We are returning again to the Gospel of John Chapter 13. Before we come to the preaching of God's Word, let us again just take a moment to pray for the Saviour's help in the declaring forth of His Word and also in the rejoicing that we feel as believers to be able to say that we have Jesus. Better still, that He has us. Father in heaven, we rejoice in that wonderful knowledge that not only is the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, but that we are his people. We thank thee that we are defined as the sheep of his pasture, and he our good sheep. O that he might continue to lead and to guide us, even through the still waters and through the green pastures. And when that day comes when we must pass through the valley of the shadow of death, even there we will fear no evil, for Thou art with us, and Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort us. We realize that there is coming a day when we will be brought forever into the presence of Him who loves us and give Himself for us. What a day of rejoicing that will be! And so, Lord, we pray that Thou would equip us even now for life upon earth in preparation of eternal life in heaven, that our lives would be ever and more entwined with Christ, that it would be less of us that is saved and more of our Saviour, and that each day we would seek to live for his praise and his honour, that those who see us might see Christ living in us. We pray for help now as we contemplate the word of God open before us. Give us understanding of the scriptures that we have read, and of their meaning and their application to our lives, and that truly we might know the blessing of God upon us this day, that blessing that maketh rich, and that hath no sorrow with it. May that be our portion, we ask once again in the Saviour's name. Amen. There are three aspects of the passage before us this morning that we want to consider, hence the title of our sermon, A Betrayal, a Denial and a New Commandment. We've been brought into the upper room as John opens up this thirteenth chapter. And it's almost as if, I don't know if you've ever been in a restaurant and you find yourself overhearing the conversation from the table beside you. Well, that's something similar to what we are able to do in this portion. But this isn't idle chit-chat at the next table. The words of our Saviour in John 13 are every bit as much for us as they were for those men seated around the table in His presence. And as we listen to the Lord Jesus Christ in these verses before us, We are reminded of what a great Lord and Saviour He is and what a wonderful love He possesses for us. And of course we are reminded of how we are supposed to love Him and indeed those around us because He first loved us. So what we're going to do this morning is take an imaginary seat at this table. and to lean in closely as John did before us, and listen carefully to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 18, we are reminded that the Lord Jesus, while speaking to all of the disciples, is not speaking about all of them. When He said that they were all clean, He reminds them that there was one that was not. Because He says, I know whom I have chosen. The Lord Jesus has hand-picked every single one of these men, and He knows them thoroughly and completely. Now, the Lord Jesus is speaking directly to His disciples, and specifically to Judas and to Peter. And we are reminded just how intimately the Saviour is familiar with them. In fact, the Lord Jesus knows us better than we know Him. In fact, He knows us better than what we actually know ourselves. And we ought to consider this passage this morning and to see firstly the betrayal that is taking place. In verse 20, the Lord Jesus reminds them of the wonderful connection to Him and His mission. He says, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send, receiveth me. And he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me." So whoever receives the Lord Jesus Christ, receives the Father. And whoever receives the disciples that He sends out in His name, receives Heaven. The Lord Jesus, as He speaks this wonderful promise for the spreading of the gospel, that those who hear and believe receive Him, and in doing so receive the Father. As he speaks this wonderful promise, his heart is broken, for he knows that there is One before him who will fulfill a very different kind of mission, an evil one. And so in verse 18, the Lord Jesus Quoting from Psalm 41 and verse 9, a prophecy regarding one who would betray him, the Saviour said, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. And the picture there, if you like, is of a horse lifting its hoof and kicking the one that's standing behind it. Judas is about to kick the very one that he should have loved and embraced. He had lifted up his heel against her. And the tragedy of Judas is that even though the Lord Jesus has called him and has led him and has preached the gospel that would have saved him, Judas has chosen betrayal over belief. And yet his sin is no surprise to the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, our Saviour has warned the rest of the disciples about it before it ever happened, so that when they look back on these events, they would realize that He is who He says He is, the Sovereign Son of God. I want you to notice something very important there in verse 21. When the Lord Jesus had promised the blessing of the gospel upon whoever receives his disciples and in turn receiving him in the Father, it says when Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, he was troubled in spirit, the heart of Christ was broken about what Judas was about to do and what would happen to Judas. And even though Christ sovereignly saw all that would come to pass, yet His heart is troubled. And the reason that His heart is troubled is because here is the One who in all truthfulness could preach and actually put into practice that wonderful maxim, Love your enemies. Love your enemies. And Christ loved Judas. the one who would forsake him and repray him. All in all, Judas is a victim of his own dark heart, and Judas alone bears the responsibility for what he did that night. Yes, it was prophesied previously, and Christ knew it would happen, but the deeds were Judas's. He is a victim of his rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ and His love. And when our Saviour declared that prophecy, that there was a traitor in the midst, that one of you will betray me, it got everyone at the table wondering and murmuring amongst themselves. The other Gospel writers tell us of a discussion that arose of how the disciples thought within their own heart, Lord, is it I? Could it be me? There were no accusing fingers being pointed across the table. There was no one identifying the others and saying, it must be Him. They examined their own heart. And that's a good thing for us to do. Lord, is it I? At some point in their Considerations, Peter motioned over to John, who was sitting closer to the Saviour than the others, and whispered to John, Find out who it is. Which one of us will betray Him? John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, who was leaning upon his breast, asked Christ, Who is it? Who is the culprit? The Saviour answered him, The one to whom I will take the morsel of food and dip it in the sauce and hand it to, whoever I give the sop to, he is the one. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. He gave the bite to Judas, and we are told immediately in verse 27 that after the sop, Satan entered into him. Can you imagine? At that brief moment that the Saviour and the serpent were only inches apart? So the Saviour turns and looks at Judas and says, That thy doest, do quickly. Whatever it is you are going to do, Judas, go and do it now. And at that moment, I believe Judas and Satan as well, for the matter, knew that the Lord Jesus Christ was aware of what he was planning. I believe Judas knew that Christ had caught him on. You see, Judas perhaps thought that Jesus was in his hand, and in reality, the reverse is true. It's Jesus who ordered Judas to go and carry out that dastardly business. It's the Lord Jesus that once had done Now, not when Judas feels like doing it. The Lord Jesus was both Lord of his life and of his death. No one would take his life from him. He would lay down his own life, and when it was time, he would take it up with him. Now, the disciples still don't know all of these things when Judas leaves the room. They think that he's about to run some errand for the Saviour. That he's telling them to go and fetch some things that they might need for the feast. But he goes out. Because Christ is in control. And Christ puts him out. Tell me believer, do you believe this morning that the Lord Jesus Christ is in control? Whether you can see it or not. He is, you know. The Saviour knew well His followers, that He knew the one who would forsake Him. John gives us an interesting picture there in verse 30, that having received the shop that he went out, that Judas went out, and it was night. M. T. Wright describes John as the master storyteller. that he opens the door unto a dark night, and in every sense and in every level, Judas disappears into the night, into the darkness. A great deep darkness surrounds the betrayal of Judas. It's a dark hour in the story of the Gospel. And yet while the heart of Christ is troubled, with the one who would betray Him, yet his hope is not shaken at all. He is still confident as ever he was in the work that he was sent to do. And so when Judas has left, when he was gone out, verse 31, 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. The Lord Jesus is looking forward, and He sees His coming arrest, and His trial, and His crucifixion, and His death, and His resurrection, and He says, now is God glorified. He knew that as He went to the cross, He did so in obedience to the Father's will. That even while He hangs naked and bleeding, shamed before the world, that God would be glorified. And that God would glorify His Son as well. Can you look at life like that? When things seem to be at their darkest? Can you say with confidence, as Christ did, that God will be glorified? Because He will be. The Lord Jesus revealed that these things that were seemingly out of His control were actually in His control. Though the disciples weren't ready, they still didn't understand the terms of the cross in terms of glory. But the Lord Jesus is seeking to prepare them. Look at the tenderness of His words in verse 33. Little children, yet a little while I am with you, and you shall seek Me, and as I said unto the Jews, whither I go ye cannot come. The disciples loved Jesus. They didn't want Him to die. They didn't want to leave Him. But the cross was somewhere that He had to go alone without. The cross was something that He had to do for them. And though they still don't understand it, there would come a day when this loneliest day of their life would be the most glorious day, the most important day. that the day that the Saviour was taken from them and crucified in time, though they stood and wept, though they hid themselves with fear, that day of sadness would be the greatest day. And so the Lord Jesus was willing to go to the cross, to be separated from those that loved Him, so that He might never be separated from them again. willing to leave his followers and go to the cross, that he might be able to say to them on the other side of the tomb, that I am with you always. And as we listen to the words of Christ to his disciples, we are struck with his great love for these men. The characters of Judas Iscariot and Simon Peter are particularly interesting in this chapter because both of them were destined to sin so horribly against the Lord Jesus Christ who loved them so greatly. Judas would betray him and Peter would deny him. But there's a major difference between the two. Judas didn't think enough of Christ and Peter thought too much about himself. If you drop down to the close of the chapter, you find Peter there with all of his trademark brashness and confidence, declaring that he would, in fact, go with the Lord Jesus wherever it was he was going. In fact, he says in verse 37, Lord, why can I not follow Thee now? I will lay down my life for Thy sake. Peter didn't know what the Lord Jesus would endure that long night, but the Savior did. And gently he says to Peter in verse 38, Peter, you really mean it? You're going to die for me? You know in truthfulness it was the other way around, that Jesus would die for Peter. And before the night was through that Peter would deny that he even knew the Lord Jesus at all? Verily, verily, truly, truly, I say unto thee, the cock shall not crow till thou hast denied me Christ. The Lord Jesus knows Peter and he knows what's in his future. He knows about the coming cowardice and the collapse of his faith. He knows the great fall that would come for proud Peter. And still he loved him. Still he washed his feet that night. Still he told him that he would go and prepare a place for him. And when he walked to the cross that day and laid down his life for a sinner like Peter. Oh, there's wonderful power in that thought. that the Lord Jesus, who looked upon Peter and saw the sins that he would fall into and the denials that he would hover, that the Lord Jesus knew exactly how many times he was going to fall short. And still he loved him. Still he died to see him. That comforts me somewhat. to know that the Lord Jesus knows that long list of sins that I have committed and the sins that I will yet commit. And still He loves me, and still He died to see it, and still today He walks with me and talks with me. He is an all-knowing, all-loving Seer. He knew all about Simon Peter's fall from grace, the sins that He would commit, and still He loved. We see a betrayal and a denial. And we also see a new commandment. The love of the Lord Jesus, someone said that it pours like a waterfall into the lives of those that follow it. The first verse of the chapter tells us that having loved his own, he loved them unto the end. But if the love of the Lord Jesus is like a waterfall that pours out upon us, we as his disciples were not to be like puddles or ponds that only collect the love of God for ourselves. He intends us to be like rivers through which the love of God would flow through us unto others. And so at the table that night, the Lord Jesus says to them in verse 34, A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another. That ye love one another. Here's this new commandment, that we are to love one another. And this is a love that is to parallel Christ's love for us. Now, Judas is running to the authorities to betray Him. And the cross is drawing ever closer. And the Lord Jesus, at that moment, could possibly and probably have commanded His disciples to do anything for Him. Peter, at least we know, was willing. And yet what he asks of them that evening is that they love one another. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. He shall seek me. And as I said unto the Jews, whether 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. How are they to love one another as I have loved you? In a selfless, sacrificial, lay down your life, give up yourself, type of love, the same love that Christ shows for us we are to show to one another. Someone said that this new commandment is simple enough for a little child to memorise and profound enough for the most mature believer to be repeatedly embarrassed as to how poorly they comprehend it and put it into practice. to love one another as I have loved you. Imagine for a moment that you're sitting down in front of a piano beside Beethoven. And he sits and he plays his fifth symphony with absolute perfection. And now he turns to you and says, you play it. Well, I have no piano training. And that's how this command of the Saviour feels, to love one another as I have loved you. Now you've seen me do it, you do it. And yet, if I had time to sit beside Beethoven and allow him to instruct me and to show me how to play that Fifth Symphony and to put in the hours of practice that would be necessary, I'm sure that at some point I could play it. Perhaps not quite as well as Beethoven might have played it, but I could play it like him. Now we might never reach the love of Christ as He has for us, but we can have a love like that. But it means spending time with Christ. It means allowing His Spirit to infill us and to empower us. It means walking in faith and fellowship with Him. to do as He has done. And the more that we live for Christ and live with Christ, the more of Christ ought to be seen in our life, and then we are able to love others around us as He has loved us. When we are submitted to Him and led by Him, We may not love just quite to the level as we have been loved, but we can love as Christ loved us. This is a love that reflects and is paralleled by Christ's love for us. And it shows something of our Savior's Lordship over us. Look at verse 35. He says, By this love that we have for one another, By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another." The Lord Jesus, remember, is going to the cross where He will die. Beyond that, there is a glorious resurrection, and these disciples will see Him again. But our Savior will return to heaven. He will ascend to glory. And the disciples will be left here in this world to carry out the mission that had been given to them, to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. And before all of that took place, the Lord Jesus looks across the table and to his disciples he says, the way the world will know you are my disciples is if you love one another. Here is an identity badge. Here's the maker's mark upon your life that indicates that truly you belong to me. You want to be offended Christians? You want your testimony to be believed? You want the message of Yeshua to be readily accepted? Here's the authority. Here's the master's mark upon your life. Here's your certificate that proves you belong to me. This is the way that the world will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. By this shall all men know. You know, your name on a church register doesn't say as much as you might think about your relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. You can have your name on the register and yet not be living for the sake A man, I heard of, was once asked for his testimony of how the Lord saved him and has kept him. He says, don't ask me, ask those that know me. The people that you work with, your neighbours, your family, the people that you socialise with, the kids at school, Do they know and can they see Christ living in you? Can they tell that you belong to the Lord Jesus because of your love toward the other disciples? We can tell people all day long that Jesus loves them, but until they see us loving one another, they might believe that Jesus loves them, but they won't believe that we love Jesus. if his love is not seen in us and shared around the waters. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, that ye love one another. Some of my earliest memories growing up come from around my mother's kitchen table I think it's a sad reflection on society today when so many families don't sit around the kitchen table to have their meals together. Because the kitchen table was more than just about eating food. It was about community. It was about conversation. And we laughed, and we talked, and we cried, and we learned, and we grew around that people. John, the disciple who has recorded this 13th chapter for us, never forgot the words at the table that night. And many years after that meal, when John would write his epistle to the churches, no doubt thinking back upon this very scene, he wrote in 1 John 4, verse 7, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. If we have been born again by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if we have been blessed to know the love of God in our lives, let's not walk away from the table top forgetting what we have heard. Let's think upon it. Let's meditate upon it. Let's pray over it. Let's put it into practice. Let us love one another until we see Him who first loved us and gave Himself for us. This is the new commandment that Christ has given His people, that 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. our Christian community with one another be such that a stranger or a visitor coming in amongst us might marvel at the love that's seen between brethren and sisters in Christ. May this truly be a community of love. And it's something we all must do. It's not just for one or two. It's for us all. And oh, that our light might shine brightly before men. and they would see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven. Our gracious and heavenly Father, we realise that so often we fall short of the standards that are set for us in the scriptures of truth. We know that we are loved by the Saviour. We have experienced that so great love We have been born again in thy Spirit. Our sins have been forgiven. We have peace with God. We have an inheritance in heaven. And yet while we have experienced so much of thy love, we fear that so little of it is reflected in our lives. And if those around us were to give testimony as to our faith in Christ, we fear that it would not be our love for the brethren that would be mentioned at all. Lord, help us to fulfil this commandment. Though we fall so far short in our ability to love as Christ has loved, yet we pray that that time that we spend each day with Thee might be seen upon our lives, and that the love of Christ most surely would be seen worked out in the lives that we live. Father, by Thy grace and by Thy power, minister to us now by Thy Holy Spirit, and by that work of grace make us more like the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that there is coming a day when we shall be found forever in his image, but we pray for that sanctifying work of thy Spirit to remove all that will offend thee from our lives and to make us more and more like thy darling Son. We ask for these blessings in the Saviour's name. Amen.