A new commandment

And now we'll read from John chapter 13, beginning at verse 18, and that's on page 1045 of the Bibles in the pews.

John 13 · chapter mention

And of course, this is the Last Supper. Jesus has washed the disciples' feet, and now he goes on to speak to them.

I am not referring to all of you. I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfil the scripture.

He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me. I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe that I am he.

I tell you the truth. Whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me, and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.

After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, I tell you the truth. One of you is going to betray me.

His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant.

One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.

Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, ask him which one he means.

Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, Lord, who is it?

Jesus answered, it is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.

Then dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon.

As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

What you are about to do, do quickly, Jesus told him.

But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him.

Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the feast,

or to give something to the poor.

As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out.

And it was night.

When he was gone, Jesus said,

Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.

If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

My children, I will be with you only a little longer.

You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now.

Where I am going, you cannot come.

A new command I give you.

Love one another.

As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Simon Peter asked him,

Lord, where are you going?

Jesus replied,

Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.

Peter asked,

Lord, why can't I follow you now?

I will lay down my life for you.

Then Jesus answered,

Will you really lay down your life for me?

I tell you the truth,

Before the rooster crows,

You will disown me three times.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Hasta Gordon.

We do pray, Lord Jesus, that as we come to your word now,

as I proclaim it, that you would speak to us powerfully by your spirit,

that you would lead us in what is true,

and we pray, Father, that you would work amongst us,

growing us in righteousness, that we might be the people of God

and that we would reflect you in the way that we're meant to be.

And we pray this in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.

Do you remember when we were best friends,

when we'd share our every thought, every smile, every laugh?

Oh, and did you remember when you broke my heart?

Because I seem to remember that more than anything.

I trusted you.

I trusted you to take care of my heart.

I trusted you not to take it and stomp on it.

And the day that you betrayed my trust

was the day that I lost all my trust for you.

I believed that you would take care of my heart

and that's why I left it with you.

Well, I'm taking it back because at this very moment,

I can't trust you with my heart

in fear that you will hurt me once more.

Look at me through my eyes and feel the pain I hide inside.

It breaks my heart.

It makes me sad to think of all the times we had.

You made me laugh.

You made me cry.

And all that I can do is sigh and wonder why.

I wish I could walk away and forget what we have,

but I can't.

Because I know you won't come after me

and I guess that's what hurts the most.

It's really amazing when two strangers

become the best of friends,

but it's really sad when the best of friends

become two strangers.

Trust can take years to build,

but only a second to break.

How can it be that two of the greatest friends in the world

can go from being each other's everything

to absolutely nothing?

The anguished heart of a young woman

whose heart has been crushed by betrayal.

And that's a very,

there's a very close relationship

between love and betrayal.

How many of us have experienced the bitterness

of love gone wrong?

We've seen it in our parents or our children

or amongst our friends.

Love which has been smashed in a moment of betrayal,

maybe even ours.

A heart crushed and anguished

as someone makes their decision and walks away.

Now we saw last week in John 13,

I hope you got John 13 open

because that's where I'm speaking from this morning.

We saw last week in John 13

that the clock is ticking.

There is less than 24 hours

to the crucifixion of Jesus.

He's spending his last day

with his 12 chosen friends

and he is preparing them for his departure.

And in verse 18,

he stuns them by revealing

that there is a traitor in their midst.

I'm not referring to all of you.

I know those that I have chosen,

but this is to fulfill the scripture

that he who shares my bread

has lifted up his heel against me.

I tell you now before it happens

so that when it does happen,

you will believe that I am.

I tell you the truth,

whoever accepts anyone I sense accepts me

and whoever accepts me

accepts the one who sent me.

After he had said this,

Jesus was troubled in spirit

and testified,

I tell you the truth,

one of you is going to betray me.

And his disciples stared at one another

at a loss to know which of them he meant.

Jesus has been hinting at this

for a while back in chapter 6,

verse 70.

He said,

Have I not chosen you,

the 12,

and yet one of you is a devil?

And then earlier on in this chapter,

in John chapter 13,

John 13 · chapter mention

Jesus said to the disciples,

You are clean,

though not every one of you.

For he knew who was going to betray him,

and that was why he said,

not everyone was clean.

Now Jesus takes the words of Psalm 41

and makes them his own.

And so in Psalm 41,

King David sees the Lord,

he talks about the Lord being a Lord

who will deliver him,

and protect him,

and preserve him,

and bless him,

and sustain him,

and he's going to restore him

in the face of a bunch of enemies

who are looking to bring him down.

And the enemies say things about David,

like,

When will he die and his name perish?

When will we be done with him?

And they come to him in conversation,

and they pretend to be interested,

and he says,

All that they're really doing

is gathering slander in their hearts,

and then going out and spreading it

to anyone who will listen.

And in verse 9 he says,

Even my close friend,

whom I trusted,

he who shed my bread,

has lifted up his heel against me.

And Jesus takes these words

from the Old Testament,

and he applies them to his situation.

And I think it's reasonable to think

that when Jesus quotes one verse

from this psalm,

he's actually got the whole meaning

of the psalm in mind.

The king is being plotted against

from all directions.

He's experiencing the agony of heart

that comes from the betrayal

of a close friend.

And the psalm finishes

with the confident assertion

that my enemy does not triumph over me.

And John's gospel will soon show

that the enemies of Jesus

do not triumph over him.

The disciples are stunned

by what Jesus says.

Seems like nobody except Judas

knows that betrayal's at hand.

He's been very quietly going

about his deathly business.

It's only afterwards

when they look back

that they find out

about his love of money

and its corrupting influence

on his soul.

He's been the treasurer of the twelve.

In John chapter 12,

John 12 · chapter mention

he fussed over Mary

wasting so much money

pouring perfume over Jesus' feet.

Don't you know

that that perfume

could have been sold

and the money given to the poor?

Very self-righteous.

And John tells us

that Judas didn't care

about the poor,

but because he was a thief

as keeper of the money bag,

he used to help himself

to whatever was put into it.

This is not an easy matter

for Jesus.

Verse 21,

it says,

he was troubled in spirit

and testified,

I tell you the truth,

one of you

is going to betray me.

When he says

he was troubled in spirit,

he uses the same word

that was used

in John chapter 11

John 11 · chapter mention

when Jesus went

to see the family

of Lazarus

after Lazarus had died.

He was deeply troubled,

he was deeply moved

in spirit

and wept.

Very difficult for Jesus.

And I don't think

the grief is solely

for himself,

I don't think it really

is about him.

It's got to do

with the loss

of relationship.

In John chapter 11,

John 11 · chapter mention

the distress

at what death

had done

for his friend Lazarus

and for his family.

And now here

in John 13,

distress for what

was about to happen

with Judas.

Judas is going

to be lost.

He'll be gone

and he will not recover.

From what he does.

And Jesus says,

one of you

is going

to betray me.

It's a certain

finality.

He knows

there's going

to be no turning back.

He has loved Judas

and Judas

is turning away

from Jesus.

Jesus isn't

turning away

from Judas.

People walk

away from Christ.

Christ doesn't

walk away

from people.

But we are

confirmed

in our own

decision.

And up until now,

Judas has been

doing his dirty

work in the darkness.

And Jesus

outs him.

Here he is,

he's in the group

of disciples

and Jesus

says something

which provokes

a final decision

from Judas.

Even up to this

point,

he's still got

options.

Judas could still

be on his knees

saying,

oh Lord,

I've made

a terrible

mistake.

I've sold you

for 30 pieces

of silver.

I'm so wrong.

I just don't

know what to do.

Please forgive me.

But he doesn't.

And his heart

is set on his

course of action

and he is

not changing

direction.

Now there's

some intriguing

clues in this

passage about

how much

Jesus still

loves Judas

right up

till now.

I'm not going

to spend

much time

on it,

but the

disciples are

probably all

reclining around

the table,

around the

lounges.

They're sort of

head to head,

shoulder to

shoulder,

back to

back.

And it

seems like

Judas is

actually lying

on the

left-hand

side of

Jesus,

which would

have been

the place

of honour

at this

dinner,

the very

last dinner

with his

disciples,

and Judas

is given

the place

of honour.

And John

is on the

other side

of Jesus,

the right-hand

side of

Jesus.

John refers

to himself

as the

disciple whom

Jesus loved.

John is

the one who

hears every

word of this

conversation,

that not

all of the

other

disciples hear.

And Jesus

says,

one of you

is going

to betray

me.

And in

verse 24,

Peter,

somewhere out

there across

the table,

catches John's

eye and

looks at him

and says,

ask him

who he

means.

And John

quietly leans

back on

Jesus and

he says,

who is

it?

And Jesus

answered,

it is the

one to

whom I

will give

this

piece of

bread when

I have

dipped it

in the

dish.

And then

dipping the

piece of

bread,

he gave

it to

Judas Iscariot,

son of

Simon.

And as

soon as

Judas took

the bread,

Satan

entered into

him and

Jesus said,

what you

are about

to do,

do quickly.

Judas

took the

bread and

verse 30

says,

he went

out,

it was

night.

it was

the

moment of

departure.

This

friend of

Jesus

walked away

never to

return.

The only

time that

John mentions

Judas again

is when he

leads the

group of

soldiers to

Jesus to

arrest him.

Doesn't even

bother referring

to Judas'

suicide.

He went

out is

the end

of his

association

with

Jesus.

He'd

known him

intimately,

he sold

him out,

it was a

moment of

immense

betrayal.

And the

scripture says

it was

night.

It was

night.

One of the

great themes

of John's

gospel is

light and

darkness and

the struggle

between them.

in John

John 8:12

chapter 8

verse 12

Jesus said

I am the

light of

the world.

He who

follows me

will not

walk in

darkness but

will have

the light

of light.

The light

of life.

Jesus

loves Judas

even to the

very last

moment but

he goes into

the night to

do his

dark deed and

it becomes a

very dark

night for his

own soul.

He walks

away from

Jesus out

into the

darkness

never to

return.

Brothers and

sisters if we

walk away from

the Lord

Jesus Christ

there is

nowhere else

to go.

For John

this is an

absolutely

poignant

moment in

his gospel.

It seems

as though

darkness

begins to

rain but

Jesus turns

to his

disciples and

says it

is not

so.

verse 31

when Judas

was gone

Jesus said

now is the

son of man

glorified and

God is

glorified in

him.

If God is

glorified in

him God

will glorify

the son in

himself and

will glorify

him at

once.

See

despite the

darkness of

the hour the

glory of God

is at work in

the most

extraordinary

way.

God is

doing

something big.

The son

will glorify

the father

God himself

will glorify

the son.

It's a

magic moment.

The disciples

still really

don't understand

what's going

on.

Satan has

just made

his big

move.

He's

played his

hand.

God is

about to

come up

trumps

with his.

And a

cosmic

struggle is

being played

out.

Satan acts

malevolently

and God is

about to

triumph in

the most

unexpected

way.

It's a

glorious

moment.

The son

will glorify

the father

by submitting

to his

father's

will.

He will

die for

our sins.

God will

glorify

the son

by raising

Christ from

the dead

and making

him lord

of all.

Feel the

moment.

Judas

makes a

fatal

decision.

He walks,

he goes

out from

Christ and

Jesus turns

to those

who are

left and

says again,

very shortly

I'm going

away from

you but

this is

what I

want of

you.

A new

command I

give you,

love one

another as

I have

loved you so

you must

love one

another.

By this

all people

will know

that you

are my

disciples if

you love

one another.

Judas the

betrayer of

love is

gone, a

cancer has

gone from

amongst

them and

now Jesus

gives a

command that

is designed

to keep

everyone

together when

he is no

longer

present and

this command

lived out

will bring

unity to

the body

of Christ.

Love one

another as

I have

loved you,

you must

love one

another.

Brothers and

sisters, we

must love

one another.

Came up on

the ABC

Q&A program

the other

night, I

don't know if

you saw it

last Monday

night, but

the discussion

had moved to

homosexuality.

Can't tell you

the background,

don't need to

know, but

what happened

was people

who called

themselves

atheists were

very quick to

turn on

Christians and

tell them that

Jesus said to

you guys that

you've got to

love everybody.

Unbelievers

quoted the

verse back at

Christians.

Now a

better verse

for them to

have quoted

back at

Christians would

have been from

Luke chapter

Luke 10 · chapter mention

10, the

parable of the

Good Samaritan,

because believers

are taught by

Jesus to love

our neighbours as

ourselves by

being merciful to

them.

And we are to

show mercy to

people outside the

Christian family.

That's a true

thing from Luke

Luke 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10.

But in John

13, where we

are, Jesus is

addressing the

11 disciples who

are left and he

tells them to

love one another.

He tells them to

love the team.

This is about

love within the

Christian community.

It's about the

depth of

relationship which

we are to have

with one another

in Christ.

Now this is a

team that has

come together.

They didn't

self-select.

They weren't a

bunch of friends.

They weren't

people who just

got themselves

together.

They were people

who had been

selected, chosen

by their Lord

and Master, the

Lord Jesus Christ.

When I first

came to church,

when I first

became to Christ,

not church,

Christ, my dad

took me aside for

a father-son

talk, which was

a very unusual

father-son talk

because it didn't

happen very often.

And I can remember

where I was standing

down in the garage

at home and my dad

turned and very

quietly said,

it's all right to

go to church but be

careful how involved

you get because

there's a lot of

funny people around

those churches.

And you can see

I've really heeded

his advice about

how involved to get.

And I talked to

the minister about

what my dad said,

looking for his

support, looking for

some encouragement.

He said, yeah,

your dad's right.

There are a lot of

funny people around

churches.

We are a weird

mob.

And if you are in

Christ, if you are my

brother or sister,

it's because Christ

has chosen you and

he's chosen me.

And we are his

because of him.

And the Lord Jesus

has laid down his

life for both of us.

And he has loved us

and so we have

become his.

So the old thing

about coming to

church, sitting

quietly, getting it

all from the front,

going home without

any interaction with

other believers was

sterile and it was

wrong.

It's nonsense.

How can we even

begin to love one

another if we do

not know one

another?

In 1 John 2

1 John 2:9–10

verses 9-10,

love amongst

believers is the

test of whether we

are walking with

Christ.

Anyone who claims

to be in the

light but hates

his brother is

still in the

darkness.

Whoever loves

his brother lives

in the light and

there is nothing

in him to make

him stumble.

I can think of a

terrible fallout

between two

brothers 30

years ago.

One refusing to

be reconciled,

the other making

numerous attempts.

I can tell you

that today only

one of them

continues to walk

and grow in

Christ.

Not hard to

guess which one

still participates

or no longer

participates in the

church family even

though his wife and

children still do.

I was a young

believer.

I was deeply

impacted by that

conflict.

It was the first

time that I'd seen

two brothers whom I

loved and respected

fall out with one

another and not be

reconciled.

Couldn't believe it.

As the pastor at

St Paul's responsible

for our community

groups I have a

dream that our

groups will be a

place where we

connect deeply with

each other.

I hope they're not

places that we come

to demonstrate who I

am and all my

knowledge and stuff

like that.

I hope that they

will be places where

we are known for our

love of each other.

I hope that they are

places where we

encourage and support

one another to walk

with Christ.

I hope that they are

places where we will

show practical care to

one another.

When do you feel

loved?

What makes you feel

loved?

someone notices you,

speaks with you,

they seem interested in

you before they want to

tell you who they are and

everything that's going on

for them.

I was at the oxygen

conference for pastors at

the Australian Technology

Park the other week with

numbers of members of the

team.

2,000 pastors or Christian

workers under the same

roof.

It was a great time.

But what if a bomb went

off?

And the Christian church in

Australia suddenly lost its

leadership?

Or if we're in another

country where they were

imprisoned?

So what if we were left

without any clergy?

And what if our buildings

were confiscated and

destroyed?

And what if we did not

have prayer books or

musical instruments and

some of the things that

make our gatherings on

Sunday happen?

And what if God left us,

all that God left us with

were the Bible and the

people of God, what would

we do?

I hope that we'd gather

together.

We'd do it like the

Russians.

We'd go out into the

trees and meet in the

bush if we had to, if we

weren't allowed to.

And I hope that we would

read the Bible to each

other and teach each other

what it meant.

And I hope that we would

pray and that we would

care for one another in

practical ways.

Not unlike the first

believers.

believers.

They became persona non

grata at the traditional

church, a band from the

local synagogue preaching

that Jesus is risen from

the dead.

They met together to

encourage each other in

Christ on the first day of

the week.

They became known for the

way that they loved each

other.

They had caring ministry to

one another that cost

serious money.

They sold houses and land

and laid it at the

apostles' feet.

Money was used to assist the

poor among them.

The world looked on and

they saw the extraordinary

love of these people who

kept talking about a

crucified and resurrected

saviour.

Their preaching was backed

up by care that cost them.

Jesus said to the eleven

when Judas is gone, a new

command I give to you, love

one another as I have loved

you.

So you must love one

another.

By this all men will know

that you are my disciples if

you love one another.

We can say that we believe

in Jesus but it will be

evidenced by how we love

other believers.

It's a nonsense to say that

you believe in Christ if you

don't love other believers.

I heard a wonderful story of

forgiveness the other day.

A believer went to assist you

in Christ and confessed a

great offence against them from

years ago.

It was a powerful act of love

and a powerful act of

reconciliation.

Some of you have done hard

yards, you know, going up and

down to the nursing home every

Sunday morning until Joan died

recently, bringing her up for

church.

That was an act of love and

service to her.

Charles Spurgeon was a Baptist

preacher in the 19th century and

Joseph Parker was another preacher

in London and they both had

churches and on one occasion

Parker commented on the poor

condition of children who were

admitted to Spurgeon's orphanage.

And it was reported to Spurgeon,

however, that Parker had

criticised the orphanage itself.

And Spurgeon blasted Parker the

next week from the pulpit.

And the attack was printed in the

newspapers and it became the talk

of the town and people flocked to

Parker's church the next Sunday to

hear his rebuttal.

People love scandal, don't they?

And he said, I understand Dr.

Spurgeon is not in his pulpit today

and this is the Sunday that they

used to take an offering for the

orphanage.

And I suggest that we take a love

offering here this morning for it

instead.

And the crowd was delighted and the

ushers had to empty the collection

plate three times.

And later that week there was a knock

at Parker's study and it was

Spurgeon.

You know, Parker, you've practised

grace on me.

You have given me not what I

deserved.

You have given me what I needed.

God reconciled those two men through an

act of love.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 8, the

2 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

Macedonian churches gave money to

believers in Judea and their giving is

described as out of the most extreme

trial.

Their overflowing joy and their extreme

poverty welled up in rich generosity.

That is an act of love.

Brothers and sisters, in the end, the

love of the Lord Jesus is seen in

action.

He is about to willingly go to the

cross.

He will become the Lamb of God who

takes away the sins of the world.

And when Christ commands us to love

one another as I have loved you, he

gives us what we need for true unity

when he is gone.

He gives us what we need to witness

to the world.

Love will always be seen in action.

St. Paul's has a rich evangelical

history for which we can give God

thanks.

This is a church that has raised up and

sent many people into ministry both

here and overseas.

But wouldn't it be great if people

looked at St. Paul's now and into the

future and said, look at how those

believers love one another.

Look at how they care.

Look at how they forgive.

Look at how they delight to be with

each other.

Look at how they delight to know and

proclaim the crucified and risen

Saviour.

By this all men will know that you are my

disciples if you love one another.

Amen.