Hello and welcome to our broadcast today. We're in John chapter 13. We hope to conclude that chapter today. Have your Bible ready. We're reading verses 27 through 33 it says and after the sop Satan entered into him that is Judas then said Jesus unto him that thou doest do quickly now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him for some of them thought because Judas had the bag and that Jesus had said unto him by those things that we have need of against the feast, or that he should give something to the poor. He then, having received the sop, went out, went immediately out, and it was night. 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 unto you." Well, we start in verse 27, we see that Satan has entered into Judas Iscariot. The devil is not going to leave this task for one of his demons. He hates Jesus Christ, and he wants to be a part of this. Satan entered into him. Interestingly, in verse 28, none of the disciples suspected Judas. They thought, well, he's just gone to buy something for the feast. The feast usually lasts seven days. If there's anybody they could trust with a bag at the treasury, it would be Judas. Yeah, wrong, weren't they? Well, it says in verse 30, he went out immediately and he went into the dark. That is, he went away from the light. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He went into the dark and ended up in hell. Verse 31 says he was gone. And then it says in verse 31, now, now is Christ glorified. According to Strong's Concordance, this word glorified means dignity and worth becomes manifest and acknowledged. dignity, honor and respect due to Christ will now become manifest or become made obvious. Well, at this point, Christ begins his final message to these disciples before his crucifixion. And notice he says here in verse number 33, little children, little children. It's only that phrase is only used once in John's gospel, and it was never used until after Judas was gone. The phrase is found actually 28 times in the Bible, but it is used in a physical sense 19 times, and it is used as a teacher to a student nine times, and seven of those is used in 1 John. Well, he says to them in verse number 33, little children, you had a little while, and I am leaving you. I'm leaving you. They've been together for three years. He said, you shall seek me. And as I said unto the Jews, whither I go, ye cannot come, so now I say unto you." As he begins to get the disciples to understand that he'll be leaving, and that's not what they wanted at all, but they needed to understand that. And as he begins this lesson that he's teaching these little children, these learners, as a teacher to the students, He says in verse 34, 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. Now, a new commandment I give unto you, and this commandment has to do with love. Notice We have the word love three times in verse number 34 and 35. He said in verse number 15 of John 14, if you love me, keep my commandments. In John 14 and verse number 21, he says, he that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. and he that loveth me shall be loved of my father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him. Then in verse 23, Jesus answered and said unto him, If any man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. Verse 24, He that loved me not keepeth not my sayings. Then in verse 28, I go away and come again unto you. If ye love me, ye would rejoice, he said, because I say that. Then in verse number 31, Jesus said that the world may know that I love the Father. Then you get into chapter 15, you go down to verse number 9, as the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. If you keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love. Then in John 15, and verse number 12, Jesus said, this is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And then he said in 17, these things I command you, that ye love one another. These things I command you, that you love one another. Now, here's a question. Can we love on command? I don't think it's possible to love on command. If somebody commands us, I want you to love that person right there. You can't love on command, even if the Lord commands us. Can we love on command? It's interesting that this word command, the Greek word, is antalle, and it has been translated precept twice. It would seem that Jesus is saying here, a new precept I give unto you. A precept is a rule that is intended to regulate our behavior. Now if we compare that with John chapter 15 and verse 17, he says, these things I command you that you love one another. That word command there means a commandment. It has been translated charge twice. It is an order given by an authority that needs to be carried out. But notice in John 15 and 17, Jesus did not command us to love anybody. He said, These things I command you, and if we will do these things, He said, that ye will love one another. The byproduct will be that we will love one another if we do these things, and these things are listed Many of them here in the book of John, I'll give you a few of them. John 13 and 17, if you know these things, happy are you if you do them. John 14, 25, these things have I spoken unto you. John 16, 1, these things have I spoken unto you. John 16 and 4, these things have I told you. These things. If we do these things, the byproduct of doing the things that Jesus has commanded us to do, is that we will love one another, and not only that we will love one another, but he said, you will love as I have loved you. And then he continued in verse 35, saying, By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. If ye have love one to another. He says, By this shall all men know that you are my disciples. By this shall all men perceive. That word has been translated, perceive, nine times. By this shall all men perceive that ye are my disciples." By what? By going to church three times a week? No. By preaching at them? No. By handing out tracts? No. He said, by this, if ye have love one to another, shall all men know that ye are my disciples. Now the word disciple means learner. John 8 and 31 says Jesus said you're my disciple if you're in my word and that is one of these things that he commanded us to do of which the byproduct would be that we will love one another. Well notice in verse 36 Peter immediately changes the subject. He says, Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goes thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterward. Peter, right away, he said, Where are you going? Now, when we get to John chapter 21, Simon Peter, it says there, will have a lesson, a lesson that he really needs on the subject of love. You remember the story, Peter said, I go fishing and he left and Jesus stood on the shore all night while those men went out and fished. And then in the morning, John said, Oh, it's Jesus. He's still standing there on the shore. And so Peter jumps right in the water and he comes. And one thing about Peter made a lot of mistakes, but he did love the Lord. Well, he's talking to Jesus and Jesus says to Peter, Peter, love us. Tell me. Yeah, I love you, Peter. Love us. Tell me. Yeah, I love Peter. Do you love me? But interestingly enough, the third time that he asked him if he loved him, he said, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Interesting that he called him by his own name because he was acting like his old self. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He was more interested back here in John chapter 13 in asking where Jesus was going than he was in loving the Lord. Why? Because of his self-interest. Where are you going? I thought we were going to set up some thrones. I thought we were going to have a kingdom here. I thought we were going to boot out the Romans. And I was going to have a position of authority. Where are you going? All Peter's thinking about at that point is himself. Well, Jesus answered him in verse number 36. Jesus answered him, whether I go thou canst not follow me now. But thou shalt follow me afterwards. I don't know if Peter got a glimpse of what he was talking about being crucified as he would be crucified later on, as was Jesus. I don't know if he caught that or not. But Peter said in verse number 37, Lord, why can't I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. I will live for you and I will die for you. Oh, really? Jesus answered him. Will 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. O let him that thinketh he stand, take heed, lest he fall." Well, what was the Lord's response in all of this? Always, always love. In Mark, chapter 16, we read of the women who were the first ones at the resurrection scene. And, of course, when Jesus was talking to them, he said in Mark 16 and verse number 17, he said that they should tell the disciples and Peter. The verse we read just before that is after Peter had denied the Lord, he went out and he wept. bitterly. And so we see the love of Christ. He could have just said, well, that's enough of Peter. He didn't say that. He said, tell the disciples and Peter that I want to meet with them in such and such a place. Love. Well, you know, we don't really know how much we love someone until we disagree with them. It's easy to love someone who's agreeing with us. They agree with everything we're doing. They agree with everything we're saying. We don't know how much we love another Christian until we disagree with that Christian. And so Jesus begins his message here to these disciples before he's crucified, and he says a new precept 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." Well, we said you should look at the Word of God for observation, but then we need to make the application. Jesus said, little children, are we there? Are we students listening to the teacher? Are we willing to be taught by him every day? He said a new precept that you love one another is Christ has loved us. Greater love is no man did this that a man lay down his life for his friends. Are we willing to live our life? for our friends. And then a new commandment, he said, I give thee. And what was that? These things I command you. Are we even interested in looking at those things? Or we don't have any time for that. We've got to watch television every night. We have no time to be studying about those things. Which one is it? And then he said that all men would know that we are his disciples. Do they know we're his disciples? He said, if you're my disciples, You're in the Word. And then, Peter, he had all this self-interest after three years with Jesus Christ. It would be a good exercise to let the Holy Spirit direct us into how much self-control we really have. And then, how much do we love? It's easy to love those that agree with us. We can register our love on how much we love those we disagree with. Be sure to be with us tomorrow for another broadcast. you