John 13:31-35 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 commandment 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."

 Every once in a while I end up being shocked by something that I just
can't explain.  As many of you know I have a "sermon bible", a bible that
I use to catalog and keep track of the sermons that I write and preach.
I didn't think it could happen any more, but when I got around to
checking all of the texts before us today, to see which one was preached
on least, I found a text that I haven't preached on at all.  Well,
obviously there is only one thing to do.  That one thing is to write and
preach a sermon on this text.
 And what a great text!  It is a text with two distinct lessons, lessons
of great import for all of us.  Without further ado, let's then consider
this text under the theme: THE GIFT OF LOVE.  1st. God's love for us.
2nd. God's love in us.
 What is so very interesting about these words is the context.  As you
look at the context I think many of you will be surprised by where these
words come from.  They come to us from the Upper Room where Jesus had his
Last Supper with his disciples.  They come on the night of Maundy
Thursday just before Jesus is arrested and then crucified.  In other
words, these words come as words of encouragement to the disciples, words
of encouragement that they would surely need in the days to come.  We
know that just by the context.
 So look at what the text says.  First note the opening words, "When he
was gone."  Those words actually refer to the fact that Judas has just
stormed out of the room, filled with Satan and his heart blackened by
betrayal.  Judas has gone out, away from Jesus, away to his enemies where
he fulfills the blackest moment of human history.  Judas has gone out to
betray, eternally betray Jesus and take his rotted place in the pits of
hell.
 Why is this important to understand?  Because it is this leaving of
Judas that prompts the words of Jesus that follow.  Words that seem out
of place, especially since we know what is coming!  Jesus is going to be
arrested.  He is going to suffer and die on the cross.  Yet these words
are not out of place, these words are the true reality of our Savior, his
life and his death.  These words are given that the disciples might in
the midst of agony have hope and confidence in the words and promises of
Jesus.
 What does Jesus say?  "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."  Jesus speaks of being
glorified.  To be glorified means to be exalted and given high praise.
To be glorified speaks of being brought to glory which means: "great
distinction, splendor, the height of achievement, triumph or prosperity."
 The casual reader might get confused.  What glory was there in the
cross?  What glory was there in dying the death of the worst of criminals
among the worst of criminals?  How was the mockery, the abuse and the
stinging pain of the nails exalting and filled with splendor?  It is
these things only when we grasp what was really going on and happening to
Jesus.
 What was going on and happening was exactly what God had planned.  What
was going on was the salvation of mankind, God bringing about the One
atoning sacrifice that would reconcile God and man forever.  God's Son
Jesus was going to the cross.  Make no mistake!  It was the height of
achievement and triumph.  In pure love for the souls of mankind Jesus
went to the cross and paid the eternal price of sin.  What was happening
on that cross was the greatest act of love this world has ever known.
God was glorifying his Son.
 I'm sure the disciples as they heard about the death of Jesus were quite
rattled by it.  I say, "as they heard" because we know that only one
disciple was at the crucifixion of Jesus.  The rest were too afraid.  The
rest forgot to look at the events going on in the way Jesus told them to
look.  He was telling them in these words that what was going to be was
his glorification.  God was glorifying him.  God was being glorified in
Him.  God was giving Jesus what was to be His, complete and awesome
glorification.  Yes, on the cross it was God's will being done.  On the
cross it was God acting to save mankind.  On the cross the battle was
being won, the enemies of God: sin, death and the Devil were being
utterly defeated.  On the cross Jesus was carrying out to the letter, or
you might say, to the last penny the price of eternal life for mankind.
One has to look beyond the blood and suffering of the cross to see its
purpose and to see how God was being glorified and Jesus with him.
 Of course, we realize that this glorifying of Jesus was not just the
cross but rather is found especially in the resurrection of Jesus from
the dead!  As God had planned that his Son should die, so God had also
planned that his Son should come back to life.  It is the resurrection of
Jesus that brings out the glory that is found in his death.  It is the
resurrection of Jesus that proves that God's Son paid for our sins and
opened forever the gates of heaven.  The exalted and living Savior Jesus
still has the glory that He won on the cross.
 Do you see then the love of God acting in Jesus?  In love Jesus suffered
and died.  In love Jesus was our payment for sin.  In love Jesus has
saved and rescued us forever.  No wonder Jesus, knowing all that was
coming...his death, resurrection and ascension could speak of the hours
just before him as being hours of glory from God.  It was and still is
God's love in action.  Jesus on the cross is God's love acting for our
eternal good.  Jesus in love obeying the Father and paying for our sins.
Jesus in love winning the gift of eternal life and heaven.  If you don't
grasp the glory that is here in Jesus then you don't grasp what Jesus is
about.
 Let me then comment on something else in this text that helps to drive
home this lesson.  In verse 33 Jesus says, "So I tell you now: Where I am
going, you cannot come."  But later on in verse 36 Jesus says to his
disciples, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow
later."  Was Jesus confused?  I think not.  The key is to understand the
now.  The disciples were not going to follow Jesus to the cross, were not
going to be a part of his paying for the sins of the world by their
suffering and death.  The disciples were not going to endure eternal hell
and the wrath of the Father in order to defeat Satan.  That's what Jesus
was referring to with the "you cannot come."  But with the "you will
follow later" Jesus is pointing to his victory, to his resurrection and
the gift of heaven that would now belong to them.  Yes, the disciples and
all who believe in Jesus will join him in heaven.  We will get to his
kingdom and see his glory because that's what Jesus was setting about to
win.  You have to understand the "now" and "later" of this text.
 Let's go on.  At the same time that Jesus spoke of his being glorified,
he also spoke of the new command he was giving us.  Listen to what he
said, "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."
 The key to grasping the wonder of these words is found in that little
phrase "as I have love you."  Our love, our lives are to be patterned
after Jesus.  We are to be inspired and moved by his gracious goodness.
We are to take the example of his love and have that same kind of love
for our fellow believers in Christ.  So Jesus gives us the command: "love
one another."
 That's a pretty hard thing to do sometimes.  We live in a sinful world
where even our fellow believers, sinners that they are, will and do hurt
us.  That hurt can come in so many ways.  The sting of words spoken
callously.  The times when the love we want to feel from family or
friends is withheld or worse yet, they act uncaringly.  We pray for and
seek understanding but no one wants to listen.  We need support and
backing and no one seems around.  As a child you seek the hug of a parent
and instead get harsh words.  As a parent you throw your love at a child
only to have it cast back in your face as if you were nothing.  The hurts
and pains of this sinful world are so numerous.  And please note that I
haven't even really scratched the surface of this harsh and trying world
of ours.
 Yet here is Jesus telling us to "love one another."  Like Jesus we are
to deal with the sinner.  Where God's Word speaks clearly we are to
lovingly and patiently point out sin and the damnation it brings should a
heart not repent.  Isn't that what Jesus did so many times?  And when
confronted by the harshness, the brutality, the hatreds of this world we
are to be like Jesus.  He who hung on the cross and showed us the extent
of his love.  Even on the cross Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, they
don't know what they are doing."
 We are to love one another.  Not with the love, the shallow love this
world often displays but with the deep and abiding love of our Savior
Jesus.  It is a love that hears the words of Jesus and takes them to
heart.  It is a love that works to overcome the wrong, the evil and the
things of this dark world.  It is a love that does not seek to gratify
the acts of the sinful nature but rather desires what is good and right,
holy and pure just as Jesus has shown us.  It is a love that is not proud
or boastful but rather is humble and caring and seeks to deal with our
fellow souls fairly and with godliness.  Here is the example that Jesus
has set before us.
 But what a daunting task he has given us.  What I can tell you is this.
As you grasp and understand the love of Jesus, as you see the wonder and
marvel of his ways and his sacrifice on your behalf, as you humbly
realize how far short of this command we all come and yet how graciously
and lovingly Jesus forgives you will get better at carrying out this love
that Jesus commands.  It may be a daunting task, but just because it is
tough is no excuse to not work your hardest at being like Jesus!  That's
where we have a problem.  Instead of working our hardest to be like Jesus
we all too often take the attitude, "Jesus will forgive me anyway so it
doesn't matter."  That is not what Jesus has asked of us.  What Jesus has
asked of us does matter.  Yes, we need to a people filled with God's
love.
 There is one other thing here that I want to point out.  Please note
that our translation says, "By this all men will know that you are my
disciples, if you love one another."  This is what is known as a present
general conditional sentence and for the most part it is translated
pretty well, except for the if.  For some reason translators like "ifs"
when other words would be more appropriate.  Instead of "if" which makes
it sound you can't be a disciple unless you do this it would be better to
translate "when".  In other words, "when you love one another, all men
will know that you are my disciples."  Loving one another isn't how you
become a disciples, loving one another is what you do as a disciple and
loving one another is how others will understand and see that you are a
disciple.  In other words, Christ love is in us and fills us and we can't
help but love others in return.  It's what we do because we are
disciples!
 There you have it, a look at the love of God and what it will bring.  It
brings about our eternal salvation because Jesus offered himself on the
cross in our place just as His Father desired.  With His resurrection and
ascension Jesus is exalted above all, glorified in himself and bringing
glory to the Father too.  This love that he has shown us fills our lives
and we then in return love others.  Christ for us and Christ in us.  What
a marvel to hear such wonderful truths.  Amen.