Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 13:31
Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
31. Therefore, when he was gone out ] Indicating that the presence of Judas had acted as a constraint, but also that he had gone of his own will: there was no casting out of the faithless disciple (Joh 9:34).
Now ] With solemn exultation: the beginning of the end has come.
the Son of man ] See on Joh 1:51.
glorified ] In finishing the work which the Father gave Him to do (Joh 17:4); and thus God is glorified in Him.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Joh 13:31 to Joh 15:27. Christ’s Love in keeping His own
31 35. Jesus, freed from the oppressive presence of the traitor, bursts out into a declaration that the glorification of the Son of Man has begun. Judas is already beginning that series of events which will end in sending Him away from them to the Father; therefore they must continue on earth the kingdom which He has begun the reign of Love.
This section forms the first portion of those parting words of heavenly meaning which were spoken to the faithful eleven in the last moments before His Passion. At first the discourse takes the form of dialogue, which lasts almost to the end of chap. 14. Then they rise from the table, and the words of Christ become more sustained, while the disciples remain silent with the exception of Joh 16:17-18; Joh 16:29-30. Then follows Christ’s prayer, after which they go forth to the garden of Gethsemane (Joh 18:1).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Now is the Son of man glorified – The last deed is done that was necessary to secure the death of the Son of man, the glory that shall result to him from that death, the wonderful success of the gospel, the exaltation of the Messiah, and the public and striking attestation of God to him in the view of the universe. See the notes at Joh 12:32.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 31. Now is the Son of man glorified] , Hath been glorified. Now it fully appears that I am the person appointed to redeem a lost world by my blood. I have already been glorified by this appointment, and am about to be farther glorified by my death, resurrection, and ascension.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He speaketh of that which was presently to be, as if it were already done; the meaning is, Now the time cometh when the Son of man shall immediately be glorified, by finishing the work which God hath given him to do; by rising again from the dead, and declaring himself to be the Son of God with power; by ascending up into heaven, to be glorified with the same glory which he had with the Father before the world began: and God will appear to be glorified in him, by his finishing the work which God hath given him to do, manifesting his name to the sons of men; and by the many signs and wonders which God will yet further show at the time of his death and resurrection, and by the coming down of the Holy Ghost.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
31. when he was gone out, Jesussaid, Now is the Son of man glorifiedThese remarkable wordsplainly imply that up to this moment our Lord had spoken under apainful restraint, the presence of a traitor within the littlecircle of His holiest fellowship on earth preventing the free andfull outpouring of His heart; as is evident, indeed, from thoseoft-recurring clauses, “Ye are not all clean,” “Ispeak not of you all,” &c. “Now” the restraint isremoved, and the embankment which kept in the mighty volume of livingwaters having broken down, they burst forth in a torrent which onlyceases on His leaving the supper room and entering on the next stageof His great workthe scene in the Garden. But with what words isthe silence first broken on the departure of Judas? By no reflectionson the traitor, and, what is still more wonderful, by no reference tothe dread character of His own approaching sufferings. He does noteven name them, save by announcing, as with a burst of triumph, thatthe hour of His glory has arrived! And what is veryremarkable, in five brief clauses He repeats this word “glorify”five times, as if to His view a coruscation of glories playedat that moment about the Cross. (See on Joh12:23).
God is glorified in himtheglory of Each reaching its zenith in the Death of the Cross!
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said,…. Christ and his true disciples being together alone, he used a greater freedom of conversation with them, and entered into some discourse about his sufferings and death; with a view to give them some instructions about their future conduct and behaviour, and in order to support them under the loss of his presence; and tells them in the first place, that
now is the son of man glorified: by “the son of man”, he means himself; a phrase he often uses, when speaking of himself; this was a title the Messiah went by in prophecy; was true in fact of Jesus, who was the son of Abraham, and the son of David, and expresses the truth of his humanity; and he the rather chooses to use it now, because he is speaking of a glorification, which he in his divine nature was incapable of, and which regards either time past, present, or to come: the meaning may be, either that he had been already glorified by his doctrines and miracles; or that he was now glorified, by discovering the traitor, before he made one single overt act towards betraying him; or that in a very short time he should be glorified, meaning at his death; see Joh 17:1. But how was he then glorified, when it was an accursed one, and attended with so much ignominy and reproach? he was then glorified by his Father, who supported him in it, and carried him through it; so as that he conquered all his enemies, and obtained eternal salvation for his people: moreover, the death of Christ was not only his way to glory, but was attended with many wonderful and surprising events; as the darkness, the earthquake, the rending of the rocks, and vails of the temple, and the like; and it was also glorious in the eyes of his Father, because hereby his purposes were accomplished, his covenant transactions brought about, his law and justice were satisfied, and the salvation of his people finished:
and God is glorified in him. The glory of God was great, in the salvation of his elect by the death of Christ; for hereby his wisdom and power, his truth and faithfulness, his justice and holiness, as well as his love, grace, and mercy, were glorified.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Christ’s Departure Predicted. |
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31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
This and what follows, to the end of ch. xiv., was Christ’s table-talk with his disciples. When supper was done, Judas went out; but what did the Master and his disciples do, whom he left sitting at table? They applied themselves to profitable discourse, to teach us as much as we can to make conversation with our friends at table serviceable to religion. Christ begins this discourse. The more forward we are humbly to promote that communication which is good, and to the use of edifying, the more like we are to Jesus Christ. Those especially that by their place, reputation, and gifts, command the company, to whom men give ear, ought to use the interest they have in other respects as an opportunity of doing them good. Now our Lord Jesus discourses with them (and probably discourses much more largely than is here recorded),
I. Concerning the great mystery of his own death and sufferings, about which they were as yet so much in the dark that they could not persuade themselves to expect the thing itself, much less did they understand the meaning of it; and therefore Christ gives them such instructions concerning it as made the offence of the cross to cease. Christ did not begin this discourse till Judas was gone out, for he was a false brother. The presence of wicked people is often a hindrance to good discourse. When Judas was gone out, Christ said, now is the Son of man glorified; now that Judas is discovered and discarded, who was a spot in their love-feast and a scandal to their family, now is the Son of man glorified. Note, Christ is glorified by the purifying of Christian societies: corruptions in his church are a reproach to him; the purging out of those corruptions rolls away the reproach. Or, rather, now Judas was gone to set the wheels a-going, in order to his being put to death, and the thing was likely to be effected shortly: Now is the Son of man glorified, meaning, Now he is crucified.
1. Here is something which Christ instructs them in, concerning his sufferings, that was very comforting.
(1.) That he should himself be glorified in them. Now the Son of man is to be exposed to the greatest ignominy and disgrace, to be despitefully used to the last degree, and dishonoured both by the cowardice of his friends and the insolence of his enemies; yet now he is glorified; For, [1.] Now he is to obtain a glorious victory over Satan and all the powers of darkness, to spoil them, and triumph over them. He is now girding on the harness, to take the field against these adversaries of God and man, with as great an assurance as if he had put it off. [2.] Now he is to work out a glorious deliverance for his people, by his death to reconcile them to God, and bring in an everlasting righteousness and happiness for them; to shed that blood which is to be an inexhaustible fountain of joys and blessings to all believers. [3.] Now he is to give a glorious example of self-denial and patience under the cross, courage and contempt of the world, zeal for the glory of God, and love to the souls of men, such as will make him to be for ever admired and had in honour. Christ had been glorified in many miracles he had wrought, and yet he speaks of his being glorified now in his sufferings, as if that were more than all his other glories in his humble state.
(2.) That God the Father should be glorified in them. The sufferings of Christ were, [1.] The satisfaction of God’s justice, and so God was glorified in them. Reparation was thereby made with great advantage for the wrong done him in his honour by the sin of man. The ends of the law were abundantly answered, and the glory of his government effectually asserted and maintained. [2.] They were the manifestation of his holiness and mercy. The attributes of God shine brightly in creation and providence, but much more in the work of redemption; see 1Co 1:24; 2Co 4:6. God is love, and herein he hath commended his love.
(3.) That he should himself be greatly glorified after them, in consideration of God’s being greatly glorified by them, v. 32. Observe how he enlarges upon it. [1.] He is sure that God will glorify him; and those whom God glorifies are glorious indeed. Hell and earth set themselves to vilify Christ, but God resolved to glorify him, and he did it. He glorified him in his sufferings by the amazing signs and wonders, both in heaven and earth, which attended them, and extorted even from his crucifiers an acknowledgment that he was the Son of God. But especially after his sufferings he glorified him, when he set him at his own right hand, gave him a name above every name. [2.] That he will glorify him in himself—en heauto. Either, First, In Christ himself. He will glorify him in his own person, and not only in his kingdom among men. This supposes his speedy resurrection. A common person may be honoured after his death, in his memory or posterity, but Christ was honoured in himself. Or, secondly, in God himself. God will glorify him with himself, as it is explained, ch. xvii. 5. He shall sit down with the Father upon his throne, Rev. iii. 21. This is true glory. [3.] That he will glorify him straightway. He looked upon the joy and glory set before him, not only as great, but as near; and his sorrows and sufferings short and soon over. Good services done to earthly princes often remain long unrewarded; but Christ had his preferments presently. It was but forty hours (or not so much) from his death to his resurrection, and forty days thence to his ascension, so that it might well be said that he was straightway glorified, Ps. xvi. 10. [4.] All this in consideration of God’s being glorified in and by his sufferings: Seeing God is glorified in him, and receives honour from his sufferings, God shall in like manner glorify him in himself, and give honour to him. Note, first, In the exaltation of Christ there was a regard had to his humiliation, and a reward given for it. Because he humbled himself, therefore God highly exalted him. If the Father be so great a gainer in his glory by the death of Christ, we may be sure that the Son shall be no loser in his. See the covenant between them, Isa. liii. 12. Secondly, Those who mind the business of glorifying God no doubt shall have the happiness of being glorified with him.
2. Here is something that Christ instructs them in, concerning his sufferings, which was awakening, for as yet they were slow of heart to understand it (v. 33): Little children, yet a little while I am with you, c. Two things Christ here suggests, to quicken his disciples to improve their present opportunities two serious words:–
(1.) That his stay in this world, to be with them here, they would find to be very short. Little children. This compellation does not bespeak so much their weakness as his tenderness and compassion; he speaks to them with the affection of a father, now that he is about to leaven them, and to leave blessings with them. Know this, then, that yet a little while I am with you. Whether we understand this as referring to his death or his ascension it comes much to one; he had but a little time to spend with them, and therefore, [1.] Let them improve the advantage they now had. If they had any good question to ask, if they would have any advice, instruction, or comfort, let them speak quickly; for yet a little while I am with you. We must make the best of the helps we have for our souls while we have them, because we shall not have them long; they will be taken from us, or we from them. [2.] Let them not doat upon his bodily presence, as if their happiness and comfort were bound up in that; no, they must think of living without it; not be always little children, but go alone, without their nurses. Ways and means are appointed but for a little while, and are not to be rested in, but pressed through to our rest, to which they have a reference.
(2.) That their following him to the other world, to be with him there, they would find to be very difficult. What he had said to the Jews (ch. vii. 34) he saith to his disciples; for they have need to be quickened by the same considerations that are propounded for the convincing and awakening of sinners. Christ tells them here, [1.] That when he was gone they would feel the want of him; You shall seek me, that is “you shall wish you had me again with you.” We are often taught the worth of mercies by the want of them. Though the presence of the Comforter yielded them real and effectual relief in straits and difficulties, yet it was not such a sensible satisfaction as his bodily presence would have been to those who had been used to it. But observe, Christ said to the Jews, You shall seek me and not find me; but to the disciples he only saith, You shall seek me, intimating that though they should not find his bodily presence any more than the Jews, yet they should find that which was tantamount, and should not seek in vain. When they sought his body in the sepulchre, though they did not find it, yet they sought to good purpose. [2.] That whither he went they could not come, which suggests to them high thoughts of him, who was going to an invisible inaccessible world, to dwell in that light which none can approach unto; and also low thoughts of themselves, and serious thoughts of their future state. Christ tells them that they could not follow him (as Joshua told the people that they could not serve the Lord) only to quicken them to so much the more diligence and care. They could not follow him to his cross, for they had not courage and resolution; it appeared that they could not when they all forsook him and fled. Nor could they follow him to his crown, for they had not a sufficiency of their own, nor were their work and warfare yet finished.
II. He discourses with them concerning the great duty of brotherly love (Joh 13:34; Joh 13:35): You shall love one another. Judas was now gone out, and had proved himself a false brother; but they must not therefore harbour such jealousies and suspicions one of another as would be the bane of love: though there was one Judas among them, yet they were not all Judases. Now that the enmity of the Jews against Christ and his followers was swelling to the height, and they must expect such treatment as their Master had, it concerned them by brotherly love to strengthen one another’s hands. Three arguments for mutual love are here urged:–
1. The command of their Master (v. 34): A new commandment I give unto you. He not only commends it as amiable and pleasant, not only counsels it as excellent and profitable, but commands it, and makes it one of the fundamental laws of his kingdom; it goes a-breast with the command of believing in Christ, 1Jn 3:23; 1Pe 1:22. It is the command of our ruler, who has a right to give law to us; it is the command of our Redeemer, who gives us this law in order to the curing of our spiritual diseases and the preparing of us for our eternal bliss. It is a new commandment; that is, (1.) It is a renewed commandment; it was a commandment from the beginning (1 John ii. 7), as old as the law of nature, it was the second great commandment of the law of Moses; yet, because it is also one of the great commandments of the New Testament, of Christ the new Lawgiver, it is called a new commandment; it is like an old book in a new edition corrected and enlarged. This commandment has been so corrupted by the traditions of the Jewish church that when Christ revived it, and set it in a true light, it might well be called a new commandment. Laws of revenge and retaliation were so much in vogue, and self-love had so much the ascendant, that the law of brotherly love was forgotten as obsolete and out of date; so that as it came from Christ new, it was new to the people. (2.) It is an excellent command, as a new song is an excellent song, that has an uncommon gratefulness in it. (3.) It is an everlasting command; so strangely new as to be always so; as the new covenant, which shall never decay (Heb. viii. 13); it shall be new to eternity, when faith and hope are antiquated. (4.) As Christ gives it, it is new. Before it was, Thou shalt love thy neighbour; now it is, You shall love one another; it is pressed in a more winning way when it is thus pressed as mutual duty owing to one another.
2. The example of their Saviour is another argument for brotherly love: As I have loved you. It is this that makes it a new commandment–that this rule and reason of love (as I have loved you) is perfectly new, and such as had been hidden from ages and generations. Understand this, (1.) Of all the instances of Christ’s love to his disciples, which they had already experienced during the time he went in and out among them. He spoke kindly to them, concerned himself heartily for them, and for their welfare, instructed, counselled, and comforted them, prayed with them and for them, vindicated them when they were accused, took their part when they were run down, and publicly owned them to be dearer to him that his mother, or sister, or brother. He reproved them for what was amiss, and yet compassionately bore with their failings, excused them, made the best of them, and passed by many an oversight. Thus he had loved them, and just now washed their feet; and thus they must love one another, and love to the end. Or, (2.) It may be understood of the special instance of love to all his disciples which he was now about to give, in laying down his life for them. Greater love hath no man than this, ch. xv. 13. Has he thus loved us all? Justly may he expect that we should be loving to one another. Not that we are capable of doing any thing of the same nature for each other (Ps. xlix. 7), but we must love one another in some respects after the same manner; we must set this before us as our copy, and take directions from it. Our love to one another must be free and ready, laborious and expensive, constant and persevering; it must be love to the souls one of another. We must also love one another from this motive, and upon this consideration–because Christ has loved us. See Rom 15:1; Rom 15:3; Eph 5:2; Eph 5:25; Phi 2:1-5.
3. The reputation of their profession (v. 35): By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another. Observe, We must have love, not only show love, but have it in the root and habit of it, and have it when there is not any present occasion to show it; have it ready. “Hereby it will appear that you are indeed my followers by following me in this.” Note, Brotherly love is the badge of Christ’s disciples. By this he knows them, by this they may know themselves (1 John ii. 14), and by this others may know them. This is the livery of his family, the distinguishing character of his disciples; this he would have them noted for, as that wherein they excelled all others–their loving one another. This was what their Master was famous for; all that ever heard of him have heard of his love, his great love; and therefore, if you see any people more affectionate one to another than what is common, say, “Certainly these are the followers of Christ, they have been with Jesus.” Now by this it appears, (1.) That the heart of Christ was very much upon it, that his disciples should love one another. In this they must be singular; whereas the way of the world is to be every one for himself, they should be hearty for one another. He does not say, By this shall men know that you are my disciples–if you work miracles, for a worker of miracles is but a cypher without charity (1Co 13:1; 1Co 13:2); but if you love one another from a principle of self-denial and gratitude to Christ. This Christ would have to be the proprium of his religion, the principal note of the true church. (2.) That it is the true honour of Christ’s disciples to excel in brotherly love. Nothing will be more effectual than this to recommend them to the esteem and respect of others. See what a powerful attractive it was, Act 2:46; Act 2:47. Tertullian speaks of it as the glory of the primitive church that the Christians were known by their affection to one another. Their adversaries took notice of it, and said, See how these Christians love one another, Apol. cap. 39. (3.) That, if the followers of Christ do not love one another, they not only cast an unjust reproach upon their profession, but give just cause to suspect their own sincerity. O Jesus! are these thy Christians, these passionate, malicious, spiteful, ill-natured people? Is this thy son’s coat? When our brethren stand in need of help from us, and we have an opportunity of being service able to them, when they differ in opinion and practice from us, or are any ways rivals with or provoking to us, and so we have an occasion to condescend and forgive, in such cases as this it will be known whether we have this badge of Christ’s disciples.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Now (). Now at last, the crisis has come with a sense of deliverance from the presence of Judas and of surrender to the Father’s will (Westcott).
Is glorified (). First aorist passive of , consummation of glory in death both for the Son and the Father. For this verb in this sense see already John 7:39; John 12:16 and later 17:3. Four times here in verses 31f.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Now. Marking a crisis, at which Jesus is relieved of the presence of the traitor, and accepts the consequences of his treachery.
Is – glorified [] . Literally, was glorified. The aorist points to the withdrawal of Judas. Jesus was glorified through death, and His fate was sealed (humanly speaking) by Judas ‘ going out. He speaks of the death and consequent glorification as already accomplished.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1 ) “Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said,” (hote oun ekelthen legei lesous) “Then when he went out of his own accord, Jesus said,” to the disciples yet at the feast table, Joh 12:2; Joh 13:2.
2) “Now is the Son of man glorified,” (nun edoksasthe ho huios tou anthropou) “Now and continuously hereafter the Son of man is glorified,” Joh 12:23; Joh 17:1-6. The Spirit of Jesus now rose to one of triumph, as He proceeded to explain two things to them; First, that His work on earth was done, and second, that He must soon leave them.
3) “And God is glorified in him.” (kai ho theos edoksasthe en auto) “And God (is) exists, glorified in him,” Joh 14:13; 1Pe 4:11; This glory had come to both Jesus and His Father through the purpose and work He had come to finish, which was at hand in being finished, Joh 17:4-5; Joh 12:23; Joh 11:4.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
31. Now is the Son of man glorified. The last hour was at hand; Christ knew that the minds of his disciples were very weak, and, therefore, he endeavored, by every possible method, to support them, that they might not give way. Even at the present day, the remembrance of the cross of Christ is sufficient to make us tremble, were we not instantly met by the consolation, that he triumphed in the cross, having obtained a victory over Satan, sin, and death. What, then, might have happened to the Apostles, when they saw the Lord soon dragged to the cross, loaded with every kind of reproaches? Might not an exhibition so melancholy and revolting have overwhelmed them a hundred times? Christ, therefore, provides against this danger, and withdraws them from the outward aspect of death to its spiritual fruit. Whatever ignominy, then, may be seen in the cross, fitted to confound believers, yet Christ testifies that the same cross brings glory and honor to him. (57)
And God is glorified in him. This clause, which immediately follows the other, is added for confirmation; for it was a paradoxical statement, that the glory of the Son of man arose from a death which was reckoned ignominious among men, and was even accursed before God. He shows, therefore, in what manner he would obtain glory to himself from such a death. It is, because by it (58) he glorifies God the Father; for in the cross of Christ:, as in a magnificent theater, the inestimable goodness of God is displayed before the whole world. In all the creatures, indeed, both high and low, the glory of God shines, but nowhere has it shone more brightly than in the cross, in which there has been an astonishing change of things, the condemnation of all men has been manifested, sin has been blotted out, salvation has been restored to men; and, in short, the whole world has been renewed, and every thing restored to good order.
In him. Though the preposition ( ἐν) in is often used instead of the Hebrew ב, and, in such eases, is equivalent to by, yet I have preferred translating it simply, that God is glorified in the Son of man; because I considered that phrase to be more emphatic. When he says, and God is glorified, the meaning, I apprehend, is, for God is glorified
(57) “ Luy est glorieuse et honorable.”
(58) “ Par icelle.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL NOTES
Joh. 13:31. Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus saith, etc.Ye are not all clean, Jesus had said; but now the traitor had gone, and a higher spiritual teaching was given to the eleven. Now the hour of His crowning glory as the Son of man, the glory of uttermost humiliation for the sake of man, has come; and in that the Fathers love and mercy are also displayed.
Joh. 13:32. If God be glorified in Him.Omitted in , B, C, D, etc.
Joh. 13:33. Little children., a word peculiar to Johns writings. It emphasises the idea of kinsmanship; and the diminutive conveys an expression at once of deep affection and also of solicitude for those who are yet immature (Westcott).
Joh. 13:34-35. A new commandment, etc.The disciples could not follow the Saviour then; but they would do so afterward, during their earthly service, on the ways of this new commandment of self-sacrificing love in imitation of Him. In the Spirit of love would be their eternal union with the Father in Christ (Joh. 17:23).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Joh. 13:31-35
The glorified Son of man and the new commandment.When Judas had departed from the upper chamber, and his dark presence, with something of a depressing or numbing influence, was no longer felt, then the Saviour prepared His true disciples, faithful though weak and imperfect, for what lay before them, which would prove to them so full of horror, so subversive of hope. He sought to strengthen them to meet the events about to follow, showing that all had been foreseen and provided for. Now I tell you before it come, that when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am He (Joh. 13:19).
I. The glorified Son of man must depart.
1. After the traitor had gone forth determined on his awful purpose, events would move with startling rapidity. Now the glorification of Jesus, as the Son of man, is viewed as begun.
2. For what was that glory? The very depth of His voluntary humiliation was being reached. How could there be glory in that? But that was indeed the very period of His greatest glory as Emmanuel. For with His stripes we are healed. His sufferings and death were mans redemption. In all, His love to man was unmistakably manifestedeven mercy and love to His enemies. His obedience as the divine Son was shown before all worlds. His unswerving trust in the love of the Father, and His deep, unshaken peace shone forth in those hours of trial and pain with transcendent glory. And this glory of self-sacrificing love had just been seen shining conspicuously in that humility with which He had washed even the feet of Judas, and in seeing the traitor depart unhindered on his awful errand.
3. In all this God was glorified in Jesus. The glory of the divine character is conspicuous in this wonderful exhibition of redeeming love, in which a way was shown by which He might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus (Rom. 3:26). It was God who so loved the world, etc. (Joh. 3:16). His love is wonderful; His righteousness and truth are manifest to all in this amazing work of redemption. Behold what manner of love, etc. (1Jn. 3:1). Thus in the Sons carrying out of the divine plan, in the exercise of a love which many waters could not quench, the Son and Father were together glorified: grace and truth were made manifest, and the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God conspicuously declared (Rom. 11:35).
4. And if God be glorified in Him, God shall also, etc. Not only does Christs redeeming work redound to the glory of the Father, but the Father also would glorify Christ, in raising Him from the dead, and setting Him on His throne in the heavens, in the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost in accordance with Christs promise, and in putting all things under His feet. Christ must go, and it is true must go by a via dolorosa whither the disciples then could not follow Hima way of sorrow and suffering, which is yet the way of abounding glory.
II. The disciples must remain.
1. The hour was approaching when the little flock must be scattered, though only for a season. But they must needs be prepared. They had dreamed, and were still dreaming, some of them, of material thrones and kingdoms. The rude awakening must be anticipated.
2. In Christs absence they would seek Him. Ah! how earnestly, as we see by their timid gathering together (Joh. 20:19); by the return homeward of at least two sad at heart and bankrupt in hope (Luk. 24:14; Luk. 24:17); and by the eager rush to the sepulchre on the resurrection morning.
3. Whither I go ye cannot come, etc. (Joh. 13:33). They could not, must not, follow Him then by the way of sorrow to glory; for the works sake they must remain. As He said to the Jews: Ye shall seek Me, etc. But He did not say what He further said to the Jews: Ye shall not find Me. For not only is it ever blessedly true that those who truly seek shall surely find Him; ere long they would in reality see Him again (Joh. 14:19; Joh. 16:16), not only in His glorified resurrection body, and in the fulfilment of His promise at Pentecost, but when they should be called into His presence, and when He appeared in His glory. At the longest, measured in the ons of eternity, this shall be but a little while. I go, but ye shall remain to carry out and complete My work, to show forth My truth, to walk in the light of My example as obedient children of the heavenly Father, with the hope of blessed reunion in the Fathers house. To unite and quicken them for their work
III. Jesus gave a uniting and inspiring principle of life and action to the disciples in the new commandment, in the observance of which they might follow Him.
1. The path He had at that time to tread He must truly tread alone (Isa. 63:3). This way of glory should yet be trodden by the disciples; but it would be on the path of obedience to this new commandment.
2. Christ was to be withdrawn in visible presence; but He would still be with them in spirit, and they would be united to Him, their living Head, by the very closest bonds, through the spirit of mutual love. That love which you see in Me to youward, and which you bear to Me, let it be expanded toward one another, so that it may become a bond of union and communion, uniting you to one another as members of My body (Eph. 1:22-23; Eph. 5:25; Eph. 5:29-30).
3. Christ calls this commandment a new commandment. Similar command, it is true, had been given of old in the Mosaic institutions. But it had not the same vital force, because it was restricted in scope and motive. Thus we are prepared to find that it had become almost a dead letter. The Rabbis had tortured it to mean, Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy. The love Christ commands has a wider sweep; it embraces all men. He pointed the Jew to the hated Samaritan even as his neighbour whom he should love (Luk. 10:36).
4. But here it is the love of His people to one another of which Christ speaks, not so much the love of the disciples for perishing men as their mutual love. The natural man loves those bound to him by ties of affection and kinship, from motives of esteem, etc. Christians love the brotherhood for Christs sake. They love Him, and must love those whom He loves, who are children of the heavenly Father, temples of the Holy Ghost. A new motive for this mutual love has been given.
5. The object of love is indeed the same. It is men, mortal and imperfect, but men viewed in a different relationship. They are members of the great spiritual family, brethren and sisters in Christ. Men love the members of their families naturally more than strangers. Much more should members of the great spiritual family, fellow-citizens of the saints, etc., show to each other a deep, abiding affection. A relationship that is for eternity binds them together. Such a love cannot be narrow or confined. It will flow beyond the bounds of mutual affection and pour itself forth to all men, like Christs love for a perishing world, for which He died.
6. The spirit and example of this love are new. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself was the old form. But no such wavering, imperfect reflection of love as this is given in the new commandment. As I have loved you. Here is the new and glorious prototype. Think of His love unspeakable, its patience, tenderness, forbearance, strength, etc. It is an example which will suffice for eternity.
IV. The observance of the new commandment is an evidence of discipleship.
1. By this shall men know, etc. It is a test by which disciples may try their lives. We know, etc. (1Jn. 2:3; 1Jn. 3:14).
2. It is the badge of Christian citizenship. Men are proud to wear the badges and insignia of famous orders, societies, etc., to which they may belong. The loyal soldier is not ashamed of his uniform, etc. Religious orders have their special garb, etc. But the true mark of Christian discipleship is mutual love. The world soon realised that here was a new power.
3. It is a sign of Christian brotherhood. Just as the members of some societies recognise each other by a sign or word, etc., so members of the society of believers recognise each other, or should do so, by this mark of mutual love.
4. It should also be an earnest of mutual helpfulness. Genuine Christian affection will lead to prompt, brotherly helpfulness; and thus more clearly still will be evidenced true discipleship (1Jn. 3:17).
Lessons.
1. Pure love on earth is ever new. Its songs never grow old or cloy from age to age. It is a living fountain from which streams, ever fresh, flow out to bless men. It is so because it manifests the same unselfish, self-sacrificing spirit as that of this heavenly commandment.
2. So this mutual love of Christs disciples should be a never-failing spring of blessing for men. Yet just as human love is marred by human imperfection, so is this.
3. Still what infinite possibilities lie in this command, nothing less than making earth an outer court of heaven, and the kingdoms of the world the kingdoms of our Lord, etc.
4. How far are Christians from its perfect observance! The divisions, jealousies, sectarian rivalries, of Christendom ought to humble us. How can Christian men, who in everything else are so near each other, stand opposed behind some trumpery ecclesiastical or other barrier? The members of all the Churches need to drink more deeply the spirit of these blessed words, to pray that they may learn to love one another as Christ has loved them.
Joh. 13:34. The new commandment.This new commandment serves
I. To prove our love to God.
1. To show that He is Lord of our hearts (1Jn. 4:7-8).
2. If we discover by this test that our heart is loveless toward our brother, then we learn that it is because in our heart there is no real love to God, and that we have not understood what His love is.
II. It also leads to the exercise of love to God.
1. God is invisible to us, but has given a visible object of love in our brother, so that we may prove through him what love to God really means (1Jn. 4:20).
2. Thus we are able through the exercise of love toward the brother whom we see to advance in the divine love (1Jn. 4:12).
3. This seems like a perversion of the order of salvation, according to which love to God must precede love of the brethren. Yet it is not. It is only the simple way of education. Men who are religious only in the natural sense recognise the force of the command, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, etc. Let them exercise this love genuinely; and when they find how unable they are to do it fully, may they not learn to begin, as all love to God begins, to love wistfully, conscious of their failure, and looking in longing to Him who through grace brings righteousness to the transgressor? And if a child of grace desires to be perfected in the divine love, let him just try whether Christs promise will not hold good, If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love.
III. This commandment is given for our temporal and eternal blessedness.
1. This is not merely a commandment with a promise of reward attached thereto, but it is in itself a reward of highest blessednessto love and be loved, loving fellowship with God, and loving fellowship in God.
2. When we learn really to love as brethren, then we shall find our happiness and prosperity in the happiness and prosperity of our brethren. In loving them each of us loves a consecrated ego.
3. Then this true wisdom is learnedto consecrate all the powers and intelligence, which were formerly devoted to selfish ends, to the good of our fellows, and in them of that higher and divinely consecrated ego. This is what our Redeemer taught; in Him we see how men should love one another. We shouldthis is His new commandmentlove one another as He has loved us. And how did He love us? He sought His glory in our salvation. So has this Friend loved us; His blood was shed forth for us! And therefore should we learn of Him to love our brethren, and thus love and seek truly our own selves and our highest happiness.
4. All love of the brethren displays itself in this: it does not wrong themit ever seeks their good. And this it does in the way of the commandments of the second table of the law. Love worketh no ill, etc., but ever shows itself in acts of kindness to the brethren done by us, and in guarding ourselves from doing them wrong
(1) In their lifethe sixth commandment;
(2) In their other selvesthe seventh commandment;
(3) In their possessionsthe eighth commandment;
(4) In their good namethe ninth commandment; and
(5) From the inner depths of our beingthe tenth commandment.
From Th. Wunderling (Moravian).
Joh. 13:34-35. The ruling spirit of Christian citizenship.Citizens keep the laws of their country from various motives. The majority, and the best part of the people, keep those laws because they see that they are conducive to the countrys social and material welfare, and thus to their own. Others, however, who do not feel bound by any moral or social restraint, who consider first and foremost only their own fancied interests and pleasures, would often transgress their countrys laws, were it not that the fear of punishment restrained them. And some, disregarding this, with hope that they may escape the penalty, break those laws perpetually. Self-interest, it may be said, rules in the kingdoms of the world. It is far otherwise in the kingdom of Christ. In it there is a constraining and ruling spirit which inspires its government, and is the motive power in the lives of its citizens, leading them to honour and obey its King.
I. Christ rules in love.
1. Love is the eternal law and spirit of His kingdom. All its manifestations are founded on love. Love to the world underlies the sending of the Son; love to men brought the Son, who loved us and gave Himself for us, down to earth.
2. God indeed loves His people with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3). So, too, His people are in Christ under the reign of love: nothing can separate them from it. Every day confirms it, every blessing proclaims it. Our whole life is encompassed by it.
3. See how His love forbears with us; how patiently He deals with us; how faithfully He chastens; how constantly He helps in every time of need; and thus how gloriously His high-priestly prayer hath been answered: I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them; and I in them (Joh. 17:26).
II. Love to Christ leads to loving obedience of Him.
1. He that hath My commandments, etc. (Joh. 14:21), said our Lord. And the apostle echoes his Masters words when he writes, This is the love of God, etc. (1Jn. 5:3). Without love obedience is impossible (Joh. 14:24); for love is the outcome of the renewed nature which comes through faith in Christ.
2. Love reigning within shows a heart and will in unison with Christ. The same mind that was in Him dwells in those who love Him. Thus obedience becomes spontaneous and joyful. The nearer men rise toward Christs likeness, the more His love is shed abroad in their hearts, the more will they be led to pray, and seek to do His will in all things.
Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
3. Who indeed is more worthy of our supreme love and unwavering obedience? The more we know of HimHis wisdom, love, powerthe more we experience His gracious dealings, the more we realise the sweetness of His yoke which is so easy and His burden which is so light, the more shall we be grieved when we neglect His commands and fall into sin. And when we realise all the misery and slavery of sin, and the freedom and peace of His kingdom, we shall be led ever to cry, more and more, Give me Thy easy yoke to bear.
III. The test of love and obedience to our spiritual King is love to the brethren and to those for whom Christ died.
1. A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, etc. (Joh. 13:34), was one of the parting exhortations of our Lord to His disciples. And is it not neglect of this command that has hindered and is hindering the advance of Christs kingdom?
2. To what grace are Christians more earnestly urged in the New Testament than this? and yet what grace is frequently more conspicuously absent? Would there be the wranglings, jealousies, divisions, that now exist in Christs Church, His spiritual kingdom on earth, even among good men, over trifles light as air, were the love of Christ perfected in us?
3. Would we see so many Christians grasping, worldly, bent on the pleasures and pursuits of time, almost to the exclusion of everything else, did more of the spirit and love of Christ animate them? To how many does the love of Christ mean no more than a languid attendance at a Sabbath service, followed by a constant devotion all the week to the world, the flesh, or the devilor all three?
4. Love prompted the Redeemer to leave the heavenly glory, to live among men, despised and rejected, to die upon the cross, that He might bring salvation within reach of all. And He has confided to His people the glorious work of making that salvation known to perishing men. And, lo! those who call themselves His people sit at ease in Zion for the most part, and never dream of sacrificing a farthings worth of comfort for that great cause for which Christ died. He shed His bloodgave His life. They give, often with grudging hand, what can well be spared, and cast away on trifles or doubtful pleasures what might go to swell many a living rill for refreshing the spiritually thirsty and weary tribes of earth. Is this love? Is this obeying the command, As I have loved you love one another?
5. Back to the Christ of the Gospels, is a modern cry. But the Christ of the Gospels is the Christ of the New Testamentof Paul and John as well as of Matthew and Luke. And the reigning feature of His kingdom all through is this of love. Yes, back to Christback from ecclesiastical wranglings, from theological strifes, from hazy secularistic and socialistic dreamingsback to learn of Him, to be inspired by His Spirit, to be filled with His love; and then a willing and obedient people shall show forth His praise, and seek to extend His blessed kingdom of truth and love.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Joh. 13:34. A new commandment, etc.This solemn testament our Lord left in His parting words for all who should be His disciples. But is this commandment of love in reality a new commandment? Is it not a very ancient command, as old as the world? Had not the fratricide Cain to bear about this commandment, written as if with blazing letters on his despairing heart, as he went about restless and a fugitive on the earth after his bloody crime? Did not the patriarch Abraham already understand this commandment, and practise it, as he spoke to his cousin Lot with such noble brotherliness, If thou wilt go to the left, I will go to the right; or if thou wilt go to the right, I will go to the left, and as he prayed to the Lord in such heartfelt pity for lost Sodom? Do not the ten commandments which Israel received at Sinai come to this sum of the whole, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God above all, and thy neighbour as thyself? Do we not see in a David an example of love to friend and foe, when we view his friendship with Jonathan and his nobleness toward his deadly foe Saul? Have not even the heathen understood and practised this commandment? What a beautiful example of the love of a child was that of the Athenian hero Cimon for his imprisoned father! What a touching example of the love of friends do Damon and Pythias give us, whose faithfulness endured even at the scaffold, and which Schiller has sung in his poem The Surety-ship! What a noble pattern of human love did the Roman Emperor Titus give, who held that every day in his life was lost in which he had done good to no one! What glorious deeds of the love of fatherland are related to us of a Leonidas, a Regulus, and so many other Greek and Roman heroes, who freely gave up their lives for the common weal! And yet the Founder of our faith calls it a new commandment, that His disciples should love one another. And truly it was a new commandment in His mouth; it has received an entirely new signification in His kingdom. Now for the first time this commandment of love has been placed on its true eternal basis, when we learn from the New Testament of Jesus Christ that God is love. Now for the first time has it reached its highest degree, since there is given us a type of the purest and greatest love in Him who loved us unto death, and who says to us, A new commandment. As I have loved you. Now it is referred to the whole wide field of its influence, since we have learned that all men are our brethren, and none need now ask, Who is my neighbour? And now first could this command be received in its real power through the Spirit of Christ, which is a Spirit of humility and meekness, of love and peace. Now first has this commandment been accorded its rightful position as the sum of all the othersthe royal commandment of love. In short, beloved, through Christ this command of love has first become truly difficult, and through Him also it has first become easy. Therefore did He rightly say. A new commandment, etc. And say, is it not in truth to us also ever new? Ah, how many who call themselves Christians understand this commandment so little that one might think they had never heard of it, as if it were entirely new to them! And even among those of us who understand and observe it, need we not to have it ever anew held up before us, lest our love should grow cold? Need we not every day again to learn, again to practise it, and cannot perfectly fulfil? but we dare never neglect it, because in this command all Christian duties are included, because love is the fulfilling of the law. Says Luther: The commandment of love is a short command and a long command: a single commandment, and yet many commandments; no commandment, and yet all commandments: it annuls all the commandments, and yet it establishes them all.Translated from Karl Gerok.
Joh. 13:34. Ministering love the highest service.Behold, then, from the first beginning, from the first turning of the heart to the Redeemer, until the joyful departure from this world, nothing avails but this communicating and ministering love in its winning and self-sacrificing nature! This it is with which the Redeemer embraces the worldthis in which we should love one another. If any man should say aught else concerning the Christian Church, believe it not! Does any one say that there are human laws which belong to it, then answer that the Son of God is come to free us from the bondage of merely human ordinances, so that we might receive the gift of adoption. Does any one say a confession belongs to it, this or that custom, then reply, the Redeemer said, I give you a commandment, that ye should love one another with that love wherewith I have loved you. And if it is answered that in this fashion the Christian Church would be something which could not be laid hold of, which can be kept to nothing, so that one would not know where she is, where she began, where she will endthen say: Thus is every one that is born of the Spirit; ye know not whence He comes and whither He goes; ye hear His breathing. Well for you when you understand this; well for you when your own life is encompassed by this breathing of the Spirit; well for you when also through you the words of eternal life become spirit and life for the race of men.Translated from, F. Schleiermacher.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
THE SACRIFICING SERVANT OF CHRIST
Text 13:31-38
31
When therefore he was gone out, Jesus saith, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him;
32
and God shall glorify him in himself, and straightway shall he glorify him.
33
Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say unto you.
34
A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
36
Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow afterwards.
37
Peter saith unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee even now? I will lay down my life for thee.
38
Jesus answereth, Wilt thou lay down thy life for me? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.
Queries
a.
Why did Jesus say, Now is the Son of man glorified?
b.
How is love one another a new commandment?
c.
Was Jesus questioning the courage of Peter in Joh. 13:38?
Paraphrase
When Judas had been sent out to consummate his evil scheme, Jesus said, Now I have willingly sent the traitor to seal my death now by this act is the Son of man glorified and God is also glorified. And God shall glorify the Son in intimate union with himself and in just a few hours shall he glorify him in the ultimate victory!
Oh, my little children, I will be with you only a few hours longer. And the time is coming very soon when you will long for my presence but I must tell you, as I told the Jews, Where I am going you cannot follow. Since I am about to leave you I am giving you a new precept to follow. This new precept is built upon a new conceptit is that you love one another with the same self-sacrificing love with which I have loved you. If you shall do this, all men shall know that you are my disciples even though I be not with you in bodily presence.
Simon Peter said to him, Lord, where could you possibly be going that we cannot follow you? Jesus replied, I am going where you cannot follow me now, though you will follow me later. Peter asked quickly, Lord, what can possibly keep me from following you right now? Why, I am ready even to lay down my life for you! Jesus replied, Will you indeed lay down your life for me? I most solemnly assure you the rooster will not crow at coming daybreak until you have disowned me three times.
Summary
Jesus shows the marks of a true and loyal disciple both by example and precept . . . one who will sacrifice self-will. Peter, trusting too much in self, shows he has the wrong concept.
Comment
At the moment of the Lords betrayal and arrest it would seem to the disciples that their Master had become the victim of unfortunate circumstances. But later when the Holy Spirit should call to their minds His complete mastery of the situation even before the betrayal they would glorify His name. Judas did not escape detection. Judas did not even steal away secretly to do something which was against the plan of Jesus. Here, this night, the Lord of the universe willingly and purposefully sends his betrayer off to do his deed. The sacrificing servant of God is glorified in a majestic surrender of self.
God the Father, in intimate union with the Son, is also glorified by His majestic giving up of His only-unique Son. At the Fathers command is an unnumbered host of angelic warriors. At the instant word of the Father they would have slain every human enemy of His Son. But the glorious love and mercy of the Father for a world in sin kept this command from being issued.
And soon, very soon now, would the ultimate victory be accomplishedthe victory over sin upon Golgotha and the victory over death in Josephs tomb. Then shall the Son of man be glorified indeed. Then shall all His claims to deity be vindicated for all time.
The subject of his glorification in death, resurrection and ascension leads Him to make preparation for His physical departure from among them. Just as He told the Jews at the feast of Tabernacles, some six months earlier, now He tells His disciples He must leave them. They will long for His presence but where He is going they cannot follow immediately. He must ascend to the Father, but they must remain behind in the world until they are called up higher at death. And until their decease (exodus) and reunion with Him they will know His living presence by keeping the new commandment which He leaves with them.
Is this a new commandment? Has He never before given them the precept of love to keep? The newness of the commandment is contained in that His disciples are to love one another even as their Master has loved them. No such love could have been commanded before because no such love had ever been exhibited before! This love of Jesus for men goes even deeper than the command for a man to love another as he loves himself, for Jesus loves us more than we love ourselves. It is only by allowing Christ to dwell in us through faith that we can even come near to comprehending what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the love of Christ which passeth knowledge (cf. Eph. 3:17-19)! The dimensions of His love are as boundless and limitless as faith! If His disciples have this love for one another, His presence will be living and abiding in them and working through them. And by such love will the whole world know the presence of Christ and know that such men are His disciples. Doctrinal correctness is not all there is to Christian discipleship, as important as that is (1Jn. 2:3-4), but a Christ-like love for one another is equally essential (cf. 1Jn. 2:8-11). This is the type of love that would cause a Paul to write, For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh (Rom. 9:2). By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples.
What a contrast between the selfless love of Christ and the love of self of Judas. The love that moved Jesus to willingly sacrifice Himself is the self-sacrificing love which is to be the distinguishing mark of a disciple of Christ.
The manner in which John records this section gives us the impression that Peter, in all his impetuosity and eagerness to demonstrate his loyalty to Jesus, brushed aside the teaching on love and directed the conservation abruptly back to the ominous note of impending conflict. If his Master is about to engage in battle he sees no reason why he cannot follow Him into the thick of the conflict. He is ready now!
If there is a fight to be fought for the right he is prepared now. Even if he must die he would go with his Master. He is ready and willing to lay down his life in battle for the Christ. Peter was no coward. He armed himself with a sword and would have challenged those who came to arrest Jesus in the garden (Joh. 18:10-11). He had the bold courage to follow the authorities as they led Jesus to the very house of the high priest and stood without until allowed to enter.
We do not believe that cowardice prompted Peter to deny the Lord and take an oath that he never knew Him. We believe Peter would have quickly admitted being a disciple of Jesus if the Master had just given the signal to fight. Perhaps he emphatically denied being the disciple of Jesus hoping to remain incognito until Jesus would give the signal to resist. When Peter finally realized that his Master was not going to resist he gave up his ambitions for the Messianic kingdom. That seemed to be Peters troubleambition for the Messianic kingdom in his earthly concept of it. He had not denied self! We believe that basically Peter denied the Lord in that he refused to deny his own self-ambitions. When Jesus offered not the least bit of resistance, Peter, with the other disciples scatterednot because they were cowards, but because their aspirations and ideals were dying (they supposed) with Him. When Jesus had prophecied His death at Cesarea Philippi (Mat. 16:13-28), Peter rebuked Him for thinking such a thing should happen to the Messiah. It was here that the Lord told Peter he was minding the things of men. It was in connection with that very rebuke that Jesus warned the disciples they must lose their lives for His sake in a sense different from physical death. Before Pilate, Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews (Joh. 18:36). Jesus forbade the disciples to fight to rescue Himthe very thing that the disciples would have done!
We believe that in essence Jesus is saying, Peter, I know you are willing to fight and die physically for your concept of Me as the Messiah. But Peter, are you willing to put self to death and accept My concept of the Messianic kingdom. I assure you, Peter, you will deny Me before morning comes. Peter was not yet ready to crucify himself (cf. Gal. 2:20).
Quiz
1.
How was Jesus glorified by His actions there in the upper room?
2.
Why does Jesus give His new commandment?
3.
What is new about this commandment?
4.
What will be the results of keeping this new commandment?
5.
Was Peter afraid to die physically for Jesus?
6.
In what way was Peter unwilling to lose his life for Jesus?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(31) Now is the Son of man glorified.Comp. Notes on Joh. 11:4; Joh. 12:28. The going out of Judas is the sign that the betrayal and death of the Son of Man was at hand. In that was the glory of His accomplished work, and He speaks of this glory as present. It lies so immediately before Him that it is at once realised; and the brightness of the vision over-powers all thought of the darkness of the path which leads to it.
God is glorified in him.This is a re-statement of the thought which has met us whenever the work of the Son has been dwelt upon. It was the Fathers work too. The glory of the Son of Man in the redemption of the world was the glory of God, who gave His only-begotten Son, that by Him the world might be saved. There is a contrast drawn here between the humanity and the divinity united in the person of our Lord. In Him, i.e., in His person, in the person of the Son of Man suffering and crucified, there were manifested the attributes of the majesty and glory of God. It was an utterance to the world, in a fulness never heard before, of the Justice, Holiness, and Love which are the nature of God.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
31. Now is the Son of man glorified He whose spirit was just now so troubled at the dark side of events before him, now rises into exultation at the glory that crowns the darkness. Again the entire scene of crucifixion and ascension are concentrated and brought into a now, (see note on Joh 12:31,) and the whole is seen to be a glory. By the very cross and passion the Son of man is glorified. And as God has given the Son of his love for this great work, so God is glorified in him.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘When therefore he had left Jesus says, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. And God will glorify him in himself, and immediately he will glorify him’.
We have here a whole package of glorification. The Son of Man is about to be glorified, and God is to be glorified in Him. Then God will glorify Him in Himself, and will immediately glorify Him. This undoubtedly includes His being glorified on the cross (Joh 12:23-27) but equally clearly involves His restoration to the glory that had once been His in His eternal existence (Joh 17:5), by way of resurrection and exaltation.
This glorification of the Son of Man is described in Dan 7:13-14. ‘I saw in the night visions and behold there came with the clouds of Heaven (out of a period of suffering) One like to a Son of Man, and He came even to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him, and there was given Him dominion and GLORY and a kingship, that all the peoples nations and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and His kingship that which will not be destroyed.’ Thus Jesus had very much in mind His entering out of suffering into the presence of the Father to receive eternal glory and kingship (compare Mat 16:27-28; Mat 25:31 ff; Mat 26:64).
But His words here in Joh 13:31-32 go even further than Daniel, for they include the thought of His being ‘glorified in God Himself’, something expanded on in His prayer in chapter 17 where He prays to be glorified ‘in the Father’s own self, with the glory which He had with Him before the world was’ (Joh 17:5). Thus He was not only, on behalf of redeemed mankind, to receive the kingship (Act 2:35), and in His glorified manhood take His place at the right hand of God, but He was also to be glorified with the Father’s essential glory, and take His place upon the Father’s throne (see Rev 3:21; Rev 5:6). It is significant that as Glorified Man His place was at the Father’s right hand, whilst in His Own divine glory His position was on the Father’s throne.
Note that Jesus’ statement is specifically connected with Judas’ departure to carry out his Satanic purpose. Events of huge significance were now involved, and Jesus has given permission for them to commence. By His voluntarily allowing Satan’s schemes to go forward Jesus has initiated the procedure which will lead to His full glorification, both on the cross, and then in His final Glory. And He was fully aware of the fact.
So by His words to Judas Jesus has accepted His destiny on the cross, and by it He is to be glorified (Joh 12:23-27), and God is also to be glorified in it (compare Joh 12:24-28), for He has willingly given His Son (Joh 3:16), revealing His love for men. In this way God commends His love towards us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). Nothing brings greater glory to Father and Son than the cross and what it was accomplishing.
But it would not end there. For God will further glorify Him, first in His own being (‘He will glorify Him in Himself’. Compare ‘glorify Me with Your own self, with the glory which I had with you before the world was’ – Joh 17:5), a glory beyond our comprehension, and then by immediate resurrection and exaltation, when He will be lifted up to the glory of God. So in each step of humiliation, by washing the disciples’ feet, by bidding Judas to go about his purpose, by willingly taking the way to the cross through humiliation and degradation, Jesus was being glorified, and God was glorified with Him. Jesus had to go through it step by step, and the Father had to stand back and watch, while supporting Him in His actions. And then, ‘immediately’, will come the coronation and the final glory. The Son of Man will receive His kingly rule (Dan 7:14), and the Lord of glory will receive back His glory (Joh 17:5)..
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Path to Glory Which Jesus Must Tread Alone ( Joh 13:31-38 ).
The opening two verses reflect Jesus’ awareness of the pivotal nature of the situation. As He thought back to the glory which had been His with the Father before the world was (Joh 17:5) He saw Himself as now returning to that glory. But it was to be a glory achieved by the glory of His self-offering of Himself. He would be glorified on the cross (nothing brings greater glory to Him than the cross) prior to His being glorified in Heaven.
Glory is a theme of John’s Gospel:
The glory of Jesus was revealed in His life among men, ‘we beheld His glory, the glory as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth’. Here glory indicates the shining out of truth and love as expressed in His life, teaching and miracles (Joh 1:14).
Jesus manifested forth His glory in His signs and miracles (Joh 2:11; Joh 11:4; Joh 11:40).
Isaiah saw the glory of Jesus in his vision of the LORD in the Temple, ‘these things said Isaiah when he saw His glory and spoke of Him’. Here glory specifically has in mind divine splendour (Joh 12:41).
Jesus had once had the glory which is His and Father’s before the world was, ‘glorify me with your own self, with the glory which I had with you before the world was’. We may see this as all-inclusive including all of the above (Joh 17:5).
He will yet be glorified again with the glory that once was His, something which very much has in mind restoration of a status voluntarily relinquished for a period (Joh 7:39; Joh 12:16; Joh 12:23; Joh 17:1; Joh 17:24).
We note that initially in eternity Jesus had had equal glory with the Father, and that He had revealed that glory in the Temple to Isaiah as YHWH (Joh 12:41). It was a glory which He relinquished in order to live among men, taking a lower place, so much so that He could say ‘(at present) my Father is greater than I’. And yet even then it could not be completely hidden for His life had shone forth that glory. In the end, however, it was a glory to which He would be fully restored so that He would have equal glory with the Father.
This is then followed by an attempt to prepare the Apostles for what was coming, and a stress on their need to love one another in view of His soon departure. He is returning to His former glory and status. They are going forward to battle with the world and with Satan, and love is to be their keyword, both His love and their love.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jesus’ Final Words To His Apostles ( Joh 13:31 to Joh 17:26 ).
This next section, from Joh 13:31 to Joh 17:26, can be seen as the equivalent of the dying words of Jesus. Words spoken on approaching death, and especially on a deathbed, were considered to be particularly potent. There are numerous examples of this in Scripture, like the blessings of Jacob to his sons in Gen 47:29 to Gen 49:33, Moses’ farewell words in Deuteronomy 33, the farewell of Joshua to the nation of Israel in Joshua 22-24, and David’s farewell speech in 1 Chronicles 28-29. Thus we must see these chapters as essentially spoken to the disciples, although of course we may apply much of what was said more generally as having wider implications. Within them, however, Jesus gives special promises of unique gifts and blessings which were only for His Apostles in their task of establishing the new people of God, the new Israel growing out of the old (Joh 15:1-6).
It is noteworthy that they were not spoken until Judas had left the company. They did not apply to him. He had gone out into the night. These instructions and promises were for those who walked in the light of day.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Concerning Christ’s Glorification. God glorified in the Son:
v. 31. Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.
v. 32. If God be glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify Him.
v. 33. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek Me; and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
v. 34. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
v. 35. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another. No sooner had Judas left the room than Jesus turned to His disciples with a series of beautiful, comforting sayings. They needed strength and consolation for the time of tribulation that would soon strike them. There is a note of triumph in the words of Jesus. In this crisis, by this decision of Jesus, the first step in His glorification has been accomplished. It is the Son of Man, the God man, that has been glorified through all the miracles of His life, and who is now to be glorified through the greatest miracle of all, following His death and burial. And God is glorified in the Son. It is God’s salvation; God was in Christ; God would be the Cause and the Promoter of His glorification, which was thus bound to result in the Father’s glorification as well. The Son having accomplished the work of salvation, the Father would receive the honor and glory for the resultant benefit for the whole world. But so close is the union between the Father and the Son that there is a mutual exchange of honor and glory between the two. That Jesus was glorified according to His human nature, that His human nature was received into the full enjoyment of the divine essence and attributes, that is an event which transpires within the essence of God. This act of glorification happened quickly, had its inception, took place, that very night. The Lord shows His disciples what relation this fact would have to them and their faith. Affectionately He calls them little children. He would be with them only a little while; the time could be numbered by hours now rather than by days. Then He would be taken from them, be removed from the intimate relationship which they had now enjoyed a matter of some three years. He had told the Jews that they would seek Him after it was too late, after all their searching for false Messiahs had been fruitless. In a similar manner He here tells the disciples that they will seek Him. The parting from their Lord would be a severe blow for them. But instead of abandoning hope, they should take heart, though they cannot follow Him now, at once. There is work for them to do before they may follow Him into the Kingdom of Glory. The necessity of true, fervent brotherly love had become apparent that night. They had known before that they should love all men as their neighbors; but here they are given a new commandment, that they should love one another. It was a kind of love which had not been practiced up to that time, and is practiced all too seldom in our days. The manifestation of brotherly love should be a sign, a criterion, whereby the people in the world in general might at all times recognize them as His disciples. The standard of this love, unapproachable indeed, but one worth striving after, as the most beautiful ideal in all the world, is the love of Jesus to them, to His disciples of all times. The climax and consummation of His love came with His giving His life as a ransom for many. That is the ideal which should ever be present in the minds of all Christians, that everyone deny himself in the interest of brotherly love. When the Christians love one another fervently, with pure hearts, even unto death, then shall it fully appear that they are disciples of the Son of Man who laid down His life for His sheep, and who became, by dying, a ransom for all.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Joh 13:31-32. Therefore, when he was gone out, Our Lord’s sufferings were now at hand, Judas being gone out for a band of soldiers to apprehend him. After he was departed, Jesus took occasion to meditate upon the glory which would accrue both to himself and to the Father from those sufferings, and spake of it to his disciples, Joh 13:31. Moreover he told them, that, having already glorified his Father by the past actions of his life, and being about to glorify him yet further by his sufferings and death, which would display his perfections, particularly his infinite love to man, in the most strikingand amiable light, he was in his turn to receive glory from the Father; meaning that, in his human nature, he was to be most gloriously exalted in dignity and power, and that his mission from the Father was immediately to be supported by irrefragable attestations. Seeing God is glorified in him, (for so , should be rendered) God will also glorify him in himself, and will speedily glorify him.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 13:31-32 . , . . .] The traitor is gone, and thereupon the heart of the Lord, which has become freer and more at ease, outflows first as in an anticipation of triumph. In view, namely, of the near and certain end, He sees in His death, as though He had already undergone it, His life-work as accomplished , and Himself thereby glorified , and in this His glorification the glory of God , who completes His work in the work of the Son. The intended by Jesus is accordingly not that which is contained for Him in the feet-washing and in the departure of Judas, which would not correspond to the sublime and victorious nature of this moment (against Godet). But neither, again, is it the heavenly glory (Luthardt); for to this the future , Joh 13:32 , first refers, and this change of tense possesses a determinative force. Rather does the denote the actual , which lies in the fact, and of which the manifestation has begun, that now at length His earthly work of salvation is brought to a state of completion , the task appointed to the Son by the Father is discharged . It is the glory of His death , the splendour of His , which He contemplates, feels, declares as already begun.
] in Him , in His person, so far as it has been glorified.
Joh 13:32 has a climactic relation to Joh 13:31 , passing from the , which He has on the threshold of death , to the heavenly glory, which from this time God will secure to Him (hence the future ).
. ] Solemn repetition, in order to subjoin a further thought.
] To be referred to the subject, not, with Ewald, to Christ: in Himself , corresponding, as recompense, to the . He will be so glorified by God, that His heavenly glory will be contained in God’s own peculiar ; His glory will be none other than the divine glory itself, completed in God Himself (comp. Col 3:3 ) through the return into the fellowship of God out of which He had come forth, and had been made man. Comp. Joh 17:4-5 .
The first , Joh 13:32 , is the also of the corresponding relation (on the other hand, again); and the second: and that (Hartung, Partikell . I. p. 145). On the idea of the recompense , comp. Joh 17:4-5 ; Phi 2:9 .
] straightway; for how immediately near is this blessed goal towards which my death is the departure!
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
FIFTH SECTION
The Lord in the circle of His friends, the children of light; how He discloses and communicates to them the riches of His inner life, thereby consecrating them as bearers and ministers of His own life, with a view to the enlightenment and transfiguration of the world, and the union of the present and the hereafter.Disclosure of Heaven (and explanations relative to the Heavenly life)
Joh 13:31Joh 17:26
synoptical view
The farewell discourses of Jesus, as recorded by John, contain the most mysterious and most holy of all the sayings through which He manifested Himself to His own. They form the spiritual ante-celebration of His own glorification and that of His people in the new celestial life opened up by His death and resurrection. Distinction must be made between historical periods and those embracing different divisions of the subject matter; there exists, however, an exact correspondence in the march of the two. The total is the walk to the Mount of Olives and the revelation of heaven or the new heavenly home, high above the old Sheol of the dead.
First Period. From the end of the paschal meal, or the departure of Judas, to the end of the Supper. Starting-point of the meditation: the Supper; how it reveals the gulf that intervenes between the heavenly home that Christ discloses and whither He is going; but also transfigures the same, supplying Christs presence to the disciples, who sojourn on this earthly shore, until the time when they shall be ripe for heaven until the time when they shall be ripe for heaven and at liberty to follow the Lord as martyrs (Joh 13:36). Martyrdom the fairest, ripest fruit of the Lords Supper. Therefore: the task and goal of personal life in that Kingdom of glory, to found which Christ leaves this world, Joh 13:31-38.
Second Period. From the close of the Supper to the departure for the Mount of Olives. On stepping forth beneath the starry sky. Starting-point of the meditation: the going forth into the dark world, and the contemplation of the nocturnal heavens. Revelation of the heavens situate beyond the gulf. Exposition of heaven, or the Fathers House, as the goal of Christ and His people.
1. Christ as the Way to the goal; in the truth and life of His personal essence standing surety for the goal, in spite of the contradiction of out-ward agencies which reveal an apparently aim-less and pathless vista of misery and death (Thomas).
2.Christ as the Goal of the way, or the spiritual and heavenly theophany, in antithesis to the sensual and earthly theophany; or as the personal Christ, through whom the personal Father manifests Himself, and who, through the Holy Ghost, founds the fellowship of personal, heavenly life (Joh 13:20; Philip).
3. Christ, on His return, at once the Goal and the Way. How, in the communion of His people, He establishes the hidden heaven upon earth, as the Kingdom of the Spirit and of Love in antithesis to the ungodliness of the world (Judas Lebbus).
4. The departure for the Passion as a departure for heaven, or the parting salutation as a pledge of greeting at a speedily ensuing meeting.
The one warranty for the heaven beyond this worldwhich warranty is given us through the heavenly Christ present in the worldbranches out into various manifestations: (1) Of the heavenly Christ; (2) of the heavenly Father; (3) of the heavenly Spirit or other Paraclete; (4) of the heavenly and personal life and operation of Christians.
First promise of the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of Christ and the Church generally, Joh 13:16. Second promise of the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of evangelic knowledge and of enlightenment, Joh 13:26. Chap. 14.
Third Period. The walk from the city to the brook Kedron. Vineyards and nocturnal garden-fires on either side (see below). Starting-point of the meditation: the sight of the vineyards, of the cleansed vines and the burning branches. Glorification of this earthly shore; or the heavenly life upon earth, in the history of the Kingdom of Love or the Vine of God; in the judgment executed upon dead branches, and in the fruit bearingloves blessingof living ones.
1. Divine establishment and cultivation of the heavenly Vine upon earth, or the establishment of the heavenly Kingdom of Lovea kingdom rich in joy. The fiery judgment upon dead branches; the purification of living ones; or the destiny of the Vine (Joh 15:1-8).
2. The fruit-bearing of disciples in their life of lave (Joh 13:9-17).
3. Verification of love in opposition to the hatred of the world, or the defensive conduct of the disciples of Jesus (Joh 13:18 to Joh 16:6).
4. Consummation of love in the fellowship of the Holy Ghost who convinces and conquers the world by the judgment of the Spirit, or the offensive conduct of disciples, Joh 16:7-11. Revelation of the future, together with the development of Christianity, Joh 13:12-15.
Third promise of the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of martyr-faithfulness, Joh 15:26. Fourth promise of the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of victorious might that overcometh the world, Joh 16:8-11. Fifth promise of the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of apostolic development and apocalyptic revelation of the future, Joh 16:12-15.
Fourth Period. Towards the end of the way. Conclusion of communications, and promise of future disclosures through the Holy Ghost. Starting-point of the meditation: The approach to the goal. Transfiguration of the union betwixt this world and the world beyond, in the new, heavenly life.
1. Promise of the revelation of the new and second heavenly life in the resurrection of Christ, Joh 13:16-22.
2. Promise of a new meeting, when He of the further shore shall hold intercourse with them who are still remaining on this side of the gulf, Joh 13:23-24.
3. Promise of life in the Spirit, Joh 13:25-27.
4. The flash of light from the Spirit, apportioned to the disciples even now in surveying the life of Jesus, Joh 13:28-31.
5. Christs consciousness of victory, His assurance of new life, as a legacy of consolation for His people, Joh 13:32-33. Joh 16:12-33.
Fifth Period. Before the crossing of the brook Kedron, the black brook in the gloomy vale. Period of final decision.
Development of Christs consciousness of victory in His high-priestly prayer for the transfiguration of the personal Kingdom of Love, or House of the Father, in this world and the next, through the sanctification or sacrifice of Christ, the redemption of mankind:
1. For the glorification of the Son, Joh 13:1-8;
2. For the glorification of His people, Joh 13:9-19;
3. For the glorification of all future believers until the disappearance of the world before the glory of the Son and of His heaven, Joh 13:20-24;
4. The perfect glorification of the Father, in conformity to His righteousness; the foundation of said glorification having already been laid by the Son, Joh 13:25-26. Or, the prayer for the perfection of the Kingdom of Love unto the absolute Epiphany, Revelation 21.; Tit 2:13; 1Jn 2:28; 1Jn 3:2. Chap. 17.
Synopsis. First Period: Antithesis between heaven and earth; Second Period: Heaven and its vouchers on earth; Third Period: Establishment and development of heaven on earth; Fourth Period: Internal union of heaven and earth; Fifth Period: The perfect appearing.
On the farewell discourses of Jesus see Luthers Sermons of the year 1538, vol. 8. [ed. Walch]. Matthesius: Luther said this was the best book he had written. G. Lehr: De sublimitate sermonum Jesu Christi, John 13-16, Gttingen, 1774. Stark: Paraphr. et Comment, in Ev. John 13-17, Jena, 1814. An extensive catalogue of separate treatises see in Lilienthals Bibl. Archivar, p. 321; Danz, Universalwrterbuch der theolog. Literatur, p. 466, etc. On the sacerdotal prayer see below chap. 17. [Comp. also our introductory remarks on Joh 13:1, p. 405.P. S.]
I
Strong Antithesis Between This Present World And The World Beyond; Also The Link Between Them Formed By The New Institution Of Christ (The Lords Supper, As The Commandment Of Brotherly Love). Grave Magnitude Of This Antithesis, Expressed In The Announcement Of Peters Denial. The Glorification Of Christ; And The New Covenant. The New Commandment As The Transfiguration Of The Law And Likewise Of The Antithesis Between Christs Visible Existence In The World Beyond And The Sojoun Of His People In Ihis Present World.
Joh 13:31-38
(Mat 26:26-35; Mar 14:22-31; Luk 22:31-38.)
31Therefore,30 when he [Judas] was [had] gone out, Jesus said,
Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32If God be [is] glorified in him,31 God shall [will] also glorify him in himself, and shall [will] 33straightway [immediately] glorify him. Little children [], yet a little while [only a little while longer] I am with you. Ye shall [will] seek me; and [,] as I 34 said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That [in order that, ] ye love one another; 35[even] as I have loved you, [in order] that ye also love one another. By this shall [will] all men know [perceive] that ye are my [ disciples, if ye have love one to another.
36Simon Peter said [saith, ] unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him [omit him],32 Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou 37shalt [wilt] follow me33 afterwards. Peter said [saith] unto him, Lord, why cannot 38I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake [for thee]. Jesus answered [answereth]34 him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake [for me]? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow [will not have crowed],35 till [before] thou hast denied36 me thrice.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Joh 13:31. Now when he had gone out.Chrysostom and others connect this sentence with the foregoing: but it was night when he went out. Not only the , but also the emphatic pause introduced by the word , and the strong contrast between the preceding and the ensuing Sect, are declarative against this view.
Now is the Son of Man glorified [].This is not merely a proleptical announcement on the part of Jesus of approaching triumph [Meyer, Alford, etc.]. It is the celebration of an actual triumph. In spirit He has already vanquished the kingdom of darkness. His victory succeeded to His perturbation of spirit at the sight of Judas, and was gained on this wise: By the operation of His Spirit in perfect consistency with His truth, love and patience as opposed to the utmost falseness, embitterment and irritation, He, as the Christ, sundered Antichrist from the communion of the faithful through the mere exercise of His personal might. The victory gained by Him in spirit over Judas, is a victory over Satan himself and over those worldly temptations whose nature partakes of the spirit of Iscariot (see Leben Jesu, II., p. 1327; iii., p. 675). This victory lays the foundation for the victory in His psychical life (Gethsemane) and for that in His physical life (Golgotha): in view of this fact He is already glorified in principle.
Joh 13:32. If God is glorified in Him.Antithesis to the Son of Man. It was while conserving to the uttermost His purely human nature that He, as the Son of Man, overcame Judas; but, as this Son of Man, He was also the instrument of God, Joh 5:19; 2Co 5:19. It is effectual to the glory of God Himself that evil,the whole kingdom of Antichristis, in respect of its principle, overcome in so purely human a manner now, and that it shall henceforth be thus overcome throughout the world.
God will also glorify Him in Himself.As God is glorified in the heart of Christ and in His victorious conduct, being therein set forth as the omnipotence of the Spirit, He shall also glorify Christ in Himself; i.e., He shall glorify the almighty spiritual power of the Son in His (the Fathers) divine providence, in His peculiar domain, the sphere, the revelation of the Fatherand that especially in that world and from that world whither Christ is now returning. has been interpreted by Chrysostom and Ammon as equivalent to . Such an interpretation does away with the antithesis. In like manner the antithesis is weakened by the explanation of Cocceius: Since God was glorified, the Son also was glorified. Augustine and many others interpret the passage as referring to the exaltation: ita scilicet, ut natura humana, qu a verbo terno suscepta est, etiam immortali ternitate donetur. Tholuck refers to Php 2:9 : The exaltation of the Son, which, in accordance with the representation of Paul, is the for His humiliation. Meyer: By the return to the fellowship of God, out of which He went forth. From this point of view needs defining. The existence of Christ was an existence in God, not alone from the time of His ascension, but from the moment of His death, inasmuch as He was removed from this present world. For this world His personal life was now hidden in Gods providence, but His personal essence issued forth again, clear and distinct, from the providence of God, simultaneously with the resurrection and the sending of the Spirit; an essence now glorified in divine spiritual might, and destined to be ever more and more glorified until His appearing. See Col 3:3. Hence the expression: in Him, has been in course of fulfilment ever since the death of Christ.
And shall immediately.The second introduces the modifying word, , from which it follows that the glorification of Christ in God shall take place immediately.
Joh 13:33. Little children, but yet a little while (a little longer).After the stern dismissal of the traitor He is at liberty to unbosom Himself to the disciples and to reveal to them the love and grief that stir His heart at parting from them. Here for the first time we find the tender little children, . With them too, however, He has to deal earnestly (see Comm. on Luke). He designs teaching them not to set their hearts upon following Him to death now. [Alford: here only used by Christ (comp., however, , Joh 21:5)affectingly expresses not only His brotherly, but fatherly love (Isa 9:6) for His own, and at the same time their immature and weak state, now about to be left without Him. The same term of endearment, , little children, dear children, is used once by Paul, Gal 4:19, and seven times by John, the disciple of love, in his Epistle. According to Jerome the last exhortation of the aged John to his congregation in Ephesus was simply this: Little children, love one another, because this comprehended the whole of practical Christianity.P. S.]
Ye cannot come.As I said unto the Jews, Joh 7:34; Joh 8:21; Joh 8:24. He now says the same thing to them; although in another sense [and without the threatening addition: and ye will not find Me, and ye will die in your sins. The of the unbelieving Jews is the vain looking for a deliverer after rejecting the true Messiah, the of the disciples. is the seeking of faith and love.P. S.]. What He says to them now [, emphatically put last, as Joh 13:7; Joh 13:37; Joh 16:12.P. S.] is binding only for the present. For the present they cannot follow Him to heaven. From the two propositions: ye will miss Me, and: ye cannot follow Me now, the following results.37
Joh 13:34. A new commandment I give unto you [ ].Manifestly, the new commandment is to supply His [visible] presence to them for a time, until they come to Him again. Different interpretations, premising, in every ease, that the corollary: , etc., contains the substance of the new commandment. The consideration that the commandment of neighborly love is not a new but an old one, (Lev 19:18; Mat 5:43 ff; Mat 19:19; Mat 22:39), has led some to ascribe an intensive sense to the adjective new, and others to take it in an altered sense.
1. The intensive sense [new in degree.]
(a.) One is not to love his neighbor simply as himself [ ], but more than himself [ ] (Cyril, Theod. Mopsueste [Theophyl., Euthym. Zigab.; among modern commentators, especially Knapp, Scripta var. arg., p. 369 sqq.] etc.). Without regard to other objections to the view, the idea of it is not clear. [Christ, Mat 22:39-40, and Paul, Rom 13:9, adopt the Old Testament commandment, Love thy neighbor as thyself, without addition, as the second great commandment which is like unto the first, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, etc. The is the highest measure of love and does not exclude, but includes the self-denial even to the sacrifice of life for our neighbor. Finally does not indicate the degree, but the kind of love.P. S.].
(b.) One should love his neighbor as Christ has loved His people. The following is modificative of (Chrysostom, Tholuck).38 Against this view it has been objected (by De Wette) that the modifying clause does not apply to what precedes, but to that which follows it. A main consideration against the view just set forth is that it represents the most involved commandment as being given, without any instructions as to the manner of its fulfilment.
(c.) It is the new commandment of Christian brotherly love as distinguished from a general love to our neighbor. Grotius, Klbing, Stud. u. Krit., 1845; and similarly Luthardt, [Ebrard, Brckner, Bumlein, Hengstenberg, Godet]. Meyer: The novelty lies in the impulsive power of love; the love of Christ, as experienced by us, should be this impellent. Thus the commandment, old in itself, is endowed with new explicitness, viz., the love X. Here the fact is overlooked, that a commandment with which we are experimentally conversant and which is instinct with motive power, is no longer a mere commandment, but an inwardly impellent principle. Therefore,
(d.) The principle of the new life brought by Christ (De Wette). Meyer: That, indeed, is the new , but it is not so stated here. In that respect, then, Meyers own interpretation would be refuted.
(e.) The removal of the bounds which, in the Old Testament, inclosed neighborly love within national limits (Kstlin, Hilgenfeld). This has already been done, Mat 5:44, inasmuch as Christ there finds in the Old Testament commandment itself the germ of His commandment of neighborly love, in antithesis to the ordinance of the scribes.
2. Altered sense:
(a.) Prceptum illustre (Hackspan, [Hammond], Wolf).
(b.) Mandatum ultimum (Heumann).
(c.) The most recent (Nonnus; ).
(d.) One always new (Olshausen: never growing old, ever fresh [= ].
(e.) A renewed one (Irenus, Jansen) [Calvin, Maldonatus, Schttgen].
(f.) A renewing [regenerating] one (Augustine), [Wordsworth].
(g.) An unexpected one (Semler: unexpected after the strife touching rank, Luk 22:24 ff.).
(h.) The of this commandment consists in its simplicity and unicity (?) Alford. Similarly Owen: a love unique, simple, self-renewing and ever fresh. The same applies to the old commandment.P. S.]
3. We adhere to the view which we have previously set forth, viz., that the , is indicative of the institution of the Lords Supper (Leben Jesu, ii., p. 1330; III.,681); and Meyers wondering note of exclamation we accept as a sign of affirmation.39 That Christ did not intend His precepts to be taken in the sense of outward laws, is a fact which the whole of the New Testament warrants us in assuming. But He did found institutions for His Church: the Lords Supper, Baptism, the ministry, etc., all centering in the Lords Supper. Of that Christ says: (Mat 26:28; Mar 14:24), or, also, (Luk 22:20). If and be thoroughly kindred ideas, the former is converted into the latter by the words: Do this in remembrance of Me; Ye shall show forth, etc.; if there be but one new , but one new , the one necessarily coincides with the other.
Moreover, it is just in this place that we should expect John to mention the Lords Supper. Tholuck: The institution of the Lords Supper, omitted by Johnon account of its being sufficiently well known by traditionwould here (Joh 13:34) find the place best befitting it. That Supper is not only a memorial feast of the Departing One (1Co 11:25), but a feast of union with His disciples in love until He comes, Rev 3:20; 1Co 11:26. In like manner it is a feast wherein His cherished ones are mutually united, 1Co 10:17.Attention should likewise be directed to the ; on which word Meyer: For Jesus perceives Himself to be at the end of His work of loving self-surrender. This was undoubtedly the case at the institution of the Lords Supper, and it can be explained only by a reference to that institution.
In order that [] ye may love one another, etc.Agreeably to the foregoing explanation, these words do not constitute the substance of the new commandment, but the ethical purpose of it. The Lords Supper is to be the channel for the conveyance of light, impulse and strength for such a brotherly love. Two-fold construction:
1. The sentence: , etc., is a parallel sentence to the preceding one (Beza, De Wette and others). , etc., is emphatically put first: As I have loved youthat ye so love one another. Meyer remarks with reason: This does not correspond with the simple Johannean style.
2. The sentence: , etc., is the apodosis to the preceding clause, and contains that which shall ensure compliance with the admonition: ye shall love one another. Meyer: In order that ye may love one another, in accordance with My having loved you, in order that ye, on your part, might love one another. This would make the last clause either tautological or oblique. The love of Jesus would be modified solely in accordance with its purpose of exciting love, and it would be accordingly required that the disciples love should exhibit a similar mode.
We come back to No. 1, with a different apprehension of it, however: The new institution is founded in order that the disciples may love one another; [its foundation being] in conformity to the fact that Christ has loved His people in order that they may love one another. That is: The Lords Supper is the sacrament by whichthe of His sacrificial death is brought home to the minds of His people; the ethical fruit that would spring from that death itself, viz., a company of believers living in the fellowship of brotherly loveshall now be realized by the Supper as the lively representation of His sacrificial death, and the substitute for His presence.
Joh 13:35. By this will all know (perceive).Mutual brotherly love the distinctive mark of Christians, 1Jn 3:10; Neanders Denkwrdigkeiten, I. p. 97; G. Arnold, Abbildung der ersten Christen, Vol. III. Tholuck: The heathen were wont to exclaim with astonishment: Behold how these Christians love one another, and how they are ready to die for one another.40 One Minucius Felix, the heathen, says of the Christians: They love each other before knowing each other; and Lucian (in Peregrinus) sneeringly remarks: Their law-giver has persuaded them that they are all brethren.
Joh 13:36. Lord, whither goest thou?Peter finds a thorn in the saying of Jesus (Joh 13:33), of whose prick he cannot yet rid himself. Jesus, therefore, meets the true idea of his question with the answer: Thither thou canst not follow Me now. He thus makes an application of the general sentence (Joh 13:33) to him; comforting him, however, with the obscure intimation of his martyrdom, as He pacified the sons of Zebedee, Mat 20:23 (comp. Joh 21:18). By Tholuck apprehends simply the subjective impossibility in Peter, whereas, on the other hand, he conceives to be declarative of an objective impossibility. In both cases, however, an objective and a subjective import correspond. The disciples were no more ordained to pass through death immediately with Christ than they were ripe for such a journey. [The words ( is doubtful, see Textual Notes) , are probably an allusion to the crucifixion of Peter, comp. Joh 21:18-19.P. S.]41
Joh 13:37. Why can I not follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thee.It is clear to him that the going is to be through death. But not only does he undertake to die after the example of the Master; he even protests that he will lay down his life for Him.42
Joh 13:38. Jesus answers in view of these facts and puts Peter to the blush. He uses the asseveration: Verily, verily. Lay down thy life for Me! Thou wilt not so much as confess Me. On the contrary, thou wilt deny Me. And that three times. And this will come to pass directly, before the cock hath crowed, before the ensuing morning. Peter again stood in need of strong and emphatic words.
As regards the time of this conversation with Peter, Lukes account agrees with that of our Evangelist, while it supplies additional items (Luk 22:31-34). Matthew and Mark are induced to record the conversation after the departure of Jesus from the place where He celebrated the Passover to the Mount of Olives, by their desire to superordinate the more general declaration made by Jesus to all His disciples, to the effect that they should all be offended that night because of Him. This declaration might also very readily occasion Peter once more to avouch his faithful devotion.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The exultant breathing again of Jesus after the departure of Judas: (a) A presage of the reviving and shining of the Church at the Last Day, Mat 13:43; Luk 21:28; (b) a sign expressive of the great victory of His Spirit in the spiritual combat with treason in the circle of disciples,with Judas as the representative of Satan; (c) a symbolical sign for His Church, teaching her how she shall conquer the anti-Christian Adversary and finally expel him by a dynamical censure; all this she shall do (after the example of the Son of Man) in simple humanity, a state which God, in the person of His Son, has hallowed, and with whose conditions Ha has complied. Similarly, an intimation that we should solemnly rejoice at the open desertion of false brethren and members rather than be vexed at the same.
2. The contrast of the pure Son of Man, the representative of Gods honor, and the false friend who, from an historical point of view, became the tool of a Hierarchy possessing hearts hardened against Christ, or, regarded from an ethical stand-point, delivered himself up to be the tool of Satan.
3. Glorification is the revelation of internal spiritual power in the untrammeled appearance and activity of its life;hence, appearance in conformity to the idea,the real and perfect beauty, a representation of spiritual sovereignty in the unobstructed glory of life. The Father glorified through Christ. The highest victory of love over hate, of faithfulness over falseness, of humility over pride, of a repose of soul over excitement and self-perturbation, of brightness over demoniacal gloom, is the highest verification of the glory of the personal Son of Man, the central Hypostasis Himself, and, at the same time, the perfect glorification of the personal God, the Father, who has given such power to His Son and, through Him, to His children. The glorifying of the Son of Man in God. In and from the other world God glorifies Christs personality as the absolutely dynamical principle which retains its grasp of itself even in death, which breaks through all the bonds of death, soars above the highest heavens, comprehends in its personality the depths of the Spirit and pours them out over all flesh; in order to draw all mankind up into the Kingdom of personal life and love and, in and along with mankind, to glorify the world into the Fathers House.
4. The tender saying of Christ at His departure, Little children, etc., echoing in the words of His disciple; 1Jn 2:1; Joh 3:18. The chasm betwixt this world and the world to come disclosed, and closed, or glorified, by the Lords Supper.
5. Christ no new Law-giver, because He has comprehended all of His commandments: (a) In the institution of love which is His sacrament accompanied by His word, or (b) in the gift of His Spirit; two principal phases of the same blessing.
6. If the Lords Supper be intended to supply to us the presence of Christ, because He works and manifests Himself dynamically through it, how can the self-same thing be declared of the Comforter, Joh 14:16? For the reason that the office of the Comforter bears altogether upon the heritage left by Christ to His people, the institutions established by Him in word and sacrament; and only in the fellowship of the Holy Ghost has the proclamation of the death of Christ by word and sacrament its full truth.
7. The unsuspicious self-confidence of Peter a great warning to the Church and a foretoken of her history.
8. How Christ, by the celebration of the Love-feast and the Supper, has prepared His disciples for the new and great revelation of the heavenly Paradise, of heaven, and of the living connection between heaven and earth which He is to establish by means of them.
9. The divine assurance of Christ in view of the treason of Judas and the denial of Peter, an assurance of the absolute victory of Divine Providence over all the contradictions of evil; of the triumph of truth and righteousness over wickedness; of the triumph of love and grace over needy sinners.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Christs triumphant joy consequent upon the departure of the traitor.The Lords subsequent aloneness with His disciples a type of the purified, heavenly Church: 1. in respect of the cordial intimacy; 2. the high festivity; 3. the rich revelation of love and life; 4. the glorious disclosures; 5. the presageful glimpse of eternityin this communion.What the Lord discourses of with His disciples after Judas has gone out: 1. Not another word does He say of Judas himself, let alone a harsh one; 2. but He talks of Gods triumphant over-ruling of his dark deeds.Now is the Son of Man glorified. A blissful sense of victory is felt in the disburdened breast, after the weightiest of oppressions and the hottest of conflicts (Joh 13:21).Judas goeth out to betray His Master, and Christ trembleth notexcept for joy.He looketh not upon that which is being done by men who have conspired together against Him, but upon what God doeth.And therein also should the evangelical Church recognize and follow His example.The mutual glorification of the Father and the Son. See Joh 17:1. How the Son of Man has glorified His God as the Friend of man in holy humanity. 2. How God glorifies the Son of Man as the Son of God in holy and divine sovereignty.Dear little children. The sensations of the Lord in anticipation of His departure: 1. of grief; 2. of bliss; 3. of apprehension; 4. of good confidence.Or: The horror and joy of Christ at the departure of Judas, in comparison with the mild grief with which He now departs from the disciples.The intimation of Christ relative to His entrance into heaven: 1. He is now going thither; 2. the Jews, as Jews, can never come thither; 3. the disciples cannot now come thither.A decided indication of our need to ripen for heaven by a Christian life.Christs bequest to His people upon His departure, or the new commandment.The Holy Supper the new life-law of Christs Church.The Supper of the Church her fundamental law: 1. the sum of her institutions (Word, Baptism, Discipline, etc.); 2. the sum of her teaching; 3. the sum of her moral admonitions.Love, the mark of Christians.The interruption of Christs leave-taking with His disciples by the overweening protestations of Peter: 1. Once more a self-willed contradicting of Jesus words, and that after the foot-washing and the Supper; 2. the utterance of a stout vow of fidelity, a vow which the Lord foresaw would turn to denial.Comparison of Judas and Peter at this moment: 1. Similar features: The former, out in the night, prostitutes himself to the enemy in determined apostasy; the latter, within the circle of disciples, lays claim to a fidelity for which he has not the strength. 2. The difference: In that case embitterment, in this love to the Lord; Yonder the utmost falseness, here sincerity and open outspokenness.There is always a capability of redemption in the sincere man.The sad certitude of Jesus touching the imminent denial of Peter, set in the calm assurance of the certain victory of grace.
Starke, Joh 13:31 : A wise teacher giveth not that which is holy unto the dogs, nor casteth the pearls of the divine word before swine, Mat 7:6; 2Ti 2:15.Canstein: All the sufferings of true Christians end in their glorification; nay, they are themselves a glory to them.Zeisius: In all tribulations the best course to be pursued is to fix the eye of faith immovably upon the promised, future glory.Even in the midst of suffering, as in the deepest humiliation and in death itself, the most admirable beams of glory shine forth.Zeisius: Christs glory is our glory also, for to this end (also) was He glorified, that He might bring us to everlasting radiance and glory.A blissful death is the way to the eternal glory of Gods children in heaven.
Joh 13:34 :Hedinger: Try thyself. Much love, much Christianity.1Pe 1:22.Zeisius: As the brethren of a fleshly order have their particular insignia, so love is the badge of spiritual brethren, or faithful Christians. He who has not this, has forfeited his order.
Joh 13:36.Quesnel: God has His hours. What we cannot do at one time, He causes us to perform at another.
Joh 13:37.Hedinger: Even in good hearts there is sometimes more presumption than strength, Php 2:13;Christ must die for Peter before Peter can die for Christ.Beware, therefore, of relying upon thyself. Everything must come of Christs Spirit and death.
Joh 13:38. We should not reject or disown our brethren on account of their many infirmities, but bear with them, in the confident hope of their renewal and purification, 1Co 10:12.God sometimes lets His saints stumble and fall, so that the ruin latent in them may become right patent to them.
Heubner: Now. With the treason of Judas, Jesus looked upon His death as determined (the proximate sense of the now, however, is, that His victory was already decided), as good as accomplished and, by consequence, His glorification was the same.
Joh 13:32. A man is deserving of glory in proportion to what he himself has done and sacrificed for the glory of God.He who makes that glory his first aim, may confidently hope that God will glorify him. How were the apostles glorified!
Joh 13:36. An assurance that an honest man grows in strength for duty, in the strength of spiritual life.
Gossner: On Joh 13:30. The devil is a stormy master; he demands to be served with speed, and he leaves a man no time to bethink himself. Away with thee quickly! Be off! he cries.
Joh 13:33. The way I go is as yet too rough for you (and the goal is still too high for you).Throughout the world Christians should be known by love. Each reverences that grace in another, which the other honors in him.On Joh 13:37. Human nature is so arrogant. It thinks itself able to outrun grace, until, having started in the race and stumbling, as in Peters case, pride dies at last.Gerlach: By the word glorify we are to understand the revelation of the divine power and glory. The divine glory is Gods manifest, almighty, holy love.This one another (Joh 13:34) deserves our special consideration.In these last parting discourses Jesus is no longer speaking of the world, (? See Joh 16:8, etc.), but of His people only; therefore not of the love that sacrifices itself for another without meeting with any return from that other; but of the love existing in the mutual relationship of true disciples. It is the duty of these to strive for a unity like that of the Father and Son (Joh 17:21), and to manifest this unity before the world, that the world may know that Jesus was sent from God. This brotherly love is, in its nature, one and the same with a universal love; it differs, however, in expression.
Joh 13:36. In this annexed allusion to the future martyrs death which Peter should suffer, there is contained a word of comfort that afterwards had the power to raise him up, when bitter grief at his deep fall brought him nigh unto despair. Comp. Luk 22:32.Lisco:I will lay down my life. Thus he spoke with a lively consciousness of his sincere love and hearty attachment to Jesus; but, blinded with regard to his weakness, he gave himself credit for more moral strength and firmness of faith than he possessed.Braune, Joh 13:31. An exultant cry of victory in the night in which He was betrayed.God is glorified in Christ through suffering and death, and Christ is glorified in God through the (resurrection,) ascension into heaven and the exaltation to the right hand of the majesty of the Father.Little children, 1Pe 1:23.And as I said unto the Jews. But with what a difference here. Here the sharp words are wanting, that were aimed at the Jews; but the perverse rejoinders are missing likewise (Joh 7:34; Joh 8:21).A Christian destitute of this brotherly love, is like sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.Peter proves that a man is always better than his bad, but worse than his good, moods.
Richter: Joh 13:37. That Peter did not, in the exercise of faith and obedience, keep silence, was the inward beginning of his fall.
Stier: Joh 13:34. If the , spoken of in the institution of the Lords Supper, have reference to Exo 24:8, comp. Jer 31:31, then doubtless the stands in closest connection with the . For the making of laws is the necessary accompaniment to a covenant.As I have loved you. In Christ, a man, like us, the first perfect fulfilment of the law now stands before us as a living decalogue; but when faith petitions, strength to love in like manner issues forth from His perfectness and flows into us, Eph 5:1-2.It has been falsely said Peters denial was thrice predicted; here, in accordance with Luke, in accordance with Matthew and Mark. Truer and more significant would be the statement that Peter thrice protested against such a catastrophe.Nitzsch: It results of itself that those who love one another, are but practising and preparing themselves to extend their love outside of their own circle into the whole world.
[Craven: From Origen: Joh 13:31-32. It is the glory of the Man which is here meant; Christ at His death glorified God, making peace by the blood of His crossthus the Son of Man was glorified, and God glorified in Him.The word glory is here used in a different sense from that which some pagans attach to it, who defined glory to be the collected praises of many; the mind when it ascends above material things and spiritually sees God, is deified, and of this spiritual glory the visible glory on the face of Moses is a figure.The whole of the Fathers glory shines upon the Son; of this glory He hath made all who know Him partakers.
Joh 13:33. Little children He says, for their souls were yet in infancy.
Joh 13:33. To seek Jesus, is to seek the Word, wisdom, righteousness, truth, all which is Christ.As if He said, I say it to you but with the addition of now (Joh 13:36); the Jews would never be able to follow Him, but the disciples were unable only for a little while.From Augustine: Joh 13:31. The unclean went out, the clean remained with the cleanser; thus will it be when the tares are separated from the wheat.
Joh 13:34. He teaches them how to fit themselves to follow Him.
Joh 13:36. He checks the forwardness of Peter but does not destroy his hope; nay, He confirms it.Be not lifted up with presumption, thou canst not now; be not cast down with despair, thou shalt follow me, afterwards.
Joh 13:37. Peter knew his great desire, his strength he knew not.From Chrysostom: Joh 13:34. As I have loved you; My love has not been the payment of something owing to you, but had its beginning on My side.
Joh 13:38. Thou (Peter) shalt know by experience that thy love is nothing, unless thou be enabled from above.From Bede: Joh 13:36-38. Should any one fall, let the example of Peter save him from despair.
[From Burkitt: Joh 13:33. Little children; intimating the tender affection He bears His disciples.Whither I go ye cannot come; till our work be done, whither Christ is gone we cannot come.
Joh 13:34. A new commandment because, urged from a new motive, and enforced by a new example.
Joh 13:35. Christ will have His disciples known by their profound affection to each other.One of the best evidences we can have of our vital relation to Christ, is a hearty love toward fellow. Christians.
Joh 13:36. Though disciples shall certainly follow their Lord, they must patiently wait His time and finish His work.
Joh 13:37-38. The holiest of men knows not his own strength till temptation brings him to the trial.None are so near falling as those who are most confident of their own standing.From M. Henry: From Joh 13:31, to the end of chap. 14. Christs table-talk with His disciples; teaching us to make conversation at table serviceable to religion.
Joh 13:31. Christ did not begin this discourse till Judas had gone out; the presence of wicked people often a hindrance to good discourse.
Joh 13:31-32. Christ gives three comforting assurances concerning His sufferings1. That He should be glorified in them, by (1) obtaining a glorious victory over Satan, (2) working out a glorious deliverance for His people, (3) giving a glorious example of self-denial and patience; 2. That God the Father should be glorified in themthose sufferings were, (1) the satisfaction of the Fathers justice, (2) the manifestation of the Fathers holiness and mercy; 3. That He Himself should be greatly glorified after them, in consideration of the glorification of the Father by them (Joh 13:32).In the exaltation of Christ there was a regard had to His (self) humiliation, and a reward given for it; those who mind the business of glorifying God shall have the happiness of being glorified with Him.
Joh 13:33. The words little children do not declare so much their weakness, as His tenderness and compassion.The declaration Whither I go ye cannot come suggests1. high thoughts of Him, 2. low thoughts of themselves.They could not follow Him to His cross, for they had not (then) courage; they could not follow Him to His crown, for they had not a sufficiency of their own, nor was their work yet finished.
Joh 13:34-35. He urges the great duty of mutual love by three arguments1. The command of their Master; 2. The example of their Saviour; 3. The reputation of their profession.Brotherly love is the badge of Christs disciples, by this1. He knows them, 2. others (the world) know them.The true honor of Christs disciples to excel in brotherly love.
Joh 13:36. Peters curiosity and the check given to it.Believers must not expect to be glorified as soon as they are effectually calledthere is a wilderness between the Red Sea and Canaan.
Joh 13:37-38. Peters (self-) confidence and the check given to that.Peter was inconsiderate but not insincere; we are apt to think we can do anything, but without Christ we can do nothing.It is good for us to shame ourselves out of our presumptuous confidence; shall a bruised reed set up for a pillar, or a sickly child undertake to be a champion?Christ not only foresaw that Judas would betray Him, but that Peter would deny Him; He knows not only the wickedness of sinners, but the weakness of Saints.The most secure are commonly the least safe.From Scott: Joh 13:34. Alas! the commandment to love one another as Christ has loved us is still new and strange to most professed Christians.From A. Clark: Joh 13:31. Now it fully appears (is about to appear) that I am the Person appointed to redeem a lost world by My blood.
Joh 13:34. Christ more than fulfilled the Mosaic precept; He not only loved His neighbor asHimself, but He loved him more than HimselfHis commandment was strictly knew.
Joh 13:36; Joh 13:38. We should will, and then look to God for power to execute.From Stier: Joh 13:31. A cry of exultation in the night in which He was betrayed.The first glorification is the beginning and ground of that which follows as its consummation.In His humiliation He is exalted, in this darkness of shame does His glory beam forth, from Golgotha go forth those attracting energies which are to wrest from Satan the world of mankind.The glorification of God in the suffering and dying Son of man embraces1. when we look into it, the self-offering of God in the person of this Son of man as a great and solitary fact; 2. when we look back, the shining forth of God in human nature generally, as the longed for goal of all aspiration and effort; 3. when we look forward, the representation and offering of God to humanity as the object of faith and love.The purest honor of God shines forth in the deepest dishonor of this Son of Man.All is human and all is Divine; the Ecce Homo is changed to the eye of faith intoBehold thy God!
Joh 13:32. The Lord speaks of a twofold glorification1. He is made perfect through suffering; 2. the glorification of the Son of Man in God.
Joh 13:34. A new commandment1. in the simplicity and plainness of the expression; 2. in the perfection of the new, now first existing, type; 3. in the power of fulfilment which flows from this life-giving type; 4. and consequently, in the abiding, living newness of this commandment.
Joh 13:37. Peter (a little child, Joh 13:33) would be a man before the time!From A Plain Commentary (Oxford); Joh 13:34. The commandment called new because destined to become the gnat law of the new creation.From Barnes: Joh 13:34-35. This commandment to be a badge of discipleship; it was called new because1. it had never before been made that by which any class of men, had been distinguished; 2. of the extent to which it was to be carried.From Owen: Joh 13:35. As a historical fact there has been no feature of Christianity exemplified in the life of believers, so potent in overcoming opposition as their mutual love.From Whedon: Joh 13:36-38. Enough there was of a downfall to neutralize the pride of Peter, but his subsequent recovery evinced the earnestness of his profession.]
Footnotes:
[30]Joh 13:31.[Tischendorf, Alf. and W. & H. give , in accordance with . B. C. D. L. X.; is omitted in A. E. H. K., etc., and those ed. who wrongly join to Joh 13:30.P. S.]
[31]Joh 13:32.The words are wanting in [. * B. C. D., etc. Probably the repetition was regarded as superfluous. [They occur in .c A. C.2 T. ., etc., they are retained by Tischend., omitted by Westc. and H., bracketed by Alf. The omission may have been occasioned by the similar endings of this and preceding clauses.P. S.]
[32]Joh 13:36.[Tischendorf, Alford, Westcott and Hort omit (text. rec.), in accordance with B. C.* L.; it occurs, however, in . A. C.3 D., etc.P. S.]
[33]Joh 13:36.The is wanting in [.] B. C. * L. X., Vulgate, etc. [It occurs in A. C.3 D., etc., text. rec., but is omitted by Tischend., Alf., Westc. and Hort.P.S.]
[34]Joh 13:38.[Instead of the best authorities read , in accordance with . B. C. L. X., etc.P. S.]
[35]Joh 13:38., against , has very strong authority. [It is so given . A. B. G., etc. and in the best crit. ed.P. S.]
[36]Joh 13:38.The reading decidedly preponderant over against the (synoptic) composite []. A milder term. [The former occurs in B. D. L. X.; the latter in . A. C. T. ., etc.P. S.]
[37][Similarly Stier and Alford connect Joh 13:33-34 : Ye will be left on earth, when I go to heaven; hut, unlike the Jews, ye will seek Me and find Me in the way of love to Me and to one another, forming a united body, the church, in which all will recognize My presence among you as My disciples.P. S.]
[38][So also Wordsworth who, however, combines with this interpretation that of Augustine (renewing), see below, 2 f. Similarly Webster and Wilkinson: This love was to resemble His love to them in manner and degree (, . . .), and therefore must be grounded on their spiritual relationship to each other in Him.V. S.]
[39][In his fifth edition, Meyer has no wondering note of exclamation, but objects to Dr. Langes reference of to the institution of the Lords Supper, that it is not indicated in the connection, and is contrary to the parallel passage, 1Jn 2:8. But it should be remembered that these words were spoken at the very time when the Lords Supper in connection with the Agape was instituted and commanded to be observed to the second advent as a perpetual commemoration of Christs dying love. Neander, Ammon and Ebrard put the institution after Joh 13:32; Tholuck at Joh 13:34. Lange makes the itself the , the love-feast of which Christ says: Do this in remembrance of Me. This view is certainly ingenious and plausible, and allows its full force.P.S.]
[40][From a well-known passage in Tertullians Apologeticus, c. 39. He adds: Yea, verily this must strike them (the heathen); for they hate each other, and are rather ready to kill one another. And even that we call each other brethren, seems to them suspicions for no other reason than that among them all expressions of kindred are only feigned. We are even your brethren in virtue of the common nature, which is the mother of us all; though ye, as evil brethren, deny your human nature. But how much more justly are those called and considered brethren, who acknowledge the one God as their Father; who have received the one Spirit of holiness; who have awaked from the same darkness of uncertainty to the light of the same truth? Comp. my Church History, Vol. I., p. 336 ff., N. Y. ed.P. S.]
[41][The question of Peter , ; Domine, quo vadis? has furnished the name to a church outside the city of Rome, on the spot where, according to the legend, Peter having from love of life escaped from prison, was confronted by the appearance of Christ, and asked Him: Lord, whither goest Thou? The Lord replied: I go to Rome, to be crucified again, whereupon the disciple returned to his prison and cheerfully suffered martyrdom on the cross. Si non e vero, e ben trocato.P. S.]
[42][Augustine: Peter imagined that he could precede his guide. Presumptuous supposition! It was necessary that Christ should first lay down His life for the salvation of Peter, before Peter could be able to lay down his life for the gospel of Christ. But when Christ had died for Peter and redeemed turn by His own blood, and had risen from the dead, then Peter was able to follow Christ, even to the cross,P. S.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
DISCOURSE: 1681
GOD GLORIFIED IN HIS SON
Joh 13:31-32. Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.
IF it were asked, at what time, and on what occasion, God and his dear Son were more dishonoured than at any other period of the world, the answer probably would be, that it was in that hour, when, by the united voice of all his own countrymen, the Lord Jesus Christ was delivered into the hands of the Gentiles, to be crucified. Doubtless this would be the judgment of all who viewed that event merely with the eye of sense. But to the eye of faith it will appear in far different colours. The whole design of God in it will then be seen, and all the glory of the Godhead will be found to shine forth in it. This was the judgment of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who, at the moment that Judas went forth for the purpose of betraying him into the hands of the chief priests and rulers, said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.
In opening to you these most important declarations, I will endeavour to shew what glory accrued from the sufferings of Christ.
I.
To the Son himself
To enter fully into this subject, would occupy far too long a time for one discourse: I must content myself, therefore, with stating, under each head of my discourse, only the more prominent points, for the elucidation of it.
The Lord Jesus Christ was now glorified, in that he was about,
1.
To complete his engagements with the Father
[From all eternity had a council of peace been held between the Father and the Son [Note: Zec 6:13.]; the Father agreeing to give to his Son a chosen people; and the Son agreeing, on his part, to assume our nature, and in that nature to offer himself as the substitute and surety of sinful man. The Lord Jesus was first to make his soul an offering for sin, and then was to see a seed who should prolong their days; and the pleasure of the Lord was to prosper in his hand [Note: Isa 53:10.]. The agreement is thus stated by the Psalmist; and thus recorded also by an inspired Apostle, as in part already fulfilled: When he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not; but a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God [Note: Psa 40:6-8. with Heb 10:5-7.]. But now the time was arrived for its completion. He was now about to endure the whole load of suffering which he had engaged to bear; and he was ready to drink to the very dregs the cup which had been put into his hands. Of the extent of its bitterness no finite imagination could conceive: but, bloody as the baptism was, wherewith he was to be baptized, he was quite straitened till it should be accomplished [Note: Luk 12:50.]. And in this unshaken fortitude and fidelity he was greatly glorified.]
2.
To redeem from death a ruined world
[This was the end of all his sufferings. They were altogether an atonement made for sin. Without such an atonement no human being could be saved. By it, a way was opened for the salvation of every living man. It was for this that he had become a man: it was for this that he had fulfilled all righteousness: it was for this that he had endured his agony in the garden of Gethsemane: it was for this that he was about to expire upon the cross: and, if only he might see of the travail of his soul in the salvation of men, he was satisfied [Note: Isa 53:11.]. This was the joy that was set before him: and, for the attainment of it, he endured the cross, and despised the shame [Note: Heb 12:2.]; and rested not till he could say, It is finished [Note: Joh 19:30.]. Well, therefore, might he, in the near prospect of these events, say, Now is the Son of man glorified.]
We are next to contemplate the glory accruing,
II.
To the Father, through the Son
Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. Here, as before, we must contract our observations to the smallest space, lest we detain you too long. The Father was here greatly honoured,
1.
In the display of all his perfections
[There was not an attribute of the Deity which did not here shine forth in its utmost splendour. His wisdom, in having devised such a stupendous plan for the salvation of men: his love, in having given his only-begotten Son to die for them: his justice, in exacting of him the utmost farthing of their debt: his mercy, in receiving all who should come to him in the name of this divine Saviour. His power, too, was displayed, in upholding his Son under all his various and complicated trials [Note: Isa 42:1.], and in enabling him to finish the work he had begun. His holiness, too, was made known, in that not a human being should ever find acceptance with him, but by acknowledging his own desert of condemnation, and pleading the merits of this vicarious sacrifice. All these perfections were now made to harmonize, and every one of them to reflect a glory on the rest: a glory of which it would never have been susceptible, if this plan had not been devised and executed for the manifestation of it.]
2.
In the accomplishment of all his purposes
[Salvation may be considered as originating with the Father, who sent his Son for the attainment of it. For the fallen angels he prepared no such mercy: but for the sons of men he determined to execute this stupendous plan, that so mercy might be exercised towards them in consistency with the demands of justice, and holiness, and truth. And all was now brought to maturity. Justice was about to be satisfied for the sins of the whole world, and a jubilee was now to be proclaimed to every child of man. Now all the millions of the redeemed stood, as it were by anticipation, around his throne, and gave him glory, such as had not yet been given from the foundation of the world: and this glory was obtained for him through the intervention of his Son: so that it might well be said, that, whilst the Son himself was glorified, the Father was glorified in him.]
We have yet further to notice the glory added,
III.
To the Son, by and with the Father
The Father now, in his turn, glorified his Son:
1.
In the testimonies borne to him under his sufferings
[Not only did several of our Lords enemies proclaim his innocence, but universal nature bore witness to him. The sun at mid-day veiled his face in darkness; the earth quaked; the rocks rent; the dead arose: and all in attestation, that the person who had just expired was no other than our incarnate God. To these events our Lord more immediately referred, when he said, He shall straightway glorify him.]
2.
In the triumphant issue of them
[It seemed as if the Saviour was vanquished, when he died: but it was by death that he overcame him that had the power of death, that is, the devil [Note: Heb 2:14.]. Yes, upon the very cross itself he spoiled principalities and powers, triumphing over them openly in it [Note: Col 2:15.]. In vain were the stone, the seal, the watch: they were placed by man, to prevent his resurrection; but, overruled by God, to attest it. In the presence of no less than five hundred brethren at once did he ascend to heaven; from whence he sent down the Holy Ghost to bear witness to him, by mighty signs and wonders that were wrought by his Apostles in his name. Our Lord had said of the Holy Spirit, He shall glorify me: for he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you [Note: Joh 16:14.]: and agreeably to this prediction did the Holy Spirit descend at the appointed time, and impart to the Apostles such powers as had never been communicated since the foundation of the world. Jesus himself, too, was then invested with all power in heaven and in earth, as the reward of his own sufferings [Note: Php 2:9.], and for the benefit of those for whom he died: and together with the Father is he made the object of adoration amongst all the hosts of heaven. Hereafter, too, shall he come again to judge the world, and shall assign to all, whether friends or enemies, their proper portion.]
3.
In the benefits conferred in consideration of them
[Speedily after his ascension were not less than three thousand souls converted to him, and all the blessings of salvation were poured out upon them for his sake. From that day great numbers, in every quarter of the globe, have found mercy through him: millions are already seated with him upon thrones of glory, as monuments of his grace: millions, too, are at this very moment rejoicing in him upon earth: and, in due time, multitudes, countless as the sands upon the sea-shore, will glory in him as the one Author of their happiness; and will to all eternity adore him, as having loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and made them kings and priests unto their God. They will all unite in ascribing salvation to God and to the Lamb for ever and ever.
Thus, whilst the Father is glorified in him, shall he himself also be glorified by, and with, the Father, as the Redeemer and Saviour of the world.]
Let me now, in conclusion, entreat you, my brethren, to be like-minded with God, and to glorify the Lord Jesus,
1.
By an humble affiance in him
[In this is he glorified, as much as by the saints before his throne. This is what he expects at our hands. This he regards as answering the end of all that he has done and suffered for us. Go then to him, brethren, with all your sins. Let nothing keep you from him. Never, for a moment, limit either his grace or mercy; but believe him able to save to the uttermost all that shall come unto God by him. Expect also from him all those supplies of grace and peace which are needful for you in this vale of tears. Let your expectations be enlarged to the full extent of your own necessities, and to the full extent also of all his great and precious promises. This is to glorify him: as he has said, All mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them [Note: Joh 17:10.].]
2.
By an entire surrender of yourselves to him
[This also is required of you: You are not your own: you have been bought with a price: and therefore you should glorify him with your bodies and your spirits, which are his [Note: 1Co 6:19-20.]. Our Lord himself has said, Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit [Note: Joh 15:8.]. And I may add, that herein is Jesus glorified also. Let it be seen, then, what the effect of his sufferings is, and what is the redemption that he has purchased for you. This is the way to honour him: this is the recompence he expects at your hands. And if you glorify him thus in this world, you shall assuredly be glorified together with him in the world to come.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. (32) If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. (33) Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. (34) A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another
Doth not the Reader feel a certain somewhat like relief in his mind, from this blessed and divine discourse of Jesus, after going over the awful subject of the traitor’s character? No sooner was Judas gone out, than Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. Yes! when the traitor was departed, there remained none with Christ but his family, his children, his mystical body. In these the Lord was glorified, and they made everlastingly happy in him. Yea, all the persons of the Godhead were glorified in the same. And I pray the Reader not to overlook in this contemplation of Christ, and his Church, that the whole Church is to be considered in this. For the eleven Apostles were at that time the representatives of Christ’s whole body the Church. And as such, when Judas was gone out, who represented the devil and his whole family, Jesus and his family were left alone, and hence Christ’s glory. Reader! so will it be in that great day, when sin, and Satan, and all the seed of the serpent in the Judas of every generation, shall be gone out forever! How do the faithful now enjoy themselves in the Lord, when at times, two or three are met together in his name, and Jesus in the midst of them, and for a while they are uninterrupted by the ungodly? And what a glorious day of God will that be, when the Zion of God, as one of the Psalms blessedly sings of it, shall be brought home, and the rod of the wicked shall no longer fall, much less rest upon the lot of the righteous. As for such, saith that sweet Psalm, as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel. Psa 125 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
Ver. 31. Therefore when he was gone out ] The room being rid of the traitor, Christ deals more freely and familiarly with the rest, and arming them against the scandal of the cross, he calls his death his glory, esteems his crown of thorns more precious than Solomon’s diadem; looks upon his welts as spangles, his blows on the face as ingots, his wounds as gems, his spittings on as sweet ointment, his cross as his throne. This is a paradox to flesh and blood; Jews and Gentiles jeer at it; as Lucian the atheist, who rails upon Christ blasphemously, calling him the crucified impostor; . (Luc. in Vita Peregr.) And as for Christians, they foolishly believe, saith he, that they shall enjoy immortality and live in bliss for ever; therefore they set light by life, yea, many of them offer themselves voluntarily to be slain for their superstition. Persuaserunt sibi infaelices se immortalitate fruituros. Thus he. And another heathen proconsul, Actius Antoninus, in Asia cum persequeretur Christianos (Tertul.), when he had tired himself with killing Christians, and saw no end of it, but that they came thicker upon him, crying out “We are Christians,” &c., he cursed them and cried out, O miseri, si libet perire, num vobis rupes aut restes desunt? O wretches, can you find no other way to die, but I must be troubled with you?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
31 38. ] Announcement of the fact its effect on Peter . Here commences that solemn and weighty portion of the Gospel (ch. Joh 13:31 to Joh 17:26 ) which Olshausen not without reason calls Allerheiligstes ‘the most holy place.’ He beautifully remarks, “These were the last moments which the Lord spent in the midst of His own before His passion, and words full of heavenly meaning flowed during them from His holy lips: all that His heart, glowing with love, had yet to say to His own, was compressed into this short space of time. At first the conversation with the disciples takes more the form of usual dialogue: reclining at the table, they mournfully reply to and question Him. But when (ch. Joh 14:31 ) they had risen from the supper, the discourse of Christ took a higher form: surrounding their Master, the disciples listened to the Words of Life, and seldom spoke (only ch. Joh 16:17 ; Joh 16:29 ). Finally, in the sublime prayer of the great High Priest, the whole Soul of Christ flowed forth in earnest intercession for His own to His Heavenly Father.” Olsh. ii. 329.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
31. . ] It was not that the presence of Judas, as some have thought, hindered the great consummation imported by ., but that the work on which he was gone out, was the ACTUAL COMMENCEMENT of that consummation: “ab hinc enim passiones Christi initium capiebant.” Lampe. It is true that his presence hindered the expression of these gracious words: “jam quasi obice rupto torrentes grati a labiis Jesu effunduntur.” Id.
spoken proleptically as if accomplished, because the deed was actually in doing, which was to accomplish it. The glorifying spoken of here, and in , Joh 13:32 , is not the same. This is the glorifying of God by Christ on earth, in His course of obedience as the Son of Man, which was completed by His death ( , Php 2:8 ). And His death was the transition-point between God being glorified in Him, and He being glorified in God manifested to be the Son of God with power by His resurrection, and received up to the Father, to sit at the right hand of God. This latter ( Joh 13:32 ) is spoken of by Him here as future, but immediate ( ) on His death, and leads on to the address in Joh 13:33 .
is in God (the Father), not in Christ. . reflects back on the subject of the sentence: and is not ‘ by means of ,’ but in, by the resurrection of Him into that glory, which He had indeed before, but now has as the Son of Man , with the risen Manhood; so , ch. Joh 17:5 . Grotius compares 1Sa 2:30 ( LXX). . Origen. in Joan. tom. xxxii. 18, vol. iv. p. 451.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
31 16:33. ] HIS LOVE IN KEEPING AND COMPLETING HIS OWN. And herein, Joh 13:31 to Joh 16:31 . ] He comforts them with the assurance that He is going to the Father .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 13:31 . . As soon as Judas had gone out, the spirit of Jesus rose, and with a note of triumph He explains the situation to the disciples. Two points He emphasises: His work is done, and He must leave them. The former He announces in the words . “This ‘now’ with which the Lord turns to the faithful eleven, expresses at once the feeling of deliverance from the traitor’s presence and His free acceptance of the issues of the traitor’s work.” Westcott. the aorist is used because the traitor is considered to have “as it were already completed his deed”. Winer, p. 346. The Son of Man is “glorified” by accomplishing the work of His life by being accepted as the manifestation of God, and by being acknowledged by the Father as having revealed Him; see Joh 17:1 ; Joh 17:4-5 , Joh 12:23 , Joh 11:4 . Cf. Milligan’s Ascension of our Lord , p. 79.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Joh 13:31 to Joh 14:31 comprise one continuous conversation, introduced by Jesus’ announcement (Joh 13:31-35 ) of His speedy departure.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
John
THE GLORY OF THE CROSS
Joh 13:31 – Joh 13:32
There is something very weird and awful in the brief note of time with which the Evangelist sends Judas on his dark errand. ‘He . . . went immediately out, and it was night.’ Into the darkness that dark soul went. That hour was ‘the power of darkness,’ the very keystone of the black arch of man’s sin, and some shadow of it fell upon the soul of Christ Himself.
In immediate connection with the departure of the traitor comes this singular burst of triumph in our text. The Evangelist emphasises the connection by that: ‘Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said.’ There is a wonderful touch of truth and naturalness in that connection. The traitor was gone. His presence had been a restraint; and now that that ‘spot in their feast of charity’ had disappeared, the Master felt at ease; and like some stream, out of the bed of which a black rock has been taken, His words flow more freely. How intensely real and human the narrative becomes when we see that Christ, too, felt the oppression of an uncongenial presence, and was relieved and glad at its removal! The departure of the traitor evoked these words of triumph in another way, too. At his going away, we may say, the match was lit that was to be applied to the train. He had gone out on his dark errand, and that brought the Cross within measurable distance of our Lord. Out of a new sense of its nearness He speaks here. So the note of time not only explains to us why our Lord spoke, but puts us on the right track for understanding His words, and makes any other interpretation of them than one impossible. What Judas went to do was the beginning of Christ’s glorifying. We have here, then, a triple glorification-the Son of Man glorified in His Cross; God glorified in the Son of Man; and the Son of Man glorified in God. Let us look at these three thoughts for a few moments now.
I. First, we have here the Son of Man glorified in His Cross.
There is a double aspect under which our Lord regarded His sufferings. On the one hand we mark in Him an unmistakable shrinking from the Cross, the innocent shrinking of His manhood expressed in such words as ‘I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished’; and in such incidents as the agony in Gethsemane. And yet, side by side with that, not overcome by it, but not overcoming it, there is the opposite feeling, the reaching out almost with eagerness to bring the Cross nearer to Himself. These two lie close by each other in His heart. Like the pellucid waters of the Rhine and the turbid stream of the Moselle, that flow side by side over a long space, neither of them blending discernibly with the other, so the shrinking and the desire were contemporaneous in Christ’s mind. Here we have the triumphant anticipation rising to the surface, and conquering for a time the shrinking.
Why did Christ think of His Cross as a glorifying? The New Testament generally represents it as the very lowest point of His degradation; John’s Gospel always represents it as the very highest point of His glory. And the two things are both true; just as the zenith of our sky is the nadir of the sky for those on the other side of the world. The same fact which in one aspect sounds the very lowest depth of Christ’s humiliation, in another aspect is the very highest culminating point of His glory.
How did the Cross glorify Christ? In two ways. It was the revelation of His heart; it was the throne of His sovereign power.
It was the revelation of His heart. All his life long He had been trying to tell the world how much He loved it. His love had been, as it were, filtered by drops through His words, through His deeds, through His whole demeanour and bearing; but in His death it comes in a flood, and pours itself upon the world. All His life long he had been revealing His heart, through the narrow rifts of His deeds, like some slender lancet windows; but in His death all the barriers are thrown down, and the brightness blazes out upon men. All through His life He had been trying to communicate His love to the world, and the fragrance came from the box of ointment exceeding precious, but when the box was broken the house was filled with the odour.
For Him to be known was to be glorified. So pure and perfect was He, that revelation of His character and glorification of Himself were one and the same thing. Because His Cross reveals to the world for all time, and for eternity, too, a love which shrinks from no sacrifice, a love which is capable of the most entire abandonment, a love which is diffused over the whole surface of humanity and through all the ages, a love which comes laden with the richest and the highest gifts, even the turning of selfish and sinful hearts into its own pure and perfect likeness, therefore does He say, in contemplation of that Cross which was to reveal Him for what He was to the world, and to bring His love to every one of us, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified.’
We can fancy a mother, for instance, in the anticipation of shame, and ignominy, and suffering, and sorrow, and death which she encounters for the sake of some prodigal child, forgetting all the ignominy, and the shame, and the suffering, and the sorrow, and the death, because all these are absorbed in the one thought: ‘If I bear them, my poor, wandering, rebellious child will know at last how much I loved him.’ So Christ yearns to impart the knowledge of Himself to us, because by that knowledge we may be won to His love and service; and hence when He looks forward to the agony, and contumely, and sorrow of the close, every other thought is swallowed up in this one: ‘They will be the means by which the whole world will find out how deep my heart of love to it was.’ Therefore does He triumph and say, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified.’
Still further, He regards His Cross as the means of His glorifying, because it is His throne of saving power. The paradoxical words of our text rest upon His profound conviction that in His death He was about to put forth a mightier and diviner power than ever He had manifested in His life. They are the same in effect and in tone as the great words: ‘I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me.’ Now I want you to ask yourselves one question: In what sense is Christ’s Cross Christ’s glorifying, unless His Cross bears an altogether different relation to His life from what the death of a great teacher or benefactor ordinarily bears to his? It is impossible that Christ could have spoken such words as these of my text if He had simply thought of His death as a Plato or a John Howard might have thought of his, as being the close of his activity for the welfare of his fellows. Unless Christ’s death has in it some substantive value, unless it is something more than the mere termination of His work for the world, I see not how the words before us can be interpreted. If His death is His glorifying, it must be because in that death something is done which was not completed by the life, however fair; by the words, however wise and tender; by the works of power, however restorative and healing. Here is something more than these present. What more? This more, that His Cross is the ‘propitiation for the sins of the whole world.’ He is glorified therein, not as a Socrates might be glorified by his calm and noble death; not because nothing in His life became Him better than the leaving of it; not because the page that tells the story of His passion is turned to by us as the tenderest and most sacred in the world’s records; but because in that death He wrestled with and overcame our foes, and because, like the Jewish hero of old, dying, He pulled down the house which our tyrants had built, and overwhelmed them in its ruins. ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified.’
And so, brethren, there blend, in that last act of our Lord’s-for His death was His act-in strange fashion, the two contradictory ideas of glory and shame; like some sky, all full of dark thunderclouds, and yet between them the brightest blue and the blazing sunshine. In the Cross, Death crowns Him the Prince of Life, and His Cross is His throne. All His life long He was the Light of the World, but the very noontide hour of His glory was that hour when the shadow of eclipse lay over all the land, and He hung on the Cross dying in the dark. At His ‘eventide it was light.’ ‘He endured the Cross, despising the shame’; and lo! the shame flashed up into the very brightness of glory, and the ignominy and the suffering became the jewels of His crown. ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified.’
II. Now let us turn for a moment to the second of the threefold glorifications that are set forth here: God glorified in the Son of Man.
The words involve, as it seems to me, not only that idea of a close, unique union and indwelling of God in Christ, but they involve also this other: that these sufferings bore no relation to the deserts of the person who endured them. If Christ, with His pure and perfect character-the innocency and nobleness of which all that read the Gospels admit-if Christ suffered so; if the highest virtue that was ever seen in this world brought no better wages than shame and spitting and the Cross; if Christ’s life and Christ’s death are simply a typical example of the world’s treatment of its greatest benefactors; then, if they have any bearing at all on the character of God, they cast a shadow rather than a light upon the divine government, and become not the least formidable of the difficulties and knots that will have to be untied hereafter before it shall be clear that God did everything well. But if we can say, ‘He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows’; if we can say, ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself’; if we can say, that His death was the death of Him whom God had appointed to live and die for us, and ‘to bear our sins in His own body on the tree,’ then, though deep mysteries come with the thought, still we can see that, in a very unique manner, God is glorified and exalted in His death.
For if the dying Christ be the Son of God dying for us, then the Cross glorifies God, because it teaches us that the glory of the divine character is the divine love. Of wisdom, or of power, or of any of the more ‘majestic’ attributes of the divine nature, that weak Man, hanging dying on the Cross, was a strange embodiment; but if the very heart of the divine brightness be the pure white fire of love; if there be nothing diviner in God than His giving of Himself to His creatures; if the highest glory of the divine nature be to pity and to bestow, then the Cross upon which Christ died towers above all other revelations as the most awful, the most sacred, the most tender, the most complete, the most heart-touching, the most soul-subduing manifestation of the divine nature; and stars and worlds, and angels and mighty creatures, and things in the heights and things in the depths, to each of which have been entrusted some broken syllables of the divine character to make known to the world, dwindle and fade before the brightness, the lambent, gentle brightness that beams out from the Cross of Christ, which proclaims-God is love, is pity, is pardon.
And is it not so-is it not so? Is not the thought that has flowed from Christ’s Cross through Christendom of what our Father in Heaven is, the highest and the most blessed that the world has ever had? Has it not scattered doubts that lay like mountains of ice upon man’s heart? Has it not swept the heavens clear of clouds that wrapped it in darkness? Has it not delivered men from the dreams of gods angry, gods capricious, gods vengeful, gods indifferent, gods simply mighty and vast and awful and unspeakable? Has it not taught us that love is God, and God is love; and so brought to the whole world the true Gospel, the Gospel of the grace of God? In that Cross the Father is glorified.
III. Now, lastly, we have here the Son of Man glorified in the Father.
But then mark, still further, that this reception into the bosom of the Father is given to the Son of Man. That is to say, the Man Christ Jesus, the Son of Mary, the Brother of us all, ‘bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh,’ the very Person that walked upon earth and dwelt amongst us is taken up into the heart of God, and in His manhood enters into that same glory, which, from the beginning, the Eternal Word had with God.
And still further, not only have we here set forth, in most wondrous language, the reception and incorporation, if we may use such words, into the very centre of divinity, as granted to the Son of Man, but we have that glorifying set forth as commencing immediately upon the completion of God’s glorifying by Christ upon the Cross. ‘He shall straightway glorify Him.’ At the instant then, that He said, ‘It is finished,’ and all that the Cross could do to glorify God was done, at that instant there began, with not a pin-point of interval between them, God’s glorifying of the Son in Himself. It began in that Paradise into which we know that upon that day He entered. It was manifested to the world when He ‘raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory.’ It reached a still higher point when ‘they brought Him near unto the Ancient of Days,’ and ascending up on high, a dominion and a throne and a glory were given to Him which last now, whilst the Son of Man sits in the heavens on the throne of His glory, wielding the attributes of divinity, and administering the laws of the universe and the mysteries of providence. It shall rise to its highest manifestation before an assembled world, when He ‘shall come in His glory, and before Him shall be gathered all nations.’
This, then, was the vision that lay before the Christ in that upper room, the vision of Himself glorified in His extreme shame, because His Cross manifested His love and His saving power; of God glorified in Him above all other of His acts of manifestation when He died on the Cross, and revealed the very heart of God; and of Himself glorified in the Father when, exalted high above all creatures, He sitteth upon the Father’s throne and rules the Father’s realm.
And yet from that high, and, to us, inaccessible and all but inconceivable summit of His elevation, He looks down ready to bless each poor creature here, toiling and moiling amidst sufferings, and meannesses, and commonplaces, and monotony, if we will only put our trust in Him, and love Him, and see the brightness of the Father’s face in Him. He cares for us all; and if we will but take Him as our Saviour, His all-prevalent prayer, presented within the veil for us, will certainly be fulfilled at last: ‘Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast given Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Joh 13:31-35
31Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; 32if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately. 33Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Joh 13:31-38 These verses form part of a larger context of a series of questions by the disciples (cf. Joh 13:36; Joh 14:5; Joh 14:8; Joh 14:22; Joh 16:17-19) asked in the dialogue of the Upper Room the night of the Lord’s Supper. It is obvious that Jesus’ statements about going away caused the Apostles to have many questions based on the their misunderstanding of Jesus’ words.
1. Peter (Joh 13:36)
2. Thomas (Joh 14:5)
3. Philip (Joh 14:8)
4. Judas (not Iscariot) (Joh 14:22)
5. some of His disciples (Joh 16:17-19)
Joh 13:31 “the Son of Man” This was Jesus’ chosen self-designation. The background is from Eze 2:1 and Dan 7:13. It implies human and divine characteristics. Jesus used it because the term was unused in rabbinical Judaism, therefore, it had no nationalistic or militaristic implications and it combined His two natures (cf. 1Jn 4:1-3).
Joh 13:32 There is a Greek manuscript variant in this verse. The longer text is found in NASB, NKJV, NRSV, TEV, and NJB. It is supported by the manuscripts c, A, C2, K, and the Textus Receptus. It (“if God is glorified in him”) is left out in the MSS P66, *, B, C*, D, L, W, and X. These seem to be the better set of manuscripts. But it is possible that scribes were confused by the parallelism and just omitted the first phrase.
“glorified” The term is used four or five times in Joh 13:31-32 -two or three times in the aorist tense and twice in the future tense. It refers to God’s plan of redemption through Jesus’ death and resurrection (cf. Joh 7:39; Joh 12:16; Joh 12:23; Joh 17:1; Joh 17:5). Here it refers to the upcoming events in Jesus’ life. They are so certain to occur that they are expressed as if they were past events (aorists). See note at Joh 1:14.
Joh 13:33 “Little children” John, writing as an old man from the city or area of Ephesus, uses this same title to address his hearers/readers in 1Jn 2:1; 1Jn 2:12; 1Jn 2:28; 1Jn 3:7; 1Jn 3:18; 1Jn 4:4; 1Jn 5:21. Here, Jesus’ metaphor is another way to identify Him with the Father. He is father, brother, savior, friend, and Lord. Or to put it another way, He is both transcendent Deity and immanent companion.
“I am with you only a little while longer. . .and as I said to the Jews” Jesus had said this to the Jewish leaders several months earlier (cf. Joh 7:33); now He says it to His Apostles (cf. Joh 12:35; Joh 14:19; Joh 16:16-19). Therefore, it is obvious that the time element is somewhat ambiguous.
“Where I am going, you cannot come” The Jewish leaders could not come at all (cf. Joh 7:34; Joh 7:36; Joh 8:21). The disciples would not be with Him until their deaths. Death, or the rapture, will unite His followers with Him (cf. 2Co 5:8; 1Th 4:13-18).
Joh 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you that you love one another” “To love one another” was not a new commandment (cf. Lev 19:18; for “commandment” see Special Topic at Joh 12:50). What was new was that believers were to love each other as Jesus loved them (cf. Joh 15:12; Joh 15:17; 1Jn 2:7-8; 1Jn 3:11; 1Jn 3:16; 1Jn 3:23; 1Jn 4:7-8; 1Jn 4:10-12; 1Jn 4:19-20; 2Jn 1:5).
The gospel is a person to be welcomed, a body of truths to be believed, and a life to be lived (cf. Joh 14:15; Joh 14:21; Joh 14:23; Joh 15:10; Joh 15:12; 1Jn 5:3; 2Jn 1:5-6; Luk 6:46). The gospel is received, believed, and lived out! It is lived out in love or it is not lived out!
I like Bruce Corley’s statement in his article “Biblical Theology of the New Testament” in the hermeneutics book Foundations For Biblical Interpretation: “Christ’s people are characterized by the ethic of love, whereby the ‘is-ness’ of grace is linked to the ‘ought-ness’ of love through the work of the Spirit (cf. Gal 5:6; Gal 5:25; Gal 6:2; Jas 3:17-18; Joh 13:34-35; 1Jn 4:7)” (p. 562).
Joh 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples” Love is the one characteristic that Satan cannot counterfeit. Believers are to be characterized by love (cf. 1Jn 3:14; 1Jn 4:7-21).
“if”This is a third class conditional sentence which means potential action. Our actions toward other Christians confirm our relationship with Jesus (cf. 1Jn 2:9-11; 1Jn 4:20-21).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Therefore, when = When therefore.
he was gone out = he went out.
Now. Greek. nun. See Joh 12:27.
the Son of man. App-98.
glorified. A characteristic word in this Gospel. See Joh 11:4; Joh 12:16, Joh 12:23, Joh 12:28; Joh 17:1, &c.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
31-38.] Announcement of the fact-its effect on Peter. Here commences that solemn and weighty portion of the Gospel (ch. Joh 13:31 to Joh 17:26) which Olshausen not without reason calls Allerheiligstes-the most holy place. He beautifully remarks, These were the last moments which the Lord spent in the midst of His own before His passion, and words full of heavenly meaning flowed during them from His holy lips:-all that His heart, glowing with love, had yet to say to His own, was compressed into this short space of time. At first the conversation with the disciples takes more the form of usual dialogue: reclining at the table, they mournfully reply to and question Him. But when (ch. Joh 14:31) they had risen from the supper, the discourse of Christ took a higher form: surrounding their Master, the disciples listened to the Words of Life, and seldom spoke (only ch. Joh 16:17; Joh 16:29). Finally, in the sublime prayer of the great High Priest, the whole Soul of Christ flowed forth in earnest intercession for His own to His Heavenly Father. Olsh. ii. 329.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 13:31. ) Jesus saith on the following day, namely, early in the morning of the fifth day of the week (Thursday), with which comp. Joh 13:1; Joh 13:38, Before the feast of the Passover: whereas the words spoken, Joh 13:38, were during the Passover, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied Me thrice. A discourse also beginning abruptly is thus marked: so ch. Joh 18:26, One of the servants saith, Did not I see thee, etc.; with which comp. Luk 22:59.[338] The Lord begins to give utterance to the greatest things which had been revolved in His own heart; and at this place the scene, as it were, is thrown open for the conference, which is continued in the foil. chapters.-, now) The exact point of time is precisely marked as being in the present. Comp. ch. Joh 12:27; Joh 12:31, notes, Now is My soul troubled. Now is the judgment of this world. This now fixes its own limits: now, saith He, namely, whilst I am speaking these things; although the very time of His speaking is not expressed by the Evangelist, but is left to be gathered from the context. So the word to-morrow is used [the day of speaking being left to be inferred from the context], Exo 8:10; Exo 8:20; Exo 8:29; Exo 9:5; whereby a reply is given to D. Hauber, Harm. Anm., p. 207. The end of Judas has in itself no connection with this particle. [Although it is an opinion which may with good reason be held, that Judas at that very moment did that which Jesus at Joh 13:27 had desired him to do quickly, and that the chief priests also then made all their arrangements for seizing on Him.-Harm., p. 497.]-, is glorified) Jesus regards His passion as a short journey, and rather looks forward to the goal.- , in Him) There was passing at the time in the heart of the Lord the thought of something most solid; nor was He merely having regard to the things immediately about to be, but He was having a most inward and vivid realisation and foretaste of them, whilst He was devoting [betaking] Himself wholly to suffering. What Christ gave utterance to at the commencement of the day, is something prior in point of time to that which He afterwards, in the evening, sought from the Father. Joh 17:1-2, Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee: as Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. Let the emphasis of the now be considered, and the difference of the words in [Him], in [Him, in Himself], Joh 13:31-32, and on [earth], with [Thine own self: with Thee], ch. Joh 17:4-5.
[338] About the space of one hour after, another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with Him. The speech therefore was an abrupt one.-E. and T.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 13:31
Joh 13:31
When therefore he was gone out, Jesus saith, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him;-Judas leaving on this mission, brought more vividly to his mind that the time was now come for the tragedy that would end in his resurrection, ascension, and glorification at the right hand of God. He looks beyond the sorrows to this end. God would be glorified in glorifying Jesus. [The hour has come and Jesus is about ready to go through his bloody pathway into the presence of his Father. The disciples will be left without him to meet the trials and persecutions of the earth. The time has arrived for him to pour forth the deepest feelings of his soul in their behalf. In the discourse that follows he comforts, consoles, instructs, and points them to the glory, power, and grace of their Lord. He strives as never before to reveal himself to the disciples so fully that every doubt of his divinity shall pass away when the darkness and gloom that gathered around his tomb shall have been dispelled by a deep knowledge of his glory.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the Sign and Seal of Discipleship
Joh 13:31-38
It was a relief when the traitor was gone. The Lord could now speak freely of His love and of His approaching glory, expatiating on the shining tablelands, but not as yet revealing even to Peter the dark ravine which separated Him from them, and the shadows which He was already entering. Peter was most anxious to be with Jesus wherever He was. Life without Jesus seemed impossible.
Peter relied upon his strong resolution to keep him faithful to his Master, but found it unavailing, as we have ourselves experienced many a time. Do not vaunt in self-confidence what you will or will not do, but seek strength from the living Lord. How little we know ourselves! Yet the time would come when this ardent spirit would be able to fulfill its vow through the Spirit of Pentecost, Joh 21:18; 2Pe 1:14.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.
Our Lord and His disciples were still in the Upper Room where they had observed that last Passover together, as we learn from the other Gospels, that had been followed by the institution of the Lords Supper, that sacred feast of love that has been kept by Gods beloved people all down through the centuries since. Judas had left the little company. Moved by the worst of motives, controlled by covetousness, he had gone out to meet the chief priests and to receive the money they had promised him in view of a little later betraying the Lord Jesus into their hands. And now as the Savior was left alone with the Eleven whose hearts were strangely troubled because of certain things He had already told them, He spoke with a new joy and said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him (v. 31).
It did not look as though God was about to be glorified, and during the next three days they must have had plenty of doubts indeed as to God being glorified in the events that took place. The Lord had said that He was going out to die, that He was to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Could that glorify God? He had said that He was to be buried and then raised again, and it was in this, His death and His resurrection, that God was to be glorified. For in His sacrificial death upon the cross, He was to settle the sin question in a way that would meet every claim of the holiness of Gods nature and the righteousness of His throne. And we may say that in that death of His upon the tree, God has received more glory than He ever lost by Adams sin, and by all the guilt and enmity and iniquity that came into the world since.
For after all, men are but finite-finite sinners it is true-and as such have dishonored God. It could be said of every man, God in whose hand thy breath is, hast thou not glorified (Dan 5:23). But the Lord Jesus was the infinite One who had linked Deity with humanity in order that He might give Himself a ransom for our souls. And because He was Himself infinite, the work He did upon Calvarys cross had infinite value. Therefore, we are right in saying that God received more glory out of that work than He ever lost by finite mans sin. And as proof that He has been glorified, God raised His Son from the dead, glorifying Jesus, the One who had accomplished the work. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him (Joh 13:32).
The thought of the Fathers glory was very much in the heart of Jesus at this time. In fact-it may seem strange to some of us to say it-but our Lord apparently was far more concerned about glorifying God than He was about saving sinners. How we like to think the opposite! We like to think that our salvation was the important thing, that the great thing Jesus came to do was to save our souls. And He did come for that. The Son of man came, He said, not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many (Mat 20:28; Mar 10:45). Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it (Eph 5:25). But there was something greater than the salvation of sinners that occupied His heart, and that was glorifying the Father. So in the seventeenth chapter when we see Him before God as our great High Priest, anticipating the work of the cross, we hear Him saying, I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do (Joh 17:4). Gods glory is first, and then that finished work of the cross by which our souls are saved.
I remember hearing of a Universalist, a man who believed that all men will eventually be saved, saying once to an earnest Christian, I have a far higher conception of the work of the atonement than you have, for you believe that even though Christ died on the cross there are thousands upon thousands, perhaps millions, of men who will be lost forever. I have a far higher view of the atonement than that. I believe that if one soul were ever lost since Christ has died, His atonement would be the greatest failure that has ever taken place in the universe.
The Christian replied, Oh, no. I have a higher conception of it than that. I dare to say even though not one soul were ever saved, the atonement has been the greatest success of anything that has ever taken place in the universe, for in that atoning work God has been honored and glorified as He never could have been otherwise.
But now the wonderful thing is that our salvation is linked up with Gods glory. You see, Gods heart went out to sinful man, but He could not save sinners until sin was settled for, for it would violate the righteousness of His throne. He could not save sinners if it involved His acting in a way that was contrary to the holiness of His nature. So His own beloved Son, the Eternal One, the One whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting, became incarnate. In humility He became Man and went to that cross, paid the full price of our redemption, and every claim that God had against a sinner was met. Now God can be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus (Rom 3:26). So our salvation and Gods glory stand or fall together. Christ hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour (Eph 5:2). Because of Gods satisfaction in the work His Son has accomplished, He can now open His arms and invite every guilty sinner to come to Him and offer full, complete pardon and justification from all things. Yes, cleansing from every guilty stain to those who come in the name of Jesus. Have you come?
A lady on one occasion came to a servant of God. When asked if she was saved, she replied, I dont understand it. I see that Jesus died for me, but surely there is something I must do. That seems too simple a way for anyone to be saved.
And the other said, My dear friend, it was God who sent His Son to die. It was God who put on Him all that our sins deserved. Christ has borne that judgment for you, and now God is satisfied, and if God is satisfied surely you should be.
She looked up somewhat startled as she said, I had never seen it that way before. Surely I should be satisfied with that which satisfies God. Yes, I can trust Him. I can take Him at His Word.
Have you done that? Do you realize that on the cross the sin question has been settled? Now when you receive the Lord Jesus, you stand cleared of every charge.
He who glorified God on the cross has been raised from the dead, taken up to the Fathers right hand, and there God has glorified Him with His own self with the glory that He had with the Father before the world began.
Jesus was looking upon all this as an accomplished fact when He spoke as He did as recorded in verses 31-32. And then He added, Little children [only a few more hours and then He was going out to die], yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you (v. 33). He was going away, and He was going to leave His disciples in the world to be witnesses for Himself. While He was here, He said, I am the light of the world (8:12; 9:5). But He was going back to the heavens from whence He came, and the disciples, after He left here, were to shine as lights in this gloomy world.
It was then He gave this new commandment. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (vv. 34-35). It was His last charge to His saints before He went to the cross. Looking down through the years, He knew they would be in a hostile world and be hated of all men for His names sake, and He pleaded with them, Dont hate one another. Dont be ungracious and unkind and quarrelsome and discourteous to each other. You who have been redeemed by the same precious blood, indwelt by the same Holy Spirit. Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven you (Eph 4:32). A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another.
May we not well challenge ourselves and each one ask the question in his or her own heart, How have I answered to this command of my Savior? Am I characterized by love for my brethren in Christ? Or have I so far forgotten my responsibility as a Christian that I have permitted malice and envy and jealousy and even hatred to well up in my heart? Have I cherished these evil things? There are children of God who are cold and hard and indifferent and critical and unkind. We may well face these things in the presence of God.
How much bitterness has been engendered through the years by religious controversy! I remember reading of a striking incident in the life of that wonderful man of God, Samuel Rutherford, whose last words are embodied in that beautiful hymn, Immanuels Land. Rutherford, the author of a whole volume of heavenly letters that bear the celestial aroma, was a Church of Scotland minister, and his place of ministry a little Scottish town known as Anwoth. There he labored among a happy group of earnest believers. But there were troubles in connection with the Government. The British Government had declared that the Scottish Church must no longer follow the Presbyterian order, which was that which Rutherford used, and sought to impose an altogether different, and as the Scots thought, foreign order of things upon them. And Rutherford was one of those devoted ministers who for consciences sake refused to admit and would not acknowledge the authority of the kings bishops.
Because he refused to conform, Rutherford was banished to Aberdeen and put in prison there. He always said he would not permit a bishop of any kind to stand in his pulpit. But before he left, while he was still pastor in the church, there came one night to the manse a stranger. Knocking at the door, Rutherford himself welcomed him. The stranger did not give his name, but said he was on his way and would be glad of accommodations for the night. They ate together. Afterward, Rutherford took up the Word of God, and then he said, Now we have the catechism, the reading of the Scriptures and prayer, and we expect every visitor to participate with us. It was a good old-fashioned custom. I wish we had more like it today. So the servants were called in and Rutherford read the Scripture. Then he began to catechize the whole house and turned eventually to the stranger, and he said, How many commandments are there?
The stranger looked up, and without batting an eye, answered, Eleven.
Rutherford looked abashed. I asked how many commandments there are.
Yes, I understood. Eleven.
I am surprised that in all the Scottish realm there should be found a man so ignorant that he doesnt know there are only ten commandments.
And then the stranger looked up and said, A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another.
Oh, said Rutherford, what is your name, stranger?
He said, My name is Usher. I am archbishop of Ireland.
An archbishop in Rutherfords home! The man who had said he could have no fellowship with anyone who held to another ecclesiastical order than his own. Broken, ashamed of his harshness, Rutherford begged the stranger to lead them all in prayer, and responded fervently as the archbishop bore them all up before God.
Oh, how we need to be reminded of this eleventh commandment, A new commandment give I unto you, That ye love one another. It is not enough, my brethren, to know that you are saved. It is not enough that you stand firmly, as I hope you do, for the fundamental truths. Back of all fundamental truth there is a great fundamental experience that everyone of us should have.
Though I preach with the tongue of men and of angels, and have not [love], and though I understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and have not [love], I am nothing And though I give my body to be burned, and have not [love], it profiteth me nothing (1Co 13:1-3). It would be well for every one of us to test ourselves every little while by the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians. Love suffereth long and is kind. Love envieth not. Love is not boastful. Love is not conceited. Love doth not behave itself discourteously. Love is not self-seeking. Love is not quickly angry. Love thinketh no evil (see vv. 4-5). That is, love doesnt impute evil and try to judge peoples motives. Love rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things (vv. 6-7).
We might take these words as a character sketch of our Lord Jesus Christ. You could put in His name here, and they all would be true of Him. Christ suffereth long and is kind. Christ envieth not. Christ vaunteth not Himself. Christ is not puffed up. Christ does not behave Himself unseemly. Christ sought not His own. Christ was not easily provoked. Christ thinks no evil. Christ rejoices not in iniquity. Christ beareth all things, Christ believeth all things, Christ hopeth all things. Christ endureth all things. Christ never fails.
If you and I have the mind of Christ, this divine love will be manifested in us. If it is not, then all our talk about being fundamentalists, all our talk about standing for the truth goes for very little indeed. We may be tremendously in earnest in contending for certain great outstanding facts, but if we contend in a bad spirit, we only harm the cause that we represent. And if back of our contention for the faith there is no sincere love for our brethren, yes, love for all men, then we dishonor the One who Himself is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
He has said, By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (Joh 13:35). That is, we do not prove we are His disciples by striving for a creed, however great and exact it may be. We do not prove we are His disciples by insisting on the fact that we believe in an inspired Bible, blessed as that is. We do not prove that we are His disciples by loudly proclaiming our faith in the virgin birth and perfect humanity of our Savior, His atoning work, His physical resurrection, and His present intercession at Gods right hand. We do not prove to men and women that we are really Christians by insisting that we believe in the premillennial coming of our Lord Jesus and all these great and precious verities, but, by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Let us not forget this, and let us examine ourselves faithfully and honestly, and see if we are allowing hatred and malice in our hearts while presuming to be holding to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Not only here does He speak of this, but in chapter 15, verses 12-14, He says, This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. You see, real love is unselfish. Love delights to bear and do. Do not talk about loving one another if you are not concerned about serving one another as God enables.
Look at 1 John. The beloved disciple who heard our Lord utter these words never forgot them. We are told that when he was an old man, after he was too feeble to walk, he used to be carried into the assembly of the saints at Ephesus. Then two of the elders would assist him to his feet while he gave a few words of godly counsel to the people of God. And it is said that he always ended with this expression, Little children, love one another. And here it is written in 1Jn 2:7-10, Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
Look at 1Jn 3:17-18: But whoso hath this worlds good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Love is a very practical thing. To what extent are we manifesting it toward those in more difficult circumstances than ourselves? To what extent are we manifesting it to those who have failed and sinned? Are we content simply to point out their faults and criticize and say hard, unkind things? Or do we love them enough to go to them in the Spirit of Christ and seek to recover them to Himself? A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another.
But now Simon Peter for the moment listens but does not hear. What our Lord has said, recorded in these two verses, appears to make no impression upon him at all. He is still thinking of what the Savior said a little while before, Whither I go, ye cannot come. And with that in mind, he breaks in and destroys for the moment the continuity of thought. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go [that is, to death], thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards (Joh 13:36). Our Lord was speaking as a prophet. He was going to be crucified. Peter was not ready for that, though he did not realize it. But Jesus said, Some day you will follow Me even in that, and he did. For in his old age we are told Peter, too, was crucified. Peter laid down his life on a cross as a martyr for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But Peter did not understand, did not recognize his own limitations. Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake (v. 37). He meant every word of it. Evidently he thought he was prepared for that. But he did not know the deceitfulness of his own heart.
Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice (v. 38). In the original text there is no break between the last verse of chapter 13 and the first verse of chapter 14. What is Jesus really saying? Listen to it, and be encouraged if you have failed.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. (13:38-14:1)
Peter, I know you are going to fail Me. You do not realize how untrustworthy your heart is. But, oh, Peter, when at last you discover the corruption that is there and you are brokenhearted to think of what you have done, I want you to remember, Peter, I love you still and am going to prepare a place for you.
Do you know this Savior? Oh, if you do not, I would plead with you, acquaint yourself with Him and be at peace. He wants you to know Him, and He bids you come to Him today. He says, Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out (6:37).
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Son of man
(See Scofield “Mat 8:20”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Now: Joh 7:39, Joh 11:4, Joh 12:23, Joh 16:14, Luk 12:50, Act 2:36, Act 3:13, Col 2:14, Col 2:15, Heb 5:5-9
and God: Joh 12:28, Joh 14:13, Joh 17:1-6, Isa 49:3-6, Luk 2:10-14, Rom 15:6-9, 2Co 3:18, 2Co 4:4-6, Eph 1:5-8, Eph 1:12, Eph 2:7, Eph 3:10, Phi 2:11, 1Pe 1:21, 1Pe 4:11, Rev 5:9-14
Reciprocal: Lev 10:3 – before 1Sa 2:30 – them Psa 8:5 – hast Psa 21:5 – glory Psa 138:5 – for great Isa 26:15 – thou art Isa 42:21 – it Isa 55:5 – he Hag 1:8 – I will be Zec 6:13 – bear Joh 7:18 – seeketh his glory Joh 8:49 – but Joh 8:54 – it is Joh 12:16 – when Joh 17:4 – glorified Joh 18:1 – spoken Heb 12:2 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1
Now is accommodative and means the time was at hand when the Son of man was to be glorified, referring to the scenes that were to end with the crucifixion. Glorified is from DOXAZO, which Thayer defines at this place, “To exalt to a glorious rank or condition.” The supreme sacrifice which Jesus was soon to make would exalt him to the highest rank of worthiness, for it would constitute Him the atoning sacrifice for the whole world. It would also glorify God since it was his Son who was to be given to the world in this great loving sacrifice. (See Joh 3:16.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
In this passage we find the Lord Jesus at last alone with His eleven faithful disciples. The traitor, Judas Iscariot, had left the room, and gone out to do his wicked deed of darkness. Freed from his painful company, our Lord opens His heart to His little flock more fully than He had ever done before. Speaking to them for the last time before His passion, He begins a discourse which for touching interest surpasses any portion of Scripture.
These verses show us what glory the crucifixion brought both to God the Father and to God the Son. It seems impossible to avoid the conclusion that this was what our Lord had in His mind when He said, “Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.”-It is as though He said, “The time of my crucifixion is at hand. My work on earth is finished. An event is about to take place tomorrow, which, however painful to you who love Me, is in reality most glorifying both to Me and My Father.”
This was a dark and mysterious saying, and we may well believe that the eleven did not understand it. And no wonder! In all the agony of the death on the cross, in all the ignominy and humiliation which they saw afar off, or heard of next day, in hanging naked for six hours between two thieves,-in all this there was no appearance of glory! On the contrary, it was an event calculated to fill the minds of the Apostles with shame, disappointment, and dismay. And yet our Lord’s saying was true.
The crucifixion brought glory to the Father. It glorified His wisdom, faithfulness, holiness, and love. It showed Him wise, in providing a plan whereby He could be just, and yet the Justifier of the ungodly.-It showed Him faithful, in keeping His promise, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head.-It showed Him holy, in requiring His law’s demands to be satisfied by our great Substitute.-It showed Him loving, in providing such a Mediator, such a Redeemer, and such a Friend for sinful man as His co-eternal Son.
The crucifixion brought glory to the Son. It glorified His compassion, His patience, and His power. It showed Him most compassionate, in dying for us, suffering in our stead, allowing Himself to be counted sin and a curse for us, and buying our redemption with the price of His own blood.-It showed Him most patient, in not dying the common death of most men, but in willingly submitting to such horrors and unknown agonies as no mind can conceive, when with a word he could have summoned His Father’s angels, and been set free.-It showed Him most powerful, in bearing the weight of all a world’s transgressions, and vanquishing Satan and despoiling him of his prey.
Forever let us cling to these thoughts about the crucifixion. Let us remember that painting and sculpture can never tell a tenth part of what took place on the cross. Crucifixes and pictures at best can only show us a human being agonizing in a painful death. But of the length and breadth and depth and height of the work transacted on the cross,-of God’s law honored, man’s sins borne, sin punished in a Substitute, free salvation bought for man,-of all this they can tell nothing. Yet all this lies hid under the crucifixion. No wonder Paul cries, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Gal 6:14.)
These verses show us, secondly, what great importance our Lord Jesus attaches to the grace of brotherly love. Almost as soon as the false Apostle had left the faithful eleven, comes the injunction, “Love one another.” Immediately after the sad announcement that He would leave them soon, the commandment is given, “Love one another.” It is called a “new” commandment, not because it had never been given before, but because it was to be more honored, to occupy a higher position, to be backed by a higher example than it ever had been before. Above all, it was to be the test of Christianity before the world. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
Let us take heed that this well-known Christian grace is not merely a notion in our heads, but a practice in our lives. Of all the commands of our Master there is none which is so much talked about and so little obeyed as this. Yet, if we mean anything when we profess to have charity and love toward all men, it ought to be seen in our tempers and our words, our bearing and our doing, our behavior at home and abroad, our conduct in every relation of life. Specially it ought to show itself forth in all our dealing with other Christians. We should regard them as brethren and sisters, and delight to do anything to promote their happiness. We should abhor the idea of envy, malice, and jealousy towards a member of Christ, and regard it as a downright sin. This is what our Lord meant when He told us to love one another.
Christ’s cause in the earth would prosper far more than it does if this simple law was more honored. There is nothing that the world understands and values more than true charity. The very men who cannot comprehend doctrine, and know nothing of theology, can appreciate charity. It arrests their attention, and makes them think. For the world’s sake, if for no other cause, let us follow after charity more and more.
These verses show us, lastly, how much self-ignorance there may be in the heart of a true believer. We see Simon Peter declaring that he was ready to lay down his life for his Master. We see his Master telling him that in that very night he would “deny Him thrice.” And we all know how the matter ended. The Master was right, and Peter was wrong.
Let it be a settled principle in our religion, that there is an amount of weakness in all our hearts, of which we have no adequate conception, and that we never know how far we might fall if we were tempted. We fancy sometimes, like Peter, that there are some things we could not possibly do. We look pitifully upon others who fall, and please ourselves in the thought that at any rate we should not have done so. We know nothing at all. The seeds of every sin are latent in our hearts, even when renewed, and they only need occasion, or carelessness and the withdrawal of God’s grace for a season, to put forth an abundant crop. Like Peter, we may think we can do wonders for Christ, and like Peter, we may learn by bitter experience that we have no power and might at all.
The servant of Christ will do wisely to remember these things. “Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.” (1Co 10:12.) A humble sense of our own innate weakness, a constant dependence on the Strong for strength, a daily prayer to be held up, because we cannot hold up ourselves,-these are the true secrets of safety. The great Apostle of the Gentiles said, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” (2Co 12:10.)
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Notes-
v31.-[Therefore, when…gone out, Jesus said.] The withdrawal of Judas from the company of the disciples, at this point, forms a distinct break in the narrative. At once, from this time, our Lord seems to speak as one relieved by the absence of an uncongenial mind. There is a manifest alteration in the tone of all He says. It seems pitched in a higher key.
Bengel, at this point, interposes an entire interval of a night, and thinks that a new discourse begins here. It seems a needless view, and is very unnatural.
[Now is the Son of Man glorified, etc., etc.] This is a deep saying, and not least so because both the verbs are in the past tense. Literally rendered in each case, the verb should be “has been glorified.” This is not an uncommon mode of speech. The glorification is so near, so certain, so complete, that it is spoken of as a thing accomplished, and even past. It was accomplished in purpose, and in a few hours would be accomplished in reality. (So Joh 17:4.) The meaning of our Lord may probably be paraphrased thus: “Now has the time come that I, the Son of Man, should be glorified, by actually dying as man’s substitute, and shedding my blood for the sins of the world. Now has the time come that God the Father should receive the highest glory by my sacrifice on the cross.”
Let it be noted that the Lord regards His own atoning death on the cross as the most glorious part of His work on earth; and that nothing so tends to glorify the Father’s attributes of justice, holiness, mercy, and faithfulness to His promises, as the death of the Son.
Let it be noted that the Lord does not speak of His death as a punishment, or disgrace, or humiliation, but as an event most glorious,-glorifying both to Himself and to the Father. So Christians should learn to “glory in the cross.”
If we do not take this view, and adhere to a strictly literal rendering of the verb glorified, as past, as Hengstenberg does, we must suppose it to mean, “Now at last, by my perfect righteousness in life and willingness to suffer in death, I, the Son of man, have received glory, and my Father at the same time has received glory through Me.” But the other interpretation, taking the past tense for the present or future, is better. “The sacrifice has begun. The last act of my redeeming work,-specially glorifying myself and my Father,-has actually commenced or is commencing.”
Augustine and Ecolampadius hold that the expression, “Now is the Son of Man glorified,” has a special reference to the glory which surrounds our Lord when the wicked are all put away from Him, and He is attended only by saints. This peculiar glory was on Him when Judas Iscariot went out, and left Him and His faithful disciples alone.
v32.-[If God be glorified in him, etc.] This verse may be paraphrased as follows: “If God the Father be specially glorified in all His attributes by my death, He shall proceed at once to place special glory on Me, for my personal work, and shall do it without delay, by raising Me from the dead, and placing Me at His right hand.” It is like the famous passage in Philippians: “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him.” It is the same idea that we have in the seventeenth chapter more fully: “I have glorified Thee on the earth;-now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self.” (Php 2:9; Joh 17:5.)
If the Son, on the one hand, specially glorifies the Father’s attributes of holiness, justice, and mercy, by satisfying all His demands with His own precious blood on the cross, so, on the other hand, the Father specially glorifies the Son, by exalting Him above all Kings, raising Him from the dead, and giving Him a name above every name.
“In Himself” must refer to that special and peculiar glory which, in the counsels of the blessed Trinity, is conferred on the Second Person, on account of His incarnation, cross, and passion.
It is hardly needful to remind Christians that “if” does not imply any doubtfulness, but is rather equivalent to “since,” as in Col 3:1 : “If ye then be risen with Christ.”
If anyone wishes to adhere rigidly to the past tense in the first “glorified” of this verse, it undoubtedly makes excellent meaning. “If God the Father has been glorified on the earth by my life and perfect obedience to His law, He will also glorify Me in my own person, by raising Me from the dead, and placing Me at His own right hand, and that very soon.” But I doubt this being the full meaning, for the reasons given in the preceding verse.
The perfect harmony and co-operation of the Persons in the blessed Trinity shine out here. The Son glorifies the Father, and the Father glorifies the Son. The Son shows the world by His death how holy and just is the Father, and how He hates sin. The Father shows the world, by raising and exalting the Son to glory, how He delights in the redemption for sinners which the Son has accomplished.
Chrysostom thinks, that “straightway glorify Him” must refer to the special signs and wonders which appeared from the very time our Lord was on the cross. “So the sun was darkened, the rocks rent, the veil of the temple parted, many bodies of the saints arose, the tomb had its seal, the guards sat by, and while a stone lay on the grave, the body rose.”
Musculus remarks, that here you have the great principle asserted which is always true: “Those who glorify God shall be glorified by God.”
v33.-[Little children.] This is the only time our Lord ever calls His disciples by this name. It was evidently a term of affection and compassion, like the language of a father speaking to children whom he is about to leave alone as orphans in the world. “My believing followers, whom I love and regard as my children.”
Observe that the expression is not used till Judas has gone away. Unbelievers are not to be addressed as Christ’s children.
[Yet a little while I am with you.] This seems to mean, “I am only staying a very little longer with you. The time is short. The hour approaches when we must part. Give me your best attention while I talk to you for the last time before I go.”
[Ye shall seek Me.] It is not quite clear what this means. Of course it cannot refer to the time after the resurrection, when the disciples were fully convinced that “the Lord had risen.” Much less can it refer to the time after the ascension. I can only suppose it means, “After my death ye shall be perplexed, amazed, and confounded for a little season, wanting Me, seeking Me, wishing for Me, and wondering where I am gone. The very moment the little child is left alone by mother or nurse, it begins to cry after her and want her. So will it be with you.”
[And as I said unto the Jews, etc.] This sentence can only mean, “The words that I said to the Jews will soon apply to you also, though in a very different sense. Whither I am going you cannot follow Me. You will follow Me hereafter; but at present there is a gulf between us, and you will not see Me.”
Of course the words applied to the Jews meant that Jesus was going to a place where spiritually and morally the Jews were unfit to go, and in their impenitent state could not go. The words applied to the disciples only meant that Jesus was going into a world where they could not follow Him till they died. They were remaining on earth, and He was going to heaven.
Hengstenberg observes, that this is the only place in which Jesus ever spoke to His disciples concerning “the Jews.” Elsewhere He uses the expression in speaking to the Samaritan woman (Joh 4:22) and before Caiaphas and Pilate.
v34.-[A new commandment, etc.] The immense importance of Christian love or charity cannot possibly be shown more strikingly than by the way that it is urged on the disciples in this place. Here is our Lord leaving the world, speaking for the last time, and giving His last charge to His disciples. The very first subject He takes up and presses on them, is the great duty of loving one another, and that with no common love; but after the same patient, tender, unwearied manner that He has loved them. Love must needs be a very rare and important grace to be so spoken of! The want of it must needs be a plain proof that a man is no true disciple of Christ. How vast the extent of Christian love ought to be! The measure and standard of it is the love wherewith Christ loved us. His was a love even to death.
Melancthon points out our Lord’s great desire to promote unity and concord among professing Christians, by His dwelling so much on love before He left the world.
Why did our Lord call love a “new” commandment? This is a rather difficult question, and has called forth great variety of opinions. One thing only is very clear. Jesus did not mean to say that “love” was a grace peculiar to the Gospel, and was nowhere taught in the law of Moses. To say this, is a mark of great ignorance. The point is set at rest by the words in Lev 19:18 : “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” What then does this word “new” mean?
Some think, as Chrysostom, that our Lord refers to the degree with which Christians should love,-even as He had loved them. This was a new and higher standard than had been yet known. Hitherto, as Cyril says, men were to love others as themselves. Now they were to love them more than themselves.-Some think that our Lord refers to the great duty of Christians to love one another, and cling to one another with a special and peculiar love, over and above the love they had generally to all mankind. This was in a sense a novelty.-Some think that our Lord only meant that He renewed and recreated the great law of love, and raised it to so much higher a position than it had ever held among the Jews, that it might be truly called a “new commandment.” The parable of the good Samaritan shows how little the Jews realized the duty of loving their neighbours. He had in view the utter neglect into which the law of love had fallen among Jewish teachers like the Pharisees, and like Isaac digging the earth out of the old well, would give the law a second beginning, as if it were new.
Some, as Maldonatus and Suicer, think that the expression is only a Hebraism, and that “new,” “rare,” and “excellent” are synonymous. Thus a new name, a new song, new wine. (Rev 2:17; Psa 98:1; Mat 26:29.)
Perhaps there is something in each and all of these views. One thing is very certain: nothing could exalt the value of love so highly as to call it “a new commandment.”
Scott observes, that the law of love to others “was now to be explained with new clearness, enforced by new motives and obligations, illustrated by a new example, and obeyed in a new manner.”
v35.-[By this shall all men know, etc.] There can be no mistake about these words. Love was to be the grand characteristic, the distinguishing mark of Christ’s disciples.
Let us note that our Lord does not name gifts, or miracles, or intellectual attainments, but love, the simple grace of love, a grace within reach of the poorest, lowliest believer, as the evidence of discipleship. No love, no grace, no regeneration, no true Christianity!
Musculus observes, with withering scorn, how little likeness there is between our Lord’s mark of discipleship, and the dresses, beads, fastings, and self-imposed austerities of the Church of Rome.
Let us note what a heavy condemnation this verse pronounces on sectarianism, bigotry, narrow-mindedness, party-spirit, strife, bitterness, needless controversy between Christian and Christian.
Let us note how far from satisfactory is the state of those who are content with sound doctrinal opinions, and orthodox correct views of the Gospel, while in their daily life they give way to ill temper, ill nature, malice, envy, quarrelling, squabbling, bickering, surliness, passion, snappish language, and crossness of word and manner. Such persons, whether they know it or not, are daily proclaiming that they are not Christ’s disciples. It is nonsense to talk about justification, and regeneration, and election, and conversion, and the uselessness of works, unless people can see in us practical Christian love.
Whitby remarks that in the primitive ages the mutual love of Christians was notorious among heathens. “See how these Christians love one another,” was a common saying, according to Tertullian. Even Julian the apostate proposed them to the heathen as a pattern in this respect.
v36.-[Simon Peter…Lord, whither goest Thou?] Here, as elsewhere, the forward, impulsive spirit of Peter prompts him to ask anxiously what our Lord meant by talking of going: “Whither goest Thou?” Can we doubt however that in this question he was the spokesman of all?
How very little the disciples had ever comprehended our Lord’s repeated saying that He must be taken prisoner, crucified, and die, we see in this place. Often as He had told them He must die, they had never realized it, and are startled when He talks of going away. It is marvelous how much religious teaching men may have, and yet not take it in, receive, or believe it, especially when it contradicts preconceived notions.
[Jesus answered him, etc.] Our Lord graciously explains here a part of His meaning. He does not explicitly tell Peter where He is going; but He tells him He is going to a place where Peter cannot follow Him now during his lifetime, but will follow Him after his death, at a future date. It is not unlikely, as Cyril observes, that these words, “Thou shalt follow Me,” pointed to the manner of Peter’s death by crucifixion. He was to walk in his Master’s steps, and enter heaven by the same road.
v37.-[Peter said…Lord, why…follow Thee now, etc.] This question shows how little Peter realized what our Lord fully meant, and the nearness of His death on the cross. “Why cannot I follow Thee now? Where is the place Thou art going to on earth, where I am not willing and ready to follow Thee? I love Thee so much, and am so determined to cling to Thee, that I am ready to lay down my life rather than be separate from Thee.”
These words were well meant, and Peter never doubted perhaps that he could stand to them. But he did not know his own heart. There was more feeling than principle in his declaration. He did not see all that was in himself.
Let us note the mischief of self-ignorance. Let us pray for humility. Let us beware of over-confidence in our own courage and steadfastness. Pride goeth before a fall.
v38.-[Jesus answered him, Wilt thou, etc.] Our Lord’s meaning appears to be, “Wilt thou really and truly lay down thy life for Me? Thou little knowest thy own weakness and feebleness. I tell thee in the most solemn answer, that this very night, before the cock crow, before sunrise, thou, even thou, wilt deny three times that thou knowest Me. So far from laying down thy life, thou wilt try to save thy life by cowardly denying that thou hast anything to do with Me.”
Let us note the wonderful foreknowledge of our Lord. What an unlikely thing it seemed that such a professor should fall so far and so soon. Yet our Lord foresaw it all!
Let us note the wonderful kindness and condescension of Jesus. He knew perfectly well the weakness and feebleness of His chief disciple, and yet never rejected him, and even raised him again after his fall. Christians should be men of very pitiful and tender feelings toward weak brethren. Their inconsistencies may be very great and provoking, but we must never forget our Lord’s dealing with Simon Peter.
Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels
Joh 13:31-32. When therefore he was gone out, Jesus saith, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him; and God shall glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. In the going out of Judas Jesus sees the disappearance of the last trace of the world from His presence. It is the token to Him, therefore, that the struggle is past, that the victory is won, that the moment of His glorification has arrived. To the eye of sense, indeed, it seems as if at that instant the powers of darkness triumphed. But that was only the outward aspect of the events now to be consummated. We are on the verge of the lifting on high; and in what the world thinks shame there really begins the brightest manifestation of the glory both of the Son and of the Father. Hence the emphatic Now with which Jesus introduces His words. The glorifying spoken of in the first two sentences is not to be distinguished from that of the last two, as if the former were the glory of suffering by which Jesus glorified the Father, the latter that of reward by which the Father glorified Him. It is throughout the same glory that is in view, and that not an outward but an inward glory; although the word glorify implies that what had been for a time veiled, obscured, is now made manifest in the brightness which is its true and proper characteristic. The glory spoken of is that of Sonship, the glory belonging to the Son as the absolutely perfect expression of the Father, and especially of that love of the Father which is the essential element of the Fathers being. This expression had been found in the Son, not only throughout the eternity preceding the foundation of the world, but also after He became Son of man; and it is to be particularly observed that it is of the glorifying of the Son of man that Jesus speaks in the words before us. His life on earth, not less than His previous life in heaven, had been the manifestation of the Fathers love. But its glory had not been seen. The worlds idea of glory was altogether different; it had misunderstood and persecuted, and was about to crucify, Him whose life of lowly and self-denying service in love had been the highest and most glorious expression of the love of God to sinful men. This had been the cloud obscuring the glory. But now, when the struggle was over,when, notwithstanding all appearances to the contrary, the lifting on high out of the earth (comp. on chap. Joh 12:32), the resurrection, the ascension, and the bestowal of the Spirit established the triumph of Jesus,the cloud was rolled away, and the glory always in Him, but hidden for a time, was to shine forth with an effulgence that all, though some unwillingly, should own. In this respect the Son of man is now glorified. Thus, also, God is glorified in Him; because it is seen that even all the humiliation and sufferings of His earthly state, flowing as they did from love, the expression as they were of love, are the manifestation of the love of God. Nor is this all, for God shall glorify Him in Himself; that is, shall bring out before the whole universe of being that the lowly, the crucified, Son of man is in Himself, one with Him, His Beloved in whom His soul is well pleased (Isa 42:1; Mat 12:18). Finally, God will do this straightway, for the moment of death, of resurrection, and of all that followed, is at hand. Can we fail to understand the triumphant Now of Jesus at the very instant when Judas was on his way to complete his treachery? But if there be triumph for Himself, what of His disciples?
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, 1. Our blessed Lord calls his death his glory: Now is the Son of man glorified; that is, now is the time at hand when I am to die, and shall by my death finish the work of man’s redemption, and thereby eminently glorify God. God the Father was eminently glorified in the obedience and sufferings of his dear and only Son. It is true that the sufferings of Christ were ignominious in themselves, yet were they the way to his own glory, and his Father’s also; for by them he redeemed a lost world, trampled upon Satan, triumphed over sin; and the Father was exceedingly glorified by the Son’s giving obedience to his will, and so cheerfully suffering: Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Joh 13:31-32. When he was gone out Having quitted the place in a mixture of rage and confusion, as being marked out both by Christs actions and words; Jesus said To the rest of the disciples, as they sat at the table with him; Now While I speak this; is the Son of man glorified Or, is just on the point of being glorified; and God is glorified in him Or, is about to be immediately glorified by the signal and extraordinary circumstances of his abasement and exaltation. And if God be glorified, &c. Or, as may be rendered, seeing God is glorified in him; God shall also glorify him, &c. That is, Seeing that he has already done great honour to God by the past actions of his life, and is about to honour him yet further by his sufferings and death, which will display the divine perfections, particularly Gods infinite love to men, in the most astonishing and amiable light; he is, in his turn, to receive glory from God; meaning, that in his human nature he was to be exalted to the highest dignity and power, or, as he himself expresses it, (Mat 28:18,) to all power, or authority, in heaven and in earth; and that his mission from God was immediately to be supported by irrefragable attestations.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
ADDITIONAL NOTES BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR.
Vv. 31-38.
1. The departure of Judas, leaving Jesus alone with His faithful disciples, turns His thoughts again to the glory and triumph awaiting Him, comp. Joh 12:23, but now both to the earthly (Joh 13:31) and the heavenly glory (Joh 13:32). A participation in this heavenly glory will be given to His followers also, but it cannot be now. In the intermediate period, while they were to be still on earth and in the midst of the unbelieving world, they would need some new uniting power to take the place, as it were, of His own personal presence. This power was to be in their love to one another. At this moment, and by the giving of the new commandment, Jesus seems, in a certain sense, to have formed the disciples into the Christian Church, as it was to exist on earth after His death.
2. The explanation of the new commandment is to be discovered in connection with this fact. The command consists, it may be said, of two elements love and one another. The newness of it cannot lie in love, for this command had belonged to the earlier teaching of Christ, and even of the Old Testament. It must, therefore, lie in the words one another. But these words, both because of the circumstances in which they were spoken and of the fact that, as related to men in general, they were not new, must have reference to the Christian company. The love enjoined is, accordingly, that which belongs to the membership of this company. Every member is to love every other member because of the common love of Christ to both. The measure of this love is indicated in the words as I have loved you, but this measure cannot be that of the absolute greatness of the love, for the capacities of Christ in this regard are beyond those of the disciples. The love to be exercised, we may also say, cannot be explained as the same in degree in all cases, for Christ did not love all the eleven disciples in equal degree. But He loved according to the possibilities of His nature, as affected by the circumstances of each case, and the disciples are, in like manner, to love one another according to the possibilities of their nature as affected by similar circumstances. This love, which was founded upon the common bond to the common Lord, was to be a power also upon the world, leading the world to know that they were His disciples, and thus turning the thoughts of the world to Him.
3. The conversation respecting Peter’s denials is represented here, quite evidently, as having taken place in the supper-room, for we cannot at all suppose that they went out from the room before Joh 14:31, if, indeed, they did before Joh 18:1. Luk 22:31 ff. also places the conversation before the departure from the room. On the other hand, Matthew and Mark place it after the departure and when they were on the way to the Mount of Olives. Meyer thinks that the conversation may have been twice repeated, in whole or in part, but such a repetition within the space of two or three hours seems quite improbable. It is more probable that the earlier Gospels have disregarded the exact order of time here.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
13:31 {3} Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, {g} Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
(3) We have to see the glorifying of Christ in his dishonour.
(g) This verse and the one following are a most plain and evident testimony to the divinity of Christ.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
1. The new commandment 13:31-35
Jesus began His instructions with His disciples’ most important responsibility.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
B. The Upper Room Discourse 13:31-16:33
Judas’ departure opened the way for Jesus to prepare His true disciples for what lay ahead for them. This teaching was for committed disciples only. Some writers have noted that in the Old Testament, as well as in ancient Near Eastern literature generally, the farewell sayings of famous individuals receive much attention (cf. Gen 47:29 to Gen 49:33; Joshua 23-24; 1 Chronicles 28-29). [Note: E.g., A. Lacomara, "Deuteronomy and the Farewell Discourse (John 13:31-16:33)," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 36 (1974):65-84.] This discourse preserves Jesus’ last and most important instructions in the fourth Gospel. One significant difference is that in His "farewell discourse" Jesus promised to return again (Joh 14:1-3).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Judas’ departure to meet with the chief priests signaled the beginning of the Son of Man’s glorification, which John recorded Jesus as consistently regarding as beginning with His arrest (cf. Joh 12:23). Note the Savior’s positive, albeit troubled, attitude toward the events that lay before Him (Joh 13:21). The title "Son of Man" unites the ideas of suffering and glory, as mentioned previously. This is the last of 12 occurrences of this title in John’s Gospel.
"In its general usage it is the title of the incarnate Christ who is the representative of humanity before God and the representative of deity in human life." [Note: Tenney, "John," p. 141.]
Jesus explained that His glorification would mean glory for the Father who would glorify the Son. Thus Jesus continued to stress His unity with the Father to help His disciples appreciate both His individual identity and His essential deity. The disciples would not have to wait long to see the Son’s glory.
How did Jesus glorify the Father? He explained how later: by finishing the work the Father gave Him to do (Joh 17:4). That is also how we glorify the Father.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
VIII. JESUS ANNOUNCES HIS DEPARTURE.
“When therefore he was gone out, Jesus saith, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; and God shall glorify Him in Himself, and straightway shall He glorify Him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek Me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say unto you. A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another. Simon Peter saith unto Him, Lord, whither goest Thou? Jesus answered, Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me now; but thou shalt follow afterwards. Peter saith unto Him, Lord, why cannot I follow Thee even now? I will lay down my life for Thee. Jesus answereth, Wilt thou lay down thy life for Me? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied Me thrice. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go, ye know the way.”– Joh 13:31 – Joh 14:4.
When Judas glided out of the supper-room on his terrible mission, a weight seemed to be lifted from the spirit of Jesus. The words which fell from Him, however, indicated that He not only felt the relief of being rid of a disturbing element in the company, but that He recognised that a crisis in His own career had been reached and successfully passed through. “Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.” In sending Judas forth He had in point of fact delivered Himself to death. He had taken the step which cannot be withdrawn, and He is conscious of taking it in fulfilment of the will of the Father. The conflict in His own mind is revealed only by the decision of the victory. No man in soundness of body and of mind can voluntarily give himself to die without seeing clearly other possibilities, and without feeling it to be a hard and painful thing to relinquish life. Jesus had made up His mind. His death is the beginning of His glorification. In choosing the cross He chooses the crown. “The Son of man is glorified” in His perfect self-sacrifice that wins all men to Him; and God is glorified in Him because this sacrifice is a tribute at once to the justice and the love of God. The Cross reveals God as nothing else does.
Not only has this decision glorified the Son of man and God through Him and in Him, but as a consequence “God will glorify” the Son of man “in Himself.” He will lift Him to participation in the Divine glory. It was well that the disciples should know that this would “straightway” result from all that their Master was now to pass through; that the perfect sympathy with the Father’s will which He was now showing would be rewarded by permanent participation in the authority of God. It must be through such an one as their Lord, who is absolutely at one with God, that God fulfils His purpose towards men. By this life and death of perfect obedience, of absolute devotedness to God and man, Christ necessarily wins dominion over human affairs and exercises a determining influence on all that is to be. In all that Christ did upon earth God was glorified; His holiness, His fatherly love were manifested to men: in all that God now does upon earth Christ will be glorified; the uniqueness and power of His life will become more manifest, the supremacy of His Spirit be more and more apparent.
This glorification was not the far-off result of the impending sacrifice. It was to date from the present hour and to begin in the sacrifice. God will glorify Him “straightway.” “Yet a little while” was He to be with His disciples. Therefore does He tenderly address them, recognising their incompetence, their inability to stand alone, as “little children”; and in view of the exhibition of bad feeling, and even of treachery, which the Twelve had at that very hour given, His commandment, “Love one another,” comes with a tenfold significance. I am leaving you, He says: put away, then, all heart-burnings and jealousies; cling together; do not let quarrels and envyings divide you. This was to be their safeguard when He left them and went where they could not come. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
The commandment to love our neighbour as ourselves was no new commandment. But to love “as I have loved you” was so new that its practice was enough to identify a man as a disciple of Christ. The manner and the measure of the love that is possible and that is commanded could not even be understood until Christ’s love was revealed. But probably what Jesus had even more directly in view was the love that was to bind His followers together[13] and make them one solid body. It was on their mutual attachment that the very existence of the Christian Church depended; and this love of men to one another springing out of the love of Christ for them, and because of their acknowledgment and love of a common Lord, was a new thing in the world. The bond to Christ proved itself stronger than all other ties, and those who cherished a common love to Him were drawn to one another more closely than even to blood relations. In fact, Christ, by His love for men, has created a new bond, and that the strongest by which men can be bound to one another. As the Christian Church is a new institution upon earth, so is the principle which forms it a new principle. The principle has, indeed, too often been hidden from sight, if not smothered, by the institution; too little has love been regarded as the one thing by which the disciple of Christ is to be recognised, the one note of the true Church. But that this form of love was a new thing upon earth is apparent.[14]
Tenderly as Jesus made the announcement of His departure, it filled the minds of the disciples with consternation. Even the buoyant and hardy Peter felt for the moment staggered by the intelligence, and still more by the announcement that he was not able to accompany his Lord. He was assured that one day he should follow Him, but at present this was impossible. This, Peter considered a reflection upon his courage and fidelity; and although his headlong self-confidence had only a few minutes before been so severely rebuked, he exclaims, “Lord, why cannot I follow Thee now? I will lay down my life for Thy sake.” This was the true expression of Peter’s present feeling, and he was allowed in the end to give proof that these vehement words were not mere bluster. But as yet he had not at all apprehended the separateness of his Lord and the uniqueness of His work. He did not know precisely what Jesus alluded to, but he thought a strong arm would not be out of place in any conflict that was coming. The offers which even true fidelity makes are often only additional hindrances to our Lord’s purposes, and additional burdens for Him to bear. On Himself alone must He depend. No man can counsel Him, and none can aid save by first receiving from Him His own spirit.
Peter thus rebuked falls into unwonted silence, and takes no further part in the conversation. The rest, knowing that Peter has more courage than any of them, fear that if he is thus to fall it cannot be hopeful for themselves. They feel that if they are left without Jesus they have no strength to make head against the rulers, no skill in argument such as made Jesus victorious when assailed by the scribes, no popular eloquence which might enable them to win the people. Eleven more helpless men could not well be. “Sheep without a shepherd” was not too strong an expression to depict their weakness and want of influence, their incompetence to effect anything, their inability even to keep together. Christ was their bond of union and the strength of each of them. It was to be with Him that they had left all. And in forsaking all–father and mother, wife and children, home and kindred and calling–they had found in Christ that hundredfold more even in this life which He had promised. He had so won their hearts, there was about Him something so fascinating, that they felt no loss when they enjoyed His presence, and feared no danger in which He was their leader. They had perhaps not thought very definitely of their future; they felt so confident in Jesus that they were content to let Him bring in His kingdom as He pleased; they were so charmed with the novelty of their life as His disciples, with the great ideas that dropped from His lips, with the wonderful works He did, with the new light He shed upon all the personages and institutions of the world, that they were satisfied to leave their hope undefined. But all this satisfaction and secret assurance of hope depended on Christ. As yet He had not given to them anything which could enable them to make any mark upon the world. They were still very ignorant, so that any lawyer could entangle and puzzle them. They had not received from Christ any influential position in society from which they could sway men. There were no great visible institutions with which they could identify themselves and so become conspicuous.
It was with dismay, therefore, that they heard that He was going where they could not accompany Him. A cloud of gloomy foreboding gathered on their faces as they lay round the table and fixed their eyes on Him as on one whose words they would interpret differently if they could. Their anxious looks are not disregarded. “Let not your heart be troubled,” He says: “believe in God, and in Me, too, believe.” Do not give way to disturbing thoughts; do not suppose that only failure, disgrace, helplessness, and calamity await you. Trust God. In this, as in all matters, He is guiding and ruling and working His own good ends through all present evil. Trust Him, even when you cannot penetrate the darkness. It is His part to bring you successfully through; it is your part to follow where He leads. Do not question and debate and vex your soul, but leave all to Him. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him who is the health of my countenance and my God.”
“And in Me, too, trust.” I would not leave you had I not a purpose to serve. It is not to secure My own safety or happiness I go. It is not to occupy the sole available room in My Father’s house. There are many rooms there, and I go to prepare a place for you. Trust Me. In order that they may fully understand the reasonableness of His departure He assures them, first of all, that it has a purpose. The parent mourns over the son who in mere waywardness leaves his home and his occupation; but with very different feelings does he follow one who has come to see that the greater good of the family requires that he should go, and who has carefully ascertained where and how he can best serve those he leaves behind. To such an absence men can reconcile themselves. The parting is bitter, but the greater good to be gained by it enables them to approve its reasonableness and to submit. And what our Lord says to His disciples is virtually this: I have not wearied of earth and tired of your company, neither do I go because I must. I could escape Judas and the Jews. But I have a purpose which requires that I should go. You have not found Me impulsive, neither am I now acting without good reason. Could I be of more use to you by staying, I would stay.
This is a new kind of assertion to be made by human lips: “I am going into the other world to effect a purpose.” Often the sense of duty has been so strong in men that they have left this world without a murmur. But no one has felt so clear about what lies beyond, or has been so confident of his own power to effect any change for the better in the other world, that he has left this for a sphere of greater usefulness. This is what Christ does.
But He also explains what His purpose is: “In My Father’s house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you.” The Father’s house was a new figure for heaven. The idea of God’s house was, however, familiar to the Jews. But in the Temple the freedom and familiarity which we associate with home were absent. It was only when One came who felt that His real home was in God that the Temple could be called “the Father’s house.” Yet there is nothing that the heart of man more importunately craves than the freedom and ease which this name implies. To live unafraid of God, not shrinking from Him, but so truly at one with Him that we live as one household brightened by His presence–this is the thirst for God which is one day felt in every heart. And on His part God has many mansions in His house, proclaiming that He desires to have us at home with Him; that He wishes us to know and trust Him, not to change our countenances when we meet Him at a corner, save by an added brightness of joy. And this is what we have to look forward to–that after all our coldness and distrust have been removed and our hearts thawed by His presence, we shall live in the constant enjoyment of a Father’s love, feeling ourselves more truly at home with Him than with any one else, delighting in the perfectness of His sympathy and the abundance of His provision.
Into this intimacy with God, this freedom of the universe, this sense that “all things are ours” because we are His, this entirely attractive heaven, we are to be introduced by Christ. “I go to prepare a place for you.” It is He who has transformed the darkness of the grave into the bright gateway of the Father’s home, where all His children are to find eternal rest and everlasting joy. As an old writer says, “Christ is the quartermaster who provides quarters for all who follow Him.” He has gone on before to make ready for those whom He has summoned to come after Him.
If we ask why it was needful that Christ should go forward thus, and what precisely He had to do in the way of preparation, the question may be answered in different ways. These disciples in after-years compared Christ’s passing into the Father’s presence to the high priest’s entrance within the veil to present the blood of sprinkling and to make intercession. But in the language of Christ there is no hint that such thoughts were in His mind. It is the Father’s house that is in His mind, the eternal home of men; and He sees the Father welcoming Him as the leader of many brethren, and with gladness in His heart going from room to room, always adding some new touch for the comfort and surprise of the eagerly expected children. If God, like a grieved and indignant father whose sons have preferred other company to his, had dismantled and locked the rooms that once were ours, Christ has made our peace, and has given to the yearning heart of the Father opportunity to open these rooms once more and deck them for our home-coming. With the words of Christ there enters the spirit a conviction that when we pass out of this life we shall find ourselves as much fuller of life and deeper in joy as we are nearer to God, the source of all life and joy; and that when we come to the gates of God’s dwelling it will not be as the vagabond and beggar unknown to the household and who can give no good account of himself, but as the child whose room is ready for him, whose coming is expected and prepared for, and who has indeed been sent for.
This of itself is enough to give us hopeful thoughts of the future state. Christ is busied in preparing for us what will give us satisfaction and joy. When we expect a guest we love and have written for, we take pleasure in preparing for his reception,–we hang in his room the picture he likes; if he is infirm, we wheel in the easiest chair; we gather the flowers he admires and set them on his table; we go back and back to see if nothing else will suggest itself to us, so that when he comes he may have entire satisfaction. This is enough for us to know–that Christ is similarly occupied. He knows our tastes, our capabilities, our attainments, and he has identified a place as ours and holds it for us. What the joys and the activities and occupations of the future shall be we do not know. With the body we shall lay aside many of our appetites and tastes and proclivities, and what has here seemed necessary to our comfort will at once become indifferent. We shall not be able to desire the pleasures that now allure and draw us. The need of shelter, of retirement, of food, of comfort, will disappear with the body; and what the joys and the requirements of a spiritual body will be we do not know. But we do know that at home with God the fullest life that man can live will certainly be ours.
It is a touching evidence of Christ’s truthfulness and fidelity to His people that is given in the words, “If it were not so, I would have told you”–that is to say, if it had not been possible for you to follow Me into the Father’s presence and find a favourable reception there, I would have told you this long ago. I would not have taught you to love Me, only to have given you the grief of separation. I would not have encouraged you to hope for what I was not sure you are to receive. He had all along seen how the minds of the disciples were working; He had seen that by being admitted to familiarity with Him they had learnt to expect God’s eternal favour; and had this been a deceitful expectation He would have undeceived them. So it is with Him still. The hopes His word begets are not vain. These dreams of glory that pass before the spirit that listens to Christ and thinks of Him are to be realised. If it were not so, He would have told us. We ourselves feel that we are scarcely acting an honest part when we allow persons to entertain false hopes, even when these hopes help to comfort and support them, as in the case of persons suffering from disease. So our Lord does not beget hopes He cannot satisfy. If there were still difficulties in the way of our eternal happiness, He would have told us of these. If there were any reason to despair, He Himself would have been the first to tell us to despair. If eternity were to be a blank to us, if God were inaccessible, if the idea of a perfect state awaiting us were mere talk, He would have told us so.
Neither will the Lord leave His disciples to find their own way to the Father’s home: “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” Present separation was but the first step towards abiding union. And as each disciple was summoned to follow Christ in death, he recognised that this was the summons, not of an earthly power, but of his Lord; he recognised that to him the Lord’s promise was being kept, and that he was being taken into eternal union with Jesus Christ. From many all the pain and darkness of death have been taken away by this assurance. They have accepted death as the needful transition from a state in which much hinders fellowship with Christ to a state in which that fellowship is all in all.
FOOTNOTES:
[13] “That ye love one another” is the twice-expressed commandment.
[14] “Any Church that professes to be the Church of Christ cannot be that Church. The true Church refuses to be circumscribed or parted by any denominational wall. It knows that Christ is repudiated when His people are repudiated. Not even a Biblical creed can yield satisfactory evidence that a specified Church is the true Church. True Christians are those who love one another across denominational differences, and exhibit the spirit of Him who gave Himself to death upon the cross that His murderers might live.”