Love One Another
John 13:31-38
30 Having received the piece of bread, he (Judas) then went out immediately. And it was night.
This is both a literal and symbolic statement!
Judas was entering a night… that would know no morning!
Judas had chosen darkness over the Light of the world!
31 So, when he (Judas) 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.
Things have NOW been set in motion…. the CROSS is just hours away (Jesus was troubled)… Here Jesus is looking past… the agony of the cross… to His glory! (5x)
John 17:4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
33 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…
This was incredibly hard for the disciples to hear this… Explain!
Q. Little children- Are you a child of God? (Jn 1:11&12)
… 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.”
Having announced their coming separation… Jesus explained what He expected of His disciples during their absence from Him.
In our chapter we learn that SERVING one another & LOVING one another are both CENTRAL to being true disciples (followers) of Jesus!
A lot of people CLAIM to be followers of Jesus but a TRUE follower of Jesus SERVES. A TRUE follower of Jesus LOVES like Jesus loved!
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 shall follow Me afterward.”
Jesus made a way for us! John 14:6 (Next week)
37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.”
It’s not Peter who would lay down his life for Jesus. It was Jesus who would lay down His life for Peter. (Backwards)
Peter would later write… 1 Peter 2:24 & 1 Peter 3:18
Can you hear the EMOTION in Peter’s voice?
The problem here is… Peter’s DEVOTION to Jesus … at this time in his life… was based on EMOTION.
EMOTION is a beautiful part of our Christian worship & walk… but Peter’s EMOTIONS would fail him / us!
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.
Jesus taught us …It is only by the POWER of the Holy Spirit that we will be able to effectively make a stand for Jesus! (Luke 24, Acts 1) (Peter was a failure!)
Let’s finish this morning… looking at… John 13:34-35
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.”
Before talking about this NEW commandment… let’s first ESTABLISH… what Jesus taught about the GREATEST commandment.
When asked what the GREATEST COMMANDMENT was Jesus answered quoting Deuteronomy 6:4 ( The Shema)
This is our greatest PURPOSE for living!
Our greatest PURPOSE as parents is modeling this & teaching this to our kids and grandkids!
Jesus then taught the 2nd GREATEST commandment… Love your neighbor as yourself. (Leviticus 19:18)
The ORDER is significant right? Explain!
So….here… in our text… Jesus says…
34 A NEW commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
It’s not NEW in the sense that… it’s not been taught that we’re to love one another…(Leviticus 19:18)
But it’s NEW in the sense that… in a NEW (FRESH) way “as I have loved you” that you also love one another.
Jesus… Laid down His life for us, Jesus’ love was a sacrificial love, He was looking out for our interests before His own, He esteemed us as better then Himself. (Philippians 2- let this mind be in us!)
This is how we’re to love one another!
( **marriage, **home, **church **true disciple of Jesus )
Again the ORDER is significant! It’s ONLY as you know the love of Jesus…that you can… love like Jesus loved!
Q. Do you know the love of Jesus? Intellectual knowledge?
35 By this ALL will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Q. What kind of church do we want to be? (Last days cold)
- None of us have arrived? ⬆️ ➡️ Challenge!