Our chapter for today begins by expressing the love of Messiah towards his disciples:
“Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end …” (Jno. 13:1).
Notice the unfailing love that the Lord had towards those were given to “be with him” (Mrk 3:14) – he loved them “unto the end” – and evidently this is the end referred to by the Lord upon the cross when he cried out, “it is finished” (Jno. 19:30). So he declared: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jno. 15:13). Laying down his life for those whom he loved, Messiah displayed the greatest form of love: “Scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:7-8). In the offering up of Jesus, we behold an extension of love – the love of God as well as that of His Son. The Lord Jesus Christ is an arm of salvation extended to those who would take hold of it (Cp. Isa. 59:16), to lift them out of the mire of humanity, that they might be set on high by His Grace. Both the Father and Son were “one” (Jno 10:30) in purpose and intent, working together the principles of righteousness and love to effect the salvation of the few who would avail themselves of it.
But this great declaration of Love must be reciprocated. Just as Jesus laid down his life for his friends, even so his disciples must lay down their lives in service to each other:
“Hereby perceive we love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 Jno. 3:16).
Indeed, this is the commandment of Christ:
“A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also have love one to another” (Jno. 13:34).
This, we are told, is “a new commandment”. But how so? The Law of Moses commanded love:
“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am Yahweh” (Lev. 19:18).
This was an old, not new commandment! But there is a difference: under the Law folk were to love others as themselves, but under the Law of Christ, we must love each other like he loved. Not just loving others as ourselves, but a self-sacrificial love – the love of Christ towards his friends. This illustrates what love is, in Bible terms. It is not a shallow emotion, a liking for our close friends and family, but it is a reflection of the love of Christ, loving fellow believers more than our own selves – to the extent that we would be willing to lay down our lives for each other. This is the united body of believers, a collective of men and women who seek to show the love of Jesus to each other – and even, if it be necessary, to love their enemies, doing good to those who hate them (Luke 6:27). Indeed, if we do not love our brethren, how can we love God? As it is written: “if a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 Jno. 4:20).
WASHING
The narrative of John 13 continues to describe how in his humility, the Lord washed the feet of his disciples. But Peter appeared not to understand why this was happening – why that the One he had earlier identified as being “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Mat. 16:16) was now washing the feet of his disciples as a humble servant:
“Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me” (Jno. 13:8).
There would appear to be a counterpart with the inauguration of the Priests in the days of Moses: “Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water” (Lev. 8:6). The washing by Messiah was not an expression of humility alone, for he told Peter that “if I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me”. One suggestion is that he was preparing the disciples for the work that lay ahead of them, washing them into their ministry, as it were. The prophecy of Isaiah stated:
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation …” (Isa. 52:7).
And this was cited by Paul in the New Testament, and applied to the work of the apostles (i.e. ones sent):
“how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Rom. 10:15).
The One who sent them was the Lord Jesus – as evidenced by the conversion and sending of Paul himself. Their feet were “beautiful”, being washed by the Lord in person! But there is a contrast here, in the failure of Jews to respond to the Master when he came at the first:
“I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled … I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?” (Song. 5:2-3).
Here are the excuses given: not to be defiled: the washing of the feet being one of them. But by the time the espoused virgin got round to opening the door to her alleged beloved, it was too late: he had departed:
“I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer” (vs 6).
Interestingly, the Lord, as the Bridegroom had said earlier:
“Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me; and where I am, thither ye cannot come” (Jno. 7:34).
And again, in our chapter under consideration
“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” (Jno. 13:33).
Where Christ was to go, was heaven itself, and that was where the followers of the Lamb could not go – despite the claims of apostate Christianity: “no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven” (Jno. 3:13).
THE BETRAYER
The Lord Jesus “knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him” (Jno. 6:64), hence he said to Peter: “ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean” (Jno. 13:10-11). This troubled him greatly:
“he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me” (vs 21).
Upon further enquiry, “Jesus answered, He it is to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop, Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly” (Jno. 13:26-27).
Notice the manner by which the betrayer would be identified: the giving of a sop of food. In Scripture, sharing a meal together is an expression of fellowship – which leads to the Breaking of Bread memorials which the believers partake of each week. So we read of the fellowship that Boaz extended to Ruth:
“Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left” (Ruth 2:14).
Notice here, Boaz personally extended the sop to Ruth, as a token of how he was to provide for her. It was an extension of friendship and fellowship, towards the woman who was to become his bride. Even so, Messiah extended his arm of salvation towards Judas, giving him the sop – as an act of fellowship. But it was spurned: “he then, having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night” (Jno. 13:30).
Immediately upon receiving the sop, the betrayer departed in order to prepare to betray his master. He left the Light of the World, departing into the darkness of the night.
THE DARKNESS OF NIGHT
By contrast to Judas who went off into the night, there was another man who came to Jesus under the cover of darkness: “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night …” (Jno. 3:2), and then a conversation ensued, in which the Lord taught:
“this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God” (Jno. 3:19-21).
Judas was an example of someone who loved darkness rather than light, whose deeds will be reproved.
Night is the time when most people sleep – hence in Song 5, cited above, the espoused virgin is in bed asleep in the night. But then there is the exhortation of Paul:
“ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sobert. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober … (1 Thes. 5:5-7).
Only the “children of light” will receive “the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:12), hence we must always walk in the Light of the Word of God that comes to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. We must, “give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip” (Heb. 2:1). And “let the word of Christ dwell in [us] richly in all wisdom …” (Col. 3:16). The words spoken by Messiah are God’s words expressed through him, and these words have the power to enlighten and save us (1 Cor. 1:18). We neglect and disregard them at our peril – but if we allow them to work within us (1 Thes. 2:13), they will save us from death (Jas. 1:21).
In conclusion then, the faithful must love as brethren, be cleansed by the influence of the Word, and be spiritually alert and awake, waiting for the coming of their Lord.
Christopher Maddocks
