What Are We Known For?
John 13:21–38 – That You May Believe
Fourth Sunday in Eastertide – May 11, 2025 (am)
Introduction
Last Week
Tim Kelly ~ Germany ~ pass along greetings from their church to ours
Jesus washes the disciples feet
Lesson: Don’t place limits to the extent to which we are willing to go to serve each other in Christ
We will continue on in this chapter today
As we do
· We see Jesus is turning his attention away from the larger mission to the Israel and is focusing it on his disciples
· He is doing so because he is aware that his hour had come to depart out of the world
· It is out of love for his disciples, he begins preparing them for this departure
· And in our passage today, we see Jesus preparing them for some pretty cataclysmic events that are about to happen
· Events that are going to shake this group of men to their core and call into question their very identity
Before we turn to the passage though, let’s consider for a moment the topic of identity
· So much of our human experience in this life is tied to our identity
· To the simple question: Who am I?
One of the ways we identify ourselves is through the groups that we belong to
Our ethnicity, Our gender, Our family, Our friends
The school we attended, the instrument we played, the sports team we cheer for, the music we listen to
Even in our individualistic, Western culture ~ we still find our identity in the groups we belong to
These groups have characteristics that set them apart from other groups
“This is how we drive in New York City”
“This is how we do pizza in Chicago”
“This is what our family gatherings are always like”
But then there are moments when a person or group’s identity is threatened, or even lost
And this happens when something that is at the core of that identity is threatened or lost entirely
The company you work for gets sold and is managed completely differently
The instrument you played is now unplayable due a sickness or injury
Such moments often result in what is called a crisis of identity
A crisis that causes those in them to question who they really are and how they are to live
In our passage today
· We see the disciples face three challenges to their identity as disciples of Jesus
· Three things that call into question who they are
· And in each instance, we hear a word from Jesus on how they are to overcome these challenges to their identity, and remain faithful to who they are as followers of Christ
· And my prayer is that Jesus’ words will be instruct and guide us as we go through similar experiences to what the disciples experienced.
1. One of you will betray me (21-30)
Exposition
· The first challenge to the disciples identity comes at the beginning of our passage Jesus’ words, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
· Up to this point in chapter 13, Judas and his approaching betrayal has been on the edge of Jesus instructions to his disciples, but now Jesus brings Judas onto center stage
· As he does, John tells us that Jesus was troubled in his spirit when he shares this news with his disciples
o The result is
§ First, each of the disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke (22)
· Tells us that this idea caught them off guard
· They didn’t suspect this to be the case
· In fact, they couldn’t reasonably conclude who He might be referring to
§ So Peter asks John to ask Jesus who it is (23-26)
· Jesus says “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.”
§ As Jesus gives it to Judas
· We ought to recall what Jesus said just a few verses earlier
· V. 18 – “He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me”
· A quotation from Psalm 41:9
· So now, as Judas takes Jesus bread ~ we see the moment when Scripture is fulfilled, as this is the moment when Judas decides to betray Jesus
§ Four things happen in that moment
· Satan enters Judas (27a)
o John’s window into the world Paul describes in Eph. 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
· Jesus, having served Judas by washing his feet & offering him a piece of bread, tells him to get on with what he intends to do (27b)
o Jesus dies of his own volition ~ John 10:8 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.
o Jesus knows what Judas has chosen
· Judas follows the impulses of his heart and is swallowed up by the night (30)
o Filled with Satan’s intentions, moved to action by Jesus’ words, in fulfilment of Scripture, and having decided in his heart what he would do
o He goes out
o And it was night ~ the darkest of nights ~ both physical and spiritual darkness, the hour of the betrayal of the Son of God
· The disciples still don’t understand (28-29)
Crisis of Identity for the Disciples
· While they don’t fully understand what just happened, they have seen enough to have their identity shaken
o This particular crisis is produced by the realization that the group they belonged to, the group known as the disciples of Jesus, had been infiltrated by an imposter.
· Can you imagine what this must have done to the disciples?
o Can you imagine what must have been going through their minds in those moments?
o To learn that the trust that existed between them had been broken,
o That one of their own was not who they had thought they were
o And that they’d played their part so well that none of them knew who the imposter might be
· When something like that happens, you start to wonder what it even means to be part of this group
o What does it even mean to be a disciple of Jesus if one of the inner 12 original disciples could turn out to be an imposter? A betrayer?
· When something like that happens, you may even begin to wonder if you want to remain part of this group
Perhaps we can relate
· We too are disciples of Jesus
· We too are gathered into groups
o Christian families
o Christian friend groups, small group Bible studies, mentoring relationships
o All under the heading of the local church
· If you live long enough, you will experience the moment when someone from those groups
o Perhaps someone you least suspect
o Turns out to be an imposter
o They leave the group and leave trail of pain and heartache in their wake
§ The father who raised his kids in using Christian family values has an affair and leaves his wife for a younger woman
§ The mentor who you’ve always looked up to becomes an atheist
§ The friend you prayed with, the pastor you sat under, the youth leader you were discipled by ~ chose money and power and pleasure over Christ
§ And leave you wondering who you are if you can continue in the faith knowing that they have abandoned it.
Jesus’ word to his disciples
· “I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.” (19)
o Sovereign foreknowledge
o Prophetic warning
o Why? So that their faith wouldn’t waver when they saw it happen
Jesus’ word to us
· Jesus has not told us specifically who the imposters are in our lives
o So we must be gracious and give the benefit of the doubt and seek repentance from those who seem to be such people
· But he has told us such people will exist
o Matt. 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
· When we see imposters exposed in our churches and communities of disciples
o Don’t lose your faith.
o He tells us about these events beforehand so that when it takes place, we may still believe that He is who He says He is
o As remember what he says in v. 18, “I know whom I have chosen” and Jesus never loses those he has chosen
2. Where I am going you cannot come (31-35)
Exposition
· When he had gone out
o Jesus turns his attention to the remaining 11 disciples to address another topic with them
o Judas’s betrayal is not the only threat to their identity
o Something even bigger is coming
· Jesus turns to his disciples to speak to them about his coming departure
o 13:1 Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world
o He returns to his upcoming departure and describes it on two planes
§ Big picture, Salvation history Plane
· “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.
· What is going to happen
· Indeed what is already in motion now
· Jesus’ departure ~ his death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven ~ is to be understood in terms of glory, for it will show forth the character and purpose of God as he wins back, once and for all, his wayward bride and betroths her to himself through the sacrifice of His Son.
§ Down to earth, relational plane
· Little Children – tender, loving
· “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.” (33)
Crisis of Identity
This pronouncement yields another crisis of identity for the disciples
We feel this crisis in Peter’s responses in vv. 36 and 37.
With a note of desperation and perhaps panic we hear him ask:
“Lord, where are you going?”
“Lord, why can I not follow you now?”
Jesus’s announcement of his coming departure causes a crisis in identity because, up to this point, the disciples group identity had been defined by their proximity to Jesus Christ
He was their teacher and they were his students
They were the men who followed, and ate meals with, traveled beside, and served under the real, physical, in the flesh man known as Jesus from Nazareth
And now Jesus is telling them, in verse 33, that he is about to leave them.
Their group was formed and existed around Jesus, and they are about lose this defining characteristic
Who will they be once he’s gone?
Will they even have reason to continue if he is no longer with them?
Perhaps you can relate
There are many things that play a significant role in our identities today that, when lost, cause a crisis of identity
When a woman loses her husband or her children, it leads to a crisis in her identity as a wife or mother
When the company we’ve worked at for 50 years closes its doors, it leads to a crisis in our professional identity
When an injury takes away our ability to do the things we love, it leads to a crisis in so far as we identified with that activity
Those who have gone through this know how devastating it can be
And how it leaves us wrestling with who we are and what our purpose might be now that this central part of our identity is gone
This can happen in churches as well
When their building is destroyed by a tornado
When a beloved pastor retires or moves away
When your group of close friends decide to leave the church
We are left wondering who we are and if we can continue on as a church family
What does Jesus have to say to us in such situations?
Jesus’ word to his disciples
· Jesus addresses this crisis by teaching his disciples what ought to define them once he was gone
John 13:34-35 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.”
The new defining characteristic in light of Jesus’ absence was to be their love for one another
So how is it a new command?
What is new about this commandment is not the fact that it calls Jesus’ disciples to love one another, but rather that it calls us to love one another “just as I has loved you.”
So what does Jesus mean by this?
How were the disciples to love “just as” Jesus had loved them?
Immediate context – Serving one another ~ Jesus washed their feet, they were to follow his example
Defined further - "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. (15:12-13)
Humble service to the extent of laying down their lives for one another
Who is the object of this love? ~ one another, each other, fellow disciples
Summary ~ Jesus’ answer to the crisis caused by his departure is that the disciples were
Not to focus on losing the person of Jesus Christ & the love they had received from him on earth
But to take up Jesus’ love for them & continue to show it forth to one another
Which means that their new identity was actually not all that different from their old identity
They were still to be identified with Christ and with Christ’s love ~ but in his physical absence, they were not just to be the recipients of Jesus’ love, they were to be the ones who show it forth.
Loving in the way Jesus loved them.
That was to be their new identity, and it would be what set them apart from the world around us.
Jesus’ word to us
So also, this is our calling as Christians today
While we will not experience this crisis in the same way the disciples did
We don’t stand to lose the bodily presence of Jesus with us
But we do fall under the temptation to define ourselves and our churches by things that ought not ultimately define us.
We are to be known, as Christians, first and foremost by our Christ like love for one another
And it would be good for us to recognize, at this point, that this is not purely a command to imitate Jesus (though that is part of it)
The act of loving as Jesus loves goes beyond imitation
When John picks up this topic again in John 15, he tells us to “Abide in my love”
If we’re to obey Jesus’ command to love as he has loved, we must see that this is done by abiding in His love
Not just his past love demonstrated during his life and death
But also his present love for us
For in dying for us, Jesus’ love for us didn’t come to an end, it became accessible to all who would repent and believe in him
So loving one another is more than imitating, it is also abiding, receiving Jesus love, remaining in it, and then showing it forth to those around us.
When we love like that, people won’t just know us as Jesus’ disciples, they’ll come to know Jesus too ~ for they will see and experience him in so far as they see and experience our love for one another.
Theologian John Calvin once said, “In the cross of Christ, as in a splendid theatre, the incomparable goodness of God is set before the whole world.”
This passage is telling us that, “In the Christlike love of one Christian towards another, as in a splendid theatre, the incomparable love of God is set before the whole world.”
3. You cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward (36-38)
Exposition
· Peter questions Jesus about where he is going and Jesus answers him
o Two key words in Jesus’ answer
o Two words that are not present in Jesus’ pronouncement to the 11 that he would be leaving
o Those are the words “now” and “afterward”
§ “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”
o Those two words tell Peter that this is not a forever separation, but rather a temporal one.
o They are incredibly disturbing in one sense and comforting in another
§ Disturbing – Jesus is headed to the cross
· the path of discipleship is one of taking up our cross
· Tradition holds that Peter was crucified upside down
§ Comforting – Jesus is headed to glory
· The path of discipleship is one that leads to glory
· To dwelling with Jesus forever
· Peter is not ready to receive this answer yet, so he asks why he cannot come and says he is ready even to lay down his life for Jesus
o Jesus responds with a question that carries a note of irony to it
§ Will you lay down your life for me?
o Then he makes the devastating pronouncement upon Peter that he will deny Jesus three times.
Crisis of Identity
· The third and final crisis of identity is the crisis that results from the realization that Peter himself is going to deny Jesus.
o We’re not talking about Judas any more
o We’re talking about Peter, one of the inner three disciples, the leader of the disciples, the on whom Jesus said he would build his church.
· Surely this would have caused a stir among the disciples themselves
o But it would have hit closest to home with Peter
o And quite frankly, he doesn’t believe it.
o Despite rebuking Jesus earlier in his life and being called Satan to his face, he assures himself once again that the one he has come to recognize as the Son of God must be mistaken.
· But for the sake of our identifying with Peter
o We know how this story goes
o Jesus is not mistaken and Peter does deny him and when he does, he runs from Jesus’ trial in bitter agony.
Perhaps you can relate
· We should all be able to relate to Peter
· We’ve all experienced this crisis of identity
o You call yourself a Christian, and yet you fail to follow Christ
o You say he is Lord of your life, and yet you submit yourself again to your old idolatrous patterns
o You say you’ll never sin in that way again, and then you willingly walk right back in your addiction
o You look in the mirror and rather than seeing someone who loves and follows Christ, you see someone who seems like they are still in love with themselves and following the ways of the world ~ and you wonder if you can even call yourself a Christian.
· What does Jesus have to say to people like that? People like us?
Jesus’ word to his disciple & to us
· We’ve already heard what Jesus had to say, and it is in that statement where he says “now” and “afterwards”
o On one level, it is an answer to Peter’s question
o On another level, it is a promise in the face of Peter’s future failure
§ Though he has not yet told him, Jesus knows that Peter will deny him
§ And before he draws attention to the denial, he has already told Peter that there will be an “afterwards”
§ Peter’s denial is not the end of his story with Jesus.
§ Luke captures a similar dynamic:
· Luke 22:31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
§ Both in John and in Luke, Jesus’ statements about there being an “afterward” for Peter, and a moment when he will “turn again”, in both cases they precedes Peter’s statement that he would never deny Jesus.
· There is great hope for us in that
· Even before we deny Jesus, even before we fail him, he has already said ~
o When you return, here is what I want you to do
o After you fail, you will still follow me
Conclusion
So at the conclusion of our passage, we see that in light of three threats to the disciples identity, and to our own, Jesus offers three words of instruction
· When an imposter is identified in our midst ~ he tells us to believe and to keep the faith, for he has already forewarned that such people will exist
· When we lose what once identified us as Christians ~ he points us back to what ought to be the defining characteristic of all Christians, which is loving one another as Jesus has loved us
· When we see in ourselves the ability to deny and fail our Lord and Savior ~ he gives us the hope in the truth that there will come another day, a day when we will turn again to him, and join him afterward in glory.
So we might say with Paul at this point that, “Faith, Hope, and Love remain ~ but the greatest of these is Love”
· The characteristic I want us to focus on today
· The one that defines us to the world around us
· Is Love
What are we known for? ~ We as a church?
· Churches are known for many things
o Their architecture
o Their preacher
o Their doctrine
o Their historical significance
· But what Jesus would have us be known for is our Christlike love for one another
· Is that your experience here at Grace Church?
o Which leads to my second question
What is your contribution to what we are known for?
· You personally
· How does your conduct in this place shape the way we are known?
· Don’t think your contribution doesn’t matter.
· How does your service here, your ministry here, your speech here, the state of your relationships here, what you value here ~ contribute to what we are known for.
Let’s us pray that we will be known by our love.
What are you known for? ~ Encourage us to reflect
· What are you known for?
o What is your defining characteristic?
o What would people within this church say about you?
o What would people outside this church say about you?
· The Example of Sarah Smith from The Great Divorce by CS Lewis
o A heavenly being who was accompanied by a procession of many people
§ People dancing about her
§ Singing and honoring the woman in their midst
§ Not only that, she was also many animals
o Assuming she must have been someone very great on earth – the author begins to guess who she might be
o But before he can even get a name out, his guide tells him she is no one he would have heard of
o For her name was Sarah Smith (a very common name) and while on earth she was considered to have very little importance, she was one of the great ones up in heaven whose fame spread far and wide
o And the reason for her fame and her procession was that, in the words of CS Lewis:
§ “Every young man or boy that met her became her son—even if it was only the boy that brought the meat to her back door. Every girl that met her was her daughter.” (120)
§ “Every beast and bird that came near her had it’s place in her love.”
o Her greatness in heaven was due to the simple fact that she allowed Christ’s love to define her on earth, and then showed forth that love to all who were around her.
· What is this church known for?
o What would people who visit your church say defines this group of people?
o What would those who work in the buildings next door say characterizes their interactions with the people who walk in here each Sunday?
o What would be the first thing that comes to their minds?
o Would they say this church is one full of
§ gifted communicators
§ or wise counselors?
§ or generous givers?
§ or ardent apologists?
o Or would they say it is a place full of people who show a love for one another that is utterly selfless and entirely lifegiving?
o Would they see the love of someone who was willing to give up everything, even their own lives, for the good of those around them?
· Let us pray that this would be increasingly true of you and of Grace Church of DuPage in the days to come.
Study Notes
Intro
And in our text today, something very similar to this is happening for the group of disciples Jesus had assembled around him.
A cataclysmic event was approaching that would challenge their very identity
Knowing this ~ Jesus says what he does to them in this passage,
not only to prepare them for what is coming,
but also to teach them what must become the new defining characteristic of this group once it does.
A Key to Assurance and Missions
Now there is one more phrase in this passage that I want to highlight for us ~ and I want to highlight it because it speaks to see how this new commandment leads to a double blessing for the church.
This double blessing comes in the idea that “all people” – those inside and outside the church – will know us, identify us, by the way we love one another – a few things stand out to me
If love is to identify us to those inside and outside the church, then how we love one another is a central piece of both our assurance and missions
Assurance – that gift of being sure we belong to Jesus and will one day be saved
So in light of 2 Peter 1:10 and your theme verse for the year “Be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure”
One of the ways we accomplish this is by leaning into Jesus’ command to love one another as we have been loved by him
· For as Peter says earlier in chapter 1 - “make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly affection with love.”
· Then he goes on to say: “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” and allow you to “Be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure”
When we love in this way ~ we prove to ourselves that we belong, that we are among the disciples of Jesus Christ
And as we do so, we also accomplish missions
For the watching world looks in on our community and they see something they don’t see anywhere else.
They see people who love one another but aren’t just trying to get something out of the relationship
They see people who do things for one another simply to serve each other, not towards some self serving end
They see humility rather than pride
These things do not characterize our world, they only characterize Christ, and as such, churches that live this way put Christ on display.
Context:
· The Last Supper
o Is there discrepancy in the timing of this meal between John and the synoptics?
§ “The solution that carries the fewest difficulties argues that the Synoptic chronology is correct: Jesus and his disciples did indeed eat a Passover meal on Thursday, the beginning of 15 Nicsan. John’s Gospel, rightly interpreted, does not contradict this chronology . . .” (Carson, 457)
§ Carson points out that John clearly understood this meal to be a Passover celebration.
o Why does John omit explicit mention of the institution of the Lord’s Supper?
§ Some point to John 6 and suggest it is because of Jesus’ treatment of such things there – Carson reads John 6 quite differently, arguing that John 6 and the rest of the Gospel are more concerned with pointing to Jesus as the bread of life and emphasizing him as the source of eternal life that mention of the Lord’s Supper, and already established rite by the time John wrote, is omitted.
· Washing the disciples’ feet
12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ 19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”
· Quoting Psalm 41:9
o Not a messianic Psalm, as David confesses sin in it (v. 4), yet it is prophetic.
o David is a type or model of the son who was prophesied to come after him. Not everything that happened to David finds fulfillment in Jesus, yet many of the broad themes of his life are understood to point to the experience of his long awaited Son.
o Themes routinely applied to Christ from David’s life are those of suffering, weakness, betrayal by friends, and discouragement.
o Betrayal by the one who shares bread is particularly heinous when we understand the customs of the day for hospitality and courtesy.
· Jesus’ purpose in foretelling this event
o Clearly, in v. 19, we see Jesus is being very intentional in telling the other disciples about this beforehand
o The purpose being that they would believe in Jesus even when it does happen
o Specifically – that they might believe “I AM”
· Receiving those sent
o A precursor to the commissioning to come after his resurrection
o A confirmation of v. 19, that Jesus is “I AM” – intimately tied to the one who sent him
o Taking vv. 18-20 together, Jesus predicts the betrayal of one, that the rest may believe, and having believed, go and win more to Christ & the Father.
Sermon Text
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.”
· Flows from the previous paragraph.
· “The reason why he now takes the pains to show that inclusion of Judas was not an oversight or a sign of weakness on his part is so that their faith might be strengthened for the critical hour.” (Carson, 470)
· Consider the significance of Jesus’ troubled spirit
o It must have been visible, and caught the attention of his disciples
o Think of all Jesus has done and accomplished before the disciples – all that didn’t trouble him up to this point
o How must that have impacted them? What does this tell us about Christ?
· Consider the evil of Judas’ betrayal
o That it would trouble Jesus
o The betrayal of the Son of God to death, for money
· Consider the position Jesus put Judas in at this moment
o His intentions were known, would he go forward with his plot or renounce his evil in the face of his troubled master and beg forgiveness?
22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke.
23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?”
· The disciple whom Jesus loved
o The first use of this term in John, most likely referring to John, the author
o He casts himself as having a similar relationship to Jesus as Jesus has with His Father (1:18), one where he is in the bosom of another (see Greek rendering).
o Not a proud claim, but humble admission of his indebtedness to grace and refusal to share the platform (by name) with Jesus
o A model for those who read the gospel – we are to know ourselves as the beloved and keep the spotlight on Jesus
· Reclining at table
o Carson says this indicates it was a special meal, as most of the time they just sat, thus it was likely the Passover.
o A sign of unhurried celebration and freedom – in contrast with the haste with which the first Passover was eaten on the night of the exodus
· Leaning back against Jesus
o Laying his head on Jesus’ chest – most likely
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.”
· Why does Jesus reveal who it is?
· Why does he do so in this manner?
· What is the significance of the sequence of events – Jesus gives him the morsel, then Satan enters into him?
o “A final gesture of supreme love” (474) – that is how Carson understands Jesus’ actions. Sitting near Judas, he serves him with gentleness and courtesy.
o In this climactic moment, there exists the love of God for sinners, human freedom to choose, and a satanic temptation. Unaffected by Christ’s loving gesture, Judas chooses to yield himself to Satanic possession and hardens his resolve to carry out what he had been planning.
o Jesus’ words to Judas – “do quickly” may be a comparative meaning do more quickly than you even were planning. In other words, get on with your treachery and be done with it. (Carson, 475)
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.
· No one knew
o Though certainly something was beginning to dawn upon them, especially John, given what Jesus had just told him.
o Yet John does nothing, so we assume he too is still wondering at the meaning and significance of what has just happened.
o With the unthinkable being told and shown to them by Jesus (betrayal by one of their own), they all revert to an explanation that makes more sense (he was going to buy food or give to the poor). It is possible they understood him to be buying food for the feast of Unleavened Bread which began that night and lasted 7 days or that he was following the custom to give alms to the poor on Passover night. (Carson, 475)
· He immediately went out
o Carson notes: “Even in this detail, Jesus makes it clear that no-one takes his life from him: he voluntarily lays it down (10:18).” (476)
· It was night
o Both historical reminiscence and profound theology (Carson, 476)
o “Judas was swallowed up by the most awful darkness, indeed by outer darkness (Mt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30). Judas was heading to his own place (cf. 1:5; 3:19-21; Acts 1:25). But in another way it was also the night time for Jesus: it was the hour of the power of darkness (Lk. 22:53).” (Carson, 476)
o Tim Keller – the darkness of that night would pierce Jesus’ own soul
The Farewell Discourse: Part 1 (13:31-14:31)
· Carson points out six points of debate
o 1. Where does the discourse begin? 14:1 or 13:31? If 13:31, then the departure of Judas is seen as the major turning point.
o 2. What do we make of 14:31 and 18:1 and when and where are they going at those times? How do they impact our understanding of the structure of the Farewell Discourse?
o 3. Issues with source criticism which he largely dismisses
o 4. The naming of the “farewell discourse” is not accurate, as Jesus will come back, yet the genre of a farewell discourse was well known and Jesus’ words fit within it
o 5. Five references to the “Paraclete”
o 6. Who is the intended audience of this section – believers or unbelievers? Carson argues for the latter – as he feels that is John’s intended audience throughout – saying that every unbeliever needs to know Jesus’ mission, learn how to abide/remain in Jesus, how to live like a Christian, and a willingness to suffer for their faith – all themes in this section.
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.
· Now
o With Judas in the act of betrayal, the hour has now come for Jesus to be glorified, as Carson says, “the actual machinery of arrest, trial and execution [are now in] motion.” (482)
· Glorified
o John understands the hour of Jesus’ glorification to be the hour of his death – indicated by the title the “Son of Man” – a title associated in John with both glory (Dan. 7) and suffering (Synoptics)
· God is glorified in him
o “Jesus, by perfectly revealing the Father to human beings, has brought glory to the Father (17:4).
· Verse 32
o “God is glorified in Jesus’ temporal obedience, sacrifice, death, resurrection and exaltation – one event; Jesus is glorified in the same event, in the eternal presence and essence of his heavenly Father, partly because by this event he re-enters the glory he had with the Father before the Word became incarnate (1:14), before the world began (17:5). The entire event displays the saving sovereignty of God, God’s dawning kingdom.” (Carson, 483)
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.’
· Coming departure
o A dominant theme of the farewell discourse is for Jesus to prepare his disciples for his departure
o Key detail is that the disciples won’t be able to come with him to where he is going
§ 14:1-3 Jesus will clarify he goes to prepare a place for them
· Little Children
o Jesus is fulfilling the role of head of family during the Passover meal
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.”
· Flow of thought
o “Having announced his departure, and having insisted that his disciples cannot now come with him (v. 33), Jesus begins to lay out what he expects of them while he is away.” (Carson, 483) However, since the disciples can’t get over Jesus’ impending departure – evidenced by Peter’s question in v. 36 – Jesus must address his departure before returning to this topic later on in chapter 15.
· A new command
o Latin Vulgate = mandatum novum, from which we get “Maundy Thursday” – the anniversary of the last supper and new commandment (Carson, 484, ft. nt. 1)
o Simultaneously simple and profoundly challenging
o Standard = love as Jesus loved, just exemplified in footwashing that pointed to his death (13:6-10)
§ “The more we recognize the depth of our own sin, the more we recognize the love of the Saviour; the more we appreciate the love of the Saviour, the higher his standard appears; the higher his standard appears, the more we recognize in our selfishness, our innate self-centredness, the depth of our own sin. With a standard like this, no thoughtful believer can ever say, this side of the Parousia, ‘I am perfectly keeping the basic stipulation of the new covenant.’” (Carson, 484)
o New
§ “Its newness is bound up not only with the new standard (As I have loved you) but with the new order it both mandates and exemplifies. . . . It is not just that the standard is Christ and his love; more, it is a command designed to reflect the relationship of love that exists between the Father and the Son (cf. 8:29; 10:18; 12:49-50; 14:31; 15:10), designed to bring about amongst the members of the nascent messianic community the kind of unity that characterizes Jesus and his Father (Jn. 17). The new command is therefore not only the obligation [to respond to God’s love] it is a privilege which, rightly lived out, proclaims the true God before a watching world.” (Carson, 485)
· Love one another
o Jesus is not saying they are to love those outside the discipleship community less, but that they are to love one another more – their love for one another ought to reflect their status and experience as children of God as they reflect the mutual love of Father and Son and imitate the love shown to them
· By this all people will know you are my disciples
o This is how Carson concludes that following this command proclaims the true God before a watching world
o “Orthodoxy without principial obedience to this characteristic command of the new covenant is merely so much humbug.” (Carson, 485)
· New Commandment Revisited
o John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 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. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?”
· Peter shifts the focus of this passage back to Jesus’ departure with this question
Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”
· Jesus is speaking of death & glory, Peter will follow him later in death and then being welcomed into glory.
37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
· Peter speaks out of confused devotion
· Irony – who will lay down his life for who? – Jesus draws attention to this in v. 38
· Yet Peter will lay down his life for Jesus at the end of his life
38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.
· “Sadly, good intentions in a secure room after good food are far less attractive in a darkened garden with a hostile mob. At this point in his pilgrimage, Peter’s intentions and self-assessment vastly outstrip his strength.” (Carson, 486)
–––––––––––––––
Works Consulted
Carson, D.A. The Gospel According to John. William B Eerdmans Publishing Company: Grand
Rapids, 1991.
NEXT SUNDAY: Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled, John 14:1–31