Love One Another As I Have Loved You
The “disciple whom Jesus loved,” known as John, either John ben Zebedee (the Apostle), or John the Elder, wrote his recollections of his experiences with Jesus so that those who hear or read would believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and would find eternal life in His name (cf. John 20:31).
The moment at which the Son of Man would be glorified, and God in Him, had arrived (John 13:31-32): Judas had just departed to betray Jesus; soon Jesus would be arrested, tried, abused, executed, but raised from the dead on the third day. Jesus well understood these things, but His disciples did not. Everything Jesus would say and do in John 13:1-17:26 was designed to prepare His disciples for these events and what would come afterward.
To this end, in John 13:1-17, Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, and explained to them how they should follow His example and humbly serve one another. Jesus spoke of His imminent betrayal and sent Judas Iscariot out in John 13:18-30.
Jesus would then focus His attention on His eleven remaining disciples (and perhaps a few others present). John 13:31 begins a continual discourse which will close with the “High Priestly Prayer” of John 17:1-26, with only a mild interruption of sorts in John 14:31.
Jesus immediately set the tone for this pronounced discourse: the time had come for God to be glorified in the Son of Man and to glorify Him (John 13:31-32). As Jesus had previously said to the Jewish religious leaders in John 7:33-34, so now His disciples: where Jesus was going, they could not come (John 13:33). In all of these ways Jesus forecast His imminent suffering, death, and resurrection, and ultimately His ascension and lordship; He then wanted to set forth the core lesson which He wanted His disciples to understand: He gave them a new commandment to love one another as He had loved them, and all would know they are His disciples if they have love for one another (John 13:34-35).
John the Evangelist was profoundly struck by this instruction from Jesus; it echoed again in 1 John 2:7-11. There John well played with the “new old” commandment, for the exhortation to love one another can be found in Leviticus 19:18. The “new” part of the commandment can be found in the qualification: “as I have loved you.” Jesus’ sacrificial love for His people represents the new standard for the love Christians must embody for one another. John’s exquisite discourses on love in 1 John 3:11-18, 4:7-21 were designed to exhort Christians to love one another.
John was right to be profoundly affected by this instruction from Jesus. We all likewise should be moved by it. Far too often Christians speak and act as if they should be known as Christians by what they profess, by the sign outside the building in which they assemble, by their socio-political stances, by the jewelry they wear, or by many other things. Instead, Jesus expected Christians to be known as such, as Jesus’ followers, if they have love for one another. As the Apostle Paul would later attest, all the “righteousness” and benevolence in the world, or all exercise of spiritual power, are for naught if they are not motivated by and grounded in love (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). The most polished marketing and promotions with the greatest aesthetic and vibe along with the ability to set the right mood and with polished music and speaking produce nothing if those involved do not love one another as Jesus has loved them. Many delude themselves into thinking most find Christianity unattractive because of secular entanglements and enticements; unfortunately, most find Christianity unattractive because far too many who profess Christ do not love one another, let alone anyone else, as He commanded them. Jesus of Nazareth remains a compelling figure in the early twenty-first century; our challenges often come from our own deficiencies in well embodying Him and everything He is about.
While John the Evangelist was profoundly affected by Jesus’ instruction in John 13:34-35, we are immediately given reason to wonder how much of an effect it had on others. Simon Peter asked a question which seems to indicate he was preoccupied with what Jesus had said before in John 13:33: he wanted to know where Jesus was going (John 13:36). Jesus told Peter he could not follow Him now but would follow Him later (John 13:36). Peter protested, wondering why he could not follow now, and asserted he would even lay his life down for Jesus (John 13:37). Jesus responded, perhaps with not a little incredulity, asking if Peter would really lay down his life for Jesus, and prophesied how Peter would deny Jesus three times on that very night (John 13:38; cf. John 18:15-18, 25-27).
We all go through a phase during which we often castigate the disciples for their failings and weaknesses; we can easily see Peter here at his most impetuous, making grandiose proclamations while shrinking away at the first hint of difficulty. Yet as we continue to walk in and with the Lord Jesus, life and experience humbles us and we are better able to see ourselves in the disciples. We should remember how Simon Peter often proved representative of the whole; he would be the one to say what the rest of the disciples were thinking. Peter’s faith here would normally be commendable: he wanted to be wherever Jesus was, and he did not want to be without Jesus. We can, and will, have reason to cast some aspersions on the full integrity of Peter’s commitment to Jesus when he will deny Him three times, but we also have to give some consideration for the work of God’s providence in these matters. If Peter had boldly affirmed his association with Jesus, there would have been another cross for him as well; same with the rest of the male disciples.
The real lesson we should take away from Jesus’ and Peter’s interaction in John 13:36-38 centers on trust and timing. Imagine if Peter did not try to stay close to Jesus during His arrest and trial: he would not have been put in the position of denying Jesus. If Peter had only really internalized what Jesus had told him in John 13:33-36: if Peter was really listening to Jesus and truly following His instruction, he would not have tried to physically follow Jesus in His trial, for Peter could not yet go where Jesus was going. Sometimes the hardest lesson we must learn as Christians is “not yet.” God works powerfully according to His purposes in His good time; sometimes we can get in God’s way when we think we need to get involved and act when it is not really our time and place to act. For Peter and the other disciples to truly follow Jesus, they would have to accept they could not actually follow Him just yet. The time would come when Peter would go where Jesus was going: tradition would speak of Peter dying in Rome by upside down crucifixion in the 60s. Peter and the disciples had zeal and enthusiasm, but they desperately needed to trust in Jesus’ experience and wisdom. We could learn much from them.
Thus Jesus began His great concluding discourse with His disciples, emphasizing the importance of loving one another as Jesus had loved them. They would follow Jesus to where He was going, but not just yet. May we love one another as Jesus has loved us, faithfully serving Jesus as we wait upon Him, and share in eternal life through Him!
Ethan R. Longhenry
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