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Reading:          John 13:31-14:11

Text:                Jn.13:38 "Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the cock will not crow till you have denied me three times."

Socrates argued that in order to be wise, one must know oneself. Easy to say, perhaps, but not so easy to do in practice! John Calvin underscored the importance of accurate self-knowledge to knowing God in the opening pages of his famous "Institutes of the Christian Religion". He wrote:

Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.

These two are interrelated – you can't truly know God without knowing yourself and you can't truly know yourself without knowing God. Calvin acknowledged the dilemma and went on to write:

“it is not easy to determine which of the two precedes and gives birth to the other.”

The Bible is admirably equipped to help us on both fronts and at one and the same time because of the way God has chosen to inspire it. The Bible is both a divine and a human book. It is God's truth which has been written down by human authors. It contains songs, and stories. It contains divine revelations and human reactions. God addresses us not in some abstract theological manual but the living world of everyday events and realities. As we read we discover truth about God and we also discover truth about ourselves.

This evening as we turn our thoughts to John 13 may the Lord help us to get a clear grasp of what Jesus came to do and a deeper insight into the complexity of the human psyche.

The chapter opened with Jesus stepping away from the dinner table so that he might humbly wash his disciples' feet. His mind was already turning towards the events that were so very soon to unfold that would lead him to the further humiliation of Calvary and his death upon the shameful cross.

Back at table he was troubled in his spirit and revealed to his disciples just what it was that was troubling him – one of them was going to betray him. His thoughts then were very much focused upon the end of his life's ministry. What follows must be understood in this light – Jesus knows his death is now imminent. Judas slips out of the room – most think he's running an errand for Jesus but in reality he's away to find the religious leaders. Small wonder that John quietly records that as Judas left it was night!

But with Judas gone Jesus can speak perhaps more freely and he speaks so positively of what is shortly to take place.

Jesus knows what is to take place – betrayal, beatings, illegal court hearings with crooked judges followed finally by the horrors of crucifixion. He knows the time is at hand for him to be lifted up from the earth to hang, nailed to a tree. And yet what does he say?

v.31 "Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him."

Jesus did not think for one instant that his mission was failing – rather now coming to the climax he understood the utter humiliation of the cross as the culmination of his mission - it was in this that he was glorified! Nor would he be the only one to glorified by voluntarily accepting such shame, his Father too would be glorified as he showed there the greatness and extraordinary nature of "his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom.5:8)

This "crosswork" that now lay just a matter of hours ahead was the reason why Jesus had come into the world. He had come into the world in order "to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mk.10:45). He had come in order, as the Good Shepherd, to lay down his life for the sheep (Jn.10:5). In order to do this he would have to 'leave' his disciples.

And this goes a long way to explain why Jesus went on to speak to his disciples telling them that they were unable to follow him:

v.33 "Where I am going you cannot come."

Let me explain.

Jesus was the only one who was qualified to carry out the work that he had come to accomplish. He had come to die but the death he was to die was not just any sort of death it was to be the voluntary death of an innocent and perfect substitutionary sacrifice – it was to be the death of the sinless Son of God for the sinful sons of Adam.

You see at that moment the entire world was divided into two camps.

In the first camp there was just the one man, a high priest, who was holy, innocent, unstained, and separated from sinners (Heb.7:26). This one was Jesus Christ. In the other camp were found everyone else for all had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Jesus' mission was to secure salvation for his people. The apostle John would later write of this is the following terms:

1John 2:2 "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world."

Now if Jesus were to accomplish this work he would have to do so alone for the simple reason that there was no-one else in the sinless camp to help him! All the rest were in the camp of those who needed rescuing and were thus in no position to help at all! If the redemptive work was to be done Jesus would have to do it alone!

And so it was impossible for the disciples to follow him at that particular moment!!

This is the stuff of our Christian worship and we sing to celebrate words like these:

Thy work alone, O Christ,

can ease this weight of sin;

Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God,

can give me peace within. (H.Bonar)

Faith in the only sacrifice

that can for sin atone;

to cast our hopes, to fix our eyes,

on Christ, on Christ alone. (James Montgomery)

There was no other good enough

to pay the price of sin;

He only could unlock the gate

of heaven, and let us in. (Cecil Frances Alexander)

In dying, in the laying down of his life in sacrifice, Jesus was to make full satisfaction for the sins of his people as he returned to the Father. Before his disciples would in their turn be able to go to the Father there would some lapse of time – for some this would be a relatively short period eg. James whose martyrdom is recorded in Acts 12. For others that period would be much longer eg. John himself possibly 70 years after the death of the Saviour. And so they would need to know how to conduct themselves during that time.

As Jesus prepared to leave his disciples he sought to prepare them for the task that would be theirs when he had gone. They were to be a witnessing community of his followers. The life of this community was to be characterised by love, the type of self-sacrificial love that he had modelled for them.

Living in this way those on the outside, those still in the world, would see and recognise them for what they were followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But Peter wasn't very interested in thinking about what his responsibilities were to be, he was too much concerned by the thought of Jesus going away!

While we can understand readily enough Peter's reaction there is something of a warning here for us. How easily we can focus upon what we perceive as our own personal interests rather than upon what Jesus identifies as our duty. If this was an issue in Peter's day how much more so in ours when we live in such a self-centred world where me-ism is so often the dominant value – with its "what can I get out of it?" attitude.

So instead of asking for further light upon his duties Peter prefers to question Jesus about his plans to leave them and his desire is evidently to try to make him change his mind!

I don't know about you but I like Peter. I think it's because he wears his heart on his sleeve and there are no frills or airs and graces about him – he is very much a what-you-is-what-you-get type of character. I for one find him easy to identify with. He is genuine but oh so full of faults!

Peter is troubled by all this talk of Jesus going away.

In the opening verses of Jn.14 Jesus would make it clear what he meant by 'going away' – he meant going to the Father. But Peter doesn't seem to have grasped that yet – and it is simply stuff he doesn't want to hear. And yet it is clear that even Peter is aware of the increasing seriousness of the situation otherwise he would never be talking about the possibility of prison or even of dying with Jesus (see Luke 22:33).

At first when Peter speaks to Jesus about where he is going Jesus doesn't chose to immediately supply an answer to his question preferring rather to insist that for the time being Peter cannot follow him. It is neither the time in history for Peter to die nor is it possible for him to be with Christ as the latter completes his work alone.

But Peter won't let things rest and his further words to Jesus show us both the good and the bad sides of Peter:

v.37 "Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”"

Firstly, Peter's love for the Lord and for his company is revealed. Quite simply he loves Jesus and doesn't want to be separated from him. And surely this is a positive aspect in Peter's life! Already in John's gospel we've seen that when given the opportunity of leaving Jesus Peter has turned it down:

Jn.6:67-68 "So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

Secondly, Peter demonstrated impatience. Did you notice that? "Lord, why can I not follow you now?"

There's a saying that goes like this:

Patience is a virtue,

Have it if you can.

Seldom in a woman,

Never in a man.

But in reality patience is a fruit of the Spirit and as such is something we should expect to see growing and developing in every Christian's life. And God operates in the circumstances of our lives in order to promote patience:

Rom.5:3-4 "More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance (or patience), and endurance (or patience) produces character, and character produces hope,"

Or again,

James 1:3-4 "for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Peter saw no virtue in patience even though Jesus had intimated that he would follow him later Peter wanted to do so now, he didn't want to wait. In fact he tried to press home the point that in his own estimation he was prepared and ready to follow Jesus right now!

Thirdly, then Peter lays claim to be ready willing and able to follow Jesus and to do straightaway. This might appear to be commendable but it is both rash and an evidence of Peter's over-inflated opinion of himself and his abilities. He neither understood what was involved nor the extent of his own weakness. How important it is to know our limitations!

The Bible addresses both of these issues. Jesus urged would-be followers to count the cost of discipleship before launching forth upon a venture and what he said is still valid:

Lk.14:28 "For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?"

And Paul wrote to the Romans about rightly assessing their own abilities:

Rom.12:3 "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned."

And what is plain is that Peter thought he was different from the others, a cut above the others. All four of the gospels record his protestations that even if the other disciples denied Jesus he never would, being ready even to die for him. He didn't just think it either, he urged it forcefully:

Mk.14:31 "But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.”"

And this he did both before and after being specifically told by Jesus that he would in fact deny his Lord! Arrogant, proud self-confidence – Peter just didn't realise how weak he was and how he would fail so dismally when put under pressure. Pride goes before a fall, we say, or as it is put in the Book of Proverbs:

Prov.16:18 "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."

While all the apostles abandoned Jesus only Peter suffered the ignominy of a threefold denial of his Lord!

How we should take to heart the warnings that the Lord gives us!!

v.38 "Will you lay down your life for me?"

The question is a reproof! How wrong can you be Peter? It is not you who will lay down his life for me but I who will lay down my life for you!

Peter was a sinner, an impatient self-confident sinner, but yet he loved the Lord Jesus and would be saved by him!

Jesus had already told him that there would come a time when he would follow his Lord to return to the Father, but that time had not yet come for Peter.

After the resurrection Jesus interviewed Peter at a time when Peter's misplaced self-confidence had been shattered by the events of his threefold betrayal. Gently but firmly Peter is forced to face up to his weakness as Jesus three times asked whether Peter did really love him. After each reply Jesus gives Peter tasks to perform, a ministry to fulfil, amongst his followers.

Peter too would have to wait a long time before he would be allowed to follow his lord and to go to the Father. He would have plenty of time in which to learn some much needed patience. He would in fact have to wait for some 30 years before he would be able to follow his Lord!

And then he would follow his master, not to be sure in dying a death of substitutionary merit, but as a disciple he would be allowed to lay down his life for his Lord. He would even die a similar death by crucifixion! Tradition has it that when Peter did die he asked to be crucified upside down not considering himself worthy of dying in the same manner as Jesus! How Peter had changed!

Just let me add one final thought before we close. Peter lived on serving as a disciple for some thirty years as I've already said – all that time he lived with the knowledge that crucifixion would be the inevitable end to his life! And he pressed on!!

May we too press on, come what may, remaining firm and steadfast in our faith. May we run the race to the end, completing our course to the glory of the Saviour.

Amen.