Old Testament Reading: Proverbs 15:29

“The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.” (Proverbs 15:29, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 14:12-14

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:12–14, ESV)

Introduction

You really have to stand in the place of the disciples of Jesus to fully appreciate all that Jesus has to say to them in chapters 14-17. We should try our best imagine what it would have been like to see the long awaited Messiah with our own eyes, to be overwhelmed with excitement concerning his arrival, to assume that he was here to stay, and then to hear Jesus say, I am going away, and where I am going you cannot come. This would have been most disappointing – most troubling.

I’m sure you have experienced disappointment before. You expected to get the job – you expected to get the promotion – you expected the relationship to last forever, and when things went in a different direction, your heart was troubled. All of a sudden everything needed to be reconsidered.

This was the kind of emotion the disciples of Jesus were experiencing. They had thought that things would go one way, but Jesus revealed that they would go another. They expected that the Messiah would remain forever, but Jesus made it clear that he would go away for a time, and then come back for his people at the end. What the disciples thought would be one, simple, and all encompassing event (the coming and remaining of the Messiah) would actually be more complex – the work of the Messiah would actually be accomplished over a long period of time – his first coming marked the beginning of his work, and his second coming would bring about the completion of it.

It is not that these truths were missing from the Old Testament, mind you. It’s that the disciples where ignorant of these things. Jesus simply made these truth known to them, and their hearts were troubled upon hearing his word. I imagine their heads were spinning as they labored to wrap their minds around the fact that Jesus would go away for a time, and then come again at the end of the age to finish what he started.

What would Jesus be doing while he was away? John 14:1-3 revealed that he would be preparing a place for his people.

Where would he go? He made it clear that he would go to the Father?

And how would his people get from where they are now to where Jesus would be? They would get to the Father by believing upon Jesus – believing that he indeed was the Christ, the Son of God incarnate, and that life is found in his name.

So now the disciples of Jesus knew that he was going away. They knew that he was going to Father. They knew that he was going to prepare a place for them. They also were instructed as to how to get there. They would get there by believing in Jesus.

But the question remained in their minds, what would the time between the first and second coming of Jesus be like? What were they to do? They had depended upon Jesus so heavily during his earthly ministry, how would they get along without him? This, I think, was a most disturbing thought to the disciples of Christ. They trembled at the thought of going it alone.

Jesus had already alluded to the fact that he would be with them even after his departure. This allusion is contained in the dialogue between Jesus and Philip. I addressed this two weeks ago as we looked at verses 8-11, and will not repeat it for the sake of time.

But notice how Jesus, in verse 12, begins to speak rather specifically concerning how things would be in the time between his first and second comings.

Brothers and sisters, these are the days that you and I live in. We live in the age between Christ’s first and second coming. You may call it the “church age”, if you wish, or the “New Covenant age”, or the “age of the Spirit” – whatever we call it, it is important to recognize the significance and purpose of the age in which we live. John chapters 14-17 has much to teach us about this age.

Two things become clear through the text we are considering this morning: One, we learn something about the work to be done in this age. And two, we learn something of where the power to accomplish this work is found.

Let Us Consider The Work To Be Done In This Age

Let us first of all consider the work to be done in this age.

That there is work to be done is probably the first thing that needs to be said.

This is something that the people of God may loose sight of from time to time.

When we hear the statement, “there is work to be done in this age” we might agree, saying, yes, I must go to work to pay the bills, the lawn needs to be mowed, and the eaves need to be painted. Or, yes, the laundry needs to be done, the checkbook balanced, and the children need to be bathed and clothed. And it is true, this is some of the work that needs to be done in this age. This kind of work is necessary – it should not be neglected. It should also be said that this kind of work is good and pleasing to God – it should not be minimized. God is glorified when you are diligent to fulfill his calling upon your life, whatever that calling may be.

But what is the work that I am ultimately referring to here? It is not worldly work, or common work that I am referring to, but to the work directly associated with the advancement of Kingdom of God. Christ came the first time to accomplish his work as Redeemer, he ascended to the Father, and from there he will return. And in this age between his first and second comings, the people of God are to labor for the furtherance of his Kingdom. This is not a purposeless age. It is not an idle age. No, there is much work to be done for the Kingdom of God until the Lord returns.

That there is work to be done is the first thing that needs to be said.

Secondly, it should be noted that the work we are to engage in is nothing less than a continuation of the work of Jesus Christ.

Look with me at verse 12 where Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do… (John 14:12, ESV)

Remember that the disciples of Jesus were troubled by the fact that he was going away. Here he says to them, “Truly, truly” – in the Greek it is “ἀμήν, ἀμήν” – it is as if Jesus were saying, I am telling you the solemn truth.  And what does he promise? That “whoever believes in [him] will also do the works that [he does].” The believing ones – the one who believes in Jesus – will do the works that Jesus did. In other words, our works will be a continuation of the work that Jesus began.

Now of course we should not press this too far. There are some things that Jesus did that we could never do. For example, never could we claim to be from above, as Jesus was from above. Never could we fulfill the duties associated with being the Messiah, or  the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus alone was the Prophet, Priest, and King. We do not share with him in the work that he accomplished as the Messiah, the Son of God. To think in those terms would be to misunderstand what is being said here.

Instead, Jesus is making the point that his work will not end when he goes to the Father, but it will have, in fact, just begun. Perhaps another way to say the same thing is to point out that Jesus accomplished redemption in his first coming – he alone could do that – only he could live in perfect obedience to God, die for the sins of others, and rise again, defeating sin and death for us – we can in no way join him in that work. That work was his work, beginning, middle and end – it is finished! But what is Jesus doing now? Is he not applying the work of redemption that he accomplished to those given to him by the Father in this age between his first and second coming? This is the work that we share in. Christ started it at his first coming, and he will continue it until he returns; and he will involve us in that work!

This is a part of what is meant when the church is called the body of Christ. Though Christ is not present on earth in the flesh, his work continues in the world through the church, as each individual member does it’s part.

We might also think of the five great commission passages – one in each gospel, and also one at the beginning of Acts. What do they all communicate? They communicate the fact that the work of Christ will continue even after his ascension, through the Apostles, and through the churches they plant, to the ends of the earth.

It is interesting that the great commission passage in John goes like this: “Jesus said to them… ’Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’” (John 20:21, ESV)

The work that you and I together are called to engage in is nothing less than a continuation of the work of Jesus Christ.

Thirdly, notice that the works those who believe in Christ will do in the time between his first and second comings are, in some respects, greater than works that Christ did while on earth.

Listen to Jesus in the second part of verse 12:  “…and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12, ESV)

This sounds strange to our ears, doesn’t it? We think, how could it be that our works will surpass Jesus’ works?

If we take the word “works” here to refer only to the miracles of Christ, then this passage makes little sense. It’s hard to imagine how those who believe in Jesus could do anything greater than walking on water, or raising a man from the dead after four days in the grave, for example.

On the other hand, it would not be right to exclude miracles, for the word “works” (ἔργον) is used throughout John’s Gospel to refer to the miracles that Christ preformed. Jesus’ Apostles would indeed preform miracles – the book of Acts makes that clear. And thought I do not believe that anyone has the gift of miracles today, as they did in the age of the Apostles, I would confess that God is still able to work miracles through the prayers of his people, if he so chooses.

What I am saying is that we should not limit the meaning of the word “works” to miracles, nor should exclude miracles (this is consistent with John’s usage of the word ἔργον). Instead we should understand Jesus to be saying that after his departure those believing in him would continue the work that he began in his earthy ministry, and would in fact advance that work. Jesus’ work would reach new heights as it continued through his followers after his departure.

This would have been most comforting to his disciples, just as it is comforting to you and me.

Their thought was this: if Jesus is departing then it is game over.

Jesus’ response: was, no brothers, it has just begun.

They were troubled of heart thinking, how will we win given that we are loosing our star player?

Jesus’ comforted them saying, in effect, you will not loose the battle. In fact you will do even greater things after I go away.

And Jesus explains why this would be so. Those believing in Christ would greatly advance the work that he had begun, “because [he was] going to the Father.”

This “going away” was not a demotion for Jesus; it was a promotion. He would not loose power, but gain it. His work would not be hindered, but rather launched to new heights. His disciples would not be at a disadvantage, but rather it was to their advantage, and ours, that he go away.

I have heard some say, “Oh, if only I were there when Jesus was on earth, then I would have more faith! Then I would serve him better!” This is not true. The scriptures reveal that you and I are in a better situation now that Jesus has gone to the Father. Our Lord Jesus Christ is in a more powerful position now that he has ascended to the right hand of God. It was to our advantage that he go away!

May I say two things about the exhalation of Christ to the right hand of God?

First of all, we should see that when Christ went to the Father he was given authority over all things. I could point to many scriptures to support this point. Peter says it in a most succinct way. Speaking of Jesus he says that “[he] has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” (1 Peter 3:22, ESV)

Do you hear that, church? Jesus has power over everything now. This is certainly to our advantage!

Notice also the introduction and conclusion to the great commission.

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18–20, ESV)

Why should we engage in the work that Christ gave us to do with boldness? Because all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to our Lord, and he is with us always, even to the end of the age.

Jesus is ruling and reigning now in his Kingdom. This is a most significant and comforting truth.

The second thing that needs to be said about Christ going to the Father is that he was then able to send the Spirit to us. I will not linger on this point for too long – to do so would steal the thunder from what we will encounter later in John 14. For now, please notice that this is the focus from verse 15 onward. Jesus promised his disciples that after he ascended to the Father he would send the Spirit. This certainly was to their advantage.

If you would like to see for yourself what Jesus meant when he said that those who believe in him would do greater works than he himself did during his earthly ministry, read the book of Acts. Christ had a very small band of disciples at the end of his earthly ministry; and yet 3,000 came to faith in one day when Peter preached the gospel in Acts 2. Also, Jesus’ ministry was limited to Palestine during his time on earth; but the Kingdom would spread to the ends of the earth after pentecost through the church planting efforts of his disciples. If you like to see more of how the those who believe in Christ would do greater works than Christ, study church history, giving special attention to the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. In others words, we should not overlook the significance Jesus’ ascension to the Father, all things being subject to him, and to the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out in New Covenant power. The gospel of the Kingdom advanced with great power after Jesus ascended to the Father.

Please hear me. It is not that Jesus’ followers would preform more spectacular miracles than he preformed (how could that be), but that the Kingdom that Christ inaugurated at his first coming would expand and grow and multiply from being the size of a mustard seed to the size of an enormous tree through the work of his disciples after his departure. This was made possible because he went to the Father, was given authority over all things in heaven and on earth, and from there sent the Spirit help us and to empower the continuation of the work he began at his first coming,

Application: Brothers and sisters, here is the question I have for you: Are you contributing to this work? I chose the word “contributing” carefully, for I do not think that an individual Christian is able to do the work of Christ (the Great Commission) on his or her own. The work of Christ continues through the church, which is the assembly of God’s people. We together are the body of Christ. The great commission was given – not to individuals – as if an individual were capable of fulfilling it on his own – but to the Apostles of Christ. And how did they go about fulfilling the command to “Go…and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:19–20, ESV)? They planted local churches. Those local churches consisted of Elders and Deacons, and members. And each member was to do their part, according to the gift given to them from on High.

Take for example Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. He wrote to them in chapter 4, saying,

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, ‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.’ (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ…” (Ephesians 4:1–15, ESV)

Brothers and sisters, are you doing the work that Christ has called you to do. He has gifted you in a particular way. You have a role to play. It does not matter what your vocation is. It does not matter if you work in the secular realm, or the sacred, we all have the same mission in this age between Christ’s first and second comings – our mission is to continue the work that Christ began. We are his body.

Let Us Consider Where The Power To Accomplish This Work Is Found

Having first of all considered the work to be done in this age, let us now turn our attention to where the power to accomplish this work is found.

Notice first of all that Jesus points his disciples to the power of prayer.

He says in verse 13, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13–14, ESV)

This is quite a promise, isn’t it? Jesus was going to the Father. He would no longer be with his disciples in the flesh, but that did not mean that they would be alone. He left them on earth with the gift of prayer. Those who believe in Christ are able to commune with him by coming to him in prayer.

And notice the promise that Jesus makes. “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do”, he says. And, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

Our instinct is to immediately begin to qualify this promise, saying, well, Jesus only really means that he will do what we pray for so long as we pray according to the will of God, or something like that. And that is true. Christ is not offering himself up to us as if he were a genie in a bottle, ready to do all that our hearts desire.

But before we add qualifying remarks to what Jesus promises here, should we not first of all stand amazed at the breadth and depth of the promise that he made. “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do”, he says. And, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

If this is true, then why are we so prayer-less? Should we not read these words and think to ourselves, if this is so, then I will pray to my Lord always and about everything! Our Lord has gone to the Father, but he has left us the gift of prayer. We are invited to come to him with our concerns and desires, and he has promised to act. This must have been a tremendous comfort to his troubled disciples, and it should bring comfort to you and me. Our Lord hears us. He is in a position of power. And he is ready and able to act for us.

The fact of the matter is that we do not need to add any qualifying or restraining remarks to Jesus’ promise concerning prayer – the text itself provides limits to the promise of Christ.

Noticed that we are to pray for those things which will bring glory to God the Father.

Jesus says, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” The prayers that Jesus promises to act upon are those prayers which are in line with the purpose of Christ, which is to glory God the Father. These are the prayers that Jesus promises to act upon!

The sinful and fleshly man is saddened by this news. The sinful man is disappointed when he hears that Jesus promises to act upon those prayers which are supremely concerned with glorifying God. He thinks to himself, well what is the use of that! What is the use if I am not guaranteed to have my prayers for health, wealth, and prosperity acted upon by Jesus!

But the godly are encouraged by this news. The godly – those who are true disciples of Christ – are filled with great joy to hear the Savior say, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, ][in order that] the Father may be glorified in the Son.” This was Jesus’ supreme desire – to glorify the Father. And it is the supreme desire of all those who truly love God. The leading cry of our heart is, Lord, be glorified!

Jesus taught us how to pray, didn’t he? He said,  “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’” (Matthew 6:9–10, ESV) What is to be our leading concern? That the Father be glorified! That his kingdom come, his will be done! After we begin in this way, it is then that we are invited to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:11–13, ESV)

Jesus makes a great and broad and unconstrained promise to us concerning prayer. And he does so assuming that those who truly belong to him will certainly pray for those things which make his heart smile. Those who believe in Christ are united to Christ. Those who believe in Christ have the Spirit of Christ. Those who believe in Christ have a heart transformed by Christ, and will naturally (or supernaturally) pray for those things that Christ loves. The thing that Christ loves more than anything is the Father, and the magnification of his great name.

Notice thirdly that our prayers are to be prayed in the name of the Son.

We conclude our prayers in Jesus name, do we not? We end our prayers by saying, “in Jesus name we pray. Amen”, or “in the name of Christ we pray. Amen”, or  something of these sort. Why do we do such a thing? Is it simply a tradition? It is just a nice way to bring things to a conclusion? No, it is in obedience to what is said here: “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do”, Jesus says.

It is not that the name of Jesus is magical. It’s not as if the sound of the name has some sort of mystical power. No, to pray in Jesus name is the to pray trusting in him. We are praying in his name because he is our Savior.  We pray in his name because he is our Mediator even now – he is our great high priest who lives to intercede for us. When we say, “in the name of Christ we pray” we are saying that we trust that our prayers are heard by God and effective because of who Christ is, and all that he has done for you and for me.

Application: Brothers and sisters, are we diligent prayer? What a gift prayer is! Why we neglect it, I do not understand.

Are you diligent in your private prayers?

Do you “go into the closet” and pray to God, in the name of Christ?

Do you pray throughout the day, offering up adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication to him?

Are you praying with your family – your wife and children; extended family? Notice that we are trying to encourage family prayer through the Family Worship Guidelines that we send out each and every week.

Are you praying with the brethren? Did you know that there is a prayer meeting here every Sunday at 9:30am? How about praying with one another after the service, in your GCG’s, etc?

And are your diligent in prayer when we pray corporately in the worship service? When someone leads in prayer, you should be active in prayer too! When we say “amen” we are saying, I agree! Let it be so! Church, our “amens” should be hardy “amens”.

It is my objective as your Pastor to find more ways to motivate prayer. What a gift it is! What a promise Christ has made to us! Do you want to see Christ accomplish his work in and through us? Then we had better be a praying people!

“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13–14, ESV)

Old Testament Reading: Exodus 33

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.’ I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.’ When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. For the Lord had said to Moses, ‘Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.’’’ Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. Moses said to the Lord, ‘See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.’ And he said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?’ And the Lord said to Moses, ‘This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.’ Moses said, ‘Please show me your glory.’ And he said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.’ And the Lord said, ‘Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.’” (Exodus 33, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 14:4-11

“‘Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.’  Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’ Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.’” (John 14:1–11, ESV)

Introduction

It seemed good to me to begin the this sermon by remembering the illustration of a husband going on a long journey and leaving his wife behind.

It would be a most terrible thing if a husband just up and left on a long journey without saying a word to his family. Even if the trip were a good one, and for a good purpose, he would be a fool to up and leave without a word. No, a husband would need to prepare his wife for his departure. The purpose of the trip would need to be communicated. The wife would need to be in agreement that the journey is worth, while and for their ultimate good. Provisions would need to be made for her so that she could thrive while her husband is away. Where will she get the money that she needs? How will she care for the children? How will she communicate with her husband while he is gone? How will the marriage relationship be strengthened and maintained? How how will she be kept safe? You can picture a husband and wife sitting together on a couch discussing these things, can’t you?

John chapters 14-17 are not much different. What we have here is a farewell address. Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure from this world. He has made it clear that he would have to go away for a time, and he is here comforting his disciples, explaining to them how they will get on in this world without him.

So it is no wonder then that John chapters 14-17 contain some of the most beloved passages in the whole Gospel. This entire section is practical. It applies deeply to you and I. True, Jesus was speaking to the eleven who remained with him there in that upper room, but he was preparing them to live in the age between his first and second comings. And that is the age in which we live! What Jesus says to his disciples, therefore, applies deeply to you and I.

We are the bride. Jesus is the bridegroom. He has departed from this earth for a time. But he has not left us unprepared or without necessary provision.

The disciples of Jesus were troubled at the news that their Lord was going away. Jesus comforts them saying, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” (John 14:1, ESV) This advice is simple and yet profound. What better advice can be offered to a troubled soul than to say, believe in God; believe also in Christ?

Jesus also comforted them with these words: “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2, ESV) Here we learn that Jesus’ departure was for a good reason; his departure was for our good. He has gone to the Father, not to sit in idle inactivity, but to prepare a place for you and me and all who believe in his name. The place that he has gone to prepare is ultimately the new heavens and new earth as described in Revelation 21.

He also brings comfort with these words: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3, ESV) A husband may go on a long journey to build a home for his wife and children. If the journey is for a good purpose, the family should ultimately rejoice in the departure of the man. But they can only rejoice if they know that in the end the husband will return and take them to be where he is. That is what Christ has promised to you and me. He has gone to prepare a place for us, and he will return to take us to be with him where he is.

Notice, though, that what has been said so far is only about, one, the fact of Christ’s departure; two, the reason for his departure; and three, the end result of his departure (that is, his return to take us to be with him). What has been said so far is indeed good and encouraging, but little has been said concerning how we are to get along in this world while he is away. We have been exhorted to believe in God, and to believe also in Christ, and that is certainly good! But Christ gives us more.

In fact, the rest of chapter fourteen on through to the end of chapter seventeen is all about the way of the Christian in the time between Jesus’ first and second comings. He tells how to get along. He gives us what we need – the instruction that we need, and the sustenance that we need – so that we might walk with him faithfully in this world as we wait for him to take us home to the Father.

Notice three things in verses 4-11: First of all, Jesus has not left us to wander aimlessly in this world, but has provided a way for us. Secondly, Jesus has revealed the Father to us in a way sufficient for the journey. Thirdly, Jesus again calls us to go on believing in him, that we might have strength to the end.

Jesus has not left us to wander aimlessly in this world, but has provided a way for us.

Notice first of all that Jesus has not left us to wander aimlessly in this world, but has provided a way for us.

Given what has been said so far, we might reason to ourselves saying, Lord Jesus, it is indeed comforting to know that you have gone to prepare a place for us. And it is also comforting to know that you will return for us so that we might be where you are for all eternity. But what about now? How are we walk between now and then? Jesus shows us the way. 

This point emerges in the dialogue that takes place between Jesus and one of his disciples named Thomas.

In verse four Jesus says, “And you know the way to where I am going.” (John 14:4, ESV) The word “way” could also be translated “road” or “path”, for that is the idea. Jesus would soon leave his disciples on earth and go to the Father, and he expects that his disciples know the way (metaphorically speaking) to the Father. He expects that they know how to get from where they are now to where they will be for all eternity in the presence of God.  They know how they are to walk, if you will. Why does he expect that they know this? Because he had walked with his disciples for over three years, instructing them along the way concerning these things!

But listen to how Thomas responds: “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5, ESV) How are we to understand this reply? Did Thomas really not know the way? Was Jesus wrong in his assessment of his disciples when he said, “And you know the way to where I am going”?

I think Thomas (as well as the other disciples) understood more than they let on here in this moment. There is evidence throughout this Gospel that they knew Christ truly. Also, Jesus does say that they “know the way” – we cannot ignore this fact. But in the heat of the moment, being overrun with despair, their hearts being troubled by the circumstances which pressed in upon them, the disciples of Christ floundered.  They had much more to learn, it’s true. But they knew these things. It seems that the pressures of the moment shook them to the core, causing them to flounder even in the foundational things that they already knew.

“Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”, Thomas says. How could it be that Thomas did not understand where it was that Christ was going? Jesus had made it clear! From the Father he had come, and to the Father he would return. Jesus was going to prepare a place for them “in his Fathers house.” This had been said plainly time and again!

Notice that Jesus only addresses Thomas’ statement, “Lord, we do not know where you are going”, in a round about way. Instead he focus in upon Thomas’ objection, “how can we know the way?” Jesus responded to Thomas saying, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, ESV)

This is one of the most famous verses in all of the scriptures, and rightly so. Notice a couple of things about it:

First of all, notice that Jesus’ final destination is “the Father”. And this too should be our greatest desire, to be with the Father and the Son for all eternity. This is what makes heaven, heaven. This is what makes paradise, paradise. We were made by God, and we were made to know him. He is our greatest treasure. He is our life. In him – that is, in the knowledge of him – are pleasures forevermore.  We should agree with Augustine, saying, “[God] you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless, until they can find rest in you.” 

Some long for heaven thinking of it as a place where all of their fleshly, worldly, and (quite frankly) sinful desires will be fulfilled. They have a rather pathetic view of heaven which reveals the sick condition of their hearts. When they think of heaven they think, first of all (and dare I say, only), of fleshly things – food and drink, material possessions, and physical pleasure. Brothers and sisters when we think of heaven, we should think of God. We were made by him and for him. He will be the one who will satisfies our greatest desires. He should be the first thing that comes to mind when we think of that glorious place. Oh, how good it will be to see God face to face. How good it will be to behold his glory, to grow forever in our knowledge of him, and to worship his holy name, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.

Secondly, notice that this verse makes clear that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ. In other words, no one will go to heaven except through faith in Jesus Christ. This same point has been made in John’s Gospel in other ways. Jesus revealed himself as the door of the sheep. This gives us a visual of what is stated here in John 14:6. He is the only door – the only way – to the Father. If anyone is to go to God he must go through the Son. Of course what this means is that they must to the Father believing upon (or trusting in) the Son.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16–18, ESV)

Many are offended by the words of Jesus here. Our culture is wholeheartedly opposed to exclusive claims like the one that Jesus makes, when he says, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” It seems that the only unforgivable sin in our day and age is to make an exclusive claim. To say that Jesus is the only way sounds like the hight of blasphemy to the ears of the postmodern man. “How arrogant of you to claim that there is only one way to God”, they say. “And how narrow minded of you to think that your way is that only way!” You can hear their objection now, can’t you?

This question came up at our Jr. High study just this past week. A student asked, “what if someone believes or trusts in God but is not a Christian? Will that person be saved?” It is here in John 14:6 that we have the answer to that question. “Jesus said to [Thomas], ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6, ESV) If we are to go to the Father it must be by way of Jesus, the eternal Son of God come in the flesh, who is the Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Salvation is found in him, and in none other.

Here is where there confusion exists, I think. If we were claiming that Jesus was nothing more than a religious leader who started a great movement, now known a Christianity, and if we believed that his prime objective was to teach morals – that is, to make people better and more well behaved – then it would make little sense for us to say that Jesus is the only way to the Father. Certainly the argument could be made that other religions can increase morality in man. Why then is “salvation” not possible through those forms of religion. In fact, why is religion needed at all if the objective is to be a better person? Can’t an atheist accomplish this on his own?

But this is not what the Bible teaches concerning Jesus. Jesus was not merely a religious leader, he was the Son of God come in the flesh, the Messiah promised from long ago. And he did not come to teach men how not to be better people so that they might earn their way to heaven. No! He came to pay for the sins of men.  “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, ES), said John the Baptist. He did not primarily come to teach us how to be better people that we might work our way to God. No, he came to bear our sins in his body on that tree. And he alone could do it, given his utterly unique nature as the God-man. He was the utterly unique Christ, the anointed one of God.

Man’s problem, you see, is that he is a sinner. And as a sinner he stands condemned. He can nothing about it on his own. He needs his sins to be covered, paid for, taken away. To whom else can we turn if not to Jesus Christ. He alone is the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” This is why Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, ESV)

Thomas was struggling with two things: Jesus, We don’t know where you are going, and we don’t know how to get there. Jesus addressed both questions: Thomas, I’m going to the Father, and I am the way to him. 

Jesus is the way because he is also the truth and the life.

He is truth from God. He has revealed the Father to us. He is the light of the world. You and I can tell the truth, but Jesus is truth! Think on that for a moment.

He is also life. You and I can possess life, but it is life given to us by the grace of God. We are dependent creatures. We do not posses life in and of ourselves. But Christ is life.

He is the giver of life. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:1–4, ESV)

He is the sustainer of life. The writer to the Hebrews says that Jesus “is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power…(Hebrews 1:2–3, ESV)

And he is our eternal life! Paul exhorts us in this way: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1–4, ESV)

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him. “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5, ESV)

I picture Thomas loosing his head there for a moment, but Jesus set him straight.

Jesus says to him in verse 7, “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:7, ESV) More needs to be said about this verse, but for the sake of time we will move on (see endnote).

Jesus has revealed the Father to us in a way sufficient for the journey.

As soon as Jesus was done with Thomas, one of his other disciples spoke up with another objection. This time it was Philip.  And it is through Jesus’ interaction with Philip that we learn that Jesus has revealed the Father to us in a way sufficient for the journey.

“Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’” (John 14:8, ESV) Perhaps this request could be paraphrased with the words, “Lord, we would rather not wait. Show us the glory of God the Father now, and we will be content with that.”

There is a connection that exists between Exodus 33 and this request from Philip here in John 14:8.

In Exodus 33 the people of Israel are about to begin their journey into the wilderness. In John 14 the disciples are about to begin their journey in the world after Christ goes to the Father.

In Exodus 33 Moses is troubled at the thought of going it alone without the presence of God. God had threatened because of the sin of the people, saying, “but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” And “When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.” The people repented and God relented, agreeing to go with them (God does not truly repent – it is only from our perspective that God seems to repent).

“And [God] said [to Moses], ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ And [Moses] said to him, ‘If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:14–16, ESV)

That the presence of God be with him, and with the people, is Moses’ greatest concern.  He was troubled at the thought of going it alone. And so it was with the disciples in John 14.

And look now at Moses’ request.  After the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name”, Moses made this request of God, saying, “Please show me your glory.” (Exodus 33:17–18, ESV)

Philip’s request echoes Moses’ request. He says, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us”. In other words, Show us the glory of the Father now, please. Show us God’s glory in the same way that God’s glory was manifest to Moses’. Prove to us that you will go with us just as God reveled himself to Moses proving that he would sojourn with Israel in the wilderness. 

The interesting thing to notice is that Jesus did not place Philip in the cleft of a rock in order that the glory of the Father might pass by him in visible form. This was Moses’ experience. Jesus urges Philip to see that his experience was in fact greater than Moses’!

“Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9, ESV)

Jesus Christ has revealed God the Father to us. He was and is God incarnate – God come in human flesh.

Remember the opening chapter of John’s Gospel. There we were told that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, ESV)

Paul says it this way: “He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:15–16, ESV)

The writer to the Hebrews puts it this way:

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power…” (Hebrews 1:1–3, ESV)

The point is this: Moses indeed saw the glory of God, but those who saw the Christ, who was and is God incarnate, beheld the Father in a way greater than Moses did. “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9, ESV)

There is a difference between God the Father and Jesus Christ. Jesus was and is a man. In him are two natures, the human and divine, united in one person forever. It is not right to say Jesus Christ equals God the Father, or that Jesus is the Father. There is not a one to one correlation between the two. There are very important differences between Jesus Christ and God the Father. Nevertheless, Jesus could say, “whoever has seen me has seen the Father”, for he is the one who has revealed the Father to us in a most full way. He was and is Immanuel, which means, God with us. In him was the divine nature.

This is what Jesus gets at in verse 10, saying, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.” (John 14:10, ESV)

Philip wanted to see the Father. Jesus’ reply was, Philip, I am sufficient. I have reveled the Father to you in a most full way. In me you have beheld the glory of God, “glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” To see me is to see the Father. To know me is to know the Father.  

Jesus is enough, that is the point. He is sufficient. We are to be content with him in this age between his two comings. Yes, we long to see the glory of God in full. Yes, we long for that day when we will behold the Father in an unveiled, unobstructed way. But for the journey before, Jesus is enough! Indeed, he is more than enough. He is the way, the truth, and life. He is the way to God the Father.

Jesus calls us to go on believing in him, that we might have strength to the end.

And for this reason Jesus calls us to go on believing in him, that we might have strength to the end.

Look with me at verse 11. Jesus says, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.” (John 14:11, ESV)

“Believe me”, Jesus says. In 14:1 he said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” And now in 14:11 he again says, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” This is what Jesus has to say to his troubled disciples who are floundering in a moment of weakness. Believe in me! Have faith in me! Trust in me! Trust in my person. And trust in my work. 

Conclusion 

So here is how the Christian is to walk in the time between Christ’s first and second coming. He is to walk in Christ, for he is the way, the truth and the life. He is to walk in Christ knowing that it is in Christ that the Father is revealed. And he is to walk in Christ, believing in him, trusting in him, depending upon him for all things.

Jesus Christ is everything to us, that is the point. He is the beginning, middle, and end. He is our everything. He is our life. He is sufficient for us in this life in every way.

Endnote: The Textual Critical note in the NET Bible is helpful here: “There is a difficult textual problem here: The statement reads either “If you have known (ἐγνώκατε, egnwkate) me, you will know (γνώσεσθε, gnwsesqe) my Father” or “If you had really known (ἐγνώκειτε, egnwkeite) me, you would have known (ἐγνώκειτε ἄν or ἂν ἤδειτε [egnwkeite an or an hdeite]) my Father.” The division of the external evidence is difficult, but can be laid out as follows: The mss that have the perfect ἐγνώκατε in the protasis (Ì [א D* W] 579 pc it) also have, for the most part, the future indicative γνώσεσθε in the apodosis (Ì א D W [579] pc sa bo), rendering Jesus’ statement as a first-class condition. The mss that have the pluperfect ἐγνώκειτε in the protasis (A B C D L Θ Ψ Ë 33 Ï) also have, for the most part, a pluperfect in the apodosis (either ἂν ἤδειτε in B C* [L] Q Ψ 1 33 565 al, or ἐγνώκειτε ἄν in A C Θ Ë Ï), rendering Jesus’ statement a contrary-to-fact second-class condition. The external evidence slightly favors the first-class condition, since there is an Alexandrian-Western alliance supported by Ì. As well, the fact that the readings with a second-class condition utilize two different verbs with ἄν in different positions suggests that these readings are secondary. However, it could be argued that the second-class conditions are harder readings in that they speak negatively of the apostles (so K. Aland in TCGNT 207); in this case, the ἐγνώκειτε…ἐγνώκειτε ἄν reading should be given preference. Although a decision is difficult, the first-class condition is to be slightly preferred. In this case Jesus promises the disciples that, assuming they have known him, they will know the Father. Contextually this fits better with the following phrase (v. 7b) which asserts that “from the present time you know him and have seen him” (cf. John 1:18).” (https://lumina.bible.org/bible/John+14)

Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 37:15–28

“The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’ say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.’”(Ezekiel 37:15–28, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 14:1-3

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:1–3, ESV)

Introduction

Brothers and sisters, I want to begin to our consideration of the text before us by remembering things that happened long ago. It will eventually become clear why it is that I am introducing this sermon in this way. We should begin our consideration of John 14 by first of all remembering that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”, that is, all things visible and invisible. The scriptures tell us that “the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:1–2, ESV) I think you would agree with me, this was no place for man to dwell. This empty and chaotic darkness was by no means suitable for man. There was no place for him in this dark and chaotic abyss.

And so God began to bring the earth into shape. He began, by the power of his word, to form and fashion the earth into a realm suitable for his creatures.  “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.” (Genesis 1:3–4, ESV) He then divided the waters below from the waters above – the sky and the sea were created. And then he separated the seas from the dry land, and the dry land produced vegetation. These realms God created so that they might be filled with their proper rulers.

And that is in fact what God proceeded to do. Now that the earth was brought into shape – now that suitable realms had been created – he proceeded to fill those realms with things that would govern them. The scriptures tell us that on day four of creation God created the sun, moon, and stars. These were placed within their proper realm in order to rule the day and the night. In like manner God, on day five, created the flying creatures and the sea creatures, and they were placed within the realms created for them on day two. They were to multiply and fill the sky and the sea. And on day six we are told that God filled the land, which was created on day three,  with “the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:25, ESV)

The creation account of Genesis 1 follows this pattern: realms were created, and then those realms were filled with creature kings. A place was made – light; the sky and the sea; dry land – and then those places were filled with God’s creatures who were given the task of governing in one way or another.

But you say, there is more to the creation story! And you are right! In Genesis 1:26 we hear of the pinnacle of God’s creation:

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ And God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:26–31, ESV)

Much can be said about the creation account of Genesis 1, but what I want you to see is that at the heart of it is this idea: God made a place for man. He created all things visible and invisible by the power of his Word. He then, by the power of his Word, brought the earth out of its formless, empty, and dark state. And he did so until there was a place where man could dwell.

Genesis 2 tells us the same story but from a different vantage point. It zooms in upon man. Man, we are told was created directly by God. He was created from the dust of the ground. God breathed into him the breath of life. And the woman was taken out of man. After man was created by God he “put the man whom he had formed” into the garden paradise that he had created (Genesis 2:8, ESV).

Church, there is a question that we must answer before we move on. And the question is this: what made that garden paradise, paradise? Have you ever considered that? We might be tempted to think that it was the climate, or the lushness of the place? Perhaps it was the abundance of food? Or maybe it was the absence of sickness and death. These things certainly contributed to man’s enjoyment of paradise, but may I suggest to you the thing that made paradise, paradise, had nothing to do with the physical creation, but rather had everything to do with the fact that it was there that man walked with God. Eden – the original creation – was like a temple where man enjoyed unbroken, unhindered, unmediated, fellowship with the God who made him. Adam and Eve walked with God. He was their God, and they his people. God tabernacled with man there in that place. God is what made paradise, paradise.

Those of you familiar with the Bible are aware of the fact that Genesis 1and 2 are followed quickly by Genesis 3 which tells us of man’s original sin, the fall. The consequence of the sin of our first parents was that paradise was lost. The wages of sin is death. Sickness and suffering became the norm. Man was put out of the garden paradise, the way to the tree of life being blocked. But more than all of this we should notice that man lost his place before God. No longer would he walk with God in an unbroken, unhindered, unmediated way. No, he was now a sinner. He was a child of wrath. He stood guiltily before God – condemned.

But as you know, God showed mercy to fallen man. In an act of sheer grace he promised to redeem. He promised to defeat the evil one. He promised to send a Savior. God promised to make a way for fallen man to dwell with him. The Bible, as complicated as it may seem, is really quite simple – it is the story of God making and keeping his promise to save a people unto himself through Jesus who is the Christ.

With that in mind let us now move from our consideration of the creation and fall forward through the history of redemption. Let us pass by Able and Seth, Enoch and Noah. Let us move past Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And passing by Moses and David let us now fix our attention upon Jesus, who is the Christ, the Promised one from long ago.

Picture him there in the upper room with his disciples. He had walked with them for over three years. He taught them many things. He preformed miracles before their eyes, and in the sight of others. They believed that he was the Christ, the Savior of the world, and they expected him to remain forever. But now he is talking about going away. In John 13:33 we hear Jesus say, “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’” (John 13:33, ESV)

The disciples were troubled at this word. They were greatly distressed. They were bothered at the thought of their Master going away. After all, they expected him to remain forever! They thought to themselves, why does he need to leave? Where does he plan to go? Will will see him again? And how will we possibly get along in this world without him? These were the thoughts that were troubling the disciples of Jesus.

Notice that Jesus brings comfort to his disciples. That is what John 14 is all about. Jesus is comforting his disciples concerning his departure. And not only did he comfort the 11 who remained with him in the upper room on the night of of his betrayal and arrest, but he, by way of extension, also comforts you and I who live in this age between Christ first and second coming.

And how does Christ comfort those who are his who will live in the time between his first and second comings?

Christ commands us, saying, “let not your hearts be troubled.”

Look at verse 1. Jesus says, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” (John 14:1, ESV) Isn’t this like our Lord! We know that he himself was “troubled in spirit”, and yet, even with with the weight of the world upon his shoulders, his gives himself to the task of comforting his disciples with the words, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”

These words were originally for the 11 disciples who remained, it is true. But they are also for you and me. Jesus says to all who are his who live in this world between his first and second coming, “Let not your hearts be troubled”.

Christian, do you see that this is a command? “Let not your hearts be troubled”, Jesus says. It is an imperative in the Greek.  And as a command it is something that we are to obey. When our hearts are anxious – when our hearts are troubled with the cares that come with living in this world – we are to hear the command of our Savior saying, “let not your hearts be troubled.” And upon hearing his words, we are to obey them.

Christ urges us, saying, “believe in God, believe also in me.”

Thankfully there is substance to the command. There is weight behind it! You and I might say to one another, “don’t worry”, or “be happy”, but there is little substance to that. We might respond to encouragement like that saying, but why should I not worry? Or, why should I be happy? Jesus gives us a reason. He says,  “let not your hearts be troubled”, but he does not leave us with and empty command. He directs our attention to God and urges us to take comfort in him! “Believe in God; believe also in me”, he says. I can think of no greater reason to refrain from fretting than to remember the God who made us and love that he has for us in Christ Jesus. And that is where Jesus directs our attention. “Believe in God”, he says. And “believe also in me”

And so what are we to do when our hearts are filled with angst? We are to heed the command of Christ! We are to run to God and place all of our trust in him. We are to follow the advice of Peter who urges us to, “[cast] all [our] anxieties on [God], because he cares for [us].” (1 Peter 5:7, ESV)

Christ encourages us, saying, “I go and prepare a place for you.”

But Jesus goes further than this as he comforts his disciples assuring them that he his departure is for good a reason. It was not a purposeless departure, but a purposeful one. His departure was for their benefit as he would go away in order to prepare a place for those who belong to him.

Verse 2: “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2, ESV)

When I hear these words the image that comes to mind is that of a husband going away to prepare a place for his bride. Now there is a vast difference between a husband leaving his bride for no good reason, and a husband going away in order to prepare a place for her. In both instances the bride will undoubtably experience a measure of trepidation concerning the departure of her husband, but the two things are entirely different. In the one the departure is for no good reason and to no good end; in the other the departure is for a good purpose – a purpose that will eventually benefit the bride. When a husband separates from his wife for a time in order to prepare a place for her, the wife ultimately rejoices, for she knows that his leaving is essentially good, though it may be difficult for a time. His leaving will bring about something better than what currently is.

So it was with Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and assertion to the Father. He would leave his disciples on earth for a time, but for good reason. He departed in order to prepare a place for those who belong to him – he has gone to prepare a place for us.

Clearly, Jesus was talking about heaven. He refers to heaven as “my Fathers house”. Heaven is the place where God dwells. It is true, there is a sense in which God is everywhere – he is omnipresent. But heaven is that place where his glory dwells. In the scriptures we are, from time to time, given a glimpse into heaven – that is,  of the third heaven – where God is worshipped day and night by the heavenly hosts and the saints who have passed from this world into glory. Jesus here refers to this place as “my Fathers house”.

I suppose it can also be said that Jesus ultimately has in mind the new heavens and the new earth that those who are in Christ will enjoy for all eternity at the consummation. This is ultimately what we should have in mind when we hear Jesus say, “I go to prepare a place for you.” Ultimately, the place that Christ will prepare for us is the new heavens and the new earth.

John describes this place for us at the end of the book of Revelation, saying,

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” (Revelation 21:1–5, ESV)

This is the ultimate and final place that Christ is preparing for those who are his – that is, for his bride, the church.

Jesus tells us that “in his Fathers house their are many rooms.” Are we to think of heaven (as it is now), or the new heavens and new earth (as they will be at the consummation) as giant apartment complex, then? A mansion with many individual rooms in which the people of God will dwell? No. It seems to me that Christ is using figurative language here. The point is that Christ is going away to prepare a place for those who belong to him, and that in that place there is ample room for his people.

There is a reason why I began this sermon by rehearsing the creation account. When thinking of the new heavens and the new earth we ought to have in mind the original creation. In the end, the original creation will be restored. In the end, the people of God will possess that which the first Adam forfeited. We will possess what the first Adam forfeited by trusting in the second Adam, who is the Christ, who accomplished salvation for us. Just as God created the heavens and earth in the beginning (making a place suitable for the first Adam to dwell), so too Christ will usher in the new creation at the end of time (having prepared a place suitable for those united to him to dwell).

The difference between the first creation and the new creation is that in the new creation there will be no possibility for rebellion. We will enter into consummate rest – secure rest – everlasting rest. The first paradise could be lost. The second paradise cannot be lost, because it has been earned (paid in full!) by Jesus, who is the Christ, the second Adam. This is difference between Eden and the eternal state.

The similarity is this: in both the original creation and the new creation, the central and significant feature that God dwells in the midst of his people. The people of God will enjoy unbroken, unhindered, unmediated, fellowship with the God who made them. This is what makes paradise, paradise. 

When talking about heaven people are accustom to speaking of pearly gates, streets of gold, and mansions on hills. We speak often of no more sin, sickness, or death. And it is true that we long for these things. But we are amiss – terribly amiss – if, when thinking of the new heavens and the new earth, we fail to see “God with us” as the most treasured feature of all. He is what makes heaven, heaven. He is what makes paradise, paradise. He indeed is our life.

It was true of the first creation, and will be true of the last. We will walk with God in the cool of the evening.

When the prophet spoke of the glories to come this is very thing that they emphasized – God with us! Remember Ezekiel 37? The promise was this, “But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” (Ezekiel 37:23, ESV)

Again in verse 26,

“I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” (Ezekiel 37:26–28, ESV)

These things have already been fulfilled in part at Christ’s first coming, but they will be fulfilled fully at his second coming.

And the book of Revelation paints the same picture for us, doesn’t it? The voice that John heard, said, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” (Revelation 21:3, ESV)

This is what makes paradise, paradise – God with us. We will indeed enjoy unbroken, unhindered, unmediated, fellowship with the God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you see that this is precisely what Jesus emphasizes in John 14? He says, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3, ESV)

Oh church, are you not comforted by these things? Are you not comforted by the fact that, though we may struggle here on earth in the time between Christ’s first and second coming, he has prepared a place for you?

What you and I deserve is to be cast from the presence of God into utter darkness – into the void if you will. But just as God made a place suitable for Adam, so too Christ as had made a place suitable for you and me through his obedient life, his sacrificial death, and his resurrection.

And he has promised to return for us! He would depart for a time. But this separation will not be final. He will return for his bride at the end of time so that where he is we may also be.

Old Testament Reading: Leviticus 19:13–18

“You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:13–18, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 13:21-38

“After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.’ The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, ‘Lord, who is it?’ Jesus answered, ‘It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.’ So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly.’ Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, ‘Buy what we need for the feast,’ or that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ 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.’ 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.’ 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 13:21–38, ESV)

Introduction

Have you ever been in a room filled with tension? You can feel it, can’t you? It’s amazing how emotionally connected we can be with one another. You can feel the tension in the air when it is present.

As I think about the celebration of the Passover feast that John 13:21-38 describes, I imagine a room filled with tension. I picture Jesus and his disciples with faces that are serious and somber. John tells us that “after saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit…” (John 13:21, ESV) We might ask, how did John know that about Jesus’ spirit? For one, he was there. He was an eye witness to these things. And two, Jesus must have been visibly troubled. We should remember that Jesus, though he was divine, was also fully human. He experienced the full range of human emotions, yet without sin. He was troubled in his spirit.

And why was he so troubled? First of all, we should remember that he knew of the suffering that he would soon endure. His hour had come. He knew that he would suffer and die. This was troubling to him, and understandably so. But there is something more specific mentioned in this text: he knew that he would be betrayed by one of the twelve. Again, though it is true that Jesus was Immanuel – God with us, we should remember that he was fully human. Just as you would be deeply troubled by the betrayal of a close friend, so too Jesus was troubled, yet without sin.

Judas Identified – Notice the Darkness that Can Exist Even Within the Visible Church of God

It is here in the text before us that Jesus specifically identifies Judas as the one who will betray him. And it is with this revelation that we are reminded of the darkness that can exist even within the visible church of God.

Again, Jesus brings up the fact that one of his own disciples would betray him: “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” (John 13:21, ESV) The words, “truly, truly”, should grab the attention. Jesus was saying, listen up and pay attention! What I am about to say is important and will surely come to pass! One of you will hand me over to my enemies. That is what the word “betray” means – to hand a person over.

This must have increased the tension already present in the room by tenfold. Now all of the disciples are thinking to themselves, who is it? Is he talking about me? Peter, being the leader of the group, motioned to “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (remember, that is the way that John refers to himself in his Gospel) urging him to ask who it would be.

Apparently, John was “reclining at table with Jesus”. The Greek is more descriptive than the English. John was, in fact, reclining against Jesus’ bosom, or chest.  We might see this as strange in our culture, but this is how men would interact in Jesus’ day. Even today it is not uncommon for men in other cultures to show affection for one another through physical touch. In Turkey, for example, I am told that men might hold hands as they walk down the street as a display of their friendship. Perhaps we are the strange ones! Have you ever thought of that?

At any rate, John was reclining at table with Jesus and he leaned back and asked the question, “Lord, who is it?” (John 13:25, ESV) Who is the one who will betray you? “Jesus answered, ‘It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.’ So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly.’” (John 13:26–27, ESV)

Some have imagined that there was something magical or mystical about the “morsel” that Jesus gave to Judas as if somehow the morsel facilitated the entrance of Satan into Judas. The texts makes no such point. Rather, we should probably view the giving of the “morsel” as the last act of kindness from Jesus to Judas. The morsel was a probably a choice morsel.  Perhaps it was the kindness that drove him away!

Notice that Jesus makes this known only to John. The other disciples are still wondering who it will be. In fact they do not suspect Judas in the least.  When Jesus says to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly” (John 13:27, ESV), they do not think to themselves, Judas is the betrayer! No, they assume that “because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, ‘Buy what we need for the feast,’ or that he should give something to the poor.” (John 13:29, ESV) The giving of alms to the poor was a common practice on the night of Passover. Apparently, Judas had them all fooled.

The point is this, though. Judas knew his own heart. More than that, Jesus knew Judas’ heart. And now John was aware of Judas’ heart! In the past Jesus had made it know that one of them was a devil from the start. In John 6:70, for example, “Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil’” – but here he is specific. Jesus revealed it to John so that John would know that he really knew who his betrayer was ahead of time.

Why is this important? It is important because John’s has made much of the doctrines of election, particular redemption, effectual calling, and preservation in his Gospel.

Concerning election, he has made it clear that God the Father gave the Son certain people to save from before the foundation of the earth. That was the Son’s mission – to come and to save those given to him by the Father.

Concerning particular redemption, John’s Gospel makes it clear that he came to lay down his life for his sheep. In John 10:15 Jesus says,  “I lay down my life for the sheep.” He came to die for the one’s that the Father had given to him. He came to atone for the sins of his sheep, and not the others. He payed for the sins of the individuals given to him by the Father from throughout the whole world, Jew and Gentile alike.

Concerning effectual calling, John’s Gospel also makes it clear that it is these that Father brings to repentance by the power of the Holy Spirit. John 10:27: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27, ESV)

And not only will Christ’s sheep follow him without fail, but they will also be preserved.  Again, John 10:27 and following: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27–30, ESV) This is the doctrine of the preservation of the saints.

The issue with Judas has the potential of confusing us concerning all of this. We might wonder, if it is true that some were give to the Son by the Father that they be saved; and if it is true that Christ died for their sins; that it is they who hear the voice of God in Christ Jesus and come to to faith in him, having been predestined to do so from all eternity; and if it is true that Jesus has accomplished this mission given to him by the Father to save all who were given to him, then what about Judas? What about him? He seems to have been lost!

I know that I have made this point before, but it is worth making again – it is obviously important to John because he brings it up time and again in his Gospel – Jesus did not loose Judas! Judas did not slip through Jesus’ fingers. He did not jump out of Jesus’ hand, if you will. No, Judas betrayed Jesus because he never belonged to Jesus from the heart. He was “a devil” all along (John 6:70).

Jesus had made it clear that one of the twelve was a devil. Here he specifies Judas and tells John about it so that there might be a witness to these things. He told all of the disciples that there would be a betrayer, and he told John that it would be Judas, so that, according to 13:19, “when it does take place you may believe that I am he.” (John 13:19, ESV)

The truth illustrated by Jesus’ prediction of Judas’ betrayal is an important truth for the church to understand. Jesus is Lord of the church. He is sovereign over all things, but especially the church. He is building his church as he effectively brings the elect to salvation through the proclamation of the gospel, by the power of the Holy Spirit. He preserves his people. We expect that the church will be assaulted from without! But it can be difficult for the Christian to comprehend the assaults that come against the church from within. The assaults from within tend to shake us more than the pressures that we experience from the world around us. But we are reminded by the story of Judas that Christ is Lord of the church. He is able to build and sustain the church in the face of external and internal threats. He knows who are his. He is not surprised by the apostates. He is not caught off guard by the Judas’ of the world. In eternity the church will be pure! But in this age the visible church will be a mixture of sheep and goats, wheat and tares. The goats and weeds may surprise us, but they do not surprise Christ. The Judas’ of the world may disrupt us and grieve our hearts, but they will not thwart the purposes of God. “I will build my church [Jesus says], and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18, ESV)

This, I think, is the purpose of the Judas story. We are to take comfort in the fact that Christ reigns supreme over his his church as the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient Lord of all.  It is true that unthinkable darkness sometimes resides with the visible church of God, but Christ is sovereign still.

Notice that after Judas took the morsel from Jesus and went out to do his dastardly deed, John inserts a little comment – a literary flourish, we might say. He simply remarks in verse 30, “And it was night.” That is was literally nighttime is undoubtably true. But why did John take the time to say this? What difference does it make that it was nighttime?

Think of the theme of light and darkness in John’s Gospel. Jesus is “the light of the world”. Men and women are exhorted to “walk in the light” as they have opportunity. Jesus tells his disciples that they must continue doing the work of the Father “while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4, ESV) This theme of light and darkness, day and night permeates John’s Gospel. And now John simply tells us that “it was night.” Everything is cloaked in darkness. Judas has decisively rejected the light and has walked out into the abyss. And the time for ministry in the world has also come to an end. No more signs will be preformed; no longer will truth be proclaimed to the world – this is the hour of Jesus’ suffering (ironically, it will also be the hour of his glory). The words, “and it was night”, are more than historical fact. They signal a major transition in the ministry of Christ and in John’s Gospel from daytime to darkness.

Peter’s Denial Predicted – Notice the Darkness that Can Reside Even Within the Heart of a True Christian

But notice that Judas is not the only one touched by darkness in this text. Jesus utters predictions concerning two of his followers. Judas would betray Jesus, but Peter, we are told, would deny him three times over.  We are reminded here that darkness can reside even within the heart of a true Christian.

When Peter impulsively requested that Jesus wash, not only his feet, but also his hands and his head (John 13:9), what did Jesus say to him? “Jesus said…, ‘The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” (John 13:10, ESV) Peter was declared to be clean by Jesus. Judas was the unclean one. Peter was clean and did not need to bathed; only his feet needed to be washed.

But in verse 38 Jesus says to Peter, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.” (John 13:38, ESV) Notice that the same “truly, truly” used to announce Judas’ betrayal of Christ was also used to announce Peter’s threefold denial of Christ.

I can’t decide which is more shocking? Is it the fact that a man could walk with Jesus for three years and then betray him to his enemies, or that the leader of the band – the one who was pronounced clean – would deny his Lord three times in the night of his suffering?

Brothers and sisters, do you see that it is possible for darkness to win even within the heart of a true Christian? Peter was a true Christian – he was clean – and yet he would stumble in a serious way.

Let us for a brief moment consider what this passage has to say about Peter.

After Judas had left the room Jesus began to speak in verse 31,saying, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once…” Isn’t it interesting the way that Jesus speaks of his hour of suffering? It would be through this dark hour that the Son of Man would be glorified. The Father would also be glorified by the Son, and the Son would be glorified by the Father at once. When you and I think of the suffering of Christ and the cross of Christ we might be tempted to see only darkness. Jesus spoke of it as the hour of his glory. It was the hour of glory because it was through the cross that he would accomplish the will of the Father. It was the hour of glory because it was there that the love and justice of God would be most fully displayed. It was the hour of glory because it was through the cross that Christ won the victory over sin and death and Satan. The suffering of Christ was cloaked in darkness given the evil that enveloped him, but it was out of that gloomy and chaotic darkness – it was out of that deep and ominous abyss – that the glory of God in Christ Jesus shone forth.

In verse 33 Jesus said, “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’” (John 13:33, ESV) More was said after this (and we will come back to those words in a moment), but notice that it is the words of verse 33 that Peter latched on to.

Look down to verse 36: “Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ “ Peter was still confused about where Jesus intended to go. “Jesus answered him, ‘Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.’” (John 13:36, ESV) Jesus, of course spoke of his death, his resurrection, and his assent to the right hand of the Father. Peter would not follow him right away, but he would eventually follow. Evidently Peter started to get the gist of it, saying, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” (John 13:37, ESV)

Peter is bold with his words, isn’t he? He talks a big talk. And it is was to this that Jesus responded, saying, “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)

It appears that Peter needed to be humbled. Perhaps he was prideful. It was not, Thy will be done! It was not, Lord sustain me! It was, I will lay down my life for you! Evidently he was not a strong on the inside as he portrayed on the outside.

The thing I want you to notice is that Judas and Peter are set before us side by side. “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me…” (John 13:21, ESV), and, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.” (John 13:38, ESV)

The sin of Judas and the sin of Peter are both serious indeed. But there is a difference between the two. Judas would betray Jesus and never return. Peter would deny Jesus and then repent. Judas, it would seem, betrayed Jesus acting out of a heart of pure darkness. Peter would deny Jesus in a moment of weakness. That darkness resided within his heart is undeniable, but he was of the light. Peter stumbled; Judas fell.

But as you read of Jesus’ prediction concerning these two men – the betrayal of Judas and the denial of Peter – are you not left with the impression that the church of Christ will be characterized by struggle. Sin will threaten the church. The church will struggle with sin.

There will be some who, although they identify with Christ and his people, are really not of Christ – they do not truly belong to him. The church will be threatened from within. Darkness will exist even within the visible church of God. Goats will wander amongst the sheep. Weeds will spring up among the wheat.

And concerning those who do truly belong to Christ, even they will struggle with sin – serious sin. They may be of the light, and they may be clean, but darkness threatens. The filth of the flesh lingers even within those who belong to Christ truly.

It is important for us to recognize these things. How common it is to hear, even those who call themselves Christians, complain saying, I will not join myself to the church because it is filled with hypocrites! Two things need to be said. One, it should be acknowledged that there are some churches that have been so overrun with sin and hypocrisy that Christ threatens to remove their lamp-stand. Sometimes the complaint squares with reality. But more often than not those who say I will not join myself to the church because of the sin within it have misunderstood the nature of Christ’s church. Perhaps they are expecting to much, in other words. Perhaps they expecting the church to be in the here and now what it will only be in eternity.

Never do the scriptures claim that Christ’s church will be pure. Christ’s church will go on struggling against sin until the Lord returns and makes all things new. Oh, how we long for that day when there will be no more sin. But until that day we should expect a battle – a battle with those who claim to be Christ’s and are not; and a battle within our own hearts as we are tempted to deny our Lord as the things of this world press in upon us.

This is not to say that we should excuse sin. But it is to say that we shouldn’t be surprised by it. We should not loose heart, or faith, when we see it rear its ugly head within the church of God. Christ is Lord of the church, at the church can be a mess at times.

I’ve been doing ministry for some time now. One of the things you learn early on in ministry is that ministry is messy. Christians – true Christians – struggle with sin. The Christian life is far from a walk in the park! It’s a battle! It’s marked by struggle. Struggles without and struggles within. Listen to how Paul described his time in Macedonia:  “For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within.” (2 Corinthians 7:5, ESV).

One of the worst things we can do is to gather with the church thinking, this here is an utterly pure church; Or these people are utterly pure people. There is no such thing! A church like that cannot be found in all the earth. And if you ever hear a church claims such a thing, run! Times of humiliation are not far off.  We who are in Christ have been cleansed. We have been made pure by the blood of Christ. And yes, we are being conformed into the image of Christ. But that, brothers and sisters, is a process. And it is a process marked by struggle.

So how are to walk with Christ between his first and second comings given the sinful tendencies of his people? The temptation is to say, I will walk alone! But what does Christ command?

The Key to Living in Christian Community Tainted by Sin is to Love One Another

Verse 34: “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)

The key to living in Christian community tainted by sin is to love one another.

Brothers and sisters, do you think it is a coincidence that Jesus issued this command here with all of this going on? One of you will betray me. Peter, you, the leader, will deny me, not once, but three times before the rooster crows. Everything is falling to pieces, it would seem. The disciples are now suspicious of one another. They are wondering, who can I trust? Who can I rely upon? It is into this setting that Christ utters the words, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another…” How is the church to deal with the threats from without and the threats from within? We are to love one another!

Christ calls this a “new commandment”. It’s interesting that the command is not really “new” in the sense that nothing like it had been said before. Leviticus 19:18 says, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:18, ESV)

It is “new” in the sense that the love we are to have for one another has now been modeled for us by Jesus Christ. “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.” (John 13:34, ESV) The love we are to have for one another has been displayed. This changes everything! When a brother or sister sins against you and you think to yourself, should I hold a grudge, or should I forgive?, we are to think of Christ’s love for us. Or when a brother or sister is in need and you think to yourself, is he or she worthy of my help?, we are to of Christ’s love for us. Or when we are tempted to slander a brother, or take to advantage of him, are we not to set our eyes upon Christ and to consider the way that he loved us? He has forgiven us so much. He has loved us and served us to the full. Brothers and sisters, how could we not love one another in this way, given the way that Christ has loved us?

Peter puts it this way: “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8, ESV)

John reiterates this principle in his letter, saying, “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” (1 John 2:9–11, ESV)

The “new” commandment is also new in that Holy Spirit has been poured out enabling us to keep it from the heart. Paul says,“But the fruit of the Spirit is love…” (Galatians 5:22, ESV) Christ has given us an example that we are to follow, but he has also given us the Spirit in order to enable to keep that commandment from the heart.

The end result should be that the church, despite all of it’s messiness, would be known for it’s love. When Jesus wept for Lazarus the Jew’s said, “See how he loved him!” (John 11:36, ESV) The non-believing world ought to look in upon us saying, see how those Christians love one another! Look at how they forgive! Look at how they care! Look at how they provide for those among them who are in need! “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”, Jesus says.

Conclusion 

Brothers and sisters, in the time between Christ’s first and second coming the church will indeed struggle with sin. There will be some who identify with the visible church who do not really belong to Christ. And even those who belong to Christ will struggle with sin in their own hearts. We are a foreign people, but we are also a messy people. But we are to go on in Christ loving one another.

Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 34:23–24 

“And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.” (Ezekiel 34:23–24, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 13:1-20

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, do you wash my feet?’ Jesus answered him, ‘What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.’ Peter said to him, ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.’ Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’ Jesus said to him, ‘The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.’ For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’ When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, ‘Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 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 also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.’” (John 13:1–20, ESV)

Introduction

John13:1 introduces a new section in the Gospel of John. Chapters 11 and 12 built up to the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and to Jesus’ interaction with the multitudes who had welcomed him with the words, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’” (John 12:13, ESV)

Here in chapter 13 we see the focus shift to the interaction between Jesus and his disciples. Even a quick look at chapters 13-17 reveals that they are focused upon Jesus’ interaction with his disciples from the time of the celebration of the Passover feast to his betrayal and arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus had much to say to his disciples in those hours.

13:1 introduces this beautiful, and wonderfully intimate, section by saying, “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” (John 13:1, ESV) What follows, then, is a demonstration of this very thing – that is, Jesus loving “his own… to the end”.

The word end has a twofold significance. It means that Jesus loved those who were his – his true disciples; the elect – up to the final moment. But, perhaps more importantly, it also means that he loved them to the full. He loved them in a complete way.  It was, to quote Ridderbos, “love to it’s last breath and love in it’s highest intensity.” Chapters 13-17 tell us about that. It isn’t until 18:1 that we read: “When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.” (John 18:1, ESV) 18:1 marks another transition where Christ, having invested intensely into his disciples, begins to suffer at the hands of his enemies.

I say all of this in order to draw your attention to the fact that we are entering a very unique section in John’s Gospel. We are given a glimpse into the interaction that Jesus had with his disciples in the moments leading up to his arrest, trial, and death. We see Jesus, from chapter 13 through 17, preparing his disciples for his departure. School is in session, we might say. The words are intimate. The lessons are powerful and potent. It is no wonder, then, that many of the most beloved portions of John’s Gospel are found here in these chapters.

That being said, it is important to notice how it is that John introduces this section. He does so by telling a story – the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. May I suggest to you that this story is told in order to set the tone for what is to come. School is in session. Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure. Everything is intense, powerful, and potent. And this story sets the tone for it all. Jesus is putting the finishing touches on his disciples, if you will. He is preparing them to live the Christian life as he desires them to live it. He has been training them for some time now, but it is the last hour.  You know how this goes. Think back to your days in school. You study all semester long, but the night before the big exam is that night that you cram. John 13-17 reminds me a bit of that. Jesus is preparing his disciples, in an intense way, for the challenges that the future will bring. And he begins the session by washing their feet.

Two truths, which are basic and fundamental to the Christian life, emerge as we consider the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples.  The first is this: We cannot walk with Jesus, nor can we benefit from him, unless we allow him to first serve us. And the second principle is this: Once we have allow Jesus to serve us, then we too are to go on serving one another. 

We Cannot Walk With Jesus, Nor Can We Benefit From Him, Unless We Allow Him To First Serve Us

Let us consider the first point together: This story makes it abundantly clear that it is impossible to walk with Jesus, or to benefit from him, if we do not allow him to, first of all, serve us.

The scene is set when we are told that Jesus was, yet again, celebrating Passover with his disciples. This is significant given that Jesus was the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We know that the Passover, as it was celebrated by the Jews in remembrance of the Exodus event, pointed forward to the coming of the Christ. In other words, Jesus was the fulfillment of the Passover feast. It was, in many respects, a picture of him. But it is interesting how little John makes of this fact. There are theories as to why John seems to downplay the Passover. Could it be because the other Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – have already adequately emphasized Jesus as the fulfillment of the Passover? It is in the other Gospels that we learn of Jesus’ institution of the Lord’s Supper at the last Passover. This clearly communicates that Jesus had fulfilled and advanced that which the Passover signified. Notice that John does not mention the institution of the Lord’s Supper. Or could it be that John felt he had already introduced and developed the Passover theme in a sufficient way earlier in his Gospel, and so he leaves it to the reader to work out the connection? Or perhaps, given that he was writing a relatively late date (85-90 A.D.), John knew that it was common knowledge amongst Christians that Jesus was the fulfillment to the Passover.

It’s difficult to know for sure. The thing to recognize is that he chooses to passover the significance of the Passover and to emphasize the foot washing instead (something the other Gospels tell us little about; see Luke 22:24-26). And that is the thing to be noticed. John downplays the Passover in order to emphasize Jesus’ washing of the disciples feet.

We are simply told that Jesus, being fully aware of the significance of the moment, and the fact that  (verse 3) “…the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” (John 13:3–5, ESV)

You and I know this story well, and so it is possible that it has grown common to us. I hope not. It is meant to surprise. To think of Jesus setting aside his outer garments and taking upon himself the garb of a servant – to think of him humbling himself in this way, washing the dirty feet of his lowly disciples – should surprise us. It should be especially surprising to us given all that we have learned of him in the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God”; “I am the light of the world”, Jesus says; “I am the bread of life”;  “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me”; “Before Abraham was, I Am”. It was this one – the eternal Son of God come in the flesh – who rose from the table, clothed himself with the garb of a servant, and began to wash the filth from the feet of his lowly disciples. This should surprise us.

It surprised Peter.  As Jesus made his way around the table he came to Peter. I would imagine that most of the men were thinking the same thing, but it was Peter who spoke, saying, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” (John 13:6, ESV) It was a reasonable question, don’t you agree? This act seemed out of place, backwards, and upside down. But Jesus replied, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” (John 13:7, ESV) Peter should have taken the warning, but instead he doubled down saying, “You shall never wash my feet.” And to that Jesus responded more firmly, saying, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” (John 13:8, ESV) And then Peter, true to character, overreached yet again but in the opposite direction, saying, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” (John 13:9, ESV) And again the Lord offered a corrective to Peter’s impulsiveness saying, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” (John 13:10, ESV)

What is the meaning of this exchange between Jesus and Peter? What does it reveal?

The thing it reveals – and this is certainly the main point of it all – is what has already been said. We are reminded that we cannot walk with Jesus, nor can we benefit from him, unless we allow him to serve us. 

At first glance we might see Peter’s refusal to allow Christ to wash his feet as a good and humble thing. Lord, who am I to have someone as great as you stoop down to serve me in this way? There is a sense in which Peter was right to object. This indeed seemed to be a backwards and upside down act. Peter should have been washing Jesus’ feet, and not the other way around.

But this act of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples was meant to demonstrate an all important principle. It illustrated the fact that Christ came to serve us. And it pointed powerfully to the reality that we stand in need of his service.

Jesus rose from the table, girded himself with the garb of servant , and began to wash in order to teach his disciples a lesson. And the first point of the lesson was this: he came to serve! And if we refuse his service, we have nothing to do with him – he benefits us nothing at all!

Matthew 20:25 puts it this way:

“But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” (Matthew 20:25–28, ESV)

Here is a difference between true and false religion. False religion promotes, first and foremost, the service of God, but refuses to be served by him. True religion, on the other hand – the Christian religion – begins with being served by God. And only after having been served by him – cleansed by him – does it proceed to the service of God. This may seem insignificant at first glance, but it is in fact the difference between true and false religion. False religions says, I will serve God and thus earn my place before him.  True religion says, God I have nothing to give. Have mercy upon me, Lord!

The true Christian sings from the heart the words found in the old hymn, Rock of Ages:

“Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.”

Peter’s refusal to allow Christ to wash him at first seems reasonable, humble, and altruistic, but in the end it sets him at odds with Jesus. “If I do not wash you [Jesus says], you have no share with me”. In other words, our whole relationship is predicated upon me washing you; It starts with me serving you, Peter. We must begin there! “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me”.

Peter’s response to this is true to character. He said, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” (John 13:9, ESV) At least now Peter understands the symbolism of the washing. But he overcorrects saying, if that it was it takes Lord, then wash me head to toe. 

This is a bit of a side note, but it is worth saying. As a rule of thumb it is best to remain silent when you do not understand something. Questions are good. But when we speak to something before we understand it, we tend to look foolish.  Proverbs 17:28 puts it nicely, saying, “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.” (Proverbs 17:28, ESV)

But it was this statement from Peter, misinformed as it was, that provided an opportunity for Jesus to elaborate upon the symbolism of the foot washing. He replied to Peter, saying, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” (John 13:10, ESV)

It becomes clear, then, that the thing symbolized by the washing is the forgiveness of sins. Jesus refused to wash Peter (and the others) from head to toe because they had already been cleansed. In other words, they had already been forgiven; their sins had already been washed away; they had already been justified because they had already believed upon Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. Jesus insisted that “the one who has bathed does not need to wash… but is completely clean. And you are clean…”

A bath was not needed. What was needed is for their feet to be washed. They had bathed in the morning, perhaps. And now, after walking through the dusty streets all day in their sandals, it was necessary to have their feet washed as they reclined at table to celebrate the supper.

As it is with bathing and the washing of feet, so it is with the Christian life. We are washed completely in the moment we believe upon Christ. Our sins are washed away – all of them. We are forgiven; we are justified; we are declared “not guilty” by God Almighty on the basis of Christ’s death and resurrection. “Though your sins [were] like scarlet, they…[are] white as snow; though they [were] red like crimson, they [have] become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18, ESV) This is true and real and cannot be undone. But as we walk in this world we find that our feet our dirtied. And here is why we are to come to Christ regularly to confess our sins to him from the heart, and to turn from them. This is why we give time for the confession of sin and the assurance of pardon each and every Lord’s Day. The regular confession of sin from the heart is a key component of the Christian life. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8–9, ESV) This is one thing that the foot washing symbolizes.

But the main point should not be forgotten. We cannot walk with Jesus, nor can we benefit from him, unless we allow him to first serve us.

Let us turn our attention for a moment from Jesus’ interaction with Peter, to what is said about the other prominent figure in this text, whose name is Judas.

Have you noticed that Judas is mentioned a lot in John’s Gospel? This is significant especially when you consider that little to nothing is said about many of the other disciples of Jesus. But Judas is mentioned time and again!

Notice that it is often emphasized how Jesus was aware of Judas’ wickedness all along. This is especially important given that John has emphasized time and again that Jesus came to save his sheep, that he knows his sheep and they know him, and that he has lost none of those given to him by the Father from before the foundation of the world. This is a repeated theme in John’s Gospel. All is well and good concerning this until you think of Judas. What about Judas? we say. How could it be that Judas betrayed Christ if it is true that Jesus lost none of those who were his.  This is why we are told time and time again that Jesus knew of Judas’ wicked heart from the beginning. Here we read, “‘And you are clean, but not every one of you.’ For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’” (John 13:10–11, ESV) Jesus did not loose Judas given that Judas never belonged to Jesus. He was never “clean” as the others were. Judas belonged to Christ externally, but not internally and from the heart. He was not found and then lost, saved and then unsaved, but rather lost and unclean all along. This is why Jesus says in verse 17 “…I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.” (John 13:17–19, ESV)

I want you to notice two things about Judas before we move on.

First of all, remember that he was worldly. He was fleshly. He followed Jesus so long as he thought there was a chance that it would benefit him in this world. He was in love with money. It would seem that he, like the other unbelieving Jews, was looking for a Messiah that would establish an earthly kingdom and reign forever. And it would also seem that as it became more and more clear that Jesus was not interested in this kind of kingdom, his heart grew more and more cold to Jesus, leading to his act of betrayal. I cannot help but think that the act of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples helped to seal the deal for Judas. We know that there was a spiritual struggle going on. We read in 13:27 that, “after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly.’” (John 13:27, ESV) The spiritual struggle was real, I’m not denying that. But you can imagine the battle that raged within the heart of Judas as he watched Jesus clothe himself in the garb of a servant and proceed to wash the feet of his disciples in such a lowly way. I think Judas looked upon Jesus with disdain. I imagine him looking down upon Jesus thinking to himself, what a pitiful thing this is! What kind of Messiah is this? Peter, after he came to understand the significance of the washing, was eager to be washed! But in contrast it would seem that it was the washing which helped to seal the deal for Judas. He evidently had no appetite for a lowly, humble, and servile Messiah such as this. He had this in common with the unbelieving multitudes who were ill-prepared to receive a Christ who was a humble servant in fulfillment to Isaiah 53.

Secondly, I want you to notice that Judas, though his heart was far from Jesus, and though he in fact disbelieved, still identified with Jesus externally. He had walked with him for years. His feet were washed by him! He would eat the meal with him! But it benefited him nothing, because his heart was far from him. This should serve as a warning to you and I as we identify with Jesus today in an external way. May we also identify with hm from the heart. “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:12–13, ESV)

Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk with Jesus, nor can we benefit from him, unless we allow him to serve us. And we must allow him to serve us with a heart full of faith. An external show of religion will do us no good. We must trust in him from the heart if we are to be cleansed by him.

Having Been Served By Jesus, We Must Then Go On To Serve One Another

Let us now briefly consider the second truth revealed in this story. The second truth is this: having been served by Jesus, we must then go on to serve one another. This is the way of the Christian. The Christian – once he has been cleansed by Jesus, having received, by faith, the forgiveness earned by him through his death and resurrection – is to go on living a life marked by the selfless service of others. Christ has served us, and we are likewise to serve one another.

In 13:12 we read:

“When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, ‘Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 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 also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.’” (John 13:12–17, ESV)

Notice that a blessing is pronounced upon those who know these things and do them? Do you want to be blessed in this life – blessed in your marriage, blessed in your parenting, blessed in the church, blessed in all things? Then know and do what is said here. Wash one another’s feet.

Some Christian’s have taken this literally and have, as a part of their liturgy, the practice of foot washing. This seems to me to be a misunderstanding of the text. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples in order to symbolize the way in which he came to serve in the whole of life in general, and particularly through the cross. In the same way we are exhorted, not to wash one another feet in ceremonial fashion, but to apply the principle to the whole of life. We are to wash one another feet, figuratively speaking.

Brothers and sisters, we are to serve one another. We are to serve one another even it that means engaging in the most lowly and humble of tasks. This is the kind of love that Christians are to have for one another. Listen to how John speaks of this in his brief letter:

1 John 3:11: “For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” (1 John 3:11, ESV)

3:23: “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” (1 John 3:23, ESV)

4:7: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7, ESV)

4:11: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:11, ESV)

4:12: “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” (1 John 4:12, ESV)

The point is this: Those who have been served by Christ – those who know what it is to be loved by Christ, ought to extend that same kind of love to their brother and sister in Christ, and even to their neighbors.

Pride is the thing that hinders this. The proud person thinks to himself, I am better the him, or I am better then her. The proud person reasons within herself, that job is to low for me; I am certainly above it. 

The remedy to this deadly disease called pride is to reflect deeply upon the cross of Christ and God’s great love for us. He did not die for us because we were high and nobel and worthy, but because we were lowly and in great need. And consider who it is that has served us! God himself! The second person of the Trinity has humbled himself in order to meet our great need. If God has loved us in this way, how could we possibly withhold this kind of love from one another? If Christ stooped down to serve us in this way, how could we possibly refuse to serve a brother or sister who is our equal.

Conclusion 

It would seem to me that Paul had all of this in mind when wrote to the Philippians, saying,

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5–8, ESV)

This was the mindset of Christ towards us, and it is to be the mindset of every Christian. Brothers and sisters, having been loved by God in Christ Jesus, and having been served by him in such a magnificent way, let us love and serve one another to the end.