John 13
COMMENTARY:
: 2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him. (1228 “devil” [diabolos] means false accuser, slanderer, Satan, wicked person, demon, or given to malicious gossip.)
DEVOTION: The Bible instructs us concerning the sources of temptation we face. In James 3: 15 we find that wisdom that is not from heaven is earthly, sensual and devilish. So our areas of temptation are the world, the flesh and the devil.
When we are tempted there are three ways these sources tempt us in which is found in I John 2: 16 which include the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Adam and Eve were tempted in these areas. Jesus was tempted in these areas.
It is not always the person of the devil that tempts. It was the case with Adam, Eve and Christ. In the gospels there are times when the Greek word for devil is used for his fellow fallen angels.
He has a large group of angels that fell with him before creation of Adam and Eve or some believe sometime after the creation week but before he tempted Adam and Eve. This group made up about a third of the created angels. So when we see the cartoons with a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other shoulder that could be true of all believers. Those who have never made a commitment to the LORD would only have the evil demon on their shoulder no good angel.
In this case with Judas it could be the original devil or Satan tempting him with money. Money was Judas’ god or idol. The devil and other fallen angels have the ability to enter humans. Now Judas was under the influence of the devil when he betrayed the LORD. It is no excuse because he made his choice and will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment regarding that choice. He followed the money rather than the LORD.
CHALLENGE: We have to choose who we are going to follow. Once we become followers of Christ, we have to fight what the devil wants to put in our heart.
: 21 When Jesus had thus said, HE was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say to you, that one of you shall betray ME. (3140 “testified” [martureo] means bear witness, bear record, have a good report, to affirm that one has seen or heard or experienced something, witness, to solemnly assert something, or offering firsthand authentication of the fact.)
DEVOTION: Many of us invest in people. We invest a lot of time and training in people in the church. We want those we train to move forward in their service to the LORD. We want them to be soul winners. We want them to become the leaders the LORD wants them to be.
However, we can invest a lot of time and effort into some people and they still don’t grow in the LORD. In fact, they don’t turn out to be friends but enemies with the chips are down. There is no loyalty among believers at time.
When we have spent a good amount of time in someone we want them to honor the LORD in their decisions. Here we find that Jesus had invested three and a half years in the life of Judas and he betrayed HIM. Of course Jesus knew who was going to betray HIM. HE had predicted a year before this occasion that there was one who would betray HIM.
This verse informs us that it still hurt. Just like the death of Lazarus hurt even when HE knew HE was going to raise him from the dead. Sometimes we don’t emphasize just how Jesus expressed HIS human emotions. HE was God but HE was also human. We are human and have a relationship with God. It is not the same. Jesus expressed the fact that life hurts at times. HE felt it. It was not a sin to feel hurt. We can express to those we love our hurt if they disappoint us and it not be a sin. Our goal should be to see everyone grow in the LORD.
CHALLENGE: We should also expect disappointments in life even from people we invest in over a long period of time. We shouldn’t give up on them unless they give up on us. Our friendships should last a lifetime. We should never back away from those who are willing to work toward a closer walk with the LORD.
: 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. (25 “love” [agapao] means show love, demonstrate love, to welcome, to be fond of, to treat with affection, to be well pleased, take pleasure in or beloved.)
DEVOTION: Jesus is giving the essential teaching of the Ten Commandments. The first part deals with our love for God. The second part deals with our love for humans. God loved us so much that HE sent HIS Son to die on the cross for our sins.
Jesus taught the eleven disciples to express their care for one another in a manner that is pleasing to God. They were not only to get along with one another but were to have an encouraging relationship with one another.
This type of relationship is hard. It is hard because we can’t see God in person. The second reason it is hard is that we can see fellow human beings. Even those who claim to be followers of Christ are hard to be affection for because of their treatment of each other.
One way to look at this type of charity toward one another is to seek the highest good for another person. Do we have a sincere appreciation for our fellow believers? This is an unselfish love. The same love that the Father showed to the Son has to be shown be fellow believers to each other. Do we place value on our fellow believers? Jesus placed value on his disciples.
Jesus told his disciples that they had to treat with affection their neighbors and their enemies. Here HE tells them to treat with affection each other. When we care for each other we want the best for each other. We think their opinion is important. We don’t keep records of wrongdoing.
Jesus was about to leave the disciples on their own without his physical presence. HE was going to send the Holy Spirit to help them care for and encourage each other. The apostle John wrote in his first epistle that if we can’t care for a brother we can see, how can we care for the Lord.
As we travel between churches and observe the people in the church, we notice that some churches don’t have this command working in their midst. The communities around these churches know what is happening in that church. They don’t want to be part of a church that doesn’t appreciate each other. They, even though they are unsaved, know what a church is supposed to be like.
Our responsibility is to build a community in our local church that looks and acts like they genuinely care about one another. That is what Jesus commanded and what is needed today. Are we contributing to this care or are we acting otherwise? Our goal should always be to reconcile all relationships with fellow believers. Believers should get along with one another. IF we don’t, we are disobeying this command of the LORD!!!
CHALLENGE: Be an encourager to those that are hard to care for in the church.
: 37 Peter said to HIM, Lord, why cannot I follow YOU now? I will lay down my life for YOUR sake. (5087 “lay down” [tithemi] means to wear or carry no longer, to give up, conceived of as laying aside a right or possession, to die voluntarily, or to die willingly.)
DEVOTION: I can identify with Peter. He was the disciple who had foot in mouth disease. He was the disciple who was impetuous. He charged in where devils fear to tread as the saying goes. He is the one who could be a people pleaser at times. He was the one who liked to tell God how HE should do things.
Jesus had a way of confronting Peter to let him know when he had stepped over the line. This was one of those occasions.
Peter is making a statement that isn’t going to be true. He thinks he is saying what he thinks Jesus wants to hear. Jesus however knows his heart. Jesus knows how he will act in a given situation. HE knows Peter better than Peter knows himself. This is true in our life too.
We say things that we know we are not going to do. We need to ask the LORD for courage to do the things that we say we are going to do or not say anything. Our word is our bond with the LORD. HE doesn’t want us to say or promise anything that we are not able to do. So,we have to watch our mouth carefully. We have to always think before we speak. It is not easy for those of us who are like Peter but with the help of the Holy Spirit and close fellowship with the LORD it can be done.
CHALLENGE: Only say what you mean and mean what you say with the help of the Holy Spirit each day.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Feast of the Passoververses 1, 29
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Scripture may be fulfilledverse 18
New commandmentverse 34
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Fatherverses 1, 3
Son going to the Fatherverse 1
God is glorified in Sonverses 31, 32
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
Jesusverses 1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 21, 23, 25-27, 29, 31, 36, 38
His hour was comeverse 1
Loved HIS ownverse 1
Come from Godverse 3
Washed disciples’ feetverse 5
Lordverses 6, 9, 13, 14, 25, 36, 37
Masterverses 13, 14
Exampleverse 15
Troubledverse 21
Son of manverse 31
Glorifiedverses 31, 32
Jesus loved disciplesverse 34
Lay down lifeverses 37, 38
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Godverses 3, 31, 32
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Devilverse 2
Satanverse 27
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Worldverse 1
Servantverse 16
Lordverse 16
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Betrayverses 2, 11, 18, 21
Not cleanverses 10, 11
Lifted up heel against Jesusverse 18
Doubtingverse 22
Satan enteredverse 27
Denial of Christverse 38
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Loveverses 1, 23, 34, 35
Wash the disciple’s feetverses 5, 14
Washverses 8, 10
Cleanverse 10
Wash one another’s feetverse 14
Exampleverse 15
Happyverse 17
Chosenverse 18
Believeverse 19
Sentverse 20
Troubled in spiritverse 21
Glorify Godverses 31, 32
Commandment verse 34
Love one anotherverses 34, 35
Discipleverse 35
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Judas Iscariot (Simon’s son)verses 2, 26-30
Jewsverse 33
Church (New Testament people of God)
Disciplesverses 5, 22, 35
Simon Peterverses 6-11, 24, 36-38
Johnverses 23-25
Last Things (Future Events)
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