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.
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.
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,
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,
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
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,
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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.