Or, Following Jesus Later Begins Now
Scripture: John 13:36-38
Date: August 25, 2013
Speaker: Sean Higgins
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We might imagine the disciples’ march of confusion and surprise on this famous Thursday night. Things moved quickly, and the unexpected foot-washing by Jesus (verses 1-11) led to a lesson on humble service (verses 12-17) followed by a revelation of betrayal (verses 18-30) that led to Judas leaving which led to Jesus announcing His own departure and His giving a new commandment to the disciples (verses 31-35).
The puzzle pieces didn’t seem to fit, especially for Peter. There was confusion over the foot-washing (verses 6-11); Peter said he wouldn’t allow the Lord to do it. There was questioning about the betrayer’s identity (verse 24); Peter wanted to know who. Now there is concern over Jesus leaving and Peter wants to know where (verses 36, 37). Peter voiced his confusion and concerns, though he couldn’t be the only one among the eleven with questions. That said, his open mouth may have caused some some of the others to look at Peter with suspicion. “Maybe he is the unclean one, maybe he is the betrayer.” Of course, we know that Peter wasn’t the betrayer, but he was about to become a denier.
Before we get to that, while we can sympathize with the disciples’ anxiety about their Lord’s departure announcement, we might wonder why there weren’t more responses to the Lord’s commandment.
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 13:34–35, ESV)
According to John’s story, Peter skipped over the commandment to the announcement in verse 33. Again, if we had been at table, we might have missed the “love just as Jesus” part, too. But we have the luxury of stopping and soaking a bit longer, so we should. In fact, I believe that there is a direct connection between the disciple’s failure to attend the command and their being scattered, even denying Jesus a few hours later.
The Power of Love
I read somewhere that a man’s leadership ability is assessed by the size of the problems he solves. In a similar way, a man’s loving ability is assessed by the intensity of hate he overcomes.A man is more glorious who loves the unlovely to greater loveliness.
We learn this from God. God loves potently; His love convinces. His love never hides; it seeks out the hiding. We could say that the reason God created tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, is so that His love could be better glorified. No one, no thing, can separate us from the love of Christ. “Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39, ESV). He loves us in unrighteousness, foolishness, weakness, and then out of it all (Romans 5:6, 8, 10). He is not glorious because forgiven rebels love Him, but because He loves rebels into peace and fellowship.
Here is the gospel (the evangel): God so loved the fallen, sinful, hostile world that He sent His only Son to suffer disbelief, rejection, mocking, and murder at the hands of men in order to overcome and bring many sons to glory. He brings the dead into life and fellowship. His love doesn’t merely endure bitterness, His love conquers it. The more awful the hatred, the more glorious the love that transforms it.
How do we know this about God’s love? He tells us in His Word. He also embodies it in the Word, the Logos, Jesus Christ, the Son of Man. God is love, Jesus is God, Jesus is love in the flesh. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The cross completed the sacrifice, but He served and washed and suffered ignorance and betrayal and denial along the way.
Jesus’ love was more glorious even when Judas went to set the trap (John 13:31-32). Judas didn’t and couldn’t subtract from Jesus’ glory, he, albeit unintentionally, multiplied it.
As Christians we see the potent love of Jesus, we believe it, we know how much it has changed us. We are also called to embody it. He commands us to love one another just as He loved us.
It is a strange and wonderful privilege that Jesus would want us weak-lovers as His representatives. (It shows how much He loves us yet again). He commands our humble service and costly sacrifice for other undeserving sinners. Our sacrifice isn’t substitution but it is a reflection of the Son of Man. Believing in His loving sacrifice for our sin cannot be separated from our loving sacrifice for other sinners. We can’t say that we love God whom we haven’t seen when we aren’t loving our brother whom we do see (1 John 4:20-21).
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. (1 John 4:20–21, ESV)
The glory of God’s love is measured by the division it bridges, the hate it relieves, the ugliness it beautifies. His disciples’ love is derivative of divine love. We show that we are with Him when we love like Him.
Which also means that we deny Him when we do not love like Him.
We have convinced ourselves that we are not denying Him when we aren’t denying Him verbally. But we just saw that love is embodied. When we love we are known as His disciples. When we don’t love, we are disobedient, yes, but it really is worse than that.
Peter and the others were naturally upset that Jesus said He was leaving. But Peter would have been more ready for Jesus to leave if he had paid attention to Jesus command that they love one another just as He loved them. If we don’t lay down our lives for one another, we won’t lay down our lives for Jesus.
Even though he seems to have missed the significance of the command, we understand Peter’s concern about Jesus’ announcement that He was about to leave.
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.” (John 13:36, ESV)
The Jews thought that Jesus was going into Gentile areas to get a following (7:33-35), and later that Jesus might commit suicide (8:21-22). Peter probably heard that, so he had heard the departing news at least twice already. Why he asks now may be because he realizes that it’s actually going to happen. The departure is getting real.
This would be traumatic for the disciples. Their Master had been with them for three years. They had left their own pursuits to follow Him and now He was leaving them? That’s a problem. The bigger problem, though, is that Peter wasn’t submitting to Jesus.
He, of course, heard what Jesus said about the new precept, but he is not satisfied to give up the presence of his Lord and to pour out his love on his fellow-disciples. Thus also he is not merely asking for more information in regard to the Lord’s destination, in order the better to understand the impending separation; he is determined that there shall not be such a separation but that he will cling to Jesus in spite of Jesus’ word. (Lenski, 964)
Jesus replied, Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward. He doesn’t answer the question directly. Peter asked Where? and Jesus referred to where without naming the place. Jesus also reiterated that the disciples could not come where He was going (as in verse 33), but now He adds, you will follow afterward.
This seems to be a reference to going to the Father, going to heaven, through death. In chapter 14 Jesus talks about His Father’s house and how He was going to prepare a place for them and that they knew the way (verse 4). We see the destination and the path: heaven via death.
It wasn’t time for Peter to die or to go to the Father. Peter wasn’t convinced.
Peter’s mouth is bigger than his heart. He writes verbal checks with insufficient funds in his boldness bank account.
Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” (John 13:37, ESV)
Peter’s question is more argumentative than inquisitive. In other words, Peter says, “You’re wrong, Jesus. I can follow You. And I will.” He insists, I will lay down my life for you.Peter’s intentions may have been genuine, but it was much easier to talk about sacrifice after a good meal, in a warm place, with Jesus present and no enemies around. His confidence is admirable and naive. He did not know how hard it was going to get.
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 13:38, ESV)
The repetition of Peter’s claim accents the irony. Not only would Peter not lay down his life for Jesus, Jesus would lay down His life for Peter (as Jesus said He would for all His sheep in 10:15, 18 and 11:50-52). Jesus already said that He was going to lay down His life and He had already done it in a lesser way by washing their feet.
Then Jesus gives a chilling prediction with all authority: Truly, truly. Presumably the disciples didn’t think the denier was the betrayer. Maybe they did. They probably also thought that they wouldn’t deny Jesus. But all of them did in one way or another.
All four gospel accounts include this prediction. Peter wasn’t ready to follow Christ after all.
I have a couple question. If Jesus knew Peter’s future (along with Judas’ future and His own), then why not do something to fix it, change it? Even more specifically, why doesn’t Jesus take Peter and the other 10 with Him to heaven right away? He tells them about their place in heaven in chapter 14. He prays for His disciples to be with Him and see His glory in chapter 17. Why let them fumble the ball of faith? Why leave them here when He leaves?
Three benefits of being left behind:
We talk a big game, but we don’t know how much we don’t know. More than that, we will not obey later if we won’t obey now. We will deny Him in crucial moments if we deny Him in mundane moments. If we will not do the hard thing of loving one another now, we will not do the hard thing of professing love for Jesus later.
Do you want to be more bold? Then be more obedient. Do you want others to know that you’re with Jesus? They will know we are disciples by our love.
We always have the greatest possible opportunity to show our love for the Lord.