John 13:1-17 - Part 1 - The Demonstration of Royal Service
Introduction:
*We have had 4 studies in John 13 so far.
The first week we looked at how the disciples argued over who was the greatest, over who would hold the leading positions in the government Jesus was about to set up.
The Last few weeks we have looked at the Passover in a detailed study in (Ex.12). This week we will be entering back into John’s gospel.
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:
John writes "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.
A. The Drive For Royal Service (v.1b-2)
1. He knew that His hour had come (v.1a)
a) Jesus “knew” many things: He “knew”:
(1) that his time had not yet come (John 7:6, 30; 8:20)
(2) His hour had come (John 13:1; 12:23; 17:1)
(3) the Father had given all things into His hands (13:3)
(4) He had come from God and was going to God (John 13:3; 8:14)
(5) from the beginning who did not believe (John 6:64), and betray Him (John 13:11).
(6) who was following Him out of genuine faith, or enthusiasm (John 2:23-24)
(7) Jesus knows if you have the love of God within you (John 5:42; 8:19)
(8) Jesus knows his sheep, and He knows them by name (John 10:14, 27; 2 Tim-departing from iniquity)
(9) Jesus knows that the Father always hears His prayers (John 11:42)
(10) the Pharisees hypocrisy (Mark 12:15), mans thoughts (Matt.9:4; 12:25)
(11) the time of His ascension was near, He was determined (Luke 9:51; Heb.12:2)
(12) the disciples would scatter from Him, and Peters denial (Matt.26:31-35).
(13) the hour of His arrest had come to be betrayed into the hands of sinners (Matt.26:45)
(14) all the things that would happen to Him, stepped forward to be arrested (John 18:1-4)
(15) while on the cross that all things had been accomplished (John 19:28)
(16) He would be raised from the dead by the power of His Father (Matt.16: 21; 17:9, 23; 20:18–19; Rom. 6:4).
b) Do You Know That You Are Going To Be Raised From The Dead One Day?
Daniel said "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. " (Daniel 12:2, NKJV)
Jesus Himself said "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth— those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." (John 5:28-29, NKJV)
Jesus asked Martha if she believed this (John 11:23-26)
The Apostle Paul said "But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust." (Acts 24:14-15, NKJV)
In the Book of Revelation John writes "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:11-15, NKJV)
2. He knew How To Live With A Sense of Timing.
a) He Used His Time For His Father.
(1) This Started At A Young Age:
When His parents were looking for Him "He said to them (His parents), “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”" (Luke 2:49, NKJV)
Doing His Fathers Business was a delight to Him "I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.” " (Psalm 40:8, NKJV)
Not only doing God’s will but accomplishing it mattered to the Lord "“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." (John 4:34, NKJV)
In His prayer He said "I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do." (John 17:4, NKJV)
He even finished the work at His last breath "So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." (John 19:30, NKJV)
b) We Must Use Our Time For Our Father. (Eph.5:16)!
(1) Ephesians 5:16 Time—Is not the term for clock time, the continuous time that is measured in hours, minutes, and seconds. Is the term, which denotes a measured, allocated, fixed season:
Peter said “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth;" (1 Peter 1:17, NASB95)
Paul exhorted the church in Rome saying "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." (Romans 13:11-14, NKJV) God has set boundaries to our lives, and our opportunity for service exists only within those boundaries. It is significant that the Bible speaks of such times being shortened, but never of their being lengthened.
Paul said concerning the times and the seasons “brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape." (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, NKJV)
(2) A person may die or lose an opportunity (Heb.9:27).
c) The Bible Warns Those Who Think They Will Always Have Time To Do What They Should.
(1) When Noah and his family entered the ark and shut the door, the opportunity for any other person to be saved from the flood was gone.
We need to be like the Psalmist "Remember how short my time is; For what futility have You created all the children of men?" (Psalm 89:46-47, NKJV)
Our prayer should be "Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor." (Psalm 39:4-5, NKJV)
We should also pray "So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12, NKJV)
Paul spoke to the Corinthians about the time having been shortened (1 Cor. 7:29)
James warned, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James 4:13–14).
(2) There Is No Assurance Of Tomorrow (Luke 12:16-21).
Jesus spoke a parable saying, “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”" (Luke 12:16-21, NKJV)
3. He knew not The Time Of His Return (Mark 13:32).
a) Only the Father Knows.
(1) Becoming a man, He voluntarily restricted the use of certain divine attributes (Phil. 2:6–8).
(2) He voluntarily restricted that omniscience to only those things God wanted Him to know during the days of His humanity (John 15:15). After He was resurrected, Jesus resumed His full divine knowledge (Matt.28:18; Acts 1:7).
b) We don’t know the time of His return (Matt.24:32-51; 25:1-11)
(1) Pharisees not knowing not the time (Matt.16:1-4)
(2) Sadducees not knowing the Scriptures (Matt.22:29)
(3) Do you not know:
"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!" (1 Corinthians 6:15, NKJV)
"Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”" (1 Corinthians 6:16, NKJV)
"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19, NKJV)
"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16, NKJV)
"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it." (1 Corinthians 9:24, NKJV)