Will You Lay Down Your Life for Me?

Well, this morning as we come to the Word of God, we're picking up where we left off last week.

John chapter 13, verse 31.

John 13:31

If you have a Bible, you're welcome to turn to it.

Jesus is in the upper room with his disciples, and they're eating the Passover meal.

Jesus has just dipped the bread and given it to Judas,

and now Judas has left the house, and it's night.

And we'll pick it up in verse 31 here.

When he, that's Judas, was gone, Jesus said,

Now the Son of Man is 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.

Let's start by noticing the urgency, the immediacy of what Jesus is saying.

Now the Son of Man is glorified,

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

I will be with you only a little longer.

Can you hear the urgency in Jesus' voice?

With Judas now on his way, and the betrayal now in motion,

Jesus' time is virtually here.

It's a matter of just hours before Jesus is arrested and separated from them.

And Jesus wants them to know that this is it.

My time with all of you is about to come to an end.

It's interesting, the language that Jesus chooses to describe this time that has now come.

He says,

Now is the time for the Son of Man to be glorified.

We heard Jesus say this a little earlier when the Greeks showed up for a visit back in chapter 12, verse 23.

And even hearing it again,

it's a strange and unexpected way to describe what's about to happen to Jesus, isn't it?

We just don't usually think of what Jesus is about to go through as being glorified.

Being glorified means being honored, being worshipped, being exalted, being lifted up.

But what's about to happen to Jesus seems the very opposite.

He's about to be shamed, humiliated, cursed, mocked, beaten, and trampled down.

So we're kind of forced to wrestle with this question.

How is Jesus being glorified while he suffers and dies in this horrible manner?

And then without answering this, Jesus adds even more to the discussion.

Not only is the Son of Man about to be glorified, but he says God is about to be glorified as well.

Both.

And as we read this verse, it's kind of easy to get our heads all tangled up in this

and to wonder who's getting glorified and by who and how.

The Son of Man is 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.

There's a lot of stuff going on in there.

And it's easy to get tripped up in there.

So let's see if we can just pick out some clear statements and untangle this a little bit.

Here are five true statements that we can pull out of this.

First of all, the Son of Man, that's Jesus, is about to be glorified.

Now the Son of Man is glorified.

Second one, God is about to be glorified as well.

It's both.

Number three, God will be glorified in the Son or through the Son or by the Son.

Number four, Jesus will be glorified by God.

It's God who will be glorifying the Son in the moments ahead.

And then finally, number five, God will glorify Jesus in himself.

I know you're probably wondering, well, what does that mean?

Me too.

So who's about to be glorified?

We'll just see if we can kind of summarize it.

Both Jesus and God are about to be glorified.

Who's going to be doing the glorifying?

God is about to glorify his Son.

And lastly, how are God and Jesus being glorified?

Well, God is about to be glorified by Jesus or through Jesus.

And Jesus is about to be glorified by God.

God is about to be glorified by God.

And in God, whatever that means.

You know, sometimes Jesus said things that just kind of leave us scratching our heads.

And I thought about trying to do a whole sermon just on these verses

and exploring each of these five statements and what they mean.

But you know, this is just the way that God's truth has come to us in this place,

in this part of the story.

And think about how it was for the disciples that evening,

seated around the table, as Jesus says this to them.

You're about to be glorified and God's about to be glorified and in him and in you.

And what are you talking about?

What does this mean?

Now, we could dig out the theology textbooks and we could listen to the mind-numbing musings of men

going back and forth about all the possible meanings of these five statements

and try to rule out a whole bunch of them and narrow it down.

About how God is glorified in the Son and how does God glorify Jesus in himself.

But sometimes I think it's okay if we simply say,

I don't know what this means.

What did you mean by this, Lord Jesus?

And then just sit on it a while.

We might have some good ideas about, say, number one,

how Jesus is about to be glorified as he suffers and dies.

But then where do we get those ideas from?

Are we just guessing?

Or are we meant to just take Jesus at his word as best as we can

and say, okay, somehow, in some way, I'm not sure exactly how or what you mean.

Jesus, you're about to be glorified in what's about to unfold.

Would you show me how that works?

Would you show me what you mean by that?

And then just kind of keep that truth in the back of our minds

as we continue reading and meditating on the word of God,

day after day, week after week, month after month,

and sometimes, eventually, these things become really clear.

In fact, we may even realize that this is a major theme in the whole Bible.

Let's consider briefly this first point,

that Jesus is about to be glorified now

while he suffers and dies in this horrible manner.

So we say, okay, I don't see it, Lord.

Would you show me?

And then maybe as we come along,

reading in our Bibles in a different place,

or we're looking up a scripture passage,

we come along to Isaiah chapter 52,

Isaiah 52 · chapter mention

written hundreds of years before any of this took place.

And we read these words in Isaiah chapter 52, verse 13.

Isaiah 52:13

See, my servant will act wisely.

He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.

Sounds like glorified.

But then, just as there were many who were appalled at him,

his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being

and his form marred beyond human likeness,

so he will sprinkle many nations

and kings will shut their mouths because of him.

For what they were not told, they will see.

And what they have not heard, they will understand.

And Isaiah goes on.

He was despised and rejected by mankind.

A man of suffering and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces,

he was despised and we held him in low esteem.

He was oppressed and afflicted.

Led like a lamb to the slaughter.

By oppression and judgment, he was taken away.

But then we come to verse 10.

Yet, it was the Lord's will to crush him

and cause him to suffer.

And though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days.

And the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

After he has suffered, he will see the light of life

and be satisfied.

By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many

and he will bear their iniquities.

Therefore, I will give him a portion among the great,

says the Lord.

And he will divide the spoils with the strong

because he poured out his life unto death

and was numbered with the transgressors.

Now, this whole passage could do with a lot of study

and meditation and a few sermons.

But do you notice how side by side are these two truths?

That the servant of the Lord will suffer horribly,

be treated despicably,

and yet at the same time that the servant of the Lord

will be raised and lifted up

and highly exalted,

rewarded,

glorified

through it all.

These are deep waters here,

but not so deep that we could never learn to swim in them.

This is just one other place

where it tells us that Jesus will be glorified

and exalted

through the shameful humiliation

of what he suffered.

This is just one other place

where it tells us that

God will himself glorify this one

and set him above others.

And a little bit of why.

What he has done that is worthy of reward,

that is worthy of being glorified.

Because he poured out his life unto death

and was numbered with the transgressors

and bore the sin of many

and made intercession for them.

And so as we meditate here,

this passage,

it begins to fill up

with meaning

what Jesus said

on the night of his betrayal.

What he said about being glorified now.

And then there are other passages

that we might discover

over here and over there

and over here and over there.

that also fill up

what Jesus said with meaning.

Not just for number one,

but for all five of these.

Could it be that we were never meant

to have a guy just come up

and stand in front of us

and say,

well,

number one means this,

number two means this,

number three means this,

and so on.

Could it be that we were all meant

to go on the personal journey

of searching these things out

over days,

weeks,

months,

even years?

Growing in our understanding

of who Jesus is

and what happened to him

at the cross.

Growing in our understanding

of what's really going on

between God the Father

and God the Son.

Growing in our understanding

of how great

and how worthy

and how glorious

and beautiful

our God

and his Son Jesus

really are.

I think Jesus

is okay

with us being

on the journey.

He's okay

with us learning

all along the way

as we go through

our lives.

So I'm not going to try

and fully explain

and apply each

of these five truths

because to be honest,

I'm still on the journey

myself trying to figure out

what exactly

these things mean

and how this fits

with what we're about

to read

in the story of John.

For now,

I think it's a good place

just to be familiar

with what Jesus said.

Jesus is about

to be glorified

as he is betrayed,

arrested,

and goes to the cross.

God is about

to be glorified.

God will be glorified

through the Son,

in the Son.

Jesus will be glorified

by God,

his Father.

And God will glorify

Jesus

in himself.

Now let's continue

on with what Jesus

said that night

at the table.

Verse 33,

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.

So Jesus tells them

that they're very soon

to be separated.

Jesus and his disciples

parted from each other.

And though they have

followed him everywhere

for the past three years,

they will not be able

to follow him this time.

Where I am going,

you cannot come,

says Jesus.

Jesus reminds them

about how he said

these very words

to the Jews

back in chapter 7,

verse 34,

and chapter 8,

verse 21.

Where I am going,

you cannot come.

And then Jesus

gives them a command,

which we will look

at more next week.

I'll just read it

this morning.

A new command

I give you.

Love one another

as I have loved you.

So you must love

one another.

By this,

everyone will know

that you are my disciples

if you love

one another.

Verse 36,

Peter says,

Lord,

where are you going?

I love that.

It's almost as if

he just completely

missed the command.

He's still thinking

about what Jesus

said before that.

Where I am going,

you cannot come.

That's the track

that Peter's on.

Lord,

where are you going?

I think that the

disciples are probably

doing their best

to follow along

and to understand

what Jesus is saying,

but here we just,

it's obvious

that even Peter

did not understand

what was coming

or where Jesus

was about to go.

And so Jesus

says it again

to Peter.

He says,

where I am going,

you cannot follow

now,

but you will

follow later.

And Jesus

is being somewhat

elusive in his answer.

It's a place

that you can't

follow me to

right now,

but you will

eventually.

Peter asked,

verse 37,

Lord,

why can't I

follow you now?

I will lay down

my life for you.

Is it death

that you're talking

about,

Jesus?

That's the only

place I can think

of that I wouldn't

be able to follow

you.

And if it's death

you're talking

about,

then,

my Lord,

I will lay

down my life

before I let

anybody touch

yours.

I will die

with you

if I have

to.

I will go

with you

to the realm

of the dead.

I will follow

you there too,

says Peter.

Then comes

Jesus' reply

again,

verse 38.

Will you

really lay

down your

life for me?

Very truly,

I tell you,

before the

rooster crows,

you will

disown me

three times.

The answer

of Jesus

here to

Peter is

truly

amazing.

First,

we hear

Jesus ask

a question.

Will you

really lay

down your

life for

me,

Peter?

It's as

though Jesus

is challenging

Peter's

declaration.

But actually,

it's more

than just a

challenge,

because it

doesn't seem

like Jesus

is asking

to know

if Peter's

really sincere,

or if Peter

really means

it,

or if Peter

would actually

follow through

with it all

the way to

death.

The truth

is,

Jesus already

knows the

answer.

Right after,

he says,

very truly,

I tell you,

before the

rooster crows,

you will

disown me

three times.

So no,

it's not

really a

question as

if Jesus

doesn't know

the answer.

It's a

rhetorical

question,

and it

makes a

statement,

perhaps more

like,

Peter,

will you

really lay

down your

life for

me?

Answer,

no,

Peter,

you won't.

Jesus is

exposing what's

really in the

heart of

Peter.

And then,

Jesus tells

Peter how it

will actually

go,

what Peter

will actually

do when the

moment of

truth comes.

Three times,

he will deny

him.

And it's

here again

that we see

something truly

wonderful and

amazing about

Jesus.

Here's a

man,

Jesus,

who frequently

told people

what was in

their own

hearts as if

he knew it

better than

they did.

I mean,

think about

this.

From Peter's

perspective,

you're telling

me how

how sincere

I am,

whether I

will or

will not

lay down

my life

for you.

Jesus did

this a lot.

He told

people what

was in

their own

hearts as

if he knew

it even

better than

they did.

He did it in

Jerusalem on

his first

ministry visit

to the

capital city

back in

chapter 2.

He did it

with Lazarus

in chapter 3.

He did it

with the crowds

in chapters 4

and 6.

He did it

with the

religious leaders

in chapters 5

and 8.

And here

he does it

with Peter,

his own

disciple.

Peter,

will you

really lay

down your

life for

me?

No,

Peter,

you won't.

You say

that now,

but it's

not true.

When the

time comes,

when the

rubber hits

the road,

when it

counts,

when you

have the

opportunity

to put

your life

on the

line with

me,

you will

instead say

that you

don't even

know me.

Three times

you will do

this before

this very

night is

through.

And so I

imagine that

there was

sadness in

the heart

of Jesus,

even as he

said this

to Peter.

There was

Judas'

betrayal,

which troubled

Jesus deeply.

We heard

about last

Sunday,

but then

here there

is very

soon coming

Peter's

denial of

Jesus.

I've said

this a lot,

but I want

to say it

again.

Do you

know that

Jesus knows

what's in

your heart?

What's

really in

your heart?

You can't

fool him.

you can't

even pretend

with him.

He knows

you even

better than

you know

yourself.

He knows

every selfish,

every dirty

thought that

has crossed

our minds.

He knows

you well

enough not

just to

guess,

but to

know for

certain

why you're

doing

anything

that you

do.

And so

this was

at times

a very

interesting

relationship

between

Jesus

and the

disciples

like Peter

and James

and John.

They couldn't

hide things

from him.

He called

their bluffs

like here

with Peter

again and

again.

And yet

even though

he knew

what was

really in

each one

of them,

he never

pushed them

away.

He never

said,

I don't

want to

be with

you guys

anymore,

bunch of

sinners.

No.

He loved

them even

though he

knew what

was in

them,

that they

were sinners.

I can't

help but think

that this is

at least part

of the reason

they stuck

with him

even after

all of their

own sins

had been

exposed by

him so

many times

because here's

a man who

knew them,

who really

knew them,

and yet

wanted to

be with

them and

loved them,

really cared

about them.

There's

something else

in this

question of

Jesus that's

amazing.

It's the

pronouns.

It's a

little difficult

to see in

English but

in the

original Greek

the way that

it's ordered,

the words,

and the

form of

one of

the pronouns

puts a

special emphasis

on them.

It sounds

a little bit

like this.

The life

of you

for me,

will you

lay down?

I think

there's a

fuller

rhetorical

answer to

Jesus'

question

and it's

subtle.

No,

Peter,

you won't

lay down

your life

for me.

I will

lay down

my life

for you.

Think

about this.

Imagine

yourself there

at the

table with

Jesus and

the other

disciples.

You've just

been fighting

with them

about which

one of you

is the

greatest

according to

the other

gospel accounts

but now

you're somewhat

embarrassed

again because

Jesus has

exposed your

pride again

saying that

you need to

humble yourself

and serve

one another

stooping down

to wash

your dirty

feet

and then

now you've

been trying

to prove

your loyalty

to Jesus

amidst the

clamoring of

all the others

as Jesus

reveals that

one here in

the room

is a traitor

and people

are saying

all kinds

of things

and maybe

you are

too

and deep

inside

maybe you're

wondering

even as you

say it

surely not

me Lord

I would

never do

that

maybe you're

wondering

how far

would I go

with him

would I be

willing to

die for him

what's my

price

what's that

point at

which I

would just

not follow

him anymore

maybe thoughts

of all the

times you've

blown it

and disobeyed

Jesus over

these past

few years

are beginning

to flood

into your

mind

Jesus

has just

called

Peter's

bluff

what if

he calls

yours

next

if one

of you

is about

to betray

Jesus

and one

is about

to disown

Jesus

three times

what's

Jesus

going to

say to

you

what does

he know

about you

that you

will actually

do

when the

time

comes

as I

said

before

we can't

hide

anything

from

Jesus

he knows

what's

really in

our hearts

and yet

he will

lay down

his life

for us

it's one

thing to

love

something

or someone

that's

already

lovely

it's not

hard to

love a

beautiful

flower

or a

fresh and

juicy piece

of fruit

or a

gorgeous

sunset

these things

are easy

to love

because

they're

already

lovely

they're

already

worthy

of

appreciation

and affection

but it's

another thing

to love

something

or someone

that is

much less

than

lovely

like a

self-absorbed

proud

and selfish

person

who is

there for

you

when it

suits them

and gone

when it

doesn't

or a

person who's

impatient

easily

angered

speaks

rudely

to you

sometimes

and talks

about you

behind your

back

but the

amazing

thing

is

Jesus

loves

people

who are

like

that

sinners

like you

like me

he knows

exactly

what's

in our

hearts

how

less

than

lovely

we are

and still

he will

lay down

his life

for us

he will

die to

save us

so that

we can

be with

him

forever

isn't

that

amazing

I'm

reminded

of the

words

of the

apostle

Paul

Romans

Romans 5:6–8

5

verses

6

to

8

you see

at just

the right

time

when we

were still

powerless

Christ

died

for the

ungodly

very

rarely

will anyone

die for a

righteous

person

no for

a good

person

someone

might

possibly

dare

to

die

but

God

demonstrates

his own

love

for us

in this

while we

were still

sinners

Christ

died

for us

perhaps

this too

tells us

something

about how

the glory

of Jesus

can be

seen

in the

midst

of his

suffering

and death

let's

pray

Lord Jesus

we thank

you for

these words

that you've

given to

us

we thank

you that

you've

allowed

us to

almost

be there

in the

room

see and

hear what's

what was

said that

night

and we

know that

if we

were there

you would

have loved

us just

the same

thank you

for paying

the ultimate

sacrifice for

us for

dying on

that cross

for us

thank you

that you

want to be

with each

one of us

with all

of our

faults

all of our

failures

all of our

sin

it's

amazing

and we

love you

so much

for it

we give

you glory

we give

you praise

because

that's

your due

amen