A Strange Reciprocity | Dave Sloop

If you have your Bible or are following along, we are in John chapter 13, and we're going to jump right in today because we have a lot to cover. Starting in verse 31 and following, this is the longest uninterrupted discourse of Jesus in the entire New Testament, in all of the gospels. The longest public sermon of Jesus is the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew chapters five, six, and seven. But this is the longest uninterrupted discourse, and what's interesting about it is that it all happens on one night. It spans five chapters. And if you consider this: the first three years of Jesus' ministry, John covered that in 12 chapters. And now the next five chapters are this one discourse known as the farewell discourse. It's almost as if John is saying, "Let's slow down and pay attention to these precious words that Jesus is giving to his followers, this newly formed community that he is building and leaving. This is what he wants them to know."

This is the farewell discourse. The part that we're going to look at today is called the new commandment—actually a phrase that Jesus uses nowhere else in his ministry, only here. The new commandment. But to understand the significance of that commandment, we're going to look first at the context in which it is communicated. We'll see that in verses 31 to 33. And then at the end, we're going to look at a crisis that is fleshed out in Peter's life, a conversation that he has with Jesus. And I think it's a crisis that every single follower of Jesus Christ, at some point or another, is going to have to confront in order to understand whether or not they're actually going to follow and do what Jesus says.

The Context

Before we jump in, I want to remind you what Tim was teaching us last week: Judas—we have just learned, or rather John has just learned—secretly from Jesus that Judas is about to betray him. And we know that it's a secret because when he leaves, what do all the other disciples think? He's headed to the grocery store. He's going to get some bread. But John knew, and Judas knew, and Jesus knew. And Judas knew in that painful moment that Jesus knew.

I want to read to you again verse 30. This is a recap from last week just so you can feel the tension of this moment.

So after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out, and it was night. — John 13:30

I want to ask you for a second: Why do you think John includes that detail? "It was night." Maybe it's incidental. Maybe he just wanted you to know what time of day it was. Sometimes this is common of eyewitness accounts—there are just these incidental details. But I wonder if John was doing something more here, if there's something else that he wanted us to notice, namely that the night was closing in. Darkness was setting in. This theme of darkness and light is rich throughout John's gospel. I think it's possible here that he wants us to know that not just a physical darkness was setting in, but that a spiritual darkness was setting in.

See, Judas believed by his actions that he was actually going to put a stop to this pipe dream that his comrades had come to believe—that this Jesus of Nazareth, no less, that place where nobody good comes from—that this one was actually the Messiah, the Christ. The long-awaited Son of David who would sit on a throne forever with no end. That it was this guy, this seed of woman who would crush the serpent's head from Genesis chapter three. The one that fulfilled every single promise. It was the one that they'd been waiting for—Messiah, the one sent from heaven to finally give Israel hope, to set Israel free from their oppressors.

See, Judas had concluded that it couldn't be him. I mean, Jesus was so focused on the wrong people. He was so drawn to the weak and the needy and the poor. It was almost like a magnetic pull to the sinner, the outcast, the disenfranchised. And on the other side, it was like he had no interest in the ones who had all the power. He refused to play nice with them. He refused to take the politically expedient path. He scoffed at it. He would have none of that.

See, Jesus was so accommodating to the people that did not matter, and he was so confrontational to the people that did. And Judas couldn't stand it. He had enough. It couldn't be him. He didn't want it to be him. If this is the kind of kingdom that he means to bring, I am not interested.

And it was night. Darkness was setting in. Judas, in a sense, becomes a fulfillment of what John says in chapter three verse 19.

This is the judgment. Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness rather than light because their works were evil. — John 3:19

That is who Judas was. And he went out, and it was night.

It is this, at this precise moment—in fact, Bob Blecksmith, in between services, he said, "You really could have added another 't' here: the timing." There's the tension of the moment, but then look at this timing of what Jesus says and when he says it.

It is at this precise moment that Jesus says these shocking words, and here's where we begin in verse 31.

When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified." — John 13:31

Now? Now? In a moment that looks a whole lot more like losing than winning, he says, "Now is the Son of Man glorified." And to make sure that we don't miss what he's talking about here, he's gonna use that word five times in the next two verses. Glorify, glorify, glorified, glorify. He don't want you to miss it. It is the most concentrated use of that word in all of scripture. It is the supreme manifestation of the glory of God, and it's happening right now.

Judas, when he sets out, would be the first domino to fall that would lead to a series of events that would ensure the death of the Son of God. Notice this too. He says, "Now at once." In other words, he's not saying, "I will be glorified in three days when I raise from the dead." Right now, he's saying, "My betrayal, this trial that I will face where I will be brought up on false charges, people will falsely testify against me, I will be mocked, I will be beaten, I will be tortured, I will be murdered. Now is the Son of Man glorified."

He's not saying I will be glorified in spite of these things. He's saying I will be glorified. I am glorified because of these things. It is because I'm crushed that I conquer. It is because I lose that I win. It is because I die that I live.

The Son of Man, the most exalted being, is going to the lowest place, and it is precisely because he does that he is glorified—the supreme manifestation of the glory of God. And notice, it is the Father glorifying the Son, the Son glorifying the Father. So much glory being exchanged here, and it is right here. What everybody else would say is the lowest moment of his career, it is the pinnacle of God's glory.

The Tenderness of This Moment

But then finally, notice the tenderness. Notice the tenderness of this moment. Jesus says, "Little children." This is the only time he uses this phrase. It is a term of endearment, fondness. It's what a dad would say to his precious child that he loves: "Little children."

And to understand why he says that, just look at the next words. "Little children, yet a little while, I'm with you." He's gonna go on to say, "I'm going somewhere that you cannot come." We're gonna unpack what that means towards the end of this message. But for now, just know this: Jesus knows that he's leaving. He is leaving the earth, and they can't come with him.

These are the two things he's looking at at the same time. He is looking at his imminent death and his most intimate relationships. He's looking at the cross and his closest friends. He is staring at the ones that he loves. These are dying words to his dearest friends.

That is the context, which makes it all the more interesting that the words that flow out of this tender affection that Jesus feels for these guys—listen to the first words: "A new commandment I give to you."

Does that strike you as odd? A new commandment, an order, like a general to his soldiers. These are my dying words to the people I love the most. I'm demanding something of you. That's what that word means, a command.

And the fact that Jesus uses this word here necessarily means that he is asserting his authority. And he's teaching them and us, by extension, something about what it means to be his disciple, namely, that to be his disciple means that I am not a free agent. I am a subject under a king. I am in service of a master.

And here's the point: Jesus sees no contradiction between his tender love and his demand for obedience. I'm not gonna spend a whole lot of time here because over the next several weeks, we will have ample time to beat that horse to death—that there is no contradiction between love and obedience. And Jesus is perfectly comfortable in the same breath talking to you about his love and his lordship.

Let me ask you a question. Do you think of Jesus primarily as Savior or as Lord? He is both, to be sure. But it might interest you to know that while he is referred to as Savior 24 times in the New Testament, do you want to know how many times he is referred to as the Lord? Over 700.

How do we think about our relationship to Christ? And here, his dying words to his dearest friends are, "I have something that I'm demanding of you." Are you comfortable with that picture?

Here's what I want to do for the rest of our time together. I want to consider an answer to this question: What is new about this commandment?

The idea that we are to be a loving people is not new, which is why we looked at Leviticus 19. It shows up pretty early in your Bible. In fact, Jesus quotes Leviticus 19 in all of the synoptic gospels. I think it's in Matthew 22, Luke 12, and Mark 10. It's the great commandment.

Love others as you love yourself. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. — Matthew 22, Luke 12, Mark 10

But Jesus says, I have a new commandment for you. So what's new?

A New Pattern and Priority

Here's the first thing: it is a new pattern. Jesus doesn't merely say love one another. He says, "Love one another as I've loved you. Love one another as I have loved." He's telling you what the shape of love is to look like.

They not only have had a three-year master class on what it looks like—Jesus is loving them. He's loving other people. They're watching. They're following closely behind him. They spend every moment with him. But in the context of this passage, he has just shown them what he means.

The kind of love that Jesus is calling them to is the kind of love that takes off its outer garment, that in place of that costume puts on the costume of a servant or a slave. He gets down on his hands and knees and he washes dirty feet. It's practical love. Nothing fancy about it. They had dirty feet. Nobody else was doing it. Jesus did it. It's a humble love. It's a kneeling, serving love. It doesn't ask the question, "Is this beneath me?" Actually, maybe it does ask the question. And when the answer comes back, "Yes, it's probably something I should do"—that's the kind of love that Jesus is calling his disciples to. This self-emptying love. This: I have no regard for my status. I will love in an emptying, humbling, serving kind of a way. Really practical ways.

That's the first thing. He gives us a new pattern. But secondly, notice this: he gives us a new priority. Do you notice this? Three times, this phrase is repeated: one another, one another, one another. In other words, he elevates the standard—as I have loved—but he narrows the aim. Just 11 guys. Judas left. There are 11 of them left and he's like, "Hey, we're starting with this. And I'm asking you to love the pattern that I have given you. I want you to apply that to each other. You are to be the focus. You would love this. This is to be the governing principle of this new kingdom community that I'm building. It is how you love each other."

Now, to be sure, it does not mean that they are exempt from loving the world. Jesus is going to have plenty to say about that. But there is a peculiar love that they are to have for one another. It's to be prioritized.

A Public Witness

I want you to notice this: their love for each other—it's not an end in itself. It is unto something else. When Jesus gives them this invitation to love one another, it is in view of someone else, namely, all people. In other words, their love is not only to be a new pattern and a new priority, it is to be public. They are to love in full view of a watching world. And they are always watching, by the way.

Have you ever considered how these guys came to be in the same room that night? They had no business being together. They didn't choose each other. I think it's in Mark chapter two or three where Jesus calls his disciples to himself, and he goes up on a mountain and he prays, and the next day there's a big crowd of people that have been following him. And from that crowd, he calls twelve. It says he calls to himself those that he wanted. So you can imagine from this crowd, from different places in the crowd, people coming—fishermen, tax collector, zealot. These guys that have no business being there.

They weren't in this new community primarily because of a political affiliation, common interest, socioeconomic background, or ethnic background. They were drawn to be in this community for one reason: Christ alone. But necessarily, when they came to Christ, there were some other people coming too. And suddenly you have a new family.

What Jesus is telling them is: the way that you are to love one another—these people that have no business being in the same room together—the way that you love each other is how the world will know. And that would be the next thing: that the way we love each other would become proof of something. Proof that we belong to him.

This is not, "Hey, you're part of a country club. You're supposed to love the people inside." No. No. The whole point is that the world would see and that it would become proof of something.

Do you know when you turn the page to the book of Acts? This is precisely what was happening.

A group of people that had no business being in the same community—which, by the way, was open to anyone—that when they got together, it says they had all things in common. Your burdens, my burdens. Your concerns, my concerns. Your financial problems, my financial problem. They started loving one another in a way that the watching world had to conclude, "This makes no sense. It must be because you belong to someone else."

This is why Paul would pick up on this theme and say, "In order to love this way, you have to have the mind of Christ in you, because ordinary man on his own, he will never love this way." But when you move out into the world loving like I love, it's like you broadcast me.

Consider this too. Jesus knows that he's leaving, which means that his physical presence will no longer be available to the world. But you know what he's saying to them here? "I'm giving you a way to make me visible again. It is in the way that you love each other."

As they were just sharing everything in common, loving each other, caring for one another, it says, "and the Lord added daily to their number those who were being saved." — Acts 2:47

Our most powerful witness is the love that is supposed to be happening inside the community of God's kingdom that's still here on earth. It is a new pattern. It is a new priority. It is meant to be public and it will be proof that we belong to him.

What's the problem with that? We understand the logic, right? It sounds awesome. What's the problem? I can't do it. You know that?

It's interesting that Jesus uses the word "commandment" because the first 10 were also a list of things I couldn't do. That was the whole point of the law—to bring me to the end of myself. And Jesus says, "I'm giving you a new one. Just as impossible."

In fact, I think that Peter—this conversation that Jesus has with Peter—is intentionally here because it's going to reveal a crisis that every single one of us, at some point in our life, needs to come to. We need to confront this crisis in order to determine whether or not I am the real item. Am I a sincere and devoted disciple of Jesus Christ or not? I want to show you how Peter becomes an illustration for our limitation.

Peter's Misunderstanding

Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" — John 13:36

If you notice, Jesus gives this new commandment that is to govern this new community, and Peter just completely skips over it because he could not get past this one thing that Jesus says, which was, "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 13:37-38

Jesus says, "Peter, you cannot follow me now." Do you know this is the second time that Peter says or Jesus says something to Peter like this in chapter 13? Remember when Jesus came to Peter's feet to wash them and he said, "Lord, you wash my feet?" And Peter said, "I'm sorry. Jesus said to Peter, 'You don't understand now, but you will afterward.'" And now here, "Lord, why can't I follow you now?" And Jesus says, "You cannot follow me now, but you will afterward."

Something's gotta happen.

Peter's response to Jesus here is so comical. He's like, "Lord, I don't think you understand my resolve. I will lay down my life for you." To which Jesus says, "Actually, no, you won't. You're going to do, Peter, exactly the opposite of that. You're going to deny me three times."

And then Jesus, by the way, just goes on and keeps talking. I bet you Peter didn't hear a word what he said. "You're gonna deny me. You're gonna fail me." In other words, "You cannot do it. Something needs to happen first."

He says, "In other words, Peter, before you can understand what I'm doing—in other words, know what I know—something must happen first. In order for you to follow me, do what I do, something must happen first."

What Must Happen First

What is it? In order to answer that question, let's take a look at this strange phrase of Jesus when he says, "Where I'm going, you cannot come." What does he mean?

I think he means more than one thing here because he's going more than one place. Where is he going? He's going to the cross, and then he's going to his Father. And they can't come either place. Not yet.

See, first of all, you cannot come to the cross. Why? Because at the cross, Jesus dies for sin. It is a substitutionary death. He's saying, "Peter, this is a death you can't die. Why? Because you deserve to. The wages of sin is death, and you're run through with it. You can't die for yourself, Peter. You've got to let me go do this alone."

In fact, there's not a person on the planet that can die this death. It must be me. It must be a spotless lamb who would be an acceptable substitute to pay for sin.

Secondly, and maybe more explicitly the meaning here, I'm going to the father and you can't come there either. Why? If Peter were to open the door of God's unfiltered holiness, his presence, it would destroy him. Sin cannot survive the presence of God. God is perfect, but he isn't petty. See, the reason that Peter wouldn't be able to survive in his presence isn't because God has this unfair standard. You and I, if we were to be in outer space right now, we would die unless we were clothed in an outfit that enabled us to endure beyond our atmosphere. In order to survive the presence of his holiness, you need to be covered in an outfit. It's called a robe of righteousness, and you cannot produce one on your own. It needs to be given to you. You cannot go where I'm going, Peter.

Listen again to what Jesus says in response to him. Will you die for me? It's amazing when you change the emphasis. Maybe Jesus said it like this: will you die for me, Peter? Really? Maybe he's being sarcastic. Or maybe what Jesus said was, will you die for me? You have it the wrong way around, Peter. I must die for you. If you're ever going to have a hope of understanding and knowing what I know and following me so that you can do what I do, I gotta die first. I have to go to the cross. I have to go to the father. I have to open the doors for you to be able to come through. I gotta cover you in my righteousness, Peter. I must go first. In order for you to love like me, you have to let me love you first.

The Personal Nature of Love

So here would be two more things that we learn about what's new in the new covenant. First of all, it must be personal. If you notice, it does not just say love as I've loved. It says love as I have loved you. His love must become personal to me before it can become a power in me, and only then will it be a pattern for me. Have you tried to copy his love? You will fall on your face. If we try to go out and live the way that Jesus lives and love the way that he loves, it will drive us to the end of ourselves. And that's exactly where it's supposed to lead you.

Because here's the great, fantastic news. New commandment obedience requires a new covenant heart, and he has given you one. Let me ask you this question. Have you been pierced by the love of God? Has it gotten personal for you yet? Until it becomes personal, it will never have any effect. It will never be powerful.

Give you guys a brief illustration here. Yesterday, it was Saturday, and I was doing what I often do on Saturday when my girls asked me to. I was making their favorite breakfast meal. In fact, it's the best biscuits and gravy in all of the Roanoke Valley. Really good at it. I'm not good at a lot of things, but I can make some good biscuits and gravy. And I had gone to Kroger to get all the necessary supplies. We had biscuits though, so I didn't need to get those. But when I come home and I opened these frozen Pillsbury biscuits, I realized that they had thawed and refrozen together. So I had the gravy cooking, and then I take the knife that I had cut through the raw sausage with, and I start to pry apart these biscuits with a super sharp knife. And I have a band aid on here. You can see where this is going. And I pushed through one of the biscuits and I nicked my finger bad. And I grabbed it and I thought, oh my goodness. Am I gonna have to go get stitches? And blood was everywhere. Sorry. This is graphic. I'm getting to a point though.

Blood was everywhere, and I took it over the sink and I washed it off so I could see how bad this cut was. And when the water washed away the blood, I could see that, yeah, blood was coming out of that side and this side, which means it went all the way through. This was a through and through. And it was bleeding out of both sides, and I had to go get stitches, and Melissa held my hand. I'm a wimp. It was brutally painful. They irrigate that thing. Anyway, here's the point.

Has his love pierced you? Because if it has, it will be a through and through. It won't just come into you. It will flow out of you. And if it isn't, it is appropriate for us to ask the question, has it come in? Maybe not. But there might be a second reason that it's not flowing out of you. It might just be that you've forgotten to obey this new commandment. You've stopped. We can grow stale. But if you would be willing to just take him at his word, that this new commandment that is to govern is to be the governing principle of who we are in this room, who we are in the Roanoke Valley, that if we would just take him at his word and start loving each other the way that the world does not know how to love, what we'd find is that we have a power to do it because he has given you a new heart, and he has placed his spirit in you to make you obey everything that he has commanded you. And you know what would happen?

Once you start obeying him in this way, you would begin to realize I do belong to him. Do you know that first John, which some people have said that those five chapters are an exposition on these two verses? John is the only other one to use the phrase "little children." He does it seven times, and it's all around this idea that if you're the real item, you will love God's people. He says things like:

This is how we know that we love him because we love the brothers and the sisters.

It is when you love the family of God that you know you are a genuine disciple. So what would it look like for you today to love his kids? People that you have no business loving, people that you might not naturally get along with—that we would love each other, that we would just choose to take Jesus at his word. I can tell you, the Lord would add to our number daily, those who are being saved, as we love in a way that the world can't on its own resources.

Pray that you today would be pierced by his love, that it would be through and through.

Prayer

Lord, we love you. We need you. We cannot love like this without you. You gotta go first, and we have to see you dying in our place before we can ever expect to love others in the same way. Father, thank you. You didn't leave us to ourselves, but you give us the spirit to enable us to love in this simple way that you've commanded us. Help us, Jesus. It's in your name we pray. Amen.

Closing

If you want to come to these rails during this next song to pray, whatever God is doing in your heart, just deal with him here. And for some of you, maybe you need somebody to pray for you. It's one of the greatest ways that we can extend this kind of love to one another. We have people in the back. Every single week, they come hoping that you're gonna bring your messy self back there to receive prayer. I pray that you would lay your pride down today and let them love you so that you might experience the love of Christ. Amen? Let's stand and sing.