Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction:

*As one reads through the Gospel of John, the shadow of the cross grows longer and darker until now the reader stands at the foot of the cross on the evening before the Crucifixion.

In just a few short hours (somewhere between 15 –24 hours) our Lord would be suspended between the sky and earth as the sin-bearer of mankind:

"And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him" (John 19:17-18)

Before the sun set again he would breath His last tortured breath: 

*"Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.

Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.

And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’”

Having said this, He breathed His last."

(Luke 23:44-46) *

Chapters 13-17 record what we have come to know as the *Upper Room Discourse*.

In these five chapters we see intimate teaching about Service, Love, the Holy Spirit, Heaven, our Union with Christ, and Prayer.

The disciples had spent many a nights with their Lord Jesus Christ, however this night is going to be different from all other nights.

This is a night that is going to change their lives forever.

If you only had a few hours to live and you knew that you did, what would you tell your friends?

What message would you want to pass on to them?

This is one of those nights, a night where Jesus is revealing His heart and giving them a night of intense discipleship.

*Chapter 13 Forms A Break In The Gospel Of John:*

!!!! a)                   Chapters 1-12 deal with the entire ministry of Jesus Christ, about 31~/2 years, whereas, chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, & 17 cover 1 night.

We can even go further than that.

!!!! b)                  Because it says in (1:14) /“the word became flesh and dwelt among us”/ that s when He was born, his birth, his incarnation, you could say this: the first 12 chapters of John cover everything from birth almost to death, 12 chapters 33 years, but 5 chapters cover 1 night.

We can go even further than that.

!!!! c)                   John 1:1 says, /“ In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.”  /So you could say this: Chapters 1-12 deal with everything from eternity past all the way up until the upper room discourse, but 5 chapters deal with one night.

/  /   

 

!! A.                  Background

!!! 1.

The Beginning of the Upper Room Discourse.

!!!! a)                  A Dramatic Call To Follow Christ’s Example As A Servant.

!!!!! (1)                 *To Be People Of The Towel*.

Someone had once said, “The mark of a true servant of God is a towel and not a scepter.

He serves Christ by serving His people, /“Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me /(mat.25:40).”

He tells us, if we are to be His followers, where we must begin, what qualities must be in our lives, and what we must do.

!!!!! (2)                 This section is so important that John devotes almost one quarter of his gospel to this twenty-four hour period.

So we must realize the importance of this period of the life of Jesus Christ in the attention that John gives to it.

It is well for us to look carefully at these things that are recorded in this particular period of time, and surely we are now being exposed to the very heart of Jesus.

The book of Revelation is the unveiling of Jesus Christ, but this unveils him to us as we get this tremendous insight into the heart of Jesus.

/However, there is more in the background of this passage than even John tells us/.

!!!!! (3)                 Luke recounted the details of the Lord’s Supper topically, not chronologically.

Luke stated that his knowledge of the events recorded in his gospel came from the reports of those who were eyewitnesses (1:1, 2)—strongly implying that he himself was not an eyewitness.

It is clear from his introduction that his aim was to give an ordered account of the events of Jesus’ life, but this does not mean he always followed a strict chronological order in all instances (e.g., /see note on 3:20/).

!!! 2.                  Strife Among the Disciples of Christ (Luke 22:14-27)

If we turn to Luke’s account of the last meal together, we find the tragic sentence: /“A dispute also arose among them, which of them was to be regarded as greatest” /(Luke 22:24).

!!!! a)                  Who Is The Greatest?

!!!!! (1)                 *The Dispute May Have Prompted Jesus To Wash Their Feet*.

It may well be that on the night of this last meal together they had got themselves into such a state of competitive pride that not one of them would accept the duty of seeing that the water and the towels were there to wash the feet of the company as they came in; and Jesus fixed their error in the most vivid and dramatic way.

!!!!! (2)                 *Their Only Concern Was For Themselves*.

Even within sight of the Cross, our Lord was facing His ultimate humiliation and affliction, and yet their only concern was for themselves: 

*/"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."

(Philippians 2:3-4) /*

They were arguing about matters of precedence and prestige, arguing over who would hold the leading positions in the government Jesus was about to set up (Luke 22:24; Mark 10:35-45, esp.

Mark 10:41).

The discussion was heated.

!!!!! (3)                 *They Were Caught Up In The Ambition For Position And Power And Authority*.

How the heart of Jesus must have been cut!

When the Lord most needed their comfort, encouragement, and support, they acted as if He were not with them.

He had so little time left for them to learn that the way to glory is through service and not through position and authority.

How could He get the message across forcibly enough so that they would never forget the truth?

It was this that led Jesus to wash the disciples’ feet and to demonstrate what true royalty is: serving others.

!!!!! (4)                 *Jesus Coped With Difficult People and So Should We*.

After three years of teaching about love and servanthood, His disciples were arguing about which of them was the greatest.

!!!!!! (a)                 We might think that Jesus should have settled the issue by saying, “Hey, dummies—m /the greatest/!”

instead Jesus answered their question by what He did (John 13:1-5).

!!!!!! (b)                Jesus didn’t give up on them.

More than that, He prayed for those who spit on Him and mocked Him at the cross: /“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing/” (23:34).

He wanted His murderers to be forgiven so they could be with Him in Heaven forever.

!!!!!! (c)                 In the Garden of Gethsemane, just hours before He was nailed to the cross, Jesus showed His willingness to accept the Father’s plan.

He prayed, /“My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt”/ (Matt.

26:39).

He was able to endure unimaginable suffering because He knew it was God’s will.

!!!!!! (d)                We should be very thankful for Christ’s “perfect patience” (1 Tim.

1:16), because our sin has offended Him time and time again.

He could have sent us to Hell the first moment we sinned, but His Spirit patiently drew us to repentance.

Because of His patience, we must commit ourselves to follow His perfect example.

!!! 3.                  The Meaning and Source of Strife?

!!!! a)                  *The Meaning—“Strife” *(philoneikia) means being eager and ready to argue and contend; being alert to strive for one’s position.

It conveys the idea of giving no ground, of standing up no matter what, of being stubborn, of resisting regardless of circumstances.

!!!! b)                  *The Source of Strife*—What Causes Strife:

!!!!! (1)                 Selfish Ambition (Luke 22:24; *Phil.1:15-18

cf.

Gal.1:6-9*; 1Tim.6:3-5,10;

1Jn3:9-10)

!!!!! (2)                 Carnal-Fleshly (1Cor.3:1-3;

Gal.5:19-20)

!!!!! (3)                 The Heart (James 3:14)

!!!!!  

 

!!! 4.                  Avoiding Strife (Genesis 13:1-3)

!!!! a)                  Contention Between Abram’s and Lot’s Hired Workers (v.5-7).

!!!!! (1)                 God had commanded Abram to leave his family behind when he came to the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:1), but Abram brought his nephew Lot along with him.

Trouble like this was the result.

Abram should have *obeyed* God in the first place.

!!!!! (2)                 This conflict comes now, when Abram is doing the right thing.

Oftentimes, when we get right with God, we should expect attack from the devil.

!!!!! (3)                 Something had to be done about this strife between the estates of Abram and Lot, because they could not continue a conflict like this before the unbelieving inhabitants of Canaan.

!!!!!! (a)                 When the *Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land (v.7c)*, and saw the men of Abram and Lot fighting, they must have thought, “Oh, they’re just like us.

They say they worship another God, a God they say is the true God, but I see they are really just like us.” 

!!!!!! (b)                “Many people will never listen to what any believer says because of what some believers are.” (Barnhouse)

!!!!!! (c)                 *Their possessions were so great *is the first mention of wealth in the Bible.

What a difference between the riches of Abram and the riches of Lot!

They both had great wealth, but Lot’s wealth possessed him.

Abram had great possessions, but they did not possess him.

!!!!!!  

!!!! b)                  Abram’s Generous Offer To Lot (v.8-9).

!!!!! (1)                 Since Abram was the eldest, and since God had given all the land to Abram (not to Lot), it was pure generosity on the part of Abram that caused him to make this offer to Lot.