THE GOSPEL OF JOHN IV. THE DISCIPLES’ PREPARATION BY THE SON OF GOD (13:1–16:33) A. THE DISCOURSE IN THE UPPER ROOM (Jn 13:1 – 14:31) 1. The Prelude to the Betrayal (13:1-2) 2. The Washing of the Disciples’ Feet (13:3-17) 3. The Exposure of the Betrayal (13:18-30)

4. The Glorifying of Christ (13:31-38) a. Jesus’ Glory (vv ) b. Jesus’ Commandment (vv ) 1) The context of the commandment (v. 33) 2) The content of the commandment (v. 34)  Read Jn 13:34.  Jesus begins to lay out what He expects of them while He is away.

 The “new commandment” is not “new” because nothing like it had ever been said before. ~ The Mosaic covenant had mandated two love commandments: Deut 6:5 and Lev 19:18. ~ Mk 12:28-33; cf. Rom 13:8-10; Gal 5:14; 1Jn 2:7-8  The newness of the commandment is evident from the fact that Jesus requires that His disciples shall love one another as He loved them!

~ His example of constant, self- sacrificing love must be the pattern for their attitude and relation toward one another. ~ Jesus was a living example of God’s love, as we are to be living examples of Jesus’ love. ~ 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.

~ John Vianney: “Love for our neighbor consists of three things: to desire the greater good of everyone; to do what good we can when we can; to bear, excuse and hide other’s faults.”  The standard of comparison is Jesus’ love (cf. v. 1), just exemplified in the footwashing (cf. vv ).

~ D. A. Carson: “The more we recognize the depth of our own sin, the more we recognize the love of the Savior; the more we appreciate the love of the Savior, the higher his standard appears; the higher his standard appears, the more we recognize in our selfishness, our innate self-centredness, the depth of our own sin. With a standard like this, no thoughtful believer can ever say,

this side of the parousia, ‘I am perfectly keeping the basic stipulation of the new covenant.’”  Christ’s purpose in this passage was to exhort His disciples to “love,” that they might never let themselves be drawn away from the pursuit of it, or the truth of it to slip away from them.

~ Because it is hard to maintain brotherly “love,” many times we set it aside and instead occupy ourselves with other substitute duties and methods of worshipping God.  But it is not just that the standard is Christ and His love. ~ It is a command designed to reflect the relationship of love that exists between the Father and the Son.

~ The new command is a privilege which, rightly lived out, proclaims the true God before a watching world. 3) The consequence of the commandment (v. 35)  Read Jn 13:35. ~ It is not so much that Christians are to love the world less, as that they are to love one another more.

~ Better put, THEIR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER OUGHT TO BE A REFLECTION OF THEIR NEW STATUS AND EXPERIENCE AS THE CHILDREN OF GOD, REFLECTING THE MUTUAL LOVE OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND IMITATING THE LOVE THAT HAS BEEN SHOWN THEM.

 Genuine, deep-seated, constant, and self-sacrificing love for one another is the distinguishing trait of the Christian. ~ Thus, everybody will begin to see “the Christ in the Christian.” “How can you lead to Christ your boy Unless Christ’s method you employ? There’s just one thing that you can do – It’s let that boy see Christ in you.

“Have you a husband fond and true? A wife who’s blind to all but you? If each would win the other one, That life must speak of God’s dear Son. “There is but one successful plan By which to win a fellow man; Have you a neighbor old or new? Just let that man see Christ in you.

“The Church that hopes to win the lost Must pay the one unchanging cost; She must compel the world to see In her the Christ of Calvary.” — Author unknown  Not only would such love bring unbelievers to Christ; it would also keep believers strong and united in a world hostile to God.

 Jesus said that our Christlike love will show that we are His disciples. ~ 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? (a few examples) ~ by helping when it’s not convenient ~ by giving when it hurts ~ by reaching out to those difficult to like

~ by devoting energy to others’ welfare rather than our own ~ by absorbing hurts from others without complaining or fighting back ~ by forgiving even as we tempted to retaliate.  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.

 Jesus said that the world will know us by our love. ~ The question you must answer today is this: does it know you by your love? ~ Ralph Venning: “Love one another that it may at last be said of Christians as it was at first: ‘Behold how they love one another.’” ‘Behold how they love one another.’”