Context: John divides his Gospel- our gospel into three distinct parts. Up to chapter 12, Jesus has ministered to a public audience. Of which his disciples were part. John 13 is a turning point and Eugene rightly set the scene. Jesus chooses to be with his disciples, alone. The next chapters 13 to 17 take place in a room with Jesus and his disciples.

 Possibly only the 12 Apostles, although maybe there were others. This is the one to one with Jesus. Private , intimate and of amazing consequence.  The scene was set last week, Jesus washes his disciples feet. The Rabbi chooses to be the servant. An he calls us to be his disciples, his followers by doing the same. Not ritual feet-washing but a servant mentality to each other and the world. Do what is asked of us in the name of Jesus, rather than asserting our rights and seeking honour and status for ourselves. This is a key issue in the church of today. It runs counter to our culture and our nature. Jesus calls us to serve, not direct. And we like his message so little, we ignore it and delight in the politics and power struggles in the church. But we will see that Jesus’ message to his disciples is so different that through out history the church has endlessly ignored what he said or enshrined his teaching in rituals that deny the very nature of his teaching.  We must be very careful in our reading of the words not to make the same mistake. Where Jesus’ teaching is uncomfortable, let us not look for comfort but challenge.

 

So dare we read on?

READ John 13:18-38

 

 Sombre stuff. Not your average team pep talk. Jesus tells it as it is. He was under no illusion about his or the disciples future. And he is quite clear what is about to happen. Judas will betray him he will be glorified and Peter will deny him but also will die for him. Could you handle this team talk?

 

But this has to do with life. Jesus is alone with his disciples. He wants to share his most profound and intimate secrets. But the disciples are people like you and I. And you and I are prone to sin. So it is not surprising that the disciples expose the raw ugliness of our relationships. In the course of this meal , we are told in the other gospels, a power struggle, a ‘who is the greatest’ is going on. Here we begin with betrayal. We have a great capacity for letting each other down. And we are very good at letting Jesus down.  Here Jesus reveals that one will betray him. Notice though that it is not obvious to the rest of the disciples. Judas does not have a large notice saying ‘bad guy’. He does not look or behave like an turncoat. He shares their passions and enthusiasm. He is confused and excited in the same way as they are. But a seed of betrayal has germinated in his mind. He was tempted. Worse, he began to think that Jesus was not what he claimed to be. Then he made a huge step forward. He spoke to the authorities and agreed a price for betraying Jesus. Here we have the final act. And John draws our attention to very specific things. First Jesus drip feeds the idea to the disciples. First a quote from scripture. The expression ‘ lifted up his heel’ has the connotation of kicking in Greek. Then John observes Jesus is troubled. Jesus is human. He does not sail into his death untouched by the fears we have about the future. He also loves Judas. So he is pained by betrayal for both reasons. What it will do to him and what it will do to Judas.

 

 To explain what happens between Peter and John and Jesus we need to think Passover feast, AD 30 style. They reclined round a low table. So you lie down on y your left side and lean on your left elbow. You eat with your right hand. Your back is to the person on your left and the person on your right has his back to you. So from this passage we get that John was on the right of Jesus and Peter was some way away down the table. Judas was probably on Jesus’ left and behind him. So the passing of the bread would not have necessarily been noticed by the rest.  Remember Leonardo Da Vinci has them all on one side of a grand table. But in reality they may have been around more than one table in a crowded room. So peter uses sign language to get John to ask the question “who is it?”  That leads to the most amazing conversation that John , being close by observes without realising what it meant. Jesus honours Judas by offering him a piece of bread. And then tells Judas to get a move on. Jesus who knew what Judas was going to do, does not falter though it breaks his heart. His love for you takes every knock. His love for his disciples accepts betrayal. And Judas goes out. The disciples think his is off to do a good deed on their behalf. John notes And it was dark. Cold and dark speak of fear. John notes it here. Being a follower of Jesus is not all nice and fun. It is tough and calls for accepting the fears and betrayal s of life, but we have the advantage on these disciples that we know the end  of the Story. Jesus triumphs over sin and death and hell and is at the right hand of the Father revealing in the salvation he has won on the cross for you and me.

 

 As Judas leaves Jesus talks about his glory. We heard about the glory in John 1. This is straightforward to interpret but difficult for us to accept. Jesus is speaking of his death and resurrection. His idea of being glorified, raised to hero status, honoured by the Father is to surrender to a mob, be falsely accused, abused and tortured and finally crucified, the worst death devised by man. Why? Because he was uniquely the one who could take your punishment in your place.

 John has an interesting logic.

The son of man is glorified.

God is glorified in him.

If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself and will glorify him at once.

It is about who is honoured by the action. If Jesus was glorified by the events that were to follow, he could be seen as setting himself up. But God is glorified by the action. In this case Jesus being honoured results in glory to God, so his glory is a reinforcement of God’s glory not a challenge. Therefore God honours Jesus ‘in himself’. Here the intimate relationship of Father and Son is expressed in glory. God and the Son mutually bring glory to each other. The at once reminds us that Judas has left to fetch the troops to have Jesus arrested. The glory is the chosen path of suffering and death so that you may have life in the Son. Verse 33 reinforces the imminence of this. This is not a rejection of the disciples as followers, this is Jesus declaring that he alone will die for our sins. It his death that was atonement for sin. He alone would know that God tore himself away from him so that he might suffer the agony of our sins for us. There’s would be the willing sacrifice of blood bought saved sinners. And we believe they all were martyred except maybe John. They would follow him to death but not as a sacrifice for sin. That was his path alone.

 If we follow Peter at this point, you notice he fails to hear that Jesus is talking about loving one another. He skips that bit of the conversation and continues on about where Jesus is going. He is a real disciple. He will follow Jesus. Peter did lay down his life for his Lord and Saviour but that was years away. Tonight, the enthusiasm will wither as fear takes over. Peter will fail. He will deny Jesus three times. In the upper room, he has courage and sincerity. In the courtyard of the High Priest, his courage will fail him and he will swear he never knew Jesus. Are you better than Peter? What happens when people talk about Religion? Are you suddenly afflicted with silence? I know I am. We are brave Christians when we are together. But what about when we are alone among non-Christians?  Are we more afraid of looking foolish or being rejected, than being faithful to our Saviour? Most people are amazed about the sort of people God calls to follow Jesus. He picks us and what a bunch he picks. He chooses you because he wants his transcendent power to show through the failures and the struggles we have. Peter will let Jesus down so will all the others. But it is this group of people like us Jesus has chosen to lead his revolution of love.

 

 So against the background of his death and the betrayal of Judas and in the context of denial by Peter, Jesus fully aware of human weakness sets out his key teaching point. Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

First he commands us. Then he sets the standard. The command is to love one another. It is not an option. It is not what super Christians do, it is what disciples do. But we must understand what command means here. You cannot force a feeling or emotion, it has to come from the fullness of the heart. And Jesus calls us to love one another, betrayers, deny-ers and the like. The church is full of people who fail. We are sinners and when we recognise that and turn from it, we are able to receive the salvation that God gives. But it takes a lifetime to be fit for heaven and we are all somewhat irritating to each other. But Jesus calls us to love one another, just as he loves. He has just washed his disciples feet. ‘to show the full extent of his love’. He knows about betrayal and denial but he still loves. He knows about the power struggles within the group and yet he loves them.  He is troubled about Judas, he prays for Peter. He knows that given the most trivial reasons, we can fall out and row. But he still sets the standard, love as I have loved you. You cannot do that. But the command is to love. The only way you and I are going to love like Jesus is for the Holy Spirit of God, the spirit of Jesus to indwell your spirit so that your thoughts, your words and your actions come from a heart of love.

What Jesus says next tells us that our love for one another is not feelings but action.  “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The most significant by product of mutual love is that we will be known as Jesus disciples. It is the mark of a disciple. Not a cross round your neck or a fish on the boot of your car but your ability to love everyone calls to be part of this fellowship. His love was an active love. It was also an expressed love. He did things for his disciples, he also told them of his love for them. He explained and encouraged them.