Jesus was prompted by the visitation of the Greeks to speak reflectively about His hour of death. His submissive prayer to the Father evoked a heavenly response from the Father. Based on this, He reiterated that His impending death was not a loss but a victory in that the prince of the world would be judged and that His being lifted up would draw all men to Himself.
(1) Judging from the response of the crowd:
a. Do you think they understood what being “lifted up” meant?
b. Did they really not know who the Son of Man was?
c. What then was their real problem?
(2) Did Jesus respond to their question directly? Why or why not?
(3) What was the essence of Jesus’ answer to them? (vv. 35-36)
(4) John sees the response of the crowd as a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:1 and 6:10:
a. Given the response of the world to the gospel today, do you share the sentiment of Isaiah 53:1?
b. What was the reason given by Isaiah for their unbelief?
c. How does Tom Rees’ statement that “the same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay” help your understanding of Isaiah’s prophecy?
(5) V. 42 begins with “Yet”: Do you take this as something positive or negative? Why?
(6) This particular incident concludes with the “crying out” of Jesus:
a. Why did Jesus have to cry out?
b. Who then is Jesus according to v. 45?
c. Two different responses yield two different results:
- What will happen to those who believe in Him and why? (12:46, 50)
- What will happen to those who do not “accept” His words? (12:48)
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in Him.” (Jn. 12:37)
If we measure the success of Jesus’ ministry by immediate results, we have to say that He was a failure because even with His sinless life and His powerful message, and after He “had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they (the Jews) still would not believe in Him” (Jn. 12:37). Even among the small group of followers, one of them betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver, and the remainder fled in the face of persecution.
However, John is quick to tell us that, in the midst of such apparent failures, “Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue” (Jn. 12:42). I did not take it as a totally negative statement, although John also adds that, “for they loved praise from men more than praise from God” (Jn. 12:43).
The truth of the matter is that the seed planted by the Lord, through His sinless life, His powerful message and His many miraculous signs, eventually bore fruit. Those who believed in Him, like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, woke up from their fear and openly acknowledged Him after His death, and many more did so after His resurrection. It was a matter of timing — God’s timing!
This is an important reminder to all of us that we should not measure success in God’s ministry by immediate results, and should firmly believe in the living power of the seed of the gospel, and that our labor in the Lord will not be in vain. If we remain faithful to our charge, then it will also be a matter of timing — God’s timing — that the seed we plant will bear fruit for the sake of God’s Kingdom.
From chapters 13-17, the Apostle John invites us to attend the “Upper Room” on the night Jesus was betrayed so that we may hear these last words spoken by our Lord to His beloved disciples.
(1) V.1 may serve as the introduction to what happened that entire evening in the “Upper Room”. This certainly includes His unexpected act of feet-washing:
a. What does the washing of the disciples’ feet have to do with Jesus's showing them the “full extent” of His love? (The Greek original tends to emphasize “till the end”.)
(2) We may assume that the previous two Passover meals were observed somewhere with the host providing everything including servants, but this time they were obviously gathering in a secret place with no servants around. 13:3-4 is a “cause-and-effect” statement:
a. What is the cause?
b. What is the effect?
c. How are they related?
(3) Why did Peter refuse to have his feet washed by Jesus?
(4) Why did he change his mind?
(5) As symbols, taking a bath is definitely different from washing of feet. If taking a bath means salvation (that causes a person to have a part with Jesus), what then is the meaning of feet washing in this immediate context?
(6) What then was the significance of the disciples’ feet being washed by Jesus?
(7) In asking the disciples to follow His example “to do the same”:
a. Why did Jesus mention His authoritative position as “Lord” and His respectable position as “Teacher”?
b. What then does His example entail?
c. How should we “do the same”?
(8) What is the hardest part in following this example of Jesus?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” (Jn. 13:14)
I have previously shared with you what I witnessed in a conference where the “leader” of this conference sought to demonstrate the desire to follow Jesus’ example of feet washing. An exception occurred when he discovered that the towel was missing as he tried to wash the feet of “a little one”. In his dismay, he yelled to his assistant, “Where is the towel!”
The example set by Jesus in washing the disciples' feet carries indeed very rich and deep meanings and which, I suspect, we can never exhaust, just as we can never fully comprehend the “full extent of His love” (Jn. 13:1). Nevertheless, allow me to share a few thoughts based on what John has purposely pointed out in this incident:
(1) John mentions Judas’ betrayal of Jesus before he tells us this unexpected action by Jesus (13:2). As much as the betrayal by Judas was prophesied in the Old Testament, such an action by Jesus in washing the feet of His disciples, obviously including Judas’, truly expressed the full extent of His love. His desire was that even Judas would also be part of Him. It perhaps represents His last-ditch effort to call Judas to repentance.
(2) John also points out that this action is prompted by the fact that “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God” (13:3). Indeed, Jesus has the power to save His life and to lay down His life (10:18). While He chooses the latter, He knows full well that His death is not the final word, but that He will defeat sin and death and return to the Father by rising from the dead. Therefore the washing of the disciples’ feet shows that His impending death through crucifixion is not a shameful defeat of powerlessness, but a glorious conquest of sin through His blood.
(3) And in asking the disciples to do the same, Jesus purposely reminds them that He is their Lord and their Teacher (13:14): I believe that the Lord is not asking them to literally wash one another’s feet, but to follow His example. As their Lord, He has absolute power and authority over them; and as their Teacher, He commands their highest respect as their Rabbi. Yet, in loving them to the fullest extent, He forgoes His absolute authority and totally disregards His position of respect and takes on the role of a slave. No, He does not take on the role of a slave to serve other slaves; by washing their feet, He completely reverses the roles. Slaves wash their own feet, but they wash the feet of their master. Therefore, if we follow His example, we are not washing the feet of our fellow slaves, but we regard them as our masters — we are under their authority; we hold them as deserving our highest respect.
Therefore, as I understand it, feet-washing is a total expression of love — loving even our enemies; forgiving just as we have been forgiven by the blood of Christ; and serving others in Christ not as fellow-slaves, but as our masters having authority over us and as our teachers commanding higher respect than due us.
(1) Can you recall certain characters of betrayal from novels that you have read or in your real-life experience?
(2) How would you compare Judas to them?
(3) What made Judas’ sin so horrible and troubling to Jesus (v. 21)?
(4) Since it was Satan who entered Judas’ heart (v. 27), who was at fault for Jesus's betrayal? Could Judas say, “The devil made me do it?” Why or why not?
(5) Why was it so hard for the disciples to imagine that it was Judas who would betray Jesus even with these words of Jesus?
(6) In what ways might we resemble Judas?
(7) Consider 13:18-20 carefully:
a. When the disciples eventually witnessed Judas’ betrayal, how would they be impacted personally?
b. How would the foretelling of this betrayal serve to strengthen their faith?
c. How would this impact their future mission (as ones sent by Jesus)?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am.” (Jn. 13:19)
I am quite puzzled by the fact that even with Jesus’s explicit words about Judas and having witnessed Judas pick up the dipped bread passed to him by Jesus, the other disciples still could not understand “why Jesus said this to him” (Jn. 13:28).
I do not think that the disciples were that dumb, but rather, their personal relationship with Judas had blinded their eyes.
All twelve of them had made significant sacrifices in giving up everything to follow Jesus (Mk. 10:28). All of them must have faced criticisms from their family and their peers, and yet they persevered in following Jesus for some three years, which was not a short period of time. They still did not fully understand all that Jesus had taught them, and who He really is, yet, as a pact, they had committed to follow Him till death. To them, as they entered into Jerusalem, fully aware of the murderous intent of the Jews, they had crossed the threshold of “no return” — at least that was what they thought! To believe that one of them was a traitor at this point was just unthinkable!
Why then would Jesus tell them in advance about having a traitor in their midst? The Apostle John, after some 60 years hence, shares with us the following reasons:
(1) So that, as Jesus puts it, “you will believe that I am He” (v.19), meaning the One sent by God: Even with these words of Jesus, they would not comprehend that Judas would betray Him, and thus when it actually happened, their natural question was whether Jesus was caught by surprise, just as they were. But with this foretelling, “the eleven are not to think, when the tragedy occurs, that Jesus was deceived by Judas, that He was a helpless victim of the traitor and of the Jews. They are not to draw any adverse conclusions from the traitor’s seeming success, questioning the deity of Jesus, His divine power and knowledge” (Lenski, 934).
(2) As Jesus also says, “whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me”: This has huge implications to the mission they were about to carry out in Jesus’ absence. Just as Jesus was not accepted by everyone, and was even betrayed by one of those closest to Him, they should not be surprised if they faced the same reception. However, like Jesus, they were not helpless victims of people’s rejection, but glorious messengers sent by Him, just as He was sent by the Father. As Lenski puts it, “Let Judas do what he will, the mighty work of Jesus and His Sender remains unaffected” (Lenski, 937).
(1) How will the Son glorify the Father?
(2) How will the Father glorify the Son?
(3) What does “at once” refer to?
(4) What is meant by “to glorify”?
(5) Why did Jesus call the disciples “Children” at this point in time?
(6) Why did He give such a command at this point (the last command before He died)?
(7) Was it really a new command? Why then did He say that it was new?
(8) What is the basis of this command?
(9) What is meant by “as I have loved you”?
(10) What will result, if we do not obey this command?
(11) Can you tell what Peter understood about where Jesus would be going? (v. 37)
a. If it refers to the cross, can the disciples go also? Why or why not?
b. If it refers to the Father, why can’t the disciples go?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you so you must love one another.” (Jn.13:34)
Technically, the command to love is not new; the Law of Moses has made it plain, “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). However:
(1) The People of God has never been able to keep this commandment which has to be grounded in their love of God; it thus extends beyond loving one’s neighbors, but also to one’s enemies (Matt. 5:44). The truth of the matter is, they had yet to be truly related to God as the “sons of their Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:45).
(2) Now it is different, Jesus calls the disciples for the first time, “My children” (Jn. 13:33). Because they now belong to Christ, they have the ability to love.
(3) Furthermore, they now have witnessed the incarnate-love of God, culminating in His sacrifice on the cross for all sinners.
The best commentary for this new command is provided by the Apostle John himself, as he reflects on this “new” command:
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another…And He has given us this command” (1 Jn. 4:7-11, 21).
Jesus continues to talk about where He is going:
(1) Why were the hearts of the disciples troubled upon hearing Jesus talk about where He was going?
(2) Jesus asked the disciples: “Trust in God; trust also in me” (v.1):
a. Do you differentiate trusting in God from trusting in Jesus? Why?
b. Why then did Jesus have to say this to the disciples?
(3) We all know that heaven is a wonderful place. What picture did Jesus use to convey heaven to the disciples? Why?
(4) What was the process (or the way) Jesus would use to prepare the place where He would take all His disciples to?
(5) With the explicit reference to the “Father’s House”, why did Thomas still insist that they did not know where Jesus was going and the way to get there? What was their problem?
(6) Did Jesus only address the “way” to the Father’s House?
(7) Why did He mention “truth” and “life”?
(8) What exactly does this amazing statement mean in v.6?
(9) Why did Philip say that if Jesus would show them the Father, it would be enough for them? Why then, in their opinion, was seeing Jesus not enough?
(10) 14:7-10 contains some of the clearest statements about Jesus’ relationship with the Father. Write down the meaning or implication of each of the following statements:
a. “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.”(14:7)
b. “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." (14:9)
c. “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” (14:10a)
d. “The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing His work.” (14:10b)
(11) How do the above statements validate the biblical concept of Trinity?
(12) What are the greater things that those who believe in Jesus would do? How so?
(13) Why did Jesus emphasize that we should ask in His name?
(14) What does asking in His name mean and what are the promised results? (vv. 13-14)
(15) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“In my Father’s house are many rooms, if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” (Jn. 14:2)
It is rather amazing for Thomas to insist by saying, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (Jn. 14:5). Jesus clearly told them that He was going to His Father’s house; if Thomas questioned the way only, it would still be understandable, but to question where He was going was very disturbing. However, this perhaps reflected the entirely “earthly” dimension of God’s kingdom in the mind of Thomas which is not too different from today’s liberal belief in an entirely earthly kingdom of God. Even some Evangelicals think about the kingdom of God only in earthly terms, even though it may still be everlasting. These words by Lenski apply to the “Thomases” of our time:
“In any endeavor to analyze what was in the mind of Thomas, we may say that he knew that Jesus was returning to His Father in heaven and that this return involved the death of Jesus, leaving the disciples behind. We recall how in 11:16 he spoke of dying with Jesus. His trouble, however, was not his inability to conceive how a going down into death could be a going up to the Father in heaven. Thomas had no notion of 'a realm of the dead'…such as some modern interpretation by misunderstanding sheol and hades attributes to the ancient Jews and tries to incorporate into Christian doctrine. The dark spot in the mind of Thomas was his inability to follow the mission and work of Jesus beyond the boundary of death. For him the mission of Jesus was an earthly kingdom (Acts 1:6) — how, then, could Jesus retire to heaven…and how there be a way to this kingdom that would lead via heaven? So Thomas grows down-hearted like one who is lost in the dark; he heaves a great sigh and tells Jesus: You think we know, but really it all seems dark; this your going away and our knowing the road.”
(Lenski, 976-977).
If we only think in terms of an earthly kingdom of God, we will not only darken our own minds, but the minds of those we seek to lead into God’s kingdom.
At first sight, v.15 appears to be odd and out of place, but its idea is repeated in v. 21 which serves as an inclusio and is further expounded because of the question raised by Judas:
14:16-17—Jesus introduces to us the Holy Spirit
(1) Since the Holy Spirit is “another advocate”, who is the first one?
(2) What is the function of an advocate normally?
(3) How then is the Holy Spirit our advocate?
(4) According to vv. 16-17, how does the Holy Spirit function differently now than the time of the Old Testament?
(5) Why is He called the Spirit of truth?
(6) Why can’t the world accept the Holy Spirit?
14:18-21—Jesus’ return to the Father is good for us
(7) What are orphans?
(8) With His imminent departure, how will we not be orphans when we are without Him?
a. When will He come again?
b. Before His coming again, who do we have living in us?
c. What does He mean by “Because I live, you also will live”?
d. "On that day" should refer to the day when Christ rose from the dead:
- What is meant by the promise in v. 21a?
- Have you realized such a reality?
e. What is the added promise He gives to those who love Him? (v. 21b)
f. What is meant by “showing myself to them”?
g. What is the mark of those who love Him? (vv. 15 and 21)
(9) What then is the main message of this inclusio (from vv. 15-21)?
(10) What was the implication of Judas’ question in v. 22? (Will the world really believe if God shows Himself to them?)
(11) What in essence is Jesus’ answer to Judas? (What does Jesus really mean by God showing Himself to us?)
(12) According to this short passage, who indeed dwell within believers and make them their home?
(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.” (Jn. 14:15-16)
The Greek “parakletos” has been variously translated as “Counselor”, “Comforter”, “Helper” and “Advocate”, and the Holy Spirit does function as such. However, strictly speaking, the term is used in Greek to refer to someone who is called to defend another in the court of law. While such an advocate may not necessarily be a lawyer, he is to represent the defendant to plead his case before the judge. It is in this sense that the Lord Jesus distinguishes the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth, because before the court of law, many legal representatives defend the accused irrespective of what the truth might be. But not the Holy Spirit.
As much as the term “parakletos” strictly speaks to the function of an Advocate, the other translations collectively give us a more complete picture of the functions of the Holy Spirit.
As our Advocate, the Spirit of God who is Holy necessarily convicts us of our guilt concerning sin, righteousness and judgment (Jn. 16:8) leading us into repentance.
As our Counselor, the Spirit of Truth guides us into God’s teachings and reminds us of everything the Lord has said (Jn. 16:13; 14:26).
As our Helper, the Holy Spirit “helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express” (Rom. 8:26).
But the world cannot accept the Holy Spirit, because He ministers primarily to the disciples: He is the Spirit that gives us new birth in Jesus Christ through faith (Jn. 3:5), He enables us to cry, “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15), He testifies to us that we are God’s children, guaranteeing our redemption (Rom. 8:16; Eph. 1:14), and He lives with us forever (Jn. 14:16).
Shouldn’t we be thankful and Praise God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!
14:25-26—Jesus is comparing the work of the Holy Spirit with His earthly ministry:
(1) How important are the words that Jesus has spoken to them all these years? (See Jn. 5:24; 8:51; 12:47-48)
(2) How much did the disciples and the people understand His words? (See Jn. 8:27; 10:26; 12:16)
(3) What is the important function of the Holy Spirit in this respect?
(4) What then should be our attitude in seeking to study and understand God’s words?
14:27-31—Jesus leaves us His peace
(5) How important was this promise of peace to the disciples at this point in time? (14:1, 27)
(6) Why does Jesus call the peace He leaves with us “my peace”?
(7) Jesus says, “I do not give to you as the world gives”: What then is the difference between how He gives and how the world gives?
(8) Why should the disciples be glad that Jesus was leaving them? What has it to do with loving Jesus?
(9) What does it mean by “the Father is greater than I”? (See today’s Meditative Reflection.)
(10) How does the coming of the prince of this world usher us into learning that Jesus loved the Father and did exactly what His Father had commanded Him? (See 1 Jn. 5:19 about the coming of the prince of this world.)
(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” (Jn. 14:28)
John 14:28 raises many objections to the doctrine of the Trinity and I find Calvin’s comments on this passage very right-minded and helpful:
“This passage has been tortured in various ways. The Arians, in order to prove that Christ is some sort of inferior God, argued that He is less than the Father. The orthodox Fathers, to remove all ground for such a calumny, said that this must have referred to His human nature; but as the Arians wickedly abused this testimony, so the reply given by the Fathers to their objection was neither correct nor appropriate; for Christ does not now speak either of His human nature, or of His eternal Divinity, but, accommodating Himself to our weakness, places Himself between God and us; and, indeed, as it has not been granted to us to reach the height of God, Christ descended to us, that He might raise us to it. You ought to have rejoiced, He says, because I return to the Father; for this is the ultimate object at which you ought to aim. By these words He does not show in what respect He differs in Himself from the Father, but why He descended to us; and that was, that He might unite us to God; for until we have reached that point, we are, as it were, in the middle of the course. We too imagine to ourselves but a half-Christ, and a mutilated Christ, if He does not lead us to God.
"There is a similar passage in the writings of Paul, where he says that Christ will deliver up the kingdom to God His Father, that God may be all in all, (1 Cor. Xv. 24.) Christ certainly reigns, not only in human nature, but as He is God manifested in the flesh. In what manner, therefore, will He lay aside the kingdom? It is, because the Divinity which is now beheld in Christ’s face alone, will then be openly visible in Him, The only point of difference is, that Paul there describes the highest perfection of the Divine brightness, the rays of which began to shine from the time when Christ ascended to heaven. To make the matter more clear, we must use still greater plainness of speech. Christ does not here make a comparison between the Divinity of the Father and His own, nor between His own human nature and the Divine essence of the Father, but rather between His present state and the heavenly glory, to which He would soon afterwards be received; as if He had said, 'You wish to detain me in the world, but it is better that I should ascend to heaven.' Let us therefore learn to behold Christ humbled in the flesh, so that He may conduct us to the fountain of a blessed immortality; for He was not appointed to be our guide, merely to raise us to the sphere of the moon or of the sun, but to make us one with God the Father.”
(Calvin’s commentaries, Vol. XVII, 102-3)