Day 309: John 13-15

(The previous post covered events that occurred from the last three or four months to six days before the end of Jesus public ministry.)

John 13
¹ Now before the feast of the passover, Jesus knowing that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto his Father, having loved his own that were in the world, he loved them unto the end.

(This chapter covered the Last Supper, which occurred the day before the Passover. Jesus' death had to occur on Passover to show He was the Lamb that took away the sins of the world. This first sentence of chapter 13 set the context for the rest of the Gospel of John: Jesus knew He would die the next day at sunset, so here was how He continued to love His Disciples unto the end of His time on earth...)

² And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him,

(Doctrine: The devil had put into Judas' heart to betray Jesus before the Last Supper. Judas had already struck a deal with the chief priests according to Matthew 26:14-18 and Mark 14:10-11.)

³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all the things into his hands, and that he came forth from God, and goeth unto God,
⁴ riseth from supper, and layeth aside his garments; and he took a towel, and girded himself.

(Jesus was conscious of the fact that God had given Him authority over these Disciples. Jesus had brooded over them. During supper (a time of breaking bread and fellowship), Jesus taught His last lesson as Rabbi to His Disciples through an illustration...)

⁵ Then he poureth water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

(Jesus began to wash and dry the Disciples' feet.)

⁶ So he cometh to Simon Peter. He saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
⁷ Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt understand hereafter.
⁸ Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

(Peter stated that Jesus would never wash his feet. Jesus responded that if He did not, Peter would have no part with Jesus.)

⁹ Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

(Peter completely changed his mind and said for Jesus to wash also his hands and head.)

¹⁰ Jesus saith to him, He that is bathed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

(Doctrine: Jesus said only the feet needed washing to those who were "clean." This was because the feet are the only part of a believer's body that touches dust. Dust represented flesh: the world. Jesus knew we needed to come in contact with the world in order to reach the world. However, we should not be of the world, rolling around in the dust, so that we need to clean every part of ourselves. We ought to have the minimum contact with the world (our feet) and then consistently clean ourselves of this dust so that it did not spread in our lives.)

¹¹ For he knew him that should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.

(Judas was present for this lesson. This lesson took place during the supper.)

¹² So when he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and sat down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

(Jesus asked His Disciples if they knew what He did by washing their feet. Jesus wanted to see if they understood the deeper spiritual meaning behind the physical act of washing their feet.)

¹³ Ye call me, Teacher, and, Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
¹⁴ If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that ye also should do as I have done to you.
¹⁶ Verily, verily, I say unto you, a servant is not greater than his lord; neither one that is sent greater than he that sent him.
¹⁷ If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them.

(Doctrine: A leader ought to serve. Jesus washed the Disciples' feet to be an example to the Disciples of a leader/servant. None of these Disciples had an excuse for not serving each other because Jesus had served each of them, in front of each other. Jesus could have washed each Disciple's feet in private. However, doing this in front of each other made all of them responsible to each other for this information: not only did they all see the same message, they all knew each other had seen the same message. They could hold each other accountable.)

¹⁸ I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled: He that eateth my bread lifted up his heel against me.
¹⁹ From henceforth I tell you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
²⁰ Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
²¹ When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in the spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

(Jesus was troubled in His Spirit about one of them betraying Him and He stated it plainly: "One of you shall betray me.")

²² The disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.
²³ There was at the table reclining in Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.

(The Disciple described as the one "whom Jesus loved" was John, the author of this Gospel. There were other references to this at the end of this Gospel account: John 21:24.)

²⁴ Simon Peter therefore beckoneth to him, and saith unto him, Tell us who it is of whom he speaketh.

(Peter spoke up, he wanted to know which one of the Disciples would betray Jesus.)

²⁵ He leaning back, as he was, on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?
²⁶ Jesus therefore answereth, He it is, for whom I shall dip the sop, and give it him. So when he had dipped the sop, he taketh and giveth it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

(Jesus did not plainly state with words it was Judas. Jesus illustrated it with an action.)

²⁷ And after the sop, then entered Satan into him. Jesus therefore saith unto him, What thou doest, do quickly.

(Doctrine: Satan is not omnipresent. Satan can only be in one place at one time. After Jesus' sopped the bread, Satan entered Judas. Jesus spoke indirectly to Judas.)

²⁸ Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.
²⁹ For some thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus said unto him, Buy what things we have need of for the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.

(Jesus' indirect identification of the betrayer and indirect instructions to Judas caused the Disciples to not understand Judas was at this moment betraying Jesus. Perhaps the rest of the Disciples were individually relieved it was not themselves that would betray Jesus and they gave no more thought to the situation.)

³⁰ He then having received the sop went out straightway: and it was night.

(Key Point: Judas left the upper room with Satan. Everything said from this point until the Garden where Judas appeared again was said without Judas around. Since Satan can only be in one place at a time, Satan also did not hear what was said because Satan was in Judas.)

³¹ When therefore he was gone out, Jesus saith, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him;
³² and God shall glorify him in himself, and straightway shall he glorify him.

(Jesus stated the plan was in place as it related to others and all that was left was for God the Father and Jesus to do their parts. Jesus stated that God the Father and Him would do their parts and then explained what those parts were: Jesus would be glorified on the cross. God would be glorified by Jesus death, burial, and resurrection, and Jesus would complete everything by immediately giving the glory to God.)

³³ Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say unto you.

(Remember, Jesus was a Rabbi. His Disciples were His students. They thought they had at least ten more years with Him until they became Rabbi's. During this time they were supposed to spend all their time with their Rabbi. However, Jesus just told them He was going somewhere without them, somewhere they were not able to follow Him. The Disciples had to have thought they had lost their Rabbi and they would never be Rabbi's themselves.)

³⁴ A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
³⁵ By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

(Doctrine: Unbelievers will know if we are followers of Jesus by our love for other believers. Jesus, as a Semikah Rabbi, had the authority to give new Doctrine. The Disciples were essentially told they were responsible for continuing their own training with each other. It would have been easy for the Disciples to have felt abandoned at this point.)

³⁶ Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered, Whither I go, thou canst not follow now; but thou shalt follow afterwards.
³⁷ Peter saith unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee even now? I will lay down my life for thee.

(Peter did not want to stay with the Disciples. He wanted to go with Jesus, even if it meant he would die.)

³⁸ Jesus answereth, Wilt thou lay down thy life for me? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.

(Most likely, Peter made his statement in order to convince Jesus to let him come with Jesus, and Peter did not really think about the implications of his statement. Jesus questioned Peter as to whether he would really die for Jesus. Then, Jesus prophesied that Peter would deny Jesus three times before the cock crowed, which implied Peter would not be willing to die for Jesus. Jesus knew the causes within Peter that would lead to his denial of Jesus. For instance, Peter had disagreed with Jesus several times to His face during this Gospel Account, as well as the other Gospel Accounts of this night. In the other Gospel Accounts, Peter even told Jesus He was wrong.)




John 14
¹ Let not your heart be troubled: believe in God, believe also in me.
² In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.

(Doctrine: Jesus went to prepare a place for believers. The only other time God's House was mentioned in the New Testament was by John in Revelation 21:3. God's House/Temple is the new Jerusalem. This is a city that will be 1500 miles square at its base and 1500 miles high. It is made up of rooms/mansions that are occupied by believers. In order to occupy all of this volume with believers, the rooms/mansions would have to be huge. Jesus stated He was preparing a place for us in God's House.)

³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

(Jesus was referencing Marriage. In Revelation 21:2, the new Jerusalem was also referred to as the Bride of Christ. Jewish tradition relative to Marriage was the Jewish groom proposed to the bride and then went away to build their house. The groom was not allowed to come for his bride until his father inspected the house and gave his permission. No one knew when the father would give this permission, not even the groom. When the father gave permission, the groom came for his bride and a feast was declared. People were invited to feast while the bride and groom completed the Marriage Covenant. The best man stood outside the huppah and waited for the groom's call that the Covenant was completed. John 3:29 recorded that John the Baptist was/is Jesus' best man. The believers make up the Bride. Right now, Jesus has gone away to prepare the new Jerusalem so that one day He will come back (at the pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church) to receive us unto Himself.)

⁴ And whither I go, ye know the way.
⁵ Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; how know we the way?
⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.

(Triple Doctrine: Jesus is the (one and only) way (journey), the truth (creator), and the life (the ability to repair). The ultimate effect of these three statements is: no man gets to the Father except by Jesus.

-Jesus is the truth: the right what with the right how/why. Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection was the right action (humility) done with the right how (without sin) and for the right why (love).
-Jesus is the life: the ability to repair. Repair requires creation, which can only be done with truth. We are sinners. We need Repair in order to spend eternity in fellowship with God.
-Jesus is the way: our journey taking direction from God can only be done because of Jesus being the truth and the life. No one can come to God the Father unless it is done by Jesus and what He had provided.)

⁷ If ye had known me, ye would have known my Father also: from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

(Doctrine: The Disciples having seen Jesus could also state they had seen God. Jesus and the Father are both Right and Just in their Nature. If you know Jesus, you know the Father.)

⁸ Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
⁹ Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou, Show us the Father?
¹⁰ Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I say unto you I speak not from myself: but the Father abiding in me doeth his works.

(Doctrine: The Holy Spirit of God dwelt in Jesus and did the works through Jesus.)

¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
¹² Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father.

(Doctrine: Those who believe in Jesus will do the works Jesus did, and greater works, because Jesus went unto the Father. Some have interpreted this passage as "we will do greater works than Jesus because there are (quantitatively) more of us than there was of Jesus." Actually, Jesus said we would do (qualitatively) greater works than Jesus because Jesus went away, and the Holy Spirit would dwell in us.

Notice, the emphasis was on works and why we would be able to do this. Works are initiated by us and result in Reward, not Salvation. We will never do greater Salvation acts than Jesus. However, we will be able to do actions that result in Reward that (individually) will be greater than the specific acts Jesus did because the Holy Spirit will do them through us, and we have the benefit of knowing what Jesus did and with the ability to interact with a greater number of people, we will have even greater opportunities.)

¹³ And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
¹⁴ If ye shall ask anything in my name, that will I do.

(Doctrine: Jesus would still be a part of the greater works we initiate, which was another reason why we can do even greater works.)

¹⁵ If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments.

(Doctrine: Loving Jesus is proven by obeying (actions) His commands.)

¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever,

(Doctrine: We got the Holy Spirit because Jesus prayed to the Father. The Holy Spirit will be with believers forever. It was at this point the Disciples found out that the Disciples would get a new Teacher in Jesus' place.)

¹⁷ even the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him; for he abideth with you, and shall be in you.

(Doctrine: The Holy Spirit would abide with and in believers. The Comforter was called the Spirit of Truth. This was the same Spirit of God that abode in Jesus! Jesus did works by the Holy Spirit. We would do greater works because we would do works by the Holy Spirit and in Jesus' Name.)

¹⁸ I will not leave you desolate: I come unto you.

(Jesus directly stated He would not abandon His students.)

¹⁹ Yet a little while, and the world beholdeth me no more; but ye behold me: because I live, ye shall live also.
²⁰ In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

(Jesus indirectly stated that we would be in the Father like Jesus because we would be in Jesus and Jesus would be in us. The result would be that we would know Jesus is in the Father.)

²¹ He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him.

(Doctrine: God would love those who keep Jesus' commandments and Jesus would make Himself apparent to that person.)

²² Judas (not Iscariot) saith unto him, Lord, what is come to pass that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

(Judas (not Iscariot) specifically asked Jesus what event would cause Jesus to only be apparent to, and realized by, believers and not the world.)

²³ Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
²⁴ He that loveth me not keepeth not my words: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me.
²⁵ These things have I spoken unto you, while yet abiding with you.

(Jesus stated this first part of His answer was something He had already stated: Jesus and God the Father would live within people who love Jesus and keep Jesus' Word. People who did not keep Jesus' Word were rejecting God the Father. Jesus had contrasted the two groups. Next, He could disclose the event...)

²⁶ But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.

(Doctrine: The Holy Spirit being given by God would be the event that would allow Jesus to be manifested to believers and not be manifested to the world. The Comforter (Holy Spirit) would teach believers all things and would bring into believers' memories the Words of Jesus.)

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.

(Doctrine: Believers have the ability to possess Jesus' peace, which is different than what the world offers.)

²⁸ Ye heard how I said to you, I go away, and I come unto you. If ye loved me, ye would have rejoiced, because I go unto the Father: for the Father is greater than I.

(If the Disciples were focused on the long term benefit of Jesus leaving them, they would have rejoiced. They were going to have God living within themselves through the Holy Spirit instead of having God live with them through Jesus.)

²⁹ And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe.

(Jesus concluded His answer by giving His reason for answering: so that when the Holy Spirit was given the Disciples would believe.)

³⁰ I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world cometh: and he hath nothing in me;
³¹ but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

(The "prince of the world" was Satan. Remember, at this time Satan was in Judas and was unable to hear Jesus' words because Judas left the room. Jesus stated that Satan was making his moves and He and the Disciples needed to get up and begin to leave.)




John 15
¹ I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

(Jesus is the Vine, the Father is the Husbandman (Master of the Vine and Worker of the Land).)

² Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit.

(Doctrine: God is focused on growth and profitability. Believers are the branches in the Vine. Every fruitless branch is taken away: people who do not bear fruit are not believers and they end up in eternal torment. Branches that bear fruit (profit) are purged (cut back; to cleanse of filth, impurity) so they bear more fruit. This could be seen as the shoots on the profitable branch being cut off so that the tree could focus on producing more fruit through the fruitful branches. God's measure for whether or not you are a believer is Righteousness. If you have God's Righteousness in you, it will be proven by growth and profitability.)

³ Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you.
⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me.
⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing.

(Doctrine: Believers only grow and profit if they live in Christ through the Holy Spirit. The branches only bear fruit if they abide in the Vine.)

⁶ If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

(Doctrine: People who do not abide in Christ spend their existence in eternal torment.)

⁷ If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
⁸ Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye be my disciples.

(Doctrine: The Father is glorified when we bear much fruit (give great profit). Jesus concluded this portion of the lesson with a direct conclusion. The mini-summary was that we can only be profitable if Jesus is in us and working through us by the Holy Spirit, and this process would be painful because it would involve being cut back so we could produce more. Jesus then worked His way up to explaining a powerful example of us being profitable because God is working through us...)

⁹ Even as the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you: abide ye in my love.
¹⁰ If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
¹¹ These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

(Doctrine: Jesus spoke all of this so that His joy may be in us and our joy may be made full. We can be joyful even when circumstances are painful. In fact, our joy ought to be full in order to bear the most pain and bear the most fruit.)

¹² This is my commandment, that ye love one another, even as I have loved you.

(Doctrine: Jesus' commandment was love one another as Christ loved you.)

¹³ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

(Doctrine: Love is quantitative. There is no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends. This is very painful to the flesh and very fruitful. Love is the giving of a value without expecting a return from the person you gave to. If you gave your life for that friend they could not give a return. Notice, this verse also stated it was giving your life for a friend, not just anyone. Giving your life for a friend, for someone you could speak for, would be an assurance that what they did with the love you gave to them would be used to create something more. There is no way for a person to give more and prevent themselves from lessening what was given.)

¹⁴ Ye are my friends, if ye do the things which I command you.

(Doctrine: You are Jesus' friend if you do His commandments. You can speak for Jesus if you love others as Jesus loved you.)

¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I heard from my Father, I have made known unto you.

(Doctrine: Jesus made all things known that He heard from His Father. This would make people who love Jesus "friends" and not "servants.")

¹⁶ Ye did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

(Doctrine: Jesus selected the Disciples as friends in response to their willingness to do His commandments. This did not mean that Jesus selected these Disciples to be friends against their will. Jesus selected Judas to be a Disciple and Judas did not do Jesus' commandments, he betrayed Jesus. The reason Jesus selects believers is so that they will bear fruit that will last. However, whether the person bears fruit or not is dependent on whether the person humbles themselves and allows Jesus to work through them via the Holy Spirit. Then Jesus "selects" them for Salvation in response to their willingness to do Jesus' commandments. Again, Jesus was working His way up to presenting another painful example of God working through us that is painful to our flesh...)

¹⁷ These things I command you, that ye may love one another.
¹⁸ If the world hateth you, ye know that it hath hated me before it hated you.
¹⁹ If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
²⁰ Remember the word that I said unto you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.

(Doctrine: Believers will be hated and persecuted by the world. Jesus was persecuted and we should not expect to have all the blessings of being in Jesus without having to deal with the persecutions. Next, Jesus got more specific as to why the world persecutes people who love...)

²¹ But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.

(Doctrine: We are persecuted because of Jesus, not because of ourselves. Jesus said the religious leaders of His day persecuted Him because they did not know God. The religious leaders considered Jesus the source of the conviction (and love) coming to them from God through Jesus. The religious leaders thought they were rejecting the source when they persecuted Jesus. Actually, they were rejecting God. Likewise, people who persecute us for letting God flow through us actually reject God, not us. As believers, we allow God to flow through us to other people. This is love, however, it can also result in conviction. Jesus told us to confront other believers (Luke 17:3; Matthew 18:15) who sin against us for their benefit, which is love. Sometimes this conviction upsets believers who are acting in their flesh. These believers want to displace pain, however, they do not want to displace it onto God. Instead, they displace it on the vessel God flowed through. Consequently, believers get persecuted by others because of God, because God flowed through them to others. This happened to Jesus and was also exactly what happened with the prophets. People can displace the pain (as a result of their flesh getting convicted by God) onto the source of whom God flowed through, and not feel like they displaced their pain onto God, however, they are deceiving themselves.)

²² If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no excuse for their sin.

(The Pharisees had a cloke for their sin but Jesus removed the cloke by making known to the Pharisees their hypocrisies. According to Romans 14:23, sin is whatsoever is not of faith (understanding and experience). If Jesus had not helped their understanding and experience, they would not be guilty of sin.)

²³ He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
²⁴ If I had not done among them the works which none other did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
²⁵ But this cometh to pass, that the word may be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.

(Doctrine: The religious leaders were unjust in their persecution of Jesus. Jesus referenced Psalm 69:4. Notice, Jesus was persecuted because of what He allowed God to do through Him towards others. Jesus was adamant throughout His time on earth that He only did what the Father told Him to do, that He did nothing of Himself. God flowed through Jesus to love the religious leaders of His time by helping them kill their flesh. However, the religious leaders in the flesh wanted to displace their pain and justified their actions by blaming Jesus (God's vessel) instead of the real source (God). The result was they persecuted Jesus without a just cause, which resulted in an infinite amount of fruit through Justice. Likewise, our being unjustly persecuted because we allow God to flow through us to others is an example of being profitable that is painful to our flesh.)

²⁶ But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me:
²⁷ and ye also bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

(Doctrine: The Holy Spirit would bear witness of Jesus, just as God the Father did. Jesus would send the Holy Spirit from the Father, which implied this would only be done once Jesus went to the Father.)

(This post covered the events and teaching at the Last Supper. The next chapter continued covering these events.)

Day 310