04 10 2022
John 13:31–35
A New Commandment
31 When He Had Gone Out, Jesus
Said, “Now Is the Son of Man Glorified, And God Is Glorified in Him.
32 If God Is Glorified in Him, God Will Also
Glorify Him in Himself, And Glorify Him at Once.
33 Little Children, Yet A Little While I Am with
You. You Will Seek Me, And Just as I Said to The Jews, So Now I Also Say to
You, ‘Where I Am Going You Cannot Come.’
34 A New Commandment I Give to You, “That You Love
One Another: Just as I Have Loved You, You Also Are to Love One Another.”
35 By This All People Will Know That You Are My
Disciples, If You Have Love For One Another.”
It is the night before Jesus is crucified.
We find the 12 apostles eating
That most important of meals with Jesus.
Our Scripture for today,
Follows what Jesus
Had said
Earlier Beginning in John 13:21:
21 After saying these things,
Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and
testified,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you
will betray me.”
22 The disciples looked
at one another, uncertain of whom He spoke.
23 One of his disciples,
whom Jesus loved, (which is
John) was reclining at table at Jesus'
side,
24 So Simon Peter
motioned to him (John) to ask Jesus of whom He was speaking.
25 So that
disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of
bread when I have dipped it.”
So, when He had dipped the morsel, He gave
it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
27 Then after he had
taken the morsel, Satan entered into him.
Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
28 Now no one at the
table knew why He said this to him.
29 Some thought
that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy
what we need for the feast,” or that he
should give something to the poor.
30 So, after receiving
the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.
We just heard that it was John
Who was reclining next to Jesus
And it was he who asked Jesus (in verse 25),
“Lord, who is it?”
Jesus answered,
(Probably in a low voice, So that, Only John
could hear Him)
And this idea that Jesus ONLY Told John This
Is Greatly Supported Because –
When Judas Left
None Of the Other Disciples Had Any Idea
Of What Was Truly Going On. [ verse 29]
But let’s Go Back to Verse 26,
This is where
· We Hear of Jesus Words to John:
“It is he to whom I will give this morsel of
bread
when I have dipped it”
Then Jesus dipped the bread
And gave it to Judas.
And That Is When Jesus said this in Verse 27,
“What you are going to do, do quickly”
And that is when
The Devil Entered into Judas
And Judas Leaves the room,
And it is Noted that it was Already Night.
Then the Next Thing Jesus Says Is -
Our Scripture for Today.
“Jesus Said,
“Now Is the Son of Man Glorified,
And God Is Glorified in Him.
If God Is Glorified in Him,
God Will Also Glorify Him in Himself,
And Glorify Him at Once.
NOW!
It is Now When - The Final Process
Of WHY Jesus Came - In – The – First – Place,
It Has
NOW BEGUN!
NOW!
NOW HE WILL BE HANDED OVER
TO BE KILLED.
NOW!
And NOW - IT IS NOW IN MOTION!
NOW!
NOW Is When the Son of Man,
Jesus Christ,
Will Shine with the GREATEST
GLORY.
And God will Shine GLORIOUSLY
IN HIM.
But Have We All Caught on To What Was Happening?
Of All the Disciples,
It Is Only John.
He Is the Only One
Who could At That Very Moment,
Feel The Full Amazement of This.
YOU SEE – It Was Only John
Who heard Jesus Say:
It Was Judas Who Was the One!
THAT JUDAS – HE IS — THE BETRAYER.
Let Us Stop for Just a Moment
And Try to Understand
What Was Happening
Within John
During This Very Moment.
Just Think About It for a Moment.
HOW WOULD THAT HAVE LEFT YOU?
John had to be TOTALLY STUNNED!
REALLY - JUDAS?!?
BUT - He Is The One
Who We Have Entrusted
The Money Purse! (Vs 29)
And THEN SUDDENLY,
Like With the Speed of A Tornado,
All of Judas’ Peculiar Behaviors
Finally – THEY ALL MAKE
PERFECT SINCE!
So - This – Is – WHY - He Gave Mary
Such A Hard Time About
Anointing Jesus with The Perfume!
(John 12:3–6 – Last Week’s Message).
OH - It is NOW – SO CRYSTAL CLEAR –
Judas Wanted Her to Give That to Jesus,
So, HE Would Have
Total Access to It.
And Now - John Watches Judas
As He Leaves the Table,
And John Just Can Not Believe
What He Is Seeing.
Just Like When We Mix the Chocolate Mix
With The Milk,
And As We Swirl It in Our Glass -
Into The PURE White Milk - -
It Then Changes It
Into A Very Dark Color.
In
Verse 27, We hear Word as it is Written:
“Then after he (Judas) had taken the morsel,
Satan Entered Into him.”
But John Is Totally Confused!
Should he Do Something?
Should he Go After Judas?
Should he Tell Peter and James?
What Should He Do -
With This Knowledge?!
THAT IS WHAT IS
SWILLING AROUND
WITHIN THE MIND OF JOHN.
John’s Mind is Running
100 MPH
Within this Incredible News!
AND - IT IS HAPPENING NOW
It Is Judas!
He is the Betrayer!
And it is At This Very Moment
He Is Doing his DISGUSTING DEED!!
These Incredible Words
Come Too Quickly for John.
Still Trying to Understand
All
That Is Churning Within His Brain!
[NOW IS WHEN
THE SON OF MAN IS GLORIFIED!”]
[AND GOD IS GLORIFIED IN HIM]
[“GLORY!”]
[“NOW!”]
[“JUDAS!”]
[“BETRAYAL!”]
[“GLORY!”]
And –
In What Must Have Been
One Of the Most Emotionally
Charged Moments of John’s Life,
THEN HE HEARS THE WORD
Teknia = “Little Children” Vs 33
“33 Little children, yet a little while I am with
you.
You will seek Me, and just as I said to the
Jews,
So now I also say to you,
‘Where I am going you cannot come.’
34 A new commandment I give to you,
That you love one another: Just as I have loved
you, you also are to love one another.
35 By this all people will know that you are my
disciples, if you have love for one another.”
(John 13:33–35)
Little Children,
I Am Going Where You Cannot Come.
I’m Leaving You.
Up Till Now - Everyone Knows
You Are My Disciples
That Is Because They See You
Following Me
All Around Judea and Galilee.
You Have Put Your Life on The Line
By Just Being Identified with Me.
But Now I Will Not Be Here Any Longer
For You to Follow.
You See - Following My Physical Presence
o Will No Longer Be The Mark
Of ‘Your Discipleship’!
So, I Give You – ‘A New Mark’.
A New Commandment.
Love Each Other. Little Children.
So, Here Is John
With His Heart Bursting Out of His Chest
With Total Conflicting Emotions:
Betrayal Has Been Put
in Motion.
The Glory of God Is
About to Be Seen.
Jesus Is Leaving
Them.
And, In His Absence,
Love For Each Other
Is To Bind Them Together
And Bind Them to Him.
And In a Moment of
Conflicting
And Intensified Emotion,
Jesus Reaches for A Word
Of Singular Affection
And He Calls Them All
“Little Children” (Verse 33)
So, Does This Tell Us Anything?
I Believe It Tells Us a Lot!
It Was Within This Very Moment,
Within The Life of John, The Apostle –
When He Changed!
It Was So Profound!
And It Was So Moving!
And So Impressive!
That It Left Its Mark -
It Form John to Be The Apostle That
Christ Wanted Him to Be.
Not Only Did It Prepare
John to Write this Story
But Also, It Prepared John
To Write His Entire First Epistle. (1 John).
And as a Result
1 John Therefore Becomes
Our Earliest
And Most Authoritative Commentary
On Jesus' “New Commandment.”
You See - John Totally Gets
This New Commandment.
But What About Us?
Do We Totally Get IT?
Do We Understand IT?
AND – IF - We Understand IT,
Then Do We Put This into Practice?
Do We Live Within This Type of Love?
CAN And DO Others Recognize Us
As Christians
Not Because We Go to Church,
But By How We Live Our Lives?
Apostle John says,
“Whoever Loves His Brother
Abides in The Light.”
(1John 2:10)
When We Love Each Other
In Obedience with The New Commandment,
We Are Loving Each Other
With The Type of Love of Jesus.
His Love
Is Being Perfected Within Our Love.
This Is Not Imitation, But Manifestation.
Our Lives Are In Jesus,
In The Light,
And Our Love Is His Love.
“Loving With His Love”
Recorded In John 15,
Jesus Shares with Us
More About His Type of Love.
In John 15, Christ Makes the Meaning Very Clear:
12 “This is My commandment, that you love one
another as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no one than this, that
someone lay down his life for his friends.
Yes. And How Do We Love Like That?
The Answer is found in John 15:9,
“As The Father Has Loved Me, So Have I Loved
You. Abide In My Love.”
This - Is - Our Newness!!!
This Is the New Commandment!!!
“Just As I Have Loved You,
You Also Are to Love One Another.”
Yes. - But How Do We Do This?
We Do This
By Not by Copying Jesus’ Fruit,
But By Connecting to Jesus’ Vine.
You Don’t Imitate. You Participate.
Our Love For Each Other
Is Not A Simulation Of His,
But Rather - A Manifestation Of His.
Dictionary describes Manifestation as:
An Event,
An Action,
Or An Object That Clearly Shows -
Or Embodies Something
“We Are the Branches.
Christ is The Vine.
If You Abide in Christ, You Can Bear Fruit,
And Prove to Be Jesus’ Disciples.” (John 15:8).
This Is How All People Know
You Are Truly My Disciples.
So, The Reason of the Love
Which We Have For Each Other
Shows That We Are Truly Jesus’ Disciples,
But It Is Only Possible
Because We Are Grafted
Into The Life and Love of Christ.
We Love as He Loved,
Because We Love with His Love.
So, “My Little Children!”
· In These Crucial Days,
o These Historic Days in The Life of Our Church,
§ This Is What Jesus Is Calling for Us.
“Just As I Have Loved You,
That You, Little Children,
Love One Another.”
Go In Feet-Washing-
Like Service To One Another.
Lay Down Your Lives,
Your Privileges,
For One Another.
Love Your Brothers and Sisters
Across All Racial and Ethnic Lines.
Love The Weakest
And Oldest
And Youngest.
Love The Disabled.
Love The Lonely Troublemaker.
You Are Right – Our Love
Cannot Atone for Anyone’s Sin!
However - You Can Do Something Like It,
That Is Because
“Above All,
Keep Loving One Another Earnestly,
Since Love Covers a Multitude of Sins.”
(1 Peter 4:8).
How Blessed Is the Church —
Especially the Church
Which Is Walking with The Lord,
Walking With and In God’s Love!
Love Is Supposed To Be
An Identifying Quality
Of Christians!
Now – This Is Not a Mushy Type of Love!
But Rather – It Is a Deep Concerning
Type Of
Welfare of Others!
And This LOVE
It is the
Opposite of Selfishness!
The Lord
Tells us to LOVE our neighbors.
Which Literally Means:
To Love Within
A Christ Love
For and Of
EVERYONE Who
We Come
Into Contact
With.
(Matthew 22:39)
But Here
Within John 13:35
John Describes A Different Love
A SPECIAL LOVE
A SPECIAL TYPE OF LOVE
WHICH IS BETWEEN BELIEVERS!
AND – IT IS
THIS TYPE OF LOVE
Which WE Need
To LOVE
So That It Is
Clearly
Visible
So that the
Entire World SEES!
Do We Have That Type Of LOVE?
Do You?
Within our
day,
We are
FLOODED with examples of
Arguments and
Lawsuits
And that is
between
Christians
and Non-Christians Alike.
We have become
So - Skeptical,
So -
Questioning
We Have become
So Far Removed
That We can’t Even - Accept
This type of Love.
It is NOW
NOW More than
Ever,
NOW We Need To Show
To Display
To Become
TO BE
This B-E-A-Utiful Testimony
of What True Christianity IS.
GOD’S TYPE OF LOVE
