.

The church is caricatured as being mean and against everything. We are pictured as those who are always pointing our boney fingers at someone in condemnation. We are viewed as taking great joy in condemning others. Sadly, it often seems like the world is right. We are too often known for what we are against rather than for the mercy and grace of God. But this is not the way it should be.

We must never be soft on sin, but we should never be happy another is caught in sin. Instead, our job is to show them the love of Christ (even when they are doing something we believe is really wrong) without condoning or minimizing the sin of their lives. It is not our job to “fix people.” Our task is to introduce people to Christ, teach them the truth, and hopefully see them surrender to Him, find forgiveness for their sin, and deliverance from bondage.

When we respond in a loving way instead of in an antagonistic or mean way, it will lead others to listen a little more closely to the gospel because they will sense and feel the touch of Jesus. Most people want help. They don’t need more people reminding them of the sinful nature of their lives.

Let’s think practically. How do we love in this way? We are commanded to love others the same way in which our Lord has loved us. This is where people get the question, “What would Jesus do?”

· How would Jesus love someone who was struggling financially?

· How would He love someone who was mired in sinful behavior?

· How would He love someone who was bitter and unkind?

· How would He love someone who was feeling unworthy of blessing?

· How would He love someone who had unruly children?

· How would He love someone who was of a different religion?

· How did He love those who betrayed and denied Him?

· How would He love a child?

· How would He love someone who had failed miserably and publicly?

This is the standard for how we are to love. Is it lofty? Absolutely. Practically this means if we have a conflict with someone, we need to make it a high priority to resolve it. We must guard our words about others. The reputation of our Lord is on the line; someone’s eternal destiny might be impacted.

Sobering Truth

Simon Peter was always impetuous. He was passionate about Jesus but tended to go overboard, speaking before He really had thought things through. Jesus said He was going away, and they could not come to where he was going. Peter is the one who spoke up. In fairness, he probably said what everyone else was thinking.

36 Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?”

And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”

37 “But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.”

38 Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.

It is not easy to say hard things to your friends and loved ones. Peter had this vaulted view of his strength and Jesus knew he wasn’t as strong as he thought he was. Not only would he not die for Him (immediately) he would actually deny him THREE TIMES in the next few hours.

These were tough but necessary words. A person who thinks he is standing firm must be careful or He will fall. Such people let down their guard; they get lazy; they take spiritual development and warfare for granted, and they are easy prey for Satan, especially in crazy or tense times.

This should lead to a question we ask ourselves: am I guilty of overconfidence?

· Have I concluded I don’t need to read the Bible because “I know it pretty well”?

· Do I think worship with others is optional because “my belief is strong?”

· Do I dismiss prayer because I know I am “strong enough in my faith to handle things?

· Do I feel I can ignore the Lord in the way I conduct my life because “He knows my heart and does not condemn me?”

· Do I not address sinful areas in my life because “I know I am going to Heaven?”

These are statements from people who are in grave danger. They have let their guard down and Satan will gladly use these areas against the Kingdom of God. He cannot take anything away from a person who has truly trusted Christ for salvation and new life, but . . . he can sideline them, so they bear no fruit for the Kingdom. It’s like saying, Satan may not be able to steal your car, but he can flatten your tires.

We will see this even in the behavior of the disciples (including Peter) that very evening. Jesus told them to pray and watch with Him, but they all fall asleep. When he told them “the spirit is willing and the body is weak so they need to fight the sleep” . . . they sleep again.

We can’t be too hard on Peter. He didn’t know what was happening or why. Later in his life tradition says he too was crucified. He insisted on being crucified upside down because he did not feel worthy to be crucified the same way as Jesus.

We also can’t be too hard on Peter because we are subject to the same kind of temptation. We believe we are strong, but we deny him

· When we are talking with our friends and keep from sharing our faith.

· When someone at work gives us an opportunity to speak up for Christ and we do not.

· When we keep silent around family to keep from the possibility of offending them or facing ridicule.

· When you choose to do what you know is wrong.

· When you act in an unloving way toward someone.

There seems to be a notion that following Jesus is easy. It’s not. Jesus says there is a wide road that leads to destruction, and a narrow road that leads to life. The road is narrow because the majority of people choose the way of the world rather than the way of Christ. They may have had a religious moment at some time in their life, but they never really committed themselves to the Lord. They stopped to see the sights once, but then they moved on in life.

To truly follow Christ means to do what He says and go where He sends us. We don’t know where that may be. It may be a relationship that is difficult, but he asks you to keep giving it your best. It may be treating you employer with love, even though they do not seem to appreciate the work you do. It may be donating to a project more than you feel you can afford.

The point is Jesus says, “Anyone who wants to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.” That is a radical departure from the world around us.

Things in life seldom go as planned. The disciples were shocked by the words of Jesus. In their mind, He wasn’t supposed to go away. They were supposed to be his companions as He overthrew the Romans and returned the glory of Israel.

In like manner you may say,

· Your child was not supposed to die

· Your marriage was not supposed to end

· You weren’t supposed to get cancer

· The surgery wasn’t supposed to be a problem

· Your friends aren’t supposed to turn on you

· Your financial portfolio was supposed to be sound

· You home wasn’t supposed to burn

· You weren’t supposed to be in a car accident

The best time to plan for these days is now. It starts with seeking God’s forgiveness, then you receive the gift God has given you of forgiveness and new life. Then you are called to follow like the disciples. This requires a willingness to trust Him when life doesn’t go as expected. Peter denied the Lord, but He learned from His failures. He went on to serve the Lord courageously.

The Lord has called us to represent Him in the world. May God help us to stand firm and to keep from denying Him with our words or our actions. May our lives point to His glory rather than our inadequacies. May our love serve as a magnet that draws people, not to us, but to Him. And may we work together, in spite of our differences, that the world will see Him living in us.