A Study of the Book of John
“That You May Believe”
Sermon # 36
“A New Commandment”
John 13:31-38
From time to time we are asked to do some self-examination of our spiritual lives and assess how we think we are doing but
I’m afraid that we tend to be like the fellow in the story I heard about who showed up for a court hearing concerning an accident in which he had been involved. His arm was in a cast, there were bandages all over him, and the exposed parts of his body were clearly bruised, scratched and cut. He was a real mess.
Looking rather surprised, the judge asked about his injuries. He replied, "Judge, I’m in a terrible condition. I have cuts and , scratches all over me, and I’m feeling awful." The judge said, "I don’t understand this. The accident report filed by the Officer says that at the time of the accident you told him you were just fine."
"Well Judge," the man replied, "Let me try to explain. I was driving my pickup and pulling a trailer. In the back of the pickup was my old dog Shep, & my mule was in the trailer. All of a sudden an 18-wheeler sideswiped me, knocking me off the road."
"My pickup & trailer rolled over & over, and we ended up at the bottom of a big embank-ment. The next thing I remember, a police officer was picking his way through the wreckage. I saw him stop and examine my mule, then he pulled out his pistol and shot the mule between the eyes."
"Next, he got to where Shep was lying, and after examining him, he shot old Shep, too. Then he walked over to me and asked, "How are you?" And I said, "I’m just fine."
But sometimes even when say, “just fine” in reality, when it comes right down to it things may not be going really all that well.
Things are not really going all that well with the disciples, so let me recap; the disciples have gathered for what will be their last meal with Jesus. They had entered into what He had no doubt intended to be a time of intimate sharing, arguing over who was to be considered the greatest (Lk 22:24). They had not only refused to wash the feet of one another, Peter had even attempted to prevent Jesus from washing his feet (Jn 13). If the past is any clue to the present they probably completely failed to grasp most of what Jesus was telling them. On top of all this, Judas would betray Him, Peter would deny Him, and all the rest would forsake Him. Yet in spite of all this, Jesus tenderly spoke to His disciples as to little children. This is one of the warmest, most intimate moments our Lord ever shared with His disciples. Let’s listen to the words and to the heart of the Lord!
First, The Fourfold Glory (vv. 31-32)
“So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. (32) If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately.
John introduces verse thirty-one with the notation that what Jesus says here is spoke “after” the departure of Judas. Jesus is now alone with the His true disciples and He is free to speak more candidly about those things which are to come.
The first thing that Jesus mentions is his ultimate “glorification.” I will remind you that when Jesus says He will be “glorified” He means He will be crucified – for it is in the cross that his glory is revealed. But it should not be forgotten that this glorification which is the ultimate goal of his coming to earth – He welcomes willingly, joyfully and triumphantly.
William Barclay maintains that there is a fourfold glory of God in these verses.
First, As I have already said, the glory of Jesus has come and that glory is the cross. The greatest glory in life is that which comes through sacrifice and there can be no greater sacrifice that which was made by Christ, when he who knew no sin, bore the sins of all mankind.
Secondly, in Jesus, God the Father has been glorified. It was the obedience of Jesus which brought glory to God the Father. There is one way for people to show they love and admire and trust a leader and that is by there obedience. Jesus gave supreme honor and supreme glory to God, by supreme obedience, even to the cross.
Third, In Jesus, God the Father, glorifies himself. Through the incarnation and cross God displayed his own love for mankind. It is His willingness to send his own son that God put his own supreme love own display.
Fourth, God, will glorify, Jesus. The cross was the glory of Jesus but there is more to follow – the resurrection, the ascension and the second coming will on day demonstrate to the whole world and indeed the whole universe Christ glory. His glory will be vindicated! [William Barclay. The Gospel of John. Vol II The New Daily Study Bible. Loisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001, pp. 172-173]
Secondly, The Farewell Command
(vv. 33-35)
“Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. (34) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. (35) By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Now in all fairness the “newness” or our Lord’s commandment was not in its originality or novelty but in its extent. It was the practice of this kind of love that would cause the world to sit up and take notice. Tertullian, who lived towards the end of the second century, said that the heathen said of believers, ‘Behold, how these Christians love one another!’ Minucius Felix reports the comment of a heathen called Caecilius: ‘They love one another almost before they know one another.’…The heathen, of course, were prejudiced against the Christians. They did not like them at all and were ready to spread any slander about them. They ridiculed and opposed them. They put them in jail and executed them. But they were compelled to pay their grudging tribute to Christian love. It was undeniable.
Leon Morris says that “such references ought to make modern Christians think hard. There are not many places in our busy, materialistic world where we believers so live as to compel the heathen to bear their testimony to the love we have for one another. On the contrary, they often accuse us of bickering among ourselves, of hardness, of indulging in petty criticisms of one another, of backbiting, of intolerance … Modern Christians should give serious thought to the importance of love for one another.” [Leon Morris. Reflections on the Gospel of John. Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Pub: 2000) p . 485]
I think part of our problem is that we are all mix up about what love is! Some people think of love as a feeling; Yet Jesus describes love here in terms of our actions. We want to wait till we feel love, and then express it. I find it most interesting that it is Peter who describes love as the capstone of Christian virtues and disciplines, not as the basis of them. “In his book ‘Mere Christianity,’ C. S. Lewis wrote, ‘Do not waste your time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less.” [Our Daily Bread, February 14 - www.bible.org/illustrations]
The big question about this command is always “how” – How do we love one another? And the response that Jesus gives is – “as I have loved you. ” As in many places in Scripture, the word “as” here can better be understood as “since.” “Since I have loved you – in the same way you should love one another.
Ray Stedman points out three things about this
• First, it was without respect of persons.
He (Jesus) did not love people who were nice to love, as we do. He chose to love the unlovely: people who were rejected, difficult to love, looked down upon, held in contempt by society. He loved them, not because he wanted the good feeling of love, but simply because they needed love, and his love responded. This is the characteristic of his love. It goes out to people who need love regardless of what they are like, no matter how dirty, leprous, hurtful, proud or arrogant they may be. It goes out because they need love, without respect of persons.
• Secondly, that love will be expressed in
deeds, not just words. It will not be mere talk about love, singing songs about love or calling oneself loving and not showing it. Love will be expressed in deeds. Deeds, not words.
• Thirdly, it is a love without end. This is how John describes that love where he introduces the whole chapter in these words, "Having loved his own, he loved them unto the end." (v. 1) He never gave up on them. He loved them as long as his love could do anything to reach them. And his love included even Judas. The love of Jesus reached out to all. [Ray Stedman. The One Commandment. www.pbc.org.]
Third, The Faltering Loyalty (vv. 36-38)
“Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.” (37) Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.”(38) Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.”
Peter seems to be reasoning something like this: “Jesus says He’s going somewhere, and I can’t follow. He won’t say where, and He won’t say why. It must be the danger. He doesn’t want me coming along because it’s too dangerous. He doesn’t think I can take it. Well, I’ll let Him know that I can handle anything anyone dishes out …”
Conclusion
Since “loving one another” is not just a recommendation by our Lord — just another good piece of advice. Love is a command, one which John most certainly would not forget. If loving one another is a command, then our only choice is to obey or disob
