John 13:31~38
31 When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.
32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
33 "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
36 Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."
37 Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you."
38 Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!
I. Message:
Content:
- Jesus claimed that both the Father and the Son will be glorified (v. 31~32)
- Jesus foretold His departure (to be crucified) (v. 33)
- Jesus gave the command to love one another (v. 34~35)
- Jesus discussed with Peter about the place He is going to (v. 36)
- Jesus foretold Peter’s three different occasions in disowning Him (v. 37~38)
Themes:
- The Son of Man glorified
- Love one another
II. Who is God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit?
- Jesus Christ glorified (v. 31)
- God, glorified in Jesus Christ (v. 31)
- Jesus Christ, glorified in God (v. 32)
- Jesus Christ, soon to be crucified (v. 33)
- Jesus Christ gave a new command in loving one another (v. 34)
- Jesus Christ gave a model to follow in loving one another (v. 34)
- Jesus Christ sees through everything (v. 38)
III. What does the passage teach us (about commands, promises, examples, exhortations and warnings)?
- The Father and the Son glorified in each other
31 When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.
32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
Jesus said already that the moment when He gave up His life is the moment when He is glorified (12:23~29). Once again, Jesus talks about mutual glory.
- Father God is glorified in the Son; the Son of Man is fully obedient and brings glory to the Father;
- Father God intends to glorify the Son of Man; Jesus obeyed completely to the point of giving up His life. God resurrected Him, sit Him at His right hand, made His Name above all names, made all knees to bow and made Him the Lord of creation. Father God did all that to glorify the Son of Man.
Reflections: am I a good witness to Jesus in daily life? Am I glorifying God in my life?
- Jesus departs to prepare a place for us
33 "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. 36 Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."
Jesus clearly explains that He leaves them to prepare a place for them in the two verses above. It is also written in chapter 14: “1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” “6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The above verses allow us to know that Jesus’ departure is temporary; He returned to the Father to prepare a place for us. Once the place is ready, He will come to take us there.
Reflections: do I have any doubt in Jesus’ promise to prepare a place for us? Do I look forward to go to this place?
- Command to love one another
34 "A new command I give you: Love one another.
7 Love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 […], because God is love. (1 John 4:7~8)
God is love. Jesus is love as well. As He leaves, He commanded all disciples to love one another. Therefore, as His disciples, we must love one another.
Therefore this passage does not indicate that God blinded their eyes on purpose. Instead, He did not force them to believe and left them to their own. For everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. In contrast, everyone who does not love is not born of God and doesn’t know Him.
Reflections: do I obey the command to love one another? Am I a Christian that truly knows God?
- Role model in loving one another
34b Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
Jesus did not only command the disciples to love one another but gave a good example in washing disciples’ feet. The love Jesus has for us is selfless and sacrificial. Because of Jesus’ love, John later wrote, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” (1 John 3:16)
Reflections: am I learning from Jesus’ example? Am I a good role model for others?
- Sign of Jesus’ disciples
35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
From Jesus’ encouragement, we can see that loving one another is the sign of His disciples.
Reflections: am I a light and salt to this world based on my words and acts? Do people I am in touch with on a daily basis realize that I am different from ordinary people? Can they see the sign of a Christian in me and the image of Jesus Christ in me?
- A reminder to guard against disowning Jesus
Peter is a passionate individual but lacks thorough self-examination; a zealous disciple. His love for Jesus is undeniable but his weaknesses are also evident. Jesus sees through everything and everyone so He told Peter that he will disown Him three times soon. He did this to remind him of his weaknesses and to make him alert and aware of his shortcomings.
Reflections: what weaknesses do I have? How can I be reminded? How can I tackle these weaknesses?
Translated by 顏偉哲
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