Reflection on John 13:31-14:14
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After Jesus extended "the full extent of His love" to Judas whom He knew would not repent, Judas went out of the dining room where the Last Supper was held to betray Jesus. When Judas closed the door behind him, Jesus began to prepare His disciples further more for His departure. His disciples needed to grasp that Jesus was not a victim. He willingly laid down His life for the love of His Father and His own people. Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man is glorified." His death or glorification on the cross was good as already done in Jesus' mind. It was not a mournful tragedy, but a magnificent triumph. This was His glory. He knew His Father was "glorified in him" since He would finish the work His Father gave Him to do on earth. He brought lasting glory to His Father through His triumph over death. And "God will glorify the Son in himself." The Son of Man has His glory as the Son of God. He was going to be resurrected. Then He would return to heaven in a glorified body and His Father would "glorify him at once." The "hour" had come at last. At the very moment which seemed to spell defeat, dishonor for Him, the Son of Man was in reality glorified!
As a parent who is going to leave this would says farewell to his or her children, our dear Lord addressed His disciples by a name that He never used before and except this once. He called them "my children", a fond diminutive that not only revealed an unusual depth of tender love, but also breathes a pitying sense of their defenselessness if left alone. Indeed, God's children are those who trust in His Son. Jesus said, "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come." The words carried the sense of a final and complete separation. There was something that prevented both His beloved children and bitter foes alike from keeping Him company. He had to walk His path both into the darkness and into the glory, alone. The words apply in their fullness only to the time while He lay in the grave. It was a brief period. When we speculate this sentence, "Where I am going, you cannot come", do we hear a tone of personal sorrow in it? Jesus had always loved to have understanding and sympathetic companions, but very soon He had to walk the lonely walk.
The next text also came on heels of Judas leaving the other disciples to betray Jesus. Jesus commanded the eleven true disciples, saying, "A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Why does Jesus call the commandment to love one another "a new command"? Love itself is not new. It is not so much that the commandment hasn't been given before as that it has a different quality about it. In the Old Treatment the command was "love your neighbor as yourself." The new commandment has a new object and a new measure. The new object of this love is now "one another". The new measure of this love is "as I have loved you." Jesus commands all believers to sacrificially love other believers as He loved. Jesus wants the believers to realize that we can't truly love the world until we first love fellow believers as Jesus loved us. The new commandment is one of the most famous statements in the biblical text. What are we to make of this? Loving those with whom we agree or are partial to is the easy part. Loving the rest of the folks we come in contact with is a much harder thing. But Jesus left His love within us to bind us. He set up a perfect example for us to learn how to love. This act, to love others, is a distinguishing mark of the followers of Christ then and will continue to be. Jesus confirmed, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Jesus gave the world the right to examine our credibility. The world can see if we are real. When people see uncommon love exemplified in believers they are naturally curious. They begin to wonder if the gospel could be real. They cannot help but to admit that Christ does bring transformation. On the flip side, when we fail to show love we seem to invalidate the message. If we lack the warmth of love that existed between Jesus and His disciples, we need to make it our prayer for God to change us. Expect Him to answer.
What Jesus had said concerning loving one another, Peter overlooked. He seemed only paid attention when Jesus announced, "Where I am going, you cannot come." Peter interrupted, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now," but added, "you will follow later." Peter was very unwilling to believe that he was as weak as Jesus' words indicated he was. He thought he was prepared to do or suffer any thing for his Master. He asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now?" It seemed Peter didn't hear his Master said, "You will follow later." This was his Master's promise and encouragement to him. This must comfort him so much after he already denied his Master three times. But at the moment, he protested eagerly, "I will lay down my life for you." Peter had no idea how weak he was. The Master who would lay down His own life for Peter answered him, "Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!" Peter was silenced by what Jesus said, but he didn't absorbed Jesus' warning since he did disown Jesus three times before the rooster crowed. Not only Jesus foretold Peter's failure, but Jesus also foretold Peter's restored faithfulness when He promised, "You will follow later." Jesus knew and loved Peter completely. He loved Peter as though Peter had already reached the perfection He has promised. Jesus loves us in the same way. He knows our weakness. He knows when only failure will convince us to depend on Him instead of on our own ability.
At the beginning of chapter 14, just a few hours before Jesus went on the cross, anxious thoughts must flood the minds of the disciples as Jesus spoke of His destination which seemed unknown to them, adding that Jesus mentioned Peter would disown their Master soon, which was quite a shock to them. Jesus addressed His disciples' heart trouble with a command, "Do not let your hearts be troubled." I personally think one of the hardest commands to obey is this one. There is so much to be troubled with. My list can be a book long. Even Jesus Himself was "troubled in spirit". But Jesus was troubled for us. He was troubled so we could be trouble free. Jesus' command shows worry is a choice, not a obligation for His followers. He gave His followers some heart-to-heart words for them to stop being troubled. He said, "Trust in God, trust also in me." Only the choice to trust in God produces peace in heart. When we have heart trouble, it is the simple belief in the right person, Jesus Christ that will sustain us. Jesus is the Son of Man who personally knows our temptations and fears. Jesus is the Son of God who has all the power to make His promises to us true. So trust Him!
Next, Jesus turned His disciples' attention to the glories of heaven, and told them He was going to prepare the place in heaven where they would live with Him forever. Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you." The Father's house is prepared so there is no more need for further construction. Jesus is simply saying that through His death, resurrection, and ascension the way to His Father's house will be completely ready for us. The guarantee of heaven is confirmed by Jesus' promise, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." I think that this context suggests the ultimate fulfillment of this promise is Jesus' bodily return for His people at the end of history. Jesus will come to take His people with Him, never to be separated in any way again. In our fallen world, we can gain relief for our troubled hearts from the fact that Jesus is going to take us to be with Him. Often, this may be the only thing that will carry us through the short journey on earth.
Then Jesus assured His disciples, "You know the way to the place where I am going." Jesus encouraged His disciples to simply follow the way to reach the place He was going. Almost before Jesus could get the next sentence out of His mouth, Thomas blurted out, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Thomas spoke for all the disciples. To his credit, he was not afraid to admit his ignorance and take it to the light. This is quite impressive. The Lord always welcomes those who have sincere questions. The Lord loves to answer them.
Jesus didn't hesitate to enlighten Thomas. He declares, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus didn't say He knew, taught or revealed the way, the truth and the life. He said He is all of them Himself. And He made it clear that "goes to the heaven" is "comes to the Father". Jesus reveals that heaven is not so much about a place, but a Person who is the Father; and the way to that place or to the Father is another Person who is the Son Himself. Jesus turned everyone's thinking from a system of religion or method to personal relationship with Himself. Jesus being the truth will become our knowledge only when we know Jesus personally. Jesus alone is the eternal life which is given to us only when we have the right relationship with Him. This is an extremely exclusive claim that goes against the grain of our society. This claim is never popular. Truth seems never popular. But Jesus guaranteed what He claimed was truth by stating His oneness with God the Father. He said, "If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him." Jesus clearly stated His deity. Throughout the gospel according to John, Jesus claims this again and again because it is so difficult to understand.
Probably none of His disciples understood Jesus' claim. This time Philip spoke for the rest of them by asking Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus just finished saying that He has shown the disciples the Father. He reveals God perfectly to His followers. But Philip and the others were not satisfied. Here we see the longing and need in men's heart to get a glimpse of God and experience His reality. Men want to see more physical evidence. This desire in man to see God is the reason why human being is so prone to various forms of idolatry and the pursuit of things more tangible. Here we also need to give Philip some credit. Philip misunderstood much, but he had grasped that Jesus uniquely knew God as His Father. And Philip brought honest question concerning God the Father to Jesus who is God the Son. So far, Peter, Thomas and Philip had brought their questions to Jesus, looking for answers from Jesus only. Not did Judas who didn't ask Jesus any question. He didn't trust Jesus for an answer. He left to betray Jesus.
Our Lord doesn't mind to tell us multiple times the answer He already gave us. He is patient and gracious. He answered Philip, "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?" Jesus was telling Philip the truth He already told him. Jesus probably told this truth to Philip and other disciples multiple times. That explained the impassioned tone in His words. Then He offered tips to help them to put trust in Him. Jesus said, "The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves." Jesus urges His disciples to believe in Him because of His "words". If they cannot believe because of His words alone, He urges them to believe because of the "works" He does. Jesus substantiated His bold claim to be equal with God with evidence caused by His words and works. The strong and undeniable evidence proclaimed His unique divine origin and power. Jesus also gave two future pieces of evidence of His identify which would involve His disciples’ fruitful ministry in generations to come. First, He said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." Jesus proclaimed that His disciples would perform even "greater works" than He has. We have seen the "greater works" in the sense of extent and effect. As to the extent, Jesus' ministry was within Palestine. Now His continued work carried forth by His disciples who were empowered by the Holy Spirit, reached to the farthest parts of the known world. As to the effect, Jesus' disciples were few when He was on earth, but now multitudes from all over the world have come to believe in Him. Second, He said, "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." Only God the Son can guarantee this kind of strong promise! We need to understand that "whatever" and "anything" we ask Jesus for should be specifically related to ministry and works of Jesus. There is no promise for our individual desires to be met. And "in Jesus’ name" doesn't mean simply making our request list and then adding the phrase "in Jesus’ name" at the end. To ask "in Jesus’ name" is to ask in His will, to list what He requested. Jesus means that every request we make should be attuned to His will with a desire to see Him and His Father glorified.
What do we want God to accomplish in and through us for the sake of His kingdom? What are the "greater works" we desire God to bring out of us? Do we have faith to pursue God's glorious goals? If so, God is yearning to answer our prayers because they are about His kingdom and His glory。
