Love One Another (2)
Notes
Transcript
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.”
36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”
37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
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.
From Last Week:
Before we get into our passage today, I wanted to mention something that I left out of last week’s sermon. After the service someone asked me about it, and I think it may be helpful to address this issue for our understanding.
Was Judas responsible for his action of betraying Christ?
One thing we noted last week is that Judas’s betrayal of Christ was prophesied 1000 years before it happened. So someone might say, well then, he really didn’t have a choice then, did he? He had to do it since that was what the prophecy said.
But that’s not quite a right understanding of the relationship between God’s sovereignty and our responsibility. Even though God is sovereign over all things and he has planned how all things will turn out, many of these things happen through the free choices of people. God did not force Judas to betray Christ - Judas betrayed him because he wanted to. Judas was acting in his own free will when he made his choice to betray Jesus.
James actually tells us to beware this thinking: “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” (James 1:13) God is not tempting us to do evil or causing us to do evil - God is not morally responsible for our wrong choices, we are. We act out of our own free desires when we sin. This is true for us, and it was true for Judas.
Another objection to Judas’s responsibility for his action is that John 13:27 says that Satan entered into Judas, and this was before he had actually betrayed him.
27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
So was Satan responsible for Judas’s betrayal of Jesus, or was Judas? Biblically speaking, I think the answer has to be YES. BOTH.
Satan was most definitely working against Jesus and trying to get him destroyed or make his work ineffective. But Judas was also against Jesus.
Judas was not a helpless victim that Satan overpowered and used for evil purposes. Judas was sold out to evil before the devil ever put it in his heart to betray Jesus. He was greedy for money. The offer of 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus captivated Judas’s greedy heart and this sinful desire led to his sinful action.
The devil definitely had a hand in it, yet the Bible does not allow us to blame Satan for the wrong choices we make. Whatever evil influence he has, ultimately the root of our sin lies in ourselves, in our twisted and evil desires that lead us away from God and into sin. As James says again, “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” (James 1:14)
So God is not to be blamed for Judas’s sin, nor is Satan. Judas himself chose to betray the Son of God, and he will be held morally accountable for that free choice.
The Context
Jesus has just told them that one of the 12 apostles would be his betrayer, and he has hinted at his coming death.
This passage begins what is known as the Farewell Discourse: Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure - both his death and his later ascension to heaven.
In the following 3 chapters this is a conversation between Jesus and his disciples, and so as questions come up from the disciples, it may seem like these are random teachings from Jesus all carelessly combined into one message - but it’s a conversation.
And as in any conversation, there are twists and turns, and it may not have the same logical progression or structure of a sermon or letter, but there are several important themes that we will see over and over in these next few chapters:
Love - Jesus’s love for his disciples, Jesus’s love for the Father, the Father’s love for Jesus, the disciples’ love for one another, their love for Jesus, etc.
The Holy Spirit - who he is, what he does for believers and for the world
The departure and return of Jesus (both referring to his death & resurrection as well as his ascension & 2nd coming)
Prayer - the disciples’ prayer and Jesus’s
Jesus’s relationship with the Father and his revelation of the Father
Jesus’s unity with the Father and his desire for the unity of believers
… and more
As Jesus is preparing to leave his disciples, he has something of greatest importance to tell them, which he clearly states in this passage. But as we’ll see, the disciples are so upset at the thought of him leaving them that they miss this all important teaching here. But Jesus keeps coming back to it, and clearly the fact that it’s here tells us that they did eventually get it.
The Departure of Jesus (v. 33)
The Departure of Jesus (v. 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.’
What Jesus says here in v. 33 is what he said to the Jewish leaders back in ch. 7-8. Now he says the same thing to his disciples, because his time on earth is drawing to a close.
“Yet a little while I am with you.” - Jesus is saying that he will only be with his disciples a little while longer. This is troubling and confusing to them, which is why at the beginning of ch. 14, Jesus tells them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”
“Where I am going you cannot come.” - This is probably even more confusing and bewildering to the disciples. This is the phrase that Peter latches onto and asks about in v. 36, and Jesus deals with it more fully in ch. 14.
There are probably two things Jesus means by this, which he will go on to explain more fully in the following verses and chapters, but for now let’s consider,
1. Jesus was going to die on the cross for our sins.
This was one thing that Jesus meant. They could not go with him and do what he was going to do, because he was the only one that could do this. Only Jesus could make the perfect atonement by his death on the cross so that all our sins are forgiven and we’re restored to a right relationship with God by faith. Only Jesus could do this, because he alone is perfect, and he alone is the Son of God and the Son of Man. No one, not even his closest disciples, could do what Jesus was about to do.
2. Jesus was going to ascend to the Father.
His disciples couldn’t follow him in his death, but they also wouldn’t follow him in his ascension. First, because he is God and the King of the Universe, and only He has the right to sit at the right hand of the Father. Also, because Jesus was going to give them a mission to accomplish as his apostles, with the help of the Holy Spirit whom he would send, before they could be with him again. And even then, they would have to die to go be with Jesus, and they will not have new bodies like He does until the resurrection.
So at least in these senses, they could not go where he was going - either in his death or in his ascension.
Jesus will go on in chapter 14 and beyond to tell his disciples more about where he is going and what he is going to do, but right now he wants them and us to learn this new commandment in v. 34.
The Command for the Disciples
The Command for the Disciples
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.”
Often when people are preparing to die, they have important parting words that they want to leave with family members and friends. This is what I want you to remember after I’m gone. That’s what Jesus is doing here. He just told them in so many words that he’s leaving them, and as he does, he wants them to remember this important truth. We’ll see that they totally miss it here, but Jesus graciously comes back to it over and over again to help them understand it.
For whom is this command?
This command is given to the 11 remaining apostles after Judas Iscariot has left. But is this command only for them?
I think not. This same command is spoken several times to the 11 apostles, but then this is passed on to all believers. Consider the following Scriptures which say the same thing or very similar words about the necessity of love in all believers, not just the apostles.
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.
17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
Leviticus 19:18 (ESV)
18 ... you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
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.”
Why does Jesus give them a command?
Perhaps this is so obvious that it doesn’t need to be said, but Jesus is giving them this command because he has the right to. He is the Lord and Master not only of these disciples, but of the whole universe. He is the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, he is God, the Creator and Sustainer. He is the one who has the right to command our obedience. And not only that, he has set us the supreme example by his own love.
What’s new about this command?
In a sense, the command to love is not really a new command. We read Leviticus 19 which tells us to love our neighbor. Jesus quoted this in Matthew 22 and elsewhere when he was asked about the most important commands (Love God and love others). So the command to love others isn’t new. What’s new then?
1. A New Standard of Love
“Just as I have loved you”
How has Christ loved them (and us)?
He just got down and washed their feet.
He, the eternal God, took on flesh and came into our broken world which he made.
He had lived a perfect life which included a lot of suffering, which he did for us.
He was about to be betrayed, wrongfully condemned, and die on the cross for our sins.
He would rise from the dead for us.
He would send his Spirit into the heart of believers and give us the hope of eternal life with him.
To put it briefly, He gave everything for us. He made the greatest sacrifice for us.
He gave us physical life, he gives us spiritual life, and he gives us everything that we have.
This is the greatest love. This is the love that has always existed in the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And this is the love which we receive from him by faith when we trust in Christ.
So this is a new standard of love.
2. A Supernatural Ability to Love
In the context of the Last Supper, which they are just finishing, we read in the other Gospels that Jesus inaugurates the new covenant with his blood, symbolized by the cup of wine in the Lord’s Supper. One of the promises of the New Covenant is the transformation of heart by the Spirit. God would put his Spirit within the members of the New Covenant Community (believers), so that they could truly know him and obey his commands.
The problem with the Old Covenant was not so much in the covenant itself, but in the people’s lack of ability to obey its commands. We read in Hebrews 8:7-8, that “if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them...”
That is, the problem with the Old Covenant wasn’t that the covenant was bad or wrong, but that the people were unable to keep it. The New Covenant was necessary because of Israel’s inability to keep God’s laws. Moses says as much in Deuteronomy 29:4, “But to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.” The people of Israel were unable to obey God’s laws and keep his covenant, which is why they needed a New Covenant with better promises (Hebrews 8:6).
So in the New Covenant, God also gives laws, but now he also gives the ability to obey. He gives his Spirit to every believer, and it is the Spirit that enables us to obey. The Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit which is love.
So even though the command to love is not new, the supernatural ability to obey this command is new.
What does it mean to love?
It’s important also for us to consider what is meant by love. Many of us have been believers for a long time and may take this for granted, but it’s important to remind ourselves.
The world’s definition of love is very different from God’s.
When the world talks about love, most of the time they are talking about feelings that people have for one another, and in many cases it even refers to the physical intimacy between people. Many people in the world only think of sexual passion or desire when they think of love, and even that sexual desire is being twisted in many different ways in our culture today.
The world also thinks of love as acceptance or tolerance. People may even call us unloving or bigots or other worse names if we don’t accept their view of reality and truth. But love without truth is not true love. If we want to be really loving, we cannot accept a lie. The most loving thing we can do is speak the truth, because people who are living a lie cannot draw near to God and receive his love, which is what they need most.
True, biblical love means sacrificing ourselves for the wellbeing of another person. Giving our time, energy, money, or other resources for the good of someone else. This is what Christ did for us. He made the greatest sacrifice for our greatest good.
Make sure you don’t let the culture define love for you; let God define it for you.
Love is self-sacrifice for the good of others. That’s what biblical love is.
Whom are we to love?
The focus of this passage is love for one another - that is, love for other believers and followers of Christ.
Elsewhere the Scriptures tell us to love our enemies, to love everyone, and of course to love God. Here the focus is on other believers.
And I think the most practical application of this is in the local church. We cannot possibly show this love to every believer everywhere in the world. There are like a billion of us, so we must focus on those around us—those within our immediate family, our church family, and other believers around us.
Paul says this in Galatians 6:10
10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Not that we are to love only other believers, but that other believers should be our priority as we seek to demonstrate this love from God.
What is the purpose of this love?
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.”
The purpose of this love is to demonstrate that we are true followers of Jesus Christ for the glory of God.
If we love each other like Christ loved us, we will display the glory (character, attributes) of God. God is love, and by demonstrating this kind of love, we demonstrate the reality of God. As John says in 1 John 4:12
12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
We make the invisible God visible by our love for one another. We demonstrate to the watching world that God is real and that he lives within us.
The Self-Confidence of Peter
The Self-Confidence of Peter
So Jesus has just given them this most important commandment as he prepares to leave them, and instead of listening to this all important teaching, Peter (and probably all of the other apostles) are distracted with other details.
36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 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.
Instead of wanting to learn more about what it means to love one another as Jesus loves them, Peter wants the details of what Jesus is going to do and where he is going to go. He is distracted with the details and misses the most important thing that Jesus just told him.
How often does this happen to us?
Both individually and as the church, we often get sidetracked from the most important thing and instead focus on details of lesser importance.
Instead of focusing on loving others like Jesus, we get distracted by many things; some of them are important, but not as important as what Jesus tells us here.
Peter got distracted with the details of Jesus’s departure; I think today the church often gets distracted with details about his return.
Instead of working hard at loving one another like Jesus loves us, many in the church are busy looking for signs of his return, details about who the antichrist is, who the false prophet is, what is the mark of the beast, and all of the other fantastic details of Revelation and other prophecy.
And I don’t mean to imply that these details are unimportant, but they pale in comparison to the importance of this command from Jesus. So let’s not get distracted from what is most important like Peter did here.
v. 36
36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”
“Lord, where are you going?” - Jesus will deal with this more in chapter 14. He does not give Peter an answer here.
“You cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” - In both of the ways we discussed earlier, Peter would follow Jesus. He would die for Jesus (according to tradition, upside down on a cross) and he would follow him to heaven. But not now — later he would follow, only after Jesus went to prepare the way.
v. 37
37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
“Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” - Peter is confident that he is willing to lay his life down for Jesus. He’s willing to die for Jesus. But Jesus knows his heart, and he knows that Peter is not really ready to do that. Many years later, Peter did lay down his life for Jesus, but right now his faith is weak, and Jesus knows it.
v. 38
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.
“The rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.” - The other Gospels tell us that even after this prophecy from Jesus, Peter and the other disciples deny that they would ever deny Jesus. They believe that they are ready and willing to die for him. But Jesus knew better.
Thankfully, this was not the end of the story for Peter or the other disciples. Peter did go on to deny Jesus like Jesus predicted, and all his disciples abandoned him and fled, but at the end of this Gospel in John 21, Jesus takes time to restore Peter.
Peter would go on to be one of the most prominent apostles, preaching at Pentecost with 3000 trusting Christ in his first message.
The difference was then that he was no longer relying on his own power and ability but on the power of the Holy Spirit in him. We also will fail if we rely on ourselves, but by the power of God’s Spirit we can accomplish amazing things if we will depend on Him.
Application:
Application:
Receive the love of Jesus for yourself.
“As I have loved you”
Love others like He loves you.
