Denial By a Friend

God’s people would take their
Bibles and turn back once again to John chapter 13. John chapter 13, where we have
been for many weeks. You know it well, they are in
the upper room. They are in the midst of a series
really of feasts, not only the preparation for the Passover,
but also the initiation of the Lord’s table And also that remarkable
scene where Christ went around, got down on his knees and washed
his disciples’ feet as an example to them, as an admonition to
them, as a rebuke of their own selfishness. And so one of the
remarkable things of that particular setting was that Judas was one
of the ones whose feet was washed. Well we saw Judas’s departure
last week. We saw that Judas planned this,
that he was in on the plot to betray Christ. And really, if
you think of it, all of the disciples just have to be reeling right
now. At one point, they were even
considering whether they might be the one that was betraying
Christ. There’s some of that in all of
us. self-doubt, doubt about our salvation, doubt about our growth
and grace, questions of whether, you know, why we’re still struggling
with things or why new sins have mounted and shown themselves
in our advanced years in Christ. There’s doubt all the time. And
I think there was doubt even in this room, sustained doubt
even after Judas had been identified. Perhaps some of the other apostles
were wondering whether they could remain faithful. And so this last passage, which
culminates in the identification of Peter’s weakness, Jesus wants
to strengthen his disciples. He wants to talk to the 11 that
remain on a whole new level. He wants to appeal to them and
he wants them to be used and he wants them to be usable. And
so in a sense, this is rehabilitation. This is encouragement. This is
Jesus coming along his beloved apostles to strengthen them. for the work of service. If you
would, I want to pick up in verse 31 all the way down through verse
38. Therefore, when he, that is Judas,
had gone out, Jesus said, now is the Son of Man glorified,
and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God
will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him immediately. Little children, I am with you
a little while longer. You will seek me, and as I said
to the Jews, now I also say to you, where I am going, you cannot
come. A new commandment I give to you.
that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you
have love also for one another. By this, all men will know that
you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. Simon Peter said to him, Lord,
where are you going? Jesus answered, where I go, you
cannot follow me now, but you will follow later. Peter said
to him, Lord, why can I not follow you right now? I will lay down
my life for you. Jesus answered, will you lay
down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a
rooster will not crow until you deny me three times. Jesus had just dismissed Judas. Judas went out to do what Judas
had planned to do. Jesus was unable to bring about
repentance. Judas was unwilling to repent. Even the foot washing, even the
admonition, even the identification of Judas by that morsel dipped
by Jesus’ own hand. None of those things were able
to bring Judas to repentance. Judas is on a collision course
with his own will. And Jesus has left with the 11
faithful. And Jesus wants to encourage
them. And He wants to uncover, reveal,
communicate A series of truths that up to this point, they didn’t
really have a good grasp. And so Jesus begins a short but
powerful discourse to these remaining 11. Now this discourse, if you’re
aware of the chapters that remain, will go on and on. Chapter 14, 15, 16. It will culminate
in Jesus’ high priestly prayer. But to begin with, Jesus wants
to drive home three clear points to his apostles, three things
that can’t be overlooked and they are profound in nature. First of all, Jesus makes a great
declaration, a great declaration, literally that Jesus will be
glorified with his father. Look at verse 31. Therefore when
he had gone out, Jesus said, now is the son of man glorified
and God is glorified in him. That was a great declaration. Because what they had just heard
was that Judas had betrayed Christ and on the face of it, from a
human viewpoint, that was not a good thing. This was a dreadful
thing that Christ is going to suffer and that now he’s going
to suffer at the hands of a sinful individual like Judas. But in verse 31, if you notice
a little detail there, therefore, when he had gone out, it points
to that moment of departure for Judas. That up to this point
Jesus in a sense had been holding back. Jesus hadn’t told them
a lot of the things that he’s going to uncover in these next
few chapters. He hadn’t told them these three
things. In a sense he was reserved, holding
back. Judas had gone out on his own
will. Judas had gone out on his own
mission. Jesus hadn’t cast him out of
their presence. He’d gone out on his own, but
now that he had gone out, this departure from Judas opens up
a new door, a new day of ministry by Christ to his disciples. From this point forward, there’s
almost a sense of relief, isn’t there? There’s almost a sense
of openness and willingness to speak much more freely. to his
disciples. The departure of the traitor
was a significant moment in Christ’s ministry. And in a very real
way, the leaven now had been removed. The company of 12 had been pared
down, but it was the evil element that had been removed. And so
the Lord looks at this little group keeping in mind that Judas
now was gone and Jesus begins to speak to them in a new way. Look at verse 31 again. Therefore
when he had gone out, Jesus said, now is the Son of Man glorified. The things were already in motion. Judas was going to betray Christ
and on the face of it, it’s an evil thing, but it’s going to
lead to the redemption of mankind. And in that, Jesus Christ is
glorified as is the Father. Judas is already setting in motion
by God’s providence a series of events that will end up in
Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion and burial on our behalf. Jesus would be glorified in completing
the work which he had come to do, which the father had ordained
from eternity past. And Jesus Christ had come to
do taking on human flesh to pay for our sins in that Jesus was
going to be glorified in himself. And the father was going to be
glorified as that unfolded. Jesus Christ was coming to die
as our substitute. He was coming to shed His blood
for us, for the sins of the world. And in that, Jesus Christ was
glorified. Glorified in doing what He had
come to do. It was His atoning work on the
cross that brought God glory. It was glory for Christ to complete
that work. As one pastor said, the Lord
does not speak of His death as a punishment or a disgrace, or
a humiliation, but as an event most glorious, glorifying both
to himself and to the Father. The glorification is so near,
that Christ would be glorified is so near and that the Father
would be glorified is so near that it’s spoken of as a thing
already accomplished. The Son of Man is glorified. Now the Son of Man is glorified. Now the Father is glorified in
Him. At that very moment As Judas
goes out and begins to put into place the mechanism that will
take Christ to the cross, Christ is already being glorified. There are three things that you
can observe from that passage as it falls out. God is glorified
in the Lord Jesus Christ. God will glorify Christ in the
process of this plan of redemption, and He will do it immediately.
It is already unfolding. It is already happening. God’s
glory is already on display. And it will continue to be on
display through the passion, through the resurrection, through
the ascension of Christ to be at the Father’s right hand. God
wasn’t caught off guard by any of this. Jesus Christ wasn’t
caught off guard by any of this either. God would glorify Christ
with the glory that Jesus had before the world even existed. He’s restoring that glory in
a sense, but it’s even a more glorious glory, if you will,
having finished his great plan of redemption. This is exactly
what Jesus prays for in that high priestly prayer in John
17. We’ll get there one day. I glorified you in the earth,
having accomplished the work which you have given me to do. Now, Father, glorify me together
with yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the
world was.” This is a restored glory in a sense. And this is
a profound prayer for Christ to make. For Jesus Christ to
ask to be glorified is a mark of deity. John Calvin said it
this way, God alone is worthy of all glory. For while he scatters
on his creatures in every direction the sparks of his glory, still
all glory truly belongs perfectly to him alone. There is no glory,
but that which belongs to God. And so for Jesus Christ to ask
the father to glorify him as a mark of his deity. And that deity was honored. That
request was honored. That request to be glorified
as God was honored. Remember Philippians chapter
two, that great call to humility. where it says that Jesus Christ
humbled Himself and took on human flesh. And when it was all said
and done, when the plan of redemption had been completed, for this
reason also God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name
which is above every name. Jesus Christ was glorified. One Puritan writer detailed,
both were glorified. The Son on the one hand specially
glorifies the Father’s attributes of holiness, justice, and mercy
by satisfying all his demands with his own precious blood on
the cross. Jesus Christ glorified the Father
in his great plan of redemption. But the Father also glorified
the Son. So on the other hand, the Father
specially glorifies the Son by exalting Him above all principality
and power, raising Him from the dead, giving Him a name above
every name. Here we have, He says, perfect
harmony and cooperation of the persons of the blessed Trinity.
The Son glorifies the Father. The Father glorifies the Son.
The Son shows the world by His death how holy and how just is
the Father and how He hates sin. That the Father would allow His
own Son to go and pay that penalty, rather than just brush these
offenses aside, downplay them, Ignore them if possible. God’s justice system was upheld
in the sending of his son. But likewise, he says the father
shows the world by raising and exalting his son to glory, how
he delights in the redemption of sinners, which the son has
accomplished. Both were glorified. This is
a profound point. This is something that had been
alluded to in little tiny bits and pieces throughout Jesus’
ministry. But here now, with Judas removed,
Jesus turns to them with this great declaration that Jesus
Christ will be glorified with the Father. But there’s another
profound statement here. Here we also have a great revelation
Look at verse 33. This great revelation is that
Jesus will be departed from his friends. Now, he had alluded
to this likewise before. In fact, in Luke’s gospel, on
three separate occasions, he looks forward towards Jerusalem,
and he tells them what awaits them, or what awaits him specifically. And here, in a very touching
way, He reminds them once again of what’s coming. And it is a
great revelation. Great in the sense that it had
to be utterly shocking to the disciples to hear this once again. To have this point reiterated
that, look, I am leaving. I am departing. Look at verse 33. Little children,
I am with you a little while longer. You will seek me, and
as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, where I am going,
you cannot come. I want you just to pause and
put yourself in their sandals, if you would. They have just
been severely rebuked in this foot washing incident. Some of
them are still processing that and out of that grows this departure,
this betrayal of such horrific nature that one of their own
who had walked with Jesus served with these others for three years
undetected. Now has been identified as a
betrayer and now he has removed himself And it’s in that context
that Jesus turns to them. Nowhere else in the Gospels does
this happen. He turns to them and he says, little children,
little children were so special to the Lord Jesus Christ. But he uses this term here of
grown men who were probably frightened, bewildered, troubled in heart. Jesus doesn’t use this expression,
as I said, anywhere else in the Gospels. And he’s basically using it as
he speaks to men who are just about to be orphaned. That’s
the message. I’m leaving. Little children,
I’m with you a little while longer. You will seek me, and as I said
to the Jews, now I say also to you, where I am going, you cannot
come. Now Jesus had said this on two
prior occasions to the Jews. Just jot these down if you think
of it. John chapter seven, he said it. In John chapter seven,
verse 33, Jesus said, for a little while longer I am with you, then
I go to him who sent me. You will seek me and will not
find me, and where I am you cannot come. And then in John chapter
eight, he repeats it. In John chapter 8, he said again
to them, I go away and you will seek me and you will die in your
sin where I am going, you cannot come. There’s an element there
that he adds that he doesn’t say to his apostles here in the
upper room. He doesn’t tell them that they
will die in their sin. He does say that he’s leaving.
He does say that they cannot come, not now. And so people wonder, what is
it that he’s talking about? Where is he talking about going?
Is he going to go to the garden of Gethsemane? Because they could
follow him there. Is he going to go to the cross?
Theoretically, they could follow him there as well, although it
wouldn’t mean anything. It’s not just the time after
the resurrection, after the disciples had seen the risen Christ, not just following the ascension, but he basically says he’s talking
about death. He’s talking about the return
to the Father. He’s talking about his own death,
burial, and resurrection, and ultimately his ascension into
heaven. But he basically says to his apostles, it’s not your
time. You cannot go there now. That was a great revelation.
They weren’t prepared for Jesus to leave. They weren’t prepared
for this thing to fall apart. They weren’t prepared for everything
to come to an end. They enjoyed ministry with Christ. They enjoyed walking with Christ
and getting to know and learn and love Christ and walk with
Him. And who wouldn’t? And so this revelation was new.
And it was bewildering. It was troubling to them. Jesus
would be departed. He would be leaving them. leaving
them for good, not just for a brief break. But there’s a third remarkable
statement that’s made. Not only this great declaration
that Jesus will be glorified with his father and a great revelation
that Jesus will be departed from his friends, but this great admonition
that Jesus will be emulated in his love. Now this fits. perfectly, hand in glove with
what he had already modeled to them in their expected treatment
of one another in the washing of feet. He expected them to
serve and he expected them to serve out of love for one another,
out of love even for Christ. But here, look at verse 34. He
says, I give a new commandment, I give to you that you love one
another even as I have loved you, that you love one another.
By this, all men will know that you are my disciples if you have
love for one another. Let’s set the scene here. For
Jesus to get into this lesson now, Three years he’d been walking
with them. But may I remind you that in
the context of the discourse, of the foot washing, of this
whole scene in the upper room, the institution of the Lord’s
Supper, may I remind you that there was an argument that took
place, a significant argument of who got to sit where, who
was going to be number one, who was going to have the place of
honor, who was going to be greatest, So for Jesus to circle back and
press reset, refresh this lesson, this admonition on loving one
another was a severe rebuke again. For Jesus to have to say this
again, even though he’s already shown them in the most graphic
way that we ought to love and serve one another and our service
is to be an extension of our love for one another. It’s to
be an example of it. But here he is in the upper room
on the last occasion of ministry with them. And he’s giving this charge once
again. And this subject, he presses
home to their hearts. this need of brotherly love.
And it’s a new kind of love. That’s why he says it’s a new
commandment. It’s not new in a sense that they had never heard
of it. Leviticus 19.18 says it quite explicitly that you are
to love your neighbor as yourself. You’re to love the Lord your
God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. It wasn’t
a new commandment. But it was to be like Christ’s
love. It was to be like Christ loves
us. In that sense, it was new. In
that sense, it was a more superlative kind of love than anything they’d
ever heard about. It was a patient kind of love.
It was a delicate, tender kind of love. It was an enduring kind
of love. J.C. Ryle said, this love needs
to be a very rare and important grace to be so spoken of, to
be spoken of here. It was absolutely indispensable,
Jesus said, that this love be a mark of you men. And he says the same thing to
us as well, that that kind of love To say it here and now,
just prior to the institution of the Lord’s table, this love
is absolutely indispensable for the church. J.C. Ryle says the lack of it
has to be a plain proof that a man is no disciple of Christ. If we don’t love one another,
if we don’t love like Christ loves, then there’s good reason
to question. A lot of times we’ve described,
you know, this little church. We’re on Prospect, we’re between
Shields and Taft. We’re on the north side of the
road, little red brick building, red roof. That is not the most
distinctive feature of the church. We describe the church in various
ways. We have this, we have that. We
have these people, we have those kinds of people. That’s not the most distinctive
feature of the church. The most distinctive feature
of the church is or is supposed to be the love of believers for
one another. And it’s supposed to be a sincere
kind of love, a genuine kind of love, an active kind of love,
not unlike we saw last night, a self-giving affection for one
another. You see, the opposite is so prevalent,
even in churches, that it begins the process of really weakening
the mortar between the bricks, slowly but surely. It really
is nothing short of hatred. If it isn’t love, if it isn’t
an active, genuine, sincere, active love, it might as well
be hatred. Here’s how one described it,
Charles Bridges. One of my heroes of the faith
said it this way. Hatred, however varnished by
a smooth pretense, is the selfish principle of man. He says you can polish it up,
put makeup on it, dress it up however you want, At the end
of the day, if it isn’t an active, genuine, self-giving love, it’s
hatred. If it’s not like Christ’s love,
it might as well just be hatred because it falls short of the
standard. He goes on to describe it, like a subterraneous fire,
it continually stirs up mischief, creates or keeps alive a rankling
coldness, disgusts, dislikes, it carves at the infirmities
of others, it aggravates at the least slip or resents the most
trifling or even imaginary provocation. Now if that stung a little bit,
and it should, I think it stings because it hits all of us. We
all do that. We all let our more perfect love,
our Christ-like love, degenerate really pretty quickly sometimes,
don’t we? Into those kinds of criticisms
and really manifestations of hatred towards others. for Christ to press home the
need of loving one another once again was not only a rebuke to
his disciples, but it was an appeal to start afresh, to rekindle
their affection for one another, practical affection, and that
it should be a mutual thing. And it should be as Christ loved
them. selflessly, sacrificially, understandingly,
empathetically, forgivingly. That’s what our love ought to
be like for one another. A.W. Pink said it very well when
he said, love is the badge of Christian discipleship. That’s how people know who we
are. It’s by how we treat one another. Love is the badge of Christian
discipleship. It is not knowledge, nor orthodoxy,
nor fleshly activities, but supremely love, which identifies a follower
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The mark of a true Christian
is love, a genuine, active love, not in words, but in deeds. And
so Jesus once again presses home this need of loving one another. And now it’s Peter’s turn. Peter was fixated. Not on the totality of this message,
not on its completeness, but on one little part. Lord, where
are you going? The apostle could very well be
commended here for fixating on that, and it’s certainly understandable.
He’d walked with them these so many years, he’d heard of these
things, but now this is becoming reality. Jesus Christ is going
to depart, and there’s something there that we lack sometimes. We don’t want to spend enough
time with Christ. He was absolutely panic-stricken
at the thought of being without Christ. But do you see this remarkable
thing? It’s astounding, amazing to me
really, that of these three incredible profound things that Jesus just
tells his friend, Peter fixates on one, only one. You would have
thought that Peter would have been amazed at all three of them,
but he’s only fixated on the one, that Jesus will be departed
from his friends, and quite simply, he ignores the other two. He
ignores the great declaration that Jesus will be glorified.
He ignores the great admonition that Jesus will be emulated by
his love, and instead he’s fixated. Where are you going? And Jesus answered him, so graciously. Where I go, you cannot follow
me now, but you will follow later. And Jesus is so humble, so gracious
in this reply. I mean, if there was ever a reason
to can the guy, to start fresh, right? Wouldn’t you? I mean,
I’ve sent baseball players packing for less than this. Wouldn’t
you get rid of somebody like this? Peter, what is wrong with
you? Right, that’s how we operate.
You need to go through retraining. But Jesus is so gracious. He doesn’t take the time or the
energy to tell Peter exactly where he’s going. He just says
that he’s leaving and that Peter will follow. That isn’t enough for Peter.
Are we surprised by this? Peter said to him, verse 37,
Lord, why can I not follow you right now? I will lay down my
life for you. I’m ready to die, let’s both
go. That isn’t God’s plan. That isn’t what Jesus intends.
That’s not the plan that’s going to be put into effect. Peter’s
death at this point would mean absolutely nothing. God has a
plan for Peter and his life as we’ll see in a moment. He just
sees Christ going away and now he equates that with death and
quite boldly says, I’m ready. There’s courage here. Some of
that is commendable. Jesus corrects even that. Will
you? Verse 38, will you lay down your
life for me, Peter? Let me tell you what’s really
going to happen, Peter. Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster
will not crow until you deny me three times. You probably
already know this. All four of the gospel writers
record this heartbreaking revelation to Peter. I mean, this had to
just rocked his world, right? First he hears that somebody’s
going to betray. It might be, it’s one of the
twelve. It could possibly be even him. And now Judas has been exposed. At least he’s free of that. But
now he’s being told that he’s going to deny Christ, not once,
but three times. And all four accounts agree on
that. The rooster won’t crow. Dawn
will not come. is essentially what’s being communicated
there. You won’t even see the light
of day before you’ve denied me three different times. And you know what, in all the
discourses, it’s remarkable. Peter falls absolutely silent. And in John’s gospel, it isn’t
until chapter 18, verse 10 that we hear from Peter again, period.
Peter falls absolutely silent. And you know what, like I said,
there is in that, there’s a lot of you and I, isn’t there? There’s
a lot of you and I in that fear, in that doubt. There’s a lot
of you and I in that sinful tendency that Peter shows here, always
shooting off his mouth, always talking about what he’s going
to do, what he’s going to accomplish, what he’s incapable of doing. But there is a lot of hope in
this passage. And if you’re here today and
you’re struggling and you find more Peter in your heart than
you’re comfortable with, there’s hope. If you’re a struggler like
the rest of us, if you’re still not rid of things that have been
lurking around and hanging around for 20 years, there’s hope. And it’s remarkable hope. I want
to go back to verse 36. And I just want you to look at
the second part of that verse. Judas has been removed, remember? He’s talking to the faithful.
He’s talking to the eleven. But in a very real way, he’s
talking to those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. They trust Him. They believe
in Him. They believe that He is the only
way of forgiveness for sin. Look at what he says to Peter.
Where I go, you cannot follow me now. And that now should not
be overlooked. Because immediately, Jesus says,
you will follow later. There’s an assurance there. There’s
an assurance that Peter is really and truly saved. That the death
that Jesus alludes to is only the start, that Jesus Christ
not only is going to die and be resurrected, but so is Peter. There’s hope in those words.
And right at the moment, it looks very doubtful for Peter, doesn’t
it? I mean, he’s bumbling. He opens his mouth at all the
wrong times. He says what all of us are thinking,
but wouldn’t dare to say. Would he ever become what Christ
had trained him to be? Would he ever get over himself? Would he ever get out of his
own way and get over his own agenda and shut his own mouth? Would he ever? And Jesus says here, with great
hope to Peter and to us, you will. You will follow later and there,
as I said, is great hope in those words. There’s hope for Peter
and there’s hope for you and I. Because you know what, it’s
God the one, the same one that initiated the work of salvation
is doing the work of sanctification and to you and I he says, you
will. God is the one that changes hearts. God is the one who saves souls. God is the one who perfects and
chastens and purges and perfects. Jesus effectively here promises
to Peter that unlike Judas who had just departed. And when I
say Judas had departed, not merely from their presence, but Judas
had departed from Christ himself. Judas had departed from the faith,
Judas had departed from Christianity, Judas had departed from any hope
of salvation. Unlike Judas, there is hope for
Peter that he will follow in time, and there’s hope for you
and I. And you could say, yeah, but
this guy, Peter, he is a real piece of work. This is a project
that’s going to take years and years and years, and only God
can change him. But it’s gonna take some time,
you’d have to admit. How does 40 days sound? We look
at Peter and we see these bumbling, stumbling, foolish, goofy, sinful
things that he does, and we say it’s gonna take years and years
and years of God’s maximum sustained effort on Peter for Peter to
amount to anything. And I’m telling you, God did
it in 40 days. Give or take the amount of time
remaining for Jesus to influence and shape Peter before Peter’s
big exam, the inauguration of his own public ministry. God did it. God did it. You think of that great declaration
that basically Peter was apt to overlook, that Jesus Christ
would be glorified? Well, Peter didn’t overlook it
for long. In fact, just right outside of
40 days later, in Acts chapter 2, in fact, turn to Acts chapter
2 if you would, In Acts chapter 2, we see a transformed
Peter. We see a remade Peter. We see a Peter that bears the
marks of God’s grace in his life. And a Peter that is ready to
embrace the fact that Jesus Christ was glorified. Look at verse
22. Jesus, Peter rather here, is
preaching to the Jews. Men of Israel, listen to these
words. Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles
and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your
midst, just as you yourselves know, this man delivered over
by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed
to the cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death.
But God raised him again, putting an end to the agony of death
since it was impossible to be held in his power. Now as much
as I’d love to read the rest of that, jump down to verse 30. He’s talking about the prophet
David and his statements and he says, because he was a prophet
and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath, to seat one
of his descendants on his throne. He looked ahead and spoke of
the resurrection of the Christ that he was neither abandoned
to Hades nor did his flesh suffer decay. This God, this Jesus,
God raised up again to which we are all witnesses. This is
Peter laying out not only the historical but the prophetical
support for Jesus’ resurrection. And then look at this in verse
33. Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God, and
having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit,
he was poured forth this which you both see and hear, for it
was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says,
the Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make
your enemies a footstool from your feet. Therefore, let all
the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him
both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” This is
not a timid, uncertain, bewildered, forlorn Peter. This is Peter
filled with the Spirit of the living God proclaiming exactly
what Jesus just told him, that he would be glorified. Years later in writing his epistle,
in fact, if we have just a, just turn if you would to 1 Peter.
And I’ll keep this one short. 1 Peter chapter 1. and jump down to verse 18. You
know that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver
or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,
but with precious blood as of a lamb, unblemished, spotless,
the blood of Christ. For he was foreknown before the
foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times
for the sake of you, who through him are believers in God, who
raised him from the dead and gave him glory. so that your
faith and hope are in God. He says Jesus Christ would be
glorified. In 1 Peter 4 he says, speaking
of Christ, to whom belongs glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen. And so Jesus Christ has been
glorified and now Peter fully understands that and he sees
the importance of are articulating that in in in really in boasting
in that. What about this element, the
second element that we talked about that Jesus Christ will
be departed? Peter has come to embrace that
as well. It took some time. Remember, just after the resurrection,
Jesus Christ dealt with this second element, the need for
Peter to follow faithfully. Jesus Christ’s Even after the
severe corrections in the upper room and the revelation that
Peter would deny him, Peter is still in need of correction.
Flip, if you would, to John 21. Remember, in a sense, Peter has
cashed it in. He’s chucked the ministry and
he’s gone back to fishing. That’s how I take John 21. that
he’s gone fishing. Pick it up in verse 18. Peter,
and all who believe that Jesus is the Christ will follow. If
you are a believer in Christ, you will falter, you will stumble,
but ultimately you will follow. That’s exactly Jesus’ point to
Peter. Truly, truly, I say to you, when
you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you
wished. He’s bringing a little dose of reality to Peter. But
when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else
will gird you and bring you where you do not wish to go. Now this,
he said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
And when he had spoken this, he said to him, follow me. Peter Turning around, saw the disciple
whom Jesus loved, following them, the one who had leaned back on
his bosom at supper and said, Lord, who is the one who betrays
you? So Peter, seeing him, you see,
this is how our kids operate, right? What about her? But how
come he gets to, right? That’s what Peter’s doing. It’s
absurd. What about this man? Jesus said
to him, If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to
you? You follow me. And the beautiful thing about
this passage is the you will. If you are in Christ, if you
have placed your faith in Christ, you will follow Christ. And you
may stumble and you may struggle like Peter did even here following
Jesus’ resurrection. but we see him 40 days later
and he is a remade man. He is a man that bears the marks
of God’s grace. But what about the third point?
Did Peter ever embrace this third point? The great admonition to emulate
Christ’s love? He did. He absolutely did. In 1 Peter chapter 1, Peter loved
so much that he appealed to those to whom he was writing and he
said, since you have, in obedience to the truth, purified your souls
for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from
the heart. Do you think he remembered the
foot washing? Do you think he remembered the impact of the
upper room? Do you think he remembered the
model of the Lord Jesus Christ? When he said fervently, love
one another from the heart, make it practical, make it heartfelt,
let everyone see, let the world see how much you love one another.
I’m telling you He did. And that’s why I tell you there’s
much hope in those words. You will. It isn’t perfect now. We’re not perfect in our understanding
of the glorification of Christ and what that means and all its
significance. We’re not even content right
now in following incompletely in the Lord’s footsteps who we
cannot see because He’s departed. And we’re certainly not perfect
in our love for one another. But there’s hope in those words
that what God has begun in us He will perfect. You will. You will see Christ exalted.
You will follow hard after Christ. And you will love like Christ
loves. If God is at work within you,
those things will be true. Let’s humble ourselves before
him. Our merciful King, we humble
ourselves before our Almighty God, our Savior, our Lord Jesus
Christ. And Lord, we do rejoice now these
2,000 years later looking and seeing that in a very real way,
you were glorified and God was glorified to see your work finished,
but that continues every day. Every day you are glorified.
As sinners turn to you, as Christians live like they ought, Lord, we know that we walk in
this world without a physical mentor, without you being next
to us as you were with the apostles. But Lord, we thank you and praise
you that you grant us the grace to follow you. You grant us the
grace to walk in your footsteps. And Lord Jesus, we thank you.
It couldn’t be called love at all if it was just from us, but
we do thank you that From time to time, you manifest that care
and concern, that practical affection through us that really is truly
a mark of God at work within us. And so we pray. We pray that you would fan the
flames of these coals. They may be gray on the outside,
but inside they’re white hot. And I pray, Father, that you
would stir our hearts to extol Your glory, Your exaltation at
the right hand of God, that You completed Your work of redemption,
and I pray that You would grant us the grace to follow You with
everything in our being. Lord, we pray that You would
manifest through us the sweet aroma that is such a testimony
to a fallen world, that we love one another, in deep and practical
ways, like our own Savior did, in paying for our sin. Lord,
we thank you, and we pray that you would examine every believer’s
heart. And if there are any here who
find not even the ounce of grace to live like we’ve been admonished
to live, Lord, that’s an indication that they’re not truly saved.
But just like with Peter, There’s hope. Jesus Christ is here and
he’s available. He says, come to me. Father, thank you. We pray that
you would do your work in each person’s heart. It’s in Jesus
name that we pray. Amen.