By the time of this writing, John had become a mature
Christian and an authoritative leader of other Christians. As an old man,
having lived most of his life believing in and honoring Jesus as Savior and
Lord, he now teaches us from the perspective of solid Church-age doctrine.
Then, however, John was one of twelve befuddled young
disciples. Eleven were newborn believers in Jesus Christ, trying to grasp the
mysterious meanings of His instruction. The unique God-Man of the universe was
preparing His inner circle for the terrible events that would occur before His
departure from the earth. One of the twelve would play a hand in the horror
that was coming soon. Jesus’ humanity was feeling the dread of what His men
would face, and how they would certainly fail to stand fast, because of their
weakness and confusion. He also had a dread of His own, being the only one who
realized what pressures He was about to endure.
After saying these
things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly,
truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked
at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom
Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side, so
Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So
that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?”
John 13:21-25
“That disciple”
was John. This is another indication that the eleven did not know of Judas’
hypocrisy. He played the part of a believer so well that real believers
couldn’t discern the evil that corrupted his soul. We must never let outward
appearance lead us to judge others, for good or bad. Morality is not
Christianity. Human good masquerades as divine good. By all indications, Judas
Iscariot was an honorable man of good deportment and even those who lived
closely with him for three years did not know his beliefs and motives. Jesus
did, however, and the moment of revelation had come.
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. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan
entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do
quickly.” Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 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. So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went
out. And it was night. John 13:26-30
Even as Jesus followed through on exposing the traitor, the
disciples’ minds were inventing other explanations for what they just saw. The
elderly apostle John, remembering this event, now knew exactly what had taken
place. V 27 “Satan entered into him.” A
born-again believer cannot be Satan-possessed or demon-possessed. More proof
that Judas had never believed. He accompanied them in ministry day after day,
observing the Master’s work, participating in the work, yet he remained
spiritually dead. The time had come now for Judas to do Satan’s bidding and get
the wheels moving for the fulfillment of Christ’s mission. Jesus urged him to
get it over with.
When he had gone out,
Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in
him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in
himself, and glorify him at once. 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.’ 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. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you
have love for one another.” John 13:31-35
Jesus’ glorification was near at hand, and through His
glorification God the Father would also be glorified. The Father and Son are
one in essence and they complement each other in every word and action. The
Lord was becoming more explicit in His words of farewell to His men, plainly
telling them He’d be gone soon, into a dimension they could not enter. They now
received a new commandment from Him: “just
as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (affectionately, benevolently).
Please notice Jesus designates this as a NEW commandment.
Therefore it is not the same as “love
your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).That is an old commandment,
and it constitutes unconditional love for all mankind. That has not changed. It
means to maintain a relaxed mental attitude toward all humanity, just as God’s
grace extends to all. It means to treat others as we wish to be treated (Luke
6:31). Many unbelievers and mixed-up believers try to make this the gospel.
This is not the gospel.
This new commandment is specific to Jesus’ family of
believers. He issued it in private to those closest to Him. It is the familial
love of those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ and share the hope we have in
Him. It is a reciprocal relationship of those who reflect His own deep,
personal love for His children. This love for one another as we navigate life
in the devil’s world demonstrates our relationship with Him. We experience this
by loyalty to the Body of Christ and like-minded faith in His finished work. We
who believe in the perfect atonement of Jesus Christ always have that
characteristic in common, knowing it is what makes us His children, and knowing
that we have no fellowship with unbelievers. We owe unbelievers the gospel, but
not fellowship. This love He has commanded is for our brethren.
“Love one another” is also not the gospel, but is the
manifestation of the gospel’s effect on believers.
Of course, the
disciples did not understand, so Peter simply asked:
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.” Peter
said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for
you.” 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. John 13:36-38
Peter just couldn’t get that Jesus always knew exactly what
He was talking about. His protestations always read like a small child, arguing
with Mother over something she has warned him about. “But, Lord, I wanna go
with you NOW. No matter the cost. Even if it kills me.”
He Who knows all knows all about me, and all about you, and
all about Peter. He knows our capacity for love and loyalty and our tolerance
for adversity and fear at any given time of our life. He knew precisely how
little adversity it would take to make a sniveling coward out of big, blustery
Peter.
No comments:
Post a Comment