John 13 - Life Application Bible Commentary (NT)

Before the Feast of the Passover.NKJV This time period covers the next seven chapters, and locates the events recorded in these chapters as occurring on the fourteenth and fifteenth of Nisan (see the introduction of this section for a detailed explanation about the chronology of these events).

Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father.NKJV Because Jesus was fully aware that his time had come to leave this world and return to his Father, he devoted his last hours to instructing and encouraging his disciples.

Throughout his writings, John frequently used the term world (kosmos). The word conveys two distinct meanings in the Bible. On one hand, world is used in 3:16 to refer to the object of God’s love, “God so loved the world.” On the other hand, 1 John 2:15-17 makes the “world” something we should disdain. We are told that “if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15 NIV).

God does love the world (of which we are a part) as his creation. He even loves the part of his creation that has rebelled against him (including us). His love compelled God to become flesh and visit this planet. Our problem comes when we love the world more than God.

The context determines the meaning of world. Sometimes the word refers to humanity and sometimes to the system of values that humans love, but which keeps them apart from God. Our own relationship to the world can take two forms: If we love people as God loves them, we are fulfilling the great commandment; but if we love what people love, and love sinful desires, we are loving the world in a way that God cannot accept. One love redeems the world; the other makes the world our central object of desire.

Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.NKJV The last part of this verse could also be rendered, “He loved them to the utmost” or “He now showed them the full extent of his love” (NIV). The statement means that Jesus continued his devotion to his disciples until the very end of his life. Before he left them, he wanted to express his love to them, one by one —and this he would do in a way that would surprise them.

JESUS SHOWS HIS LOVE

Jesus knew that one of his disciples had already decided to betray him. Another would deny him by the next morning. Even this night, they would all desert him. In the next hours they would repeatedly display ignorance, laziness, and lack of trust. It was indeed a sorry lot that gathered in the upper room. Even with good reasons to reject the entire group, Jesus deliberately showed to them the full extent of his love. The actions, words, and feelings that he shared with his disciples conveyed the highest form of love because his disciples did not deserve nor immediately appreciate this love.

Jesus knows us as fully as he knew those disciples. He knows intimately of every time and every way that we have denied or deserted him. Yet knowing us, he willingly died for us. Jesus continually displays his love toward us and reaches out to us. He continues to serve us in the Lord’s Supper, and he guides and encourages us by his Spirit. He serves us as we serve one another. Are we prepared to love one another with the same kind of love Jesus demonstrated for us?

The evening meal was being served.NIV This was probably the official time for the Passover meal, indicated by verse 1. And this was a special Passover, for it was the last meal Jesus would eat with his disciples, and during this meal he would institute the “Lord’s Supper” (see Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-39). The context indicates that the food was being placed before them, but the meal itself had not been eaten (see 13:26, 30).

The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him.NRSV Jesus had already called Judas “a devil” in 6:70 because Jesus knew that Judas would cooperate with the devil in perpetrating Jesus’ death. Thus, the devil and Judas corroborated in Jesus’ betrayal. Indeed, Satan entered Judas to carry out the actual betrayal (see 13:27).

13:3 Jesus, knowing . . . that He had come from God and was going to God.NKJV Jesus, the Son of God, knew his origin and his destiny. He knew that he would soon be returning to his Father. Being assured of his own destiny, he focused his attention on the disciples and showed them what it meant for him to become their Servant and for them to serve one another.

At the time so near to the revelation of Jesus’ true identity and glory, he set aside what was rightfully his and expressed his character through an act of humility. Paul described Jesus as one, “Who, being in very nature God . . . made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant . . . humbled himself and became obedient to death —even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6-8 NIV).

For some people, the desire for approval motivates their service. Their efforts only go as far as the amount of positive feedback they receive. For Jesus, service expressed who he was and did not depend on the response of others. Imagine dying for people who might reject your sacrificial act of service. When we serve freely, without expecting the response or approval of others, we are acting like Jesus.

JESUS WASHES THE DISCIPLES’ FEET / 13:1-20 / 210

The pace of John’s writing slowed remarkably beginning with chapter 13. The first twelve chapters cover three years; the next six chapters cover one night.

In chapter 13 John tells his readers that the Passover Feast was about to begin, but he doesn’t tell his readers when and if Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples as their last supper together. This has caused much debate among scholars because John’s record doesn’t seem to match what is recorded in the synoptic Gospels, which seem to indicate that the Last Supper was the Passover meal. At the very center of the controversy are two questions:

1. Was the Last Supper in fact a Passover meal?
2. On what night of the week did Jesus and the disciples share this meal?

Several other questions hinge on how we answer the central ones:

• Why didn’t John mention the Eucharist in his description of the meal?
• Does John’s Gospel contradict the Synoptics on these matters?
• Are the Gospels reliable, corroborating records of what actually occurred?

Was the Last Supper a Passover meal? Most likely it was. Mark and Luke both identify this meal that Jesus had with his disciples as a Passover meal (Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-16). Certain descriptions in John indicate it was a Jewish seder:

• Everyone ate in a reclining position (13:23). Jews only reclined at Passover. The rest of the time they sat up, thus differentiating themselves from other cultures like the Egyptians and the Romans.
• A traditional Passover contains a hand washing ceremony that could have been the opportunity for the foot washing.
• The use of bread and wine in the seder provided a natural way for Jesus to present the new covenant.
• The dipping of the unleavened bread (13:26) into the preparation of bitter herbs comes from Passover.
• Though eating lamb was not mentioned by any of the Gospel writers, it was not an exact requirement to complete the celebration. A Passover could be celebrated without eating lamb. Those Jews traveling or living away from Jerusalem could not eat the officially slain Passover lambs either. It would be possible to have lamb, but not one of the officially sacrificed ones.

On what night of the week did Jesus and the disciples share this meal? Traditionally, the Passover went from sundown (6:00 p.m.) Thursday to sundown on Friday, the fifteenth day of the month of Nisan. Matthew, Mark, and Luke show that Jesus and the disciples celebrated the Last Supper on Thursday evening. However, seven verses in John suggest that the Last Supper occurred on a Wednesday (see 13:1, 27; 18:28; 19:14, 31, 36, 42).

The following four attempts have been made to solve this apparent problem:

1. The Gospel writers contradict each other. This is highly unlikely since the Passover and the Lord’s Supper are so significant to early Christians. The writers would not confuse something so important.
2. There were two calendars being used to determine the day of Passover. The official calendar that the Pharisees and Sadduccees followed was lunar. Jesus and the disciples followed a solar calendar, possibly used at Qumran (a monastic Dead Sea community). The two calendars differed by one day, so that Jesus ate the Passover meal one full day before the Jerusalem Passover. There have been no conclusive historic arguments to support this theory.
3. Jesus and his disciples had the Passover meal one day early in anticipation of Passover. This view does explain John 18:28 and allows Jesus to be the Passover Lamb —crucified at the same time as the Passover lambs were slaughtered. If Jesus can heal on the Sabbath because he is the Lord of the Sabbath, he could certainly authorize eating the Passover meal one day early.

   This view harmonizes the chronology of all the Gospel writers and preserves their authority and reliability. Furthermore, it allows for a full three-day period when Jesus was in the grave —not just part of Friday, all of Saturday, and part of Sunday —but from Thursday evening to Sunday morning.

4. Jesus and the disciples did eat the meal on the official day of Passover. In A.D. 30 (the year of Jesus’ crucifixion), the Passover was celebrated on Thursday evening (the 14th of Nisan) and was immediately followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasted from the fifteenth of Nisan (Friday) to the twenty-first of Nisan. During each day of this celebration, special meals (chaggigah) were eaten. According to this view, the other references in John are to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, not the Passover meal (13:29; 18:28; 19:14). In 13:29, after the Passover meal, Judas went out —actually to betray Jesus —but the disciples thought he went out to buy provisions for the upcoming feast. In 18:28 the Pharisees did not want to make themselves unclean (by entering Pilate’s palace) so they wouldn’t be able to partake of the feast. In 19:14 “the preparation for the Passover” was not for the Passover meal but for the whole week that followed, which in New Testament times was called both the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The chronology follows:

1. Thursday —Lambs slain in the afternoon, Passover begins at 6:00 p.m., Last Supper, Gethsemane, arrest
2. Friday —Official trial, crucifixion, burial by sundown, Feast of Unleavened Bread, and Sabbath begins at 6:00 p.m.
3. Saturday —In the tomb
4. Sunday —Early morning resurrection

13:1-2

13:4 Got up from the table, took off his outer robe.NRSV This action portrayed how Jesus was willing to divest himself of being “in the form of God” to take on “the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:5-6). He then wrapped a towel around his waistNIV like an apron, and humbled himself by preparing to do a task normally assigned to a servant. The one least compelled to take up the duty was the first to eagerly volunteer. How unlike the natural human response of “Let someone else do it!”

13:5 He poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.NIV Jesus was the model servant, and he showed his servant attitude to his disciples. Foot washing was a common act in Bible times. People traveled mostly on foot in sandals across the dusty roads of Judea. When entering a home, it was customary to wash one’s feet. To not offer to wash a guest’s feet was considered a breach of hospitality (see Luke 7:44). Washing guests’ feet was a job for a household servant to carry out when guests arrived (1 Samuel 25:41). It was a subservient task —wives might wash their husbands’ feet; students their teachers’ feet, etc., but not the other way around. What was unusual about this act was that Jesus, the Master and Teacher, was doing it for his disciples. He wrapped a towel around his waist, as the lowliest slave would do, and washed and dried his disciples’ feet.

After washing the disciples’ feet (a sign of his cleansing ministry), Jesus put his garments on again and returned to his place at the table (13:12). This exhibited his return to glory and to God. Jesus did not wash his disciples’ feet just to get them to be nice to each other. His far greater goal was to extend his mission on earth after he was gone. These men moved into the world serving God, serving each other, and serving all people to whom they took the message of salvation. They would be empowered by Jesus’ ultimate act of service —dying for their sins. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 NKJV).

CURE FOR CONTENTION AND PRIDE

The other Gospel writers record a discussion the disciples had on the way to this meal when they argued about who would have the greatest position in the new kingdom. Jesus’ humble service contrasted sharply with their search for high places of prestige in the kingdom (Matthew 20:20-24) and their desire to be considered the “greatest” (Mark 9:33-34; 10:35-44; Luke 22:24-30).

Unselfish service to each other and to those not part of the inner circle was to be one of the distinctive marks of Jesus’ true disciples (see 13:34-35). When we feel the temptation to pride or to competitive comparisons with other believers, the antidote will be a healthy dose of service. One great starting place would be to pray for those we serve who most irritate us!

13:6-9 All the disciples accepted the washing until Jesus came to Peter, who questioned Jesus: “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”NRSV

Jesus did not provide Peter with an explanation, other than that Peter would understand the significance of the washing some time in the future: “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”NIV Later in the New Testament, Peter explains his understanding of what Jesus had done (1 Peter 5:5-6). Peter came to realize that humble service meant obedience to Christ. When Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, he was demonstrating his ultimate sacrificial act —giving his life for them on the cross.

“You will never wash my feet.”NRSV Imagine being Peter and watching Jesus wash the others’ feet, all the while moving closer to him. Seeing the Master behave like a slave must have confused Peter. And Peter did not feel worthy that his Master should be acting like a slave toward him! This was not an expression of arrogance but of confusion. Peter felt he should be washing the Master’s feet —not the other way around. Peter still did not understand Jesus’ teaching that to be a leader, a person must be a servant.

Jesus responded: “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”NIV There are two possible meanings for this sentence: (1) Jesus meant that unless he washed away Peter’s sins by his death on the cross, then Peter could have no relationship with him. (2) Jesus meant that unless Peter submitted to him and allowed Jesus to minister in this way, Peter would never learn the lesson of humility.

IT’S YOUR SERVE

Some people serve naturally. For Jesus’ friend Martha, serving others came easily and graciously. For many, hospitality is their gift.

For others, serving is an ordeal. If they do not feel inept at their efforts, the work exhausts them. Or they become angry when their service goes unappreciated. For these, hospitality becomes an uncomfortable chore.

Some find it difficult to accept service from others. (Servers may be part of this group.) Being helped makes them feel inadequate or vulnerable. They are unable to be gracious when they are not in control.

We need to remember that the true point of serving is to obey and imitate Jesus Christ. Likewise, accepting service from others is accepting Christ’s service. Christ elevated serving others as the highest pursuit to which we can dedicate our lives.

Either way, Peter seemed to grasp the significance of Jesus’ words, for he then wanted to be bathed completely: “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”NRSV

13:10-11 “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean.”NRSV After one has bathed, another bath is not necessary at the end of the day. The person is still clean —except for the feet, which are constantly soiled by the dust of the ground. A clean and bathed person just needs to have his or her feet rinsed. According to the customs of those times, once a person had bathed, he or she needed only to wash his or her feet upon entering a person’s home.

To be bathed by Jesus meant to be washed by his living word. Later in the meal Jesus returned to this theme when he told his disciples, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you” (15:3 NIV). It was Jesus’ teaching, and the acceptance of his words, that separated the true believers from all the people throughout Jesus’ ministry.

To receive Jesus, nothing is required of the believer except humble acceptance of what Jesus has done. Peter had to sit and humbly allow Jesus to wash his dirty feet in order to understand that to accept the salvation Jesus offers means to humbly accept his death on the cross for all sins.

“You are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”NRSV Jesus referred to Judas Iscariot (see 13:18), suggesting that Judas was not a true believer in Jesus. Though Jesus had washed Judas’s feet, Judas was not clean, for he had not come to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus already knew that this man would be used by Satan to bring about the events that unfold in the final chapters of this Gospel.

BETRAYAL

John made it clear that Judas was the specific reason Jesus said, “though not all of you.” But John must have also had his future readers in mind. If among the original disciples there was one not true, future groups of disciples would also discover among themselves those who were false followers. This happened later in the first century and has continued through the years. Many have betrayed Christ and his people.

Today’s readers of John should heed this implicit warning: Are we clean? Will our commitment stand firm and our faith sure? Will we be prepared to endure even when those who have seemed strong in the faith fail?

13:12-13 “Do you understand what I have done for you?”NIV Jesus’ act of washing the disciples’ feet demonstrated love in action. Jesus was their Teacher and Lord, meaning he was on a higher level than they; yet he assumed a position of humility and service because he loved those he served.

13:14-16 “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”NKJV Jesus commanded his disciples to serve one another in love according to the example he set because “a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.”NKJV The example is not for us to literally wash one another’s feet. Today some churches do practice this, but usually only to teach what Jesus was trying to teach —humble service to others. To refuse to serve others, to refuse to humble yourself, no matter how high your position, is to place yourself above Jesus. Such arrogant pride is not what Jesus taught.

These disciples would soon be sent out as the sole planters of the Christian church. They would be leaders in many places —indeed, James, John, and Peter became the leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem. Jesus taught these soon-to-be leaders that as they labored to spread the gospel, they first and foremost had to be servants to those whom they taught. The disciples must have remembered this lesson often as they labored with the problems, struggles, and joys of the early believers. How many times they must have remembered that they were called to serve. And what a difference it made! Imagine how difficult the growth (even existence) of the early church would have been if these disciples had continued vying for spots of greatness and importance! Fortunately for us, they took Jesus’ lesson to heart.

FOOT WASHING TODAY

Some churches and groups still practice foot washing today. In shoe-clad cultures it has little more than symbolic use. But as such, it can still teach a valuable lesson. In Jesus’ day, feet were washed for two practical reasons: to remove dirt and to be hospitable. Jesus did not perform a special or unusual act; his taking on a servant’s duties stunned the disciples.

Instituting foot washing today would be missing Jesus’ primary lesson. He was not inventing a clever way to serve others; he was serving others in a very common way. Today we ought to think of foot washing as an example of servant leadership. Other ways we can show a “foot washing” attitude include:

• Taking on a menial task or accepting a lesser role.
• Not insisting on our “rights” or “privileges.”
• Meeting others’ needs before meeting our own.
• Looking for a job no one else will do and cheerfully doing it.
• Focusing on the results being achieved, not who is getting credit.

13:17 “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”NKJV We are blessed (happy, joyful, fulfilled), not because of what we know, but because of what we do with what we know. God’s grace to us finds its completion in the service we, as recipients of his grace, perform for others. We will find our greatest joy in obeying Christ by serving others.

13:18-19 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen.”NIV Jesus’ previous statements about serving and loving one another did not apply to all of his disciples because, in fact, one of his disciples (Judas) was about to betray him. However, this betrayal was not an unexpected event, for Jesus had known from the beginning that one of the men he chose would betray him (6:70-71).

“This is to fulfill the scripture: ‘He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.’”NIV Jesus’ betrayal was necessary to fulfill Scripture —specifically, Psalm 41:9. The expression pictures a horse lifting his heel ready for a swift (and sometimes deadly) kick. Jesus drew from Psalm 41 because it describes how one of David’s friends turned against him: “Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me” (Psalm 41:9 NIV). This may have referred to the story of David’s trusted companion, Ahithophel, who betrayed David and then went and hanged himself (see 2 Samuel 16:20–17:3, 23). Judas, who had been with Jesus and was a trusted companion (Judas was keeper of the money), would betray Jesus and then hang himself.

SPIRITUAL PROCRASTINATION?

When Jesus talked about “knowing” and “doing,” he meant a needed service that we have identified but not rendered. Most of us are surrounded with opportunities for service that we have simply left undone. By doing nothing, we forfeit Christ’s blessing.

• Do you know someone who needs a visit or a word of encouragement?
• Do you have a possession you no longer use that would help someone else?
• Is there a menial task (like ushering or greeting at church) that regularly goes unfilled?
• Are there trying duties that beg to be done —nursery, teaching classes, being youth sponsors, etc.?
• Do you know a friend or work associate with whom you have never spoken about your faith?

Jesus promised personal spiritual benefits as you act on these opportunities.

Jesus had known all along that Judas would betray him (see 6:64, 70-71; Matthew 17:22-23; 20:17-19), but he predicted the betrayal in the presence of his disciples so that they would realize, when the betrayal actually occurred, that it had been prophesied in Scripture (see Acts 1:16). This would strengthen their faith.

13:20 “Whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”NRSV This verse follows the thought of verse 16, where Jesus spoke of being a servant to the one who sent him. He would send forth his disciples so that whoever would receive them would receive Jesus and, in turn, receive the one who sent Jesus —God the Father.

THE LAST SUPPER / 13:21-30 / 211

At this point in the dinner, the mood shifted, partly as a reflection of the ominous tone Jesus used in verse 18. Apparently the food was on the table, and they may have already been eating. None of the Gospels record a beginning prayer over the meal itself (though the Synoptics record his praying over the bread and cup before giving them to the disciples). John explains that Jesus was visibly disturbed, indicating that he had been observing the Lord closely.

Moments later, in answer to John’s direct question, Jesus indicated his knowledge of Judas’s betrayal by handing him the bread that he had dipped in the bowl. The rest of the disciples could not understand the significance behind Judas’s abrupt departure. They would have other meals together during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, so they assumed Judas had left on business for the Master.

13:21-26 Jesus was troubled in spirit.NIV Jesus was deeply affected by the betrayal, even though he knew that the betrayal had been foreordained —as had been his coming crucifixion. His inner turmoil must have been expressed when he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.”NIV Jesus’ talk about the betrayal became explicit and pointed: one of the twelve disciples would betray him.

Jesus’ pronouncement caused great consternation among the disciples. His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant.NIV It was not obvious who it was. Judas, as keeper of the money, may have been the one they would least suspect.

Peter motioned to John, who was sitting beside Jesus, to ask Jesus who the betrayer was. Perhaps Peter was going to deal with this betrayer then and there! Luke mentions that they had two swords among the group (Luke 22:38) and, later, Peter used a sword to strike at one of those who arrived to arrest Jesus (18:10).

So John leaned back and asked Jesus, “Lord, who is it?”NIV In those days it was the custom for people to recline only at the Passover meal; usually they ate sitting up. The host would be at the head of the group, and a special guest to the right of the host would have his head near the host’s chest. One disciple, here described as the disciple whom Jesus loved,NIV occupied this special place of honor. While this disciple is usually identified as John, there have been other suggestions. One of the principal candidates is Lazarus, who as recently as 11:3 Mary could call “the one you love.” However, since every other indication points to only the Twelve being present for this meal, there seems little reason to look outside that group for this disciple.

Jesus would identify the betrayer as “the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.”NIV Jesus dipped the piece of bread into a dish filled with a sauce probably made of dates, raisins, and sour wine. Having said this, Jesus dipped the piece of bread [and] gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot.NRSV Ironically, a host offering a piece of bread to a guest was a sign of friendship. Jesus’ act of friendship was his identification of the betrayer. Later, in the Garden, Judas would identify Jesus to the guards with another sign of friendship —a kiss (Luke 22:47-48).

13:27-30 After Judas received the bread, Satan entered into him.NRSV Thus the betrayal was set in motion. Satan would use Judas as his tool to accomplish his evil plan. But Satan’s part in the betrayal of Jesus does not remove any of the responsibility from Judas. Judas may have been disillusioned because Jesus was talking about dying rather than setting up his kingdom, and he may have been trying to force Jesus’ hand and make him use his power to prove he was the Messiah. Or perhaps Judas didn’t understand Jesus’ mission and no longer believed that Jesus was God’s chosen one. Whatever Judas thought, Satan assumed that Jesus’ death would end his mission and thwart God’s plan. Like Judas, Satan did not know that Jesus’ death was the most important part of God’s plan all along.

WRONG MESSIAH!

Judas had a fatal misconception of who the Messiah would be. Many Jews expected a military or political deliverer who would expel the oppressors and bring peace to Israel. Few were open to having their picture of the Savior clarified.

How well does your view of Jesus match the man who takes shape in the Gospels? From what sources have you developed your view of Christ? Does your picture limit him? To what degree does your view of Jesus put him under your control?

Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him.NRSV Because Judas was keeper of the money (see 12:6), the disciples thought Jesus was sending him out to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor.NIV The Feast refers to the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. The disciples had no idea that Judas was going out to betray their Master. Jesus identified Judas so tactfully that all the disciples missed the significance of the act: they did not connect Jesus’ earlier statement (“One of you is going to betray me”) with his present exchange with Judas. Only John knew the truth. But despite the disciples’ misunderstanding, the stage was quickly being set: Judas went out immediately. And it was night.NKJV The last statement recounts the actual time yet also symbolizes the spiritual condition of Judas. He was in darkness, under the control of the prince of darkness, Satan.

WEARING A MASK

Judas took the bread in what looked like a gesture of fellowship and love between himself and Jesus. Apparently, none of the other disciples knew of his thoughts of betrayal. Judas had completely concealed his hypocrisy from his peers. Yet Christ knew his heart.

If we try to conceal our hypocrisy (professing to live for Christ but not having real commitment), we may succeed in fooling our friends and family. But Christ knows each person’s real thoughts and desires. People may be convinced by our exterior sham, but God searches our hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7). Judas’s life teaches us that hypocrisy can lead to satanic control. Judas’s betrayal should strengthen our resolve to follow Christ no matter what temptations or opposition we encounter.

JESUS PREDICTS PETER’S DENIAL / 13:31-38 / 212

After Judas’s departure, a heaviness lifted from the room. Jesus spoke of his own glorification and referred to the brief time they would still have together. With a sense of urgency, he commanded them to love each other. He indicated that this single characteristic would set them apart from the world as his disciples.

Peter stopped listening when Jesus mentioned his departure. He wanted to know where Jesus was planning to go that they could not go with him. Jesus simply restated that his destination would not be theirs until later.

Ironically, Peter came close to the truth when he suggested that he would not even allow death to keep him from following Jesus. With profound compassion, which Peter could not possibly fathom until later, Jesus pointed out that Peter was not ready to lay down his life. That disqualified Peter from going with Jesus at this time. Peter would, in fact, shortly deny that he even knew Jesus.

13:31-32 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.”NIV As Judas was on his way to betray Jesus into the hands of those who would crucify him, Jesus looked past the cross to his glorification at the resurrection. Jesus had allowed Judas to leave and carry out his murderous plans. By this act, Jesus committed himself to following through on what he had come to do. Thus he could say, Now is the Son of Man glorified.

Jesus framed his words based on his knowledge that his glorification through death and resurrection already had been accomplished. He anticipated how his resurrection would bring about his spiritual union with the disciples. This is the key to interpreting the following discourse (13:31–17:26).

The word glorify is not commonly used in Western language, except in Scripture. In Bible times, the “glory” of something was not only in its appearance but also in what it would accomplish, in its purpose, such as when a field is finally ready for harvest. Thus to “glorify” means to exalt by completing the task, or to express the essential nature of something by bringing it to fruition. The scope and wonder of God’s marvelous plan of salvation will only be apparent with Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus again stated his resolve to see his mission to its completion.

“If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.”NIV That God will glorify him at once refers to the soon-to-come Resurrection and Ascension. Now that Judas had left to complete his treachery, nothing would stop the events leading to the final hour. God’s magnificent moral splendor is displayed by Jesus’ act of obedience, so God is glorified in Jesus. At the same moment, Jesus is glorified as he resumes the glory he had with the Father before the foundation of the world.

13:33-35 “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.”NIV Jesus told his dear children (Greek, teknia, which connotes intimacy and fondness) that the time of his departure was nearing. Jesus would be going to the Father (14:6, 28) to rejoin him in the glorious fellowship that the Father and Son enjoyed from all eternity (see 17:5, 24). The disciples would not be able to participate in that fellowship just yet.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”NKJV Jesus would be gone, and they would not be able to join him for a while. In the meantime, they were to follow this commandment: Love one another. A command to love one another is not a new commandment; it had been mandated in the Old Testament (Exodus 20:12-17; Leviticus 19:18, 33-34; Deuteronomy 5:16-21; 22:1-4; see also Matthew 5:38-48; 7:12; 23:36-40; Luke 10:25-37). The newness of Jesus’ command pertains to the new kind of love that Christians have for one another because they have each experienced the love of Christ.

Jesus commanded his followers to love one another “as I have loved you.” This was revolutionary, for believers are called to love others based on Jesus’ sacrificial love for them. Jesus was a living example of God’s love, as we are to be living examples of Jesus’ love. This love would be the mark of distinction: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”NKJV One of the major themes in John’s first letter is brotherly love (see 1 John 3–4).

Jesus was going to die; he was going to be raised again; he was going to return to the Father. The disciples would be left in the world. Jesus gave them this one all-encompassing command —to love one another. Not only would such love bring unbelievers to Christ; it would also keep believers strong and united in a world hostile to God. And such love, enabled by Jesus’ love for them and by the coming Holy Spirit’s power in them, would allow them to love all those for whom Christ died, and unite them with Christ spiritually. Then one future day, all believers would be united physically with their Savior.

WHAT DO THEY SEE?

Jesus said that our Christlike love will show that we are his disciples. Do people see petty bickering, jealousy, and division in your church? Or do they know you are Jesus’ followers by your love for one another? Love is more than simply warm feelings; it is an attitude that reveals itself in action. How can we love others as Jesus loves us? By helping when it’s not convenient, by giving when it hurts, by devoting energy to others’ welfare rather than our own, by absorbing hurts from others without complaining or fighting back. This kind of loving is hard to do. That is why people notice when you do it and know you are empowered by a supernatural source. The Bible has another beautiful description of love in 1 Corinthians 13.

13:36 Simon Peter, ever the one to voice his thoughts and questions, asked, “Lord, where are you going?” Again, Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”NIV Peter would later follow Jesus in the way of death (see 21:15-19), and Peter would also follow Jesus into glory.

13:37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”NIV The last statement, made by Peter, repeats what Jesus had said in 10:11, 15, and 17 about laying down his life for his sheep. Peter loved Jesus intensely, and he wanted to be with Jesus always. He did not understand any need for Jesus to die; in fact, he planned to protect Jesus with his life if necessary. As with the foot-washing incident, Peter would much rather lay down his life for Jesus than think that Jesus would lay down his life for him. Peter’s brave and proud response resounds across the centuries like many who proudly refuse to accept Jesus’ act on their behalf, preferring instead to do something in order to obtain salvation. However, obeying Jesus means more than the intention to obey or the promise to obey. No one can do anything to obtain salvation.

13:38 “I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.”NRSV When the time of trial came, three times Peter would say that he didn’t even know Jesus (see also Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:54-62). The disciples may have started to wonder if Peter (instead of Judas) was the betrayer.

HE NEVER STOPS LOVING

Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen to both Judas and Peter, but he did not change the situation, nor did he stop loving them. In the same way, Jesus knows exactly what you will do to hurt him. Yet he still loves you unconditionally and will forgive you whenever you ask. Judas couldn’t understand this, and his life ended tragically. Peter understood, and despite his shortcomings, his life ended triumphantly because he never let go of his faith in the one who loved him.