So our text will be in John 13, 31 through 38. And I have to say that when you preach expository in a consecutive fashion, you're forced to deal with all the scripture. And I know that sometimes I probably don't treat every verse equally. I'm sure I don't. Today, in reading this, I am blessed once again. After having studied it and read it earlier, I felt that it was a difficult, somewhat difficult passage to consider preaching out of. But needless to say, when you spend time in it, it changes. So I want to read, I want to set the stage just a little bit, if you remember in this text, last time we looked at the betrayal of Christ foretold, where Christ literally pointed out to, I think primarily to Judas himself. That he knew that he would betray him but Christ introduced the concept at least to his disciples that there's one among you that will betray me and And that was the preceding text here from verses 18 through 30. And before that, if you remember, we had the text of him washing feet. And this setting is the night before his crucifixion. This is the closing address to his disciples before he goes to the cross. And verses, chapter 13, as he secluded himself that evening with his disciples, chapter 13 was with the 12, okay. Now, as we move into our text today, we see Judas leaving, and now it's only his 11 disciples for the remainder of the upper room discourse that goes all the way to the end of chapter 16, followed by that beautiful prayer that our Lord offered in chapter 17. And then chapter 18 goes into the trial and the crucifixion of the Lord. Let's read here, so that's a bit of the setting, this is the night before he is to be crucified, and he is sequestered with his disciples in a very private place, and with Judas now gone from their midst, I think he speaks even more intimately, he speaks more clearly, maybe, with Judas out of their, of their presence. So let's begin. We'll read the text, John 13 beginning in verse 31. So when he had gone out, and this is speaking of Judas, when he had gone out, Jesus said, now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and glorify him immediately. Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek me, and as I said to the Jews, where I am going, you cannot come. So now I say to you, a new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. I think I'll reread verse 33. I think I gave the wrong inflection there. Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek me. And as I said to the Jews, where I'm going, you cannot come, so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus answered him, where I am going, you cannot follow me now, but you shall follow me afterward. Peter said to him, Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for your sake. Jesus answered him, Will you lay down your life for my sake? Most assuredly I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied me three times. So, this morning the title would simply be, Do You Belong? It's a question, do you belong? So when we look here, our text marks the end of Judas' association with the disciples and the Lord. And the next time that you see Judas in scripture, it's in chapter 18, where he's coming with, he's leading the attachment of soldiers and the chief priests and the scribes, armed and Coming with him in the account in John. It doesn't it doesn't say that he introduced or That he introduced Jesus with a kiss But in other scriptures itself tells us that he approached and that was the sign that Judas had given to the others him whom I kiss Grab him. That's well We see that in John in chapter 18 we see Judas on the side of the enemies. He is with the enemies of the Lord, leading them to capture Christ, and after years of interaction with the disciples of Christ and with the Lord himself, Judas finally shows his true colors. Judas shows his true colors. In verse 21, I mean verse 29, if you back up just a little bit, Judas has the money box there in for some thought because Judas had the money box that Jesus had said to him by those things we need for the feasts or that he should give something to the poor and we know that this indicates that Judas was a treasurer of the group and His heart brothers and sisters was in that box and That's where Judas's heart was. He was not interested in being in the congregation of the disciples and of the Lord himself. He actually traded. the fellowship there with them for the darkness of night. He went out immediately, in verse 30, and it was night. And I want to read a little bit in John 12, in verse 4. John 12 and verse 4. And this is breaking into this account where Mary had anointed the Lord with this fragrant ointment. And in verse four, one of his disciples, no other than Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him, said, why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? Well, that sounds very pious, doesn't it? Well, we have somebody breaking this alabaster box of fragrant oil onto the Lord, and it runs everywhere, and the whole house is filled with the fragrance. And Judas says, well, this is a very expensive oil. We could have redeemed this. Wouldn't have had to been wasted, so to speak. And it's gone now. There's no way to bring it back. And it was worth, I think, what is it, a denarius? I think it's a day's wages, maybe. It's about a year's wage for someone. If you were to work your whole year, you might have been able to buy this box of fragrant oil. Well, so Judas says, why was this not sold and we could have helped so many people. We could have helped the homeless. We could have put food on their table. Well, what did the Lord say? This, in verse six, Judas said of him, this he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. And he had the money box and he used to take what was put into it. He's seen an opportunity that, boy, this would have been just put into. The treasury, I could have lived well off of it for a couple days. But Jesus said, leave her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial. For the poor you have with you always, but me you do not have always. Now this is where it gets interesting. In the Matthew and the Mark account, it is here following this occasion where this lady shared her life savings with Jesus that following that It's it's where Judas went to the scribes and Pharisees and says look I Want to what will you give me that I might betray this that I might betray Christ It was following that account both in Matthew and Mark that he seemed like that was the tipping point for Judas He said okay I am going to see what I can get secretly from the scribes and the Pharisees by betraying the Lord." And so he contracted for 30 pieces of silver. So his heart was not with Christ. He did not, in a sense, belong there. And that is found in Matthew 26 in verse 14 and in Mark 14 in verse 10. If you would read that, you would see that that seems to be the tipping point in the life of Judas and his walk with the Lord that he said, I am going to betray him and I'm going to see what I can get. Now we see that Judas loved money and Satan used that. Satan used that to get into his heart. If you go back just, just a little bit, in John 13, in verse two, it says, in supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. And then in verse 27, that was last time that we spoke out of John, we see that now after the piece of bread, that one where Christ had given it to him, that Jesus said to him, or after that piece of bread, Satan entered Judas. Satan literally, literally possessed Judas. He was demon possessed, but by Satan himself. Then Jesus said to him, what you do, do quickly. So in verse 31, it says it very simply, very simply. So when he had gone out, when he had departed from them. And I had to think of John 2, 1 John 2, an epistle of 1 John in chapter 2 in verses 18 and 19. You don't have to turn there, but I want to read this for you. Little children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made manifest that none of them were of us. Now listen, when it says in John 13, in verse 31 that he had gone out. That is what happened here. This marks the end of Judas' association with the Twelve and with the Lord. Yes, they had interaction later, but this is that mark of separation. There is already a spiritual distinction and separation. It's been there all along. That was in place. There was a spiritual and distinction and separation in the life of Judas in relation to the disciples and the Lord. But there is coming a day and a time when that spiritual separation will become physical. It will become physical, has to. Right now we live in a time where someone can be an imposter. They can be among us. They can sit here with us. They can be a part of us to a degree. But the fact of the matter is that the Church of Jesus Christ is a spiritual entity. And unless someone is spiritually born again, unless they have been dealt with spiritually, there is a current separation and distinction made when somebody is an imposter. They can sit with us, we might not know where they are, but there is a separation. And it has to become physical at some point. It will always become physical at some point. Has to become physical. Because there is no abiding the wicked with the just in glory. It's just not going to happen. So maybe this separation, this physical separation, is at the judgment at the end of time. Or maybe it's by apostasy in time, where someone finally has enough and they say, well, this just doesn't scratch my itch anymore. I am done with this. I am going to leave the assembly of the saints. I am going to leave like Judas did. There's that case of apostasy where where someone leaves off their profession, that doesn't mean that they were ever of us, as 1 John says, they were not of us. They went out from us, if they had been of us, they would have no doubt continued with us. But brothers and sisters, Judas' heart was not with them. And if our heart is not with Christ, it is with something else. It is with some other thing and will ultimately be revealed. I can assure you that Judas was going to be uncovered somewhere along the line. And here in verse 31, here is where it happened. This was the physical separation that coincided, that finally agreed with his spiritual status. He was ultimately exposed. So Jesus had dealt with Judas gently, even discreetly, in the previous text, where there's some question that maybe John was the only one who knew. Remember, Peter beckoned to John, asked the Lord, who it is, if you remember that. And because of John's close proximity to the Lord, it is thought that Jesus may just have whispered to John, said, give the bread to, that is the one." Because when Jesus told Judas, after he had given him the bread, there's some indication that they didn't know. It says clearly, actually, in this text in John, that no one at the table knew for what reason he told him, what you do, do quickly. So, not sure, but Jesus dealt with this imposture in a gracious manner. He didn't just call him out and call him to the carpet and say this, this, and this. No, he discreetly, Judas knew that Jesus knew. I believe firmly that Judas knew that. And here was that Judas ultimately followed his heart. and he went out, because he had already contracted to betray him, he followed his heart. And so after he left, Jesus begins this, after he left, Jesus begins this lengthy teaching, as I mentioned earlier, known as the Upper Room Discourse, and that is where we are now in our text. He is in a place of privacy with his beloved disciples, with his beloved 11. In John 13, in the end of verse one, it says that, Jesus knew that his hour had come and that he should depart from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. A beautiful picture here of the Lord gently spending this time with them. In this verse 33, he begins with little children. This is the first time this term of endearment is used with the disciples, and it's interesting that Judas was no longer there. After Judas left, he addressed the eleven, little children, I shall be with you for a little while longer. Now I want to back up to verse 31 and verse 32. I want to spend some time here considering what the Lord was saying in verse 31 and verse 32. Let me read it again. So when he had gone out, Jesus said, Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and glorify him immediately. What does he mean here by this idea of being glorified? Well, in John 12 in verse 23, Jesus answers them saying, This is what Jesus is saying that the hour has come that he would be sacrificed, that he would be given as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity, that he would be offered up As he notes in verse 27 of chapter 12, Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name. And so here he's saying that the Son of Man will be glorified. Now the Son of Man is glorified. And I think that he is looking ahead. He is looking ahead just a few short hours and recognizing that he is but, what is it? This is after dark, obviously, it's night. But by 12 o'clock the next day, he is on the cross until three o'clock. That is the hour, I believe it's from 12 o'clock to three o'clock that it was dark. And so he is just a few short hours from the cross. And this idea of glorification, it comes from the Greek word, doxazo, which simply means to render glorious. Jesus said, I will be rendered glorious or esteemed glorious. And it's from this word doxa, that it comes from the family of words that we get the word doxology. And in many ways that's what we're doing here this morning in our time of worship is that we're raising up, we're rendering glorious the Lord Jesus Christ. We're rendering glorious God the Father. And we're giving praise and adoration in our doxology. that it is us here glorifying the Lord Jesus. And Jesus, looking ahead to his crucifixion and death, he is saying, now the Son of Man is glorified. The stage is set. Everything is in place for the preceding events to glorify the Son of Man. He says, my suffering will glorify me, and not only me, but my Father is glorified in me. And I was just really, really blessed by this, by what he was saying here in verses 31 and 32. Think with me a little bit. You know, God's glory is evident in creation and in providence. We know that God is glorified by his creation. We see his awesome power in the scale and in the scope of the universe. We see his amazing order and wisdom in caring for and sustaining the natural world. I mean, we recognize these things. In Psalm 19 verse 1, for instance, he says, the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork. We understand that when there's a sunset, it is speaking of God's glory. Or when there's a thunderstorm, it's a glorious thing. We had the northern lights here just the other night. It's a demonstration of the glory of God. That the heavens declare the glory of God. That creation does this, it glorifies the creator. You know, I think of this time of the year, the turkey, the wild turkeys are on their nest. The female deer are carrying their young. Very soon will they give birth. These are all demonstrations of the infinite wisdom and glory of the creator. The earth declares the glory of God. And that's what Jesus is saying here now in verse 31, that what he is about to go through is going to declare the glory of God. that in redemption, it is found in redeeming mankind from sin and our own undoing that God's glorious character and nature is most prominently displayed. His glory shines forth more vividly in the redemption story than in any other avenue. I mean, for instance, does God's justice shine forth in his creation? Not necessarily. Does his mercy shine forth in a glorious sunset? Well, not necessarily. Does his grace shine forth? Yes, his grace does shine forth in Providence. It's called common grace. It's that grace that is brought to us, to all of us, whether believing or unbelieving. But it is in the redemption story that his character truly shines. That it is here that his grace, his glory is most vividly displayed. That's what Jesus is saying. At the cross, at my crucifixion, and at my death, the glory of God is going to be displayed because God was infinitely, infinitely declaring His justice against sin. His righteousness was on full display at the death of Christ. But then His mercy and His grace toward fallen humanity was on display along with that. You see how God's justice and His mercy have met on the cross. That is what I believe the Lord is saying here. That the Son of Man is going to be glorified and God is glorified in Him. That it is here that the glory of God is most prominently displayed. It is here that the church, it is because of this occasion that the church can come together 52 times a year and celebrate the Lord's Supper and it not become old. Because in it is the most glorious picture of the nature and character of God toward his people. And so Jesus is saying that the stage is set for this glorification to occur, for these events that will ultimately glorify me and my Father. Now is the time. It is coming. It is here. It is here. I want to just look at a few cases in the scripture where it speaks about this truth. of how God was glorified in Christ. A very familiar passage, for instance, in 1 Corinthians 1, in verse 23 and 24, or we could back up to verse 22, for Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified to the Jews as stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness. Okay, so on the one hand there are people who you can preach them to them about the glories of Christ and how he is glorified in his crucifixion and death and they just it's a stumbling block and to the heathen it's jibber jabber, it's foolishness, it says nothing. But notice what he says in verse 24, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of Almighty God and the wisdom of God. Christ is the power and the wisdom of God. That is what he means to us, that in Christ Jesus, The power of God is on display and the wisdom of God is on display. And then you have it in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 in verse 6. I'm beginning in verse 5, for we do not preach, this is 2 Corinthians 4 verses 5 and 6, for we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. It took me a long time for all those phrases to make sense in my head. But it is God who shines the light, the one who commanded light back in Genesis 1. He shone in our hearts to give us the knowledge. that the glory of God is contained in the face of Jesus Christ. That when you see Jesus, when you see his ministry, his sacrifice, his crucifixion, his death, that you are beholding the glory of God in the person of the Lord Jesus. See, that's why the Lord Jesus does not become old to us, because he is the glory of God. He is the outshining of the wonderful character of Almighty God. And then in our own gospel, according to John, in John 1.14, it says this way, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And then lastly, I would like for you to turn with me to Romans 5 as we think about the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. As we think about verses 31 and 32 of our text about how what Christ was making a statement, now am I glorified. In Romans 5 beginning in verse 6, Romans 5 and verse 6. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the worthy? No. No, he died for the ungodly. While we were still without Notice that. Verse six, when we were still without strength, when we were completely unable or weak and yes, completely spiritually unable, Christ died for the ungodly, those who were against God. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But verse eight, But God demonstrates his own love toward us. Now, that is what I'm talking about in this idea of glorification, is that the glory of God is on display in a certain way. And here he says in verse eight, but God shows forth, or he exposes, or he demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Verse 10, for if when we were enemies, just follow the logic here, for if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more now, now that we're reconciled because Christ died for us, Much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received that reconciliation. Now, if God is not glorified in verses 6 through 11, in our complete inability in redeeming and bringing mankind to a place of reconciliation in Jesus Christ, then I don't know where to take you. I mean, this passage is so full of saying that we were over here, God was over here, and he redeemed us, he brought us near. through Christ, and this is the glorification of God in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. That is, I would appeal to you, is what he is referring to here in John 31 and 32. Now the Son of Man is glorified. He is lifted up and rendered glorious because of his character. He is rendered glorious or he is esteemed to be full of glory. That's what that word means. The Son of Man is glorified and God is likewise in him. So now in verse 32, if God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and that immediately. Basically, I think what Jesus is saying that there's not gonna be a long period between the glorification of Christ on the cross and God glorifying him, which is, by the way, was a mere 40 days following the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Something like 40 days that the son was likewise glorified by the father, you see. He was glorified in His ascension and His exaltation. He was glorified in His resurrection first, and then He was glorified in His ascension, and then ultimately He is glorified in the exaltation where God the Father says that He would set Him at His own right hand until all His enemies have bowed before Him. And so, verse 32 is simply saying, but if God is glorified in Christ, God will also glorify the Son, and that quickly, or immediately, as it says here. You see, there's a longer period between the glorification of God's children, a lot of times, than the glorification of the Son. He was almost immediately glorified following his crucifixion. I want to note something as we think about this glorification of Christ and the Father, that this is not something that is removed from us. Because in John 17, verse 10, Jesus prays this way. He says, and all mine are yours. and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them." You see, those who are in Christ, who are God's children, are currently glorifying the Lord. They are glorifying Him. He says Himself, I am glorified in them. The beautiful, a beautiful thought that you and I can be a part of this glorification of this great God who the heavens declare it. And we, as little ants here, we get to do it as well. And we have it also in John 21, 19. And this is interesting here in John 21, is that it's referring to Peter. Peter himself, as he is one of the characters in our text, But in John 21, he says this way about, we remember how Jesus said, feed my sheep, feed my lambs. And he says in verse 18, most assuredly I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish. This he spoke, signifying by what death Peter would glorify God. See, the death that Peter died, what was it? Inverted, he was, I believe he was crucified upside down, and that death that Peter died was a glorification of God. To me, it's exciting when you begin to recognize that you and I can be a part of this, of glorifying God. And we see that continually through scripture, that that is our ultimate, that that's the ultimate end of who we are as children of God. Why does He not take us immediately? We are left here as a witness to glorify God. We are to show forth the glories of our sacrifice. the Lord Jesus. And so we recognize here in John 13, where Christ said that the Father would glorify Him as well. And I believe that would fit in exactly even with the fact that we will be a part of the glorification of the Lord. We will get to be with Him and rule and reign with the Lord. And that glorification becomes A part of that becomes ours, so to speak, through this great sacrifice of the Lord. So moving on, I want to move down in the text here. So we have this glorious sacrifice, this glorious work of redemption in the background of what he now teaches. Notice in verse 33 through 35, I'll read that again. Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek me. And as I said to the Jews, where I am going, you cannot come. So now I say to you, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another." So what we see before I get into verses 33 and 35, I just wanted to mention this yet, is that when Jesus looked toward the cross, which was just hours away, he seen the glorification, didn't he? He seen, now is the Son of Man glorified. He did not linger on the sacrifice, on the incredible and the incredible trial that it was going to be. No, he looked past it to the glorification. And I think that is something that we need to do. We need to learn to do that. As we are in this life, in our trials that we have, we need to look past to that time when we too will share in his glory. So now Jesus is teaching them. He says, I am going away. I'm leaving you. And he gives the governing principle that is to guide them while he's away. That is to guide them in his absence. He says, where I'm going, you cannot come. Now, he said the same thing to the Jews back in chapter eight, verse 21. He said to the Jews, you can't come. But there are different reasons here. Back in John 8, 21, he says to the Jews, where I'm going, you can't come. You're gonna die in your sins because of your unbelief. That's why you cannot come, he says. Now there's a different reason given here, but for the disciples, For the Jews, it was unbelief. For the disciples, it's unfinished work. As in verse 36, Simon Peter said to him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus answered him, where I'm going, you cannot follow me now. Currently, you can't come, but you shall follow me afterward. You shall come later. And we'll get into that, but here he's giving them this Governing principle in verse 34, a new commandment I give to you. Well, we know that even in the Old Testament, they were told that you shall love your God and then you shall love your neighbor as yourself. So how is this new? Well, I would submit to you that there are three reasons given here for loving one another. And the first one is simply that it's the commandment. Jesus gave a commandment. But then he put this other qualifier in here. He says, that you love one another as I have loved you. Interesting is that the second reason that we should love one another is that we have this example of the love of Christ for us. And then thirdly, we should love one another because it's the mark of identification of who we belong to. It says simply here, by this all will know that you belong to me, that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. So we have those three ideas here, the commandment, the example, and the fact that it is an identifying mark of the disciples of Christ, is that they love each other. And so it's a new commandment in the sense of a new example and of a new power. There is new power that is given to the disciples of Christ to live this out. He says, as I have loved you. That sacrificial love that is undeserved by those who receive it. You see, if you go back in Romans 5 where I read that, that glorious display where God demonstrated his love toward us while we were yet sinners, now Christ is saying, you're to love one another in that same fashion. Just, we have to get over the fact that somebody does not need to be deserving of your love for you to give it. Actually, that's why, that's what we're taught. That's the new commandment, that you love people who are unloving. You love them when they are not likable, when you don't want to love them. You're called to love them. because we are to love as he loved. Now that takes it to a completely different place, doesn't it? You know, you love your neighbor because he reciprocates. See, this lines up with that idea that you love those who are against you. You love your enemies in the Sermon on the Mount. But here it uniquely says that, hey, I think we all know that to live together in fellowship in a congregation, it is very possible for you to rub shoulders and elbows in such a way that it is uncomfortable. I mean, surely we have experienced that. But there is that principle that is to guide us in the absence of the Lord Jesus. I am leaving, but I'm giving you the principle that you are to live by in my absence, and that is that you love in the same fashion as I loved you when you were unlovable, from a human perspective, I loved you. When you were enemies outside of the realm of even the children of God, I loved you. When you were without strength, when you were without ability, I loved you. You see, you have this glorified love as our example. And this love, brothers and sisters, it is not only You know, this sacrificial love of the Lord Jesus is not only the new standard of loving one another in the church, but it is also that motivating power behind the ability to love one another. You see, because as Romans 5, and I did not read that, but Romans 5 says that the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. which he has given to us, that fruit of the Holy Spirit is called, first of all, in Galatians 5, 22, first of all called love. And so, if we then belong by the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, truly, surely, now we can love one another. We can love now as He loved us. That's that new commandment that I give to you. And so that we love one another as He loved us. So we have this ability, this new ability to love by that Holy Spirit indwelling us who is the Spirit of love. And then I want to give you another reason, not in the text, but by the author of this gospel. He says this in 1 John 3. Let's just hear this for what it's worth in relating. Remember the title is simply, Do You Belong? Well, In 1 John 3.14 it says this, We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Well, how do you know that you love your brother? How do you know that you love your brother? Because if you truly love your brother, you know that you've passed from death to life. Let me ask you, do you sacrifice for your brother? Do you lift up your brother? Do you sacrificially help your brother in a way that is that he doesn't deserve? Do we sacrificially minister to one another in ways that we do not expect reciprocation, where he does it back to me? When this sort of love is manifested, then you know And everybody else knows that you're disciples of Christ. So it's this love from Christ to each other is the mark of identification that we are disciples of Christ. He who loved us with a glorious love. By this all will know that you belong. You know, I found it interesting here in this short little text in verse 31 through 35. Verse 31 begins with someone leaving. I don't love these people. I love the money box. I'm leaving. I made a contract with the devil. I'm going to betray this man. And so we see one leaving. And then Jesus on the other side, on the flip side, he says, Oh, this is how you know that you belong in the conference of the disciples and followers of Christ is if they love each other. You see, Judas loved the money more than he loved the association with the disciples. He loved that. He loved that more than giving himself in the assembly of God's people. And so this love is, listen, it's really super hard to define it. It is simply you living and me living for the good of another. And that is the mark of the disciples of Christ. Sacrificial love, one for the other. And that is because that is how we were brought into this association, this church, this society of disciples. So he withdrew, and it was evident he loved money more than the company of the Lord and his disciples. Now lastly, just a few minutes here, is Peter's self-confidence. Don't you just love Peter? He said, Lord, where are you going? And Jesus answered, where I'm going, you can't follow right now, but you shall follow me afterward. How many times do we say with Peter in verse 37, Peter said to him, Lord, why? How many times do we say, Lord, why? You know what the Lord answered him? because you don't have the strength you think you do. You're not in the place where you're able to follow me right now. You cannot bear up with what's coming down the pike. You think you have it together, but Peter, for instance, before the rooster crows in a couple hours, you're going to deny me not once, not twice, but three times. And yes, it's going to come at you in a sudden fashion, and it's different from the premeditation of Judas when he was betraying Christ. It's different. We understand that. Judas premeditated it. Peter did not, it just was sprung on him. But he denied the Lord to a servant girl. Do you understand that it wasn't the high priest who said, thus and thus, did you follow him? No, it was not under oath or under the inquisition of Pilate, none of that. It was just a servant girl who was out here stirring the coals. Weren't you with him? No. You see how it sprung on him and he was not among his peers anymore. Now he's cast out into this place where he was in enemy territory and Peter was suddenly not as confident as he thought. I had a note here, and I'm not sure where it got to, but I had a note that I wanted to consider. Yes, not only did Peter not follow, but denied ever following. You see that? Not only was he not following the Lord at that point, when he was asked, he denied that he ever did follow. And he did that not once, not twice, but three times. And what we get out of this is Peter was quite sure that he would follow the Lord, and we have the Lord saying in verse 36, Peter, you will indeed follow me later. And we know that Peter did not only follow the Lord to the cross and to his death, but we believe that Peter also followed the Lord to his crown, to that crown of rejoicing, as he refers to in 1 Peter 5. And so, this, we see Peter belonging, but failing. We see the Lord graciously, later on in the end of this gospel, restoring him to fellowship. A beautiful picture of the Lord providing for him. But we see Judas, on the other hand, not one of them. And he left them and was separated forever from the company of the Lord and from his people. But we see Peter restored. And so my question to you is, do you belong? Do you belong? Where do you belong? Is there a place you would rather be, right this minute, a place you would rather be than in the association of God's people? I know these are challenging questions, but I think we should ask them honestly. I come to, on the way here, two men I respect, One was out spraying his fruit trees. Another was out closing a gate that must have been working his cattle. And I thought, two men that I know and I admire. I appreciate them. But do we recognize that, and they would both lament the decay in our culture, but do we recognize that the decay in our culture is from the downfall of the church? And they are not in the assembly. of God's people. Why not? Why not? Why are we not in the assembly of God's people? It's because our heart is somewhere else. It's because sometimes it's in the money box. And so the challenge is, where do we belong? Because if we love one another, it becomes evident where we belong. And it says here very clearly that all will know that we are the disciples of Christ. Let's have a word of prayer and then we'll be dismissed. Father God, we Thank you for this passage of scripture. We thank you for your revelation to us and how it plows our heart, how it investigates who we are, who we belong to. Father, I pray that your Holy Spirit would just simply take this word here in John chapter 13, 31, through the end of the chapter, and it would find us, it would investigate us, it would find out where we belong. Lord, we delight in the truths of your word, and we thank you, Father, for this word, and that you are glorified, and that Christ is glorified, and that we get to join in to this glorification. of our God. And so today, we ask your blessing on each one here, that you would go with us through our coming week. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you so much for your kind attention. We'll be dismissed.