John 2021

John chapter 13. Our reading is gonna be verse 1 and then verse 18 to 38. It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.

Having loved his own, who were in the world, he loved them to the end. I am not referring to all of you, I know those I have chosen, but this is to fulfill this passage of scripture. He who shared my bread has turned against me. I am telling you now before it happens so that when it does happen, you will believe that I am who I am. Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me, and whoever accepts me, accepts the 1 who sent me, After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified.

Very truly I tell you, 1 of you is going to betray me. His disciples stared at 1 another at a loss to know which of them he meant. 1 of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, ask him which 1 he means. Leading back against Jesus, he asked him.

Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, It is the 1 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. The son of Simon iscariot. As soon as judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

Jesus told him, so Jesus told him. What you are about to do, do quickly. But no 1 at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judith had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judith had taken the bread, he went out, and it was night.

When he was gone, Jesus said, Now the son of man is 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 1 another, as I have loved you, so you must love 1 another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love 1 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? Very truly I tell you before the cock crows, you will disown me 3 times. Good evening. My name is Pete Woodcock.

I'm 1 of the pastors here. If you don't know me, we're working our way through John's gospel, and it's it's really amazing powerful gospel. Let me pray. Father help us now. As we look at this passage, quite a familiar passage in some ways.

But please help us to hear what you say to us that we may be real people living in the light of these truths. In Jesus' name we pray. Oh, ma'am. I've been reading this book, which are it's this type of book I really love. It's called love and let die.

And then it's bond the Beatles and the British shyche And it's really about modern culture and how we, even though you may not know anything about James Bond or the Beatles, how we've been massively affected as a culture by those 2 big sort of, you know, corporations, really, bond films, and and the Beatles. And it's a really, really good, very, very helpful. But in it, he tells the true story about a a a real event that I hadn't heard of before. And I'm just gonna read a bit of it. He says the first global television broadcast was produced in 19 67.

It was a 2 and a half hour program called our world. It featured contribution from 14 countries and was with witnessed by an estimated audience of 700000000 people. Now that's nearly as many as those that saw the queen's funeral. There were massive exaggerations about how many billions saw the queen's funeral. It probably was something like 7 50000000, which is is enough that saw the Queen's funeral, not the billions that people talk about.

So here was the first world television program. He writes about it and he says that each country had a a segment. They weren't to make it political, No heads of states, no politicians were allowed to do their little segment to sell their country. 4 days before it went live, Russia pulled out because they wanted to make to do politics. And he says that the segments were pretty boring from most countries.

You had things like sports achievements traditional cultures and stuff like that. 1 of the best ones was Spain, which had picasso painting and painting. But he said that the program has largely been forgotten, except for 1 event, which was London's segment. The BBC had asked the Beatles, which were the top group at the time around the world to do the sort of featured segment of of of Britain. John Lennon, Paul McCartney of the Beatles, then separately tried to write a song for this event.

And John won, John got the song in first. And he wanted something that was simple that was an immediate sort of hit and that people around the world with English, not as their first language, would be able to sort of grab quickly. He wrote a song for this. I don't know whether you can guess which song it is. But I I love the writer's sort of question.

He puts this. If you had 1 chance to express 1 idea to the whole planet, what would you say? 1 chance to express 1 idea to the whole planet, what would you say? I wonder what you'd say. Well, John Lennon wrote all you need is love.

Very famous English, a very famous Beatles song. Now I know, you know, Beetles is old for you, but you really ought to know where we've come from. But I don't know whether you know the song or we need is love. I'll sing it to you in a minute. But here's here's here's what the writer says.

Here, this is quite easy. Here, Lennon is using the word love, to refer to something more than romantic love of 1 person for their partner. He's referring to what Christians called Agapay love. A Greek word for the highest form of love. So his idea is that the message to the world in this first broadcast to 70000000 people is to be about love, Agapay love.

How's the song start? Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, There's nothing you can do that can't be done. There's nothing you can sing that can't be sung. Nothing you can say you can learn how to play the game. It's easy.

All you need is love. All you need is love. All you need is love, love, love is all you need. Now, if you know the tune, you've got that in your head, haven't you? All you need is love.

All you need is love. All you need is love, love, love is all you need. Yeah. Brilliant. It's a brilliant song, very catchy, and of course, went around the world.

Now in many ways, I want to say, if I had that moment I think that's what I would want to choose. I think that's the theme. Because really, that is the big bible theme. The bible is actually really saying all you need is love. Love is all you need.

In fact, the bible declares that God is love. God is all you need. Don't get muddled up that love is God, but God is love. The Christian message can be summed up in that amazing sentence from John 3 16, for God so loved the world. That he gave his 1 and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Or if you take the first verse and that's why I wanted it read, of chapter 13 where we are and keep that open now. You see that Jesus says having loved his own, his disciples, who were in the world, he loved them to the end. And then if you go towards the end of this or in verse 34 to 35, it says, a new commandment I give you, love 1 another. As I have loved you, so you love 1 another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples.

If you love 1 another, You see? Love, love, love. All you need is love. Love is all you need. The Beatles use the word love in that song, a hundred and 2 times, in 1 song, hundred and 2 times.

In fact, if you put loves in. It's a I think a hundred and 4 times because they quoted their own song. She loves you. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. At the end. So a hundred and 4 times the word love or loves used in that song. You see, he's trying to get that message across. The only thing I think wrong about the song is, is when John Lennon says, it's easy.

All you need, it's not easy. Because love isn't easy. That's an error, John. A gapay love is always hard and never easy. So love is the theme, and I think love is the theme of this passage that we're looking at in June 13, the second half of John 13, the whole chapter, I think.

And so I'm gonna break this up because I think we see love in this it's on display under very difficult circumstances. So here's my first point, the love of God displayed in Jesus by preparing his disciples for betrayal. The love of God displayed in Jesus by preparing his disciples for betrayal. Jesus is loving them to the end, it says in verse in verse 1, and he's loving them to the end by preparing his disciples for what is about to happen. Here he is Jesus.

He's got 1 night with his disciples to prepare them for his departure, And this part of the chapter, he's thinking and teaching the disciples about betrayal. About betrayal. We've seen Jesus displaying his love, and we're gonna see Jesus here displays love to an enemy, a betrayer. But also, we'll see the horror, the absolute horror of not coming to that love. The horror of rejecting love.

So there's this interaction with Jesus and Judas. Judas is the betrayer. He's the 1 that sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. And as we saw so helpfully last week, Jesus is showing us that the real shape of love is service, is serving others, and he demonstrated the real shape of love serving others by this lord, by this king, by Jesus, washing the disciples' feet, but he also washed Judas' feet. Remember that.

And then we come to verse 16 and 17 of the chapter. He says very truly, I tell you no servant is greater than master nor is a a messenger greater than the 1 who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. So I'm the master and I've I've been the servant. You, the servant need to be a servant.

If you're following me, the shape of love is service. Agapay love is giving is giving. And if you give, if only you would give, you'll be blessed. Give away love and you'll be blessed. That's what he's saying.

We're we're in a world now that is actually no Love yourself. Keep yourself. Don't give away yourself. Hold on to yourself, and that's why there's so much curse going on. But as you give yourself, he says, you will be blessed.

And then verse 18, he says, but I'm not referring to all of you. I know who I've chosen. But this is to fulfill the passage of scripture. He who shared my bread has turned against me. And if you look at the little b at the end of against me and go down to the bottom, it should also include this.

Why on earth they haven't put it in? I don't know. So he who shared my bread has turned against me and has lifted up his heel. He's turned against them and lifted up his heel. And then verse 19, I'm telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe that I am who I am.

So Jesus is loving them by telling them what is about to happen before it happens. He's loving them by preparing them for betrayal because there's nothing more painful in this world than betrayal. It always always hurts deeply, So he says, I want you to get ready for this. And he shows them that betrayal is the pattern in scripture. This is always the road.

The road to glory leads through the town of betrayal. You can't go to glory without this betrayal sense. And so he quotes from Psalm 41. And it's you see that quote in verse 18. Just look at it.

He who shared my bread has turned against me and has lifted his heel. Now let's just do just a little bit of digging here. Because Psalm 41 is a song, is a song written by King David, and it's about an event that you can read about in 2 Samuel 15 and onwards. It's an event in David's life, King David's life where Absilon, his son, betrayed and conspired against David the king, along with 1 of David's closest friends. Unfortunately, the closest friend has got a ridiculous name.

And I can only ever say, but if you sort of go like that, that's basically his name. His name is Aff Hailiate. I can't even say it. And it's like a faff faff faff faff. Yeah.

And that's his name anyway. Let's forget him. But he was we're not forgetting, but he was 1 of David's closest friends. And there are here are these 2 people then that David absolutely loved, absalom and her fill of. Yeah.

And they too shared his bread. They ate with him. They loved him. They enjoyed him. They enjoyed friendship together.

But not only did they turn against him and can spire against him. They lifted up their heel. Now showing the bottom of your heel to someone is putting up the middle finger. So here it is. Jesus is going back in time and saying, this is the pattern.

This always happens. You shared my bread, and now you would insult me, and reject me, and betray me, and sell me, and you're not happy until I'm dead. Says King David to his closest friend and his son. Because of this betrayal of King David, King David had to leave Jerusalem and cross the kidron valley and go into the wilderness. Just turn over to John chapter 18 and verse 1.

And you'll see the pattern being fulfilled. John 18, verse 1. We're still in that night where Jesus is teaching them. And it says in John 18 verse 1, this is the same night. When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed Thuhidron Valley on the other side where there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.

David is betrayed by his close friend and his son. Pushing David out of Jerusalem across the kidron Valley. And Jesus is quoting the Psalm about that. And saying, I literally am walking the same road as David walked. The road of betrayal, the road of sorrow, the road of being sold by my son and my friend.

This is normal. Says Jesus. This is the pattern of And Jesus knows the scripture, so he's prepared for what will happen because he reads the bible. And he wants his disciples to be prepared. He loves them, and he's displaying his love by preparing them.

For betrayal. Jesus says, in Luke chapter 12, that if you follow him, he says you may well be betrayed, and he warns that the father may turn against son and son against father and mother against daughter and daughter against mother. Etcetera, etcetera. In other words, there there can be close, intimate, friendships where bread is shared. Where love is shared, but those intimate relationships, father, son, son, father, daughter, mother, mother, daughter.

Those intimate relationships can be the very place of utter pain and betrayal, says Jesus, if you follow me. This is the pattern of scripture. Now, the disciples are about to experience this in a massive way. A massive betrayal. The betrayal of someone that they really did not expect to be the betrayer.

And you can see that when you read that that passage, they had no idea it was Judas, who was gonna be betrayed, even though Jesus backing on about 1 of them is gonna be true. They will even say, is it me? No 1 said, is it Judas? Judus obviously didn't look like Judus. When you see the paintings of Judus, there he is mean sneering, twisted face, traitor written on his forehead, and arrows saying, look at him.

But, Judith isn't like that. We always wanna portray evil as grotesque and hunchback and nasty. Judith was their close friend. As far as they were concerned as disciples, Jesus trusted him because he they Judas was the treasurer of the their little group. Jud's name means praise.

So he may not have been sort of mean and ugly He may have had a very open face and may have been praising all the time. It's only when the disciples look back After the event, after Judith has done the deed that they suddenly see, oh, yesterday did that, didn't he? So back in chapter 6, we're told Jesus didn't believe Jesus. I didn't understand it at the time now we look back. He kept it quiet, he didn't believe.

He pretended he did believe. He put on an act. He wore a mask. He hid what was true of his own heart. Back in chapter 12, we discover that Judith is more interested in money than anything else because this woman had poured this expensive perfume over the feet of Jesus, and he was saying pretending, well, we should have given that to the poor.

I mean, what about the poor? And he's talking about the poor as if he's concerned, he put on an act. He wears a mask. He hides his heart. Now looking back, we can see it, but at the time, they had no idea.

In chapter 13, we're told the devil, Satan, has prompted Judas to portray Jesus. And if if Satan sees an open heart, for sin, and he's very happy to push and prompt us in that direction so that in verse 27, Judah is still pretending. Around the table at the last supper, still pretending we're told Satan entered Judas. That's the end of the long and winding road for for Judas. Secret sins that others didn't see until he goes out into the night verse 30.

Did you notice that? And then as they look back, they say, oh, yes. He did do that, didn't he? It's prof foundly disturbing to find out someone you've loved and thought loved you didn't. It's profoundly disturbing.

To find out that someone that you've looked up to and you've shared life with turns out to be someone that you never knew. Throughout your time, they were pretending pretending. You may have heard of all of this stuff about deepfake. It's quite interesting stuff. I don't know whether the hacking thing will deal with deep faith, but it's interesting how how their how sort of technology is coming and they can sort of make people even look like you and speak like you so they can take your voice and and ring a family member up, and it is, in fact, your voice, and they ask for money and so forth.

Deep fake. Jerusalem took Anne and myself to to see Abba Right? At the what's it called? Abba -- Abba voyage. And we went into this hall and there were Abba back in the seventies.

There they were. They were on stage. We watched Aba on stage. They were 3 d. They came and spoke.

They sang. They moved around. We were clapping them. I couldn't understand it. It was unbelievable.

They really it was genuinely unbelievable. There was Abba. Singing and saying hi, everyone. Lovely to see you London. Okay, London.

Alright. You must be older than that. Then they messed with your mind because at the end of the concert, the real aged abba came on to the stage. And was it then? No, it was an avatar, as they call it.

It's extraordinary, an avatar. It's fake. It's not real. We were clapping, they can't hear. There was no reality to them.

That's students. And it's a disaster to find that you have been involved in the life of someone who is a deep fake. So how are you to react? What is Jesus teaching us here? How are you to react?

Well, don't lose heart. Don't think that if you had done things differently, they may not have betrayed you or God. Don't think that. Don't think that you were unwise or foolish to love them even when they clearly didn't love you. Don't think your love for them was unwise.

Jesus says these things happen. Sometimes we're betrayed by people and they they leave us, and then we feel guilty about our lives. Perhaps it's my fault. Perhaps I wasn't loving enough. Did I upset them in some way?

Have I put them off? Perhaps I was a bad example to them. Or even I've heard people say, was I too zealous for Jesus and that actually put them off? Now we of course, it's right to sort of ask ourselves and examine ourselves some hard questions. But Jesus is teaching us here that people walk away.

That you will be betrayed. There couldn't have been anyone better than Jesus to be around, but Judas left him. It's not Jesus' fault that Jud has left him. And then what about Christian leaders? And we hear so many of them unfortunately, there are deep fakes, aren't they?

And it's incredible. What what how did that happen? They were at the center of all of the action of God weren't they? They were on the big stages, weren't they? Well, Judith was right at the center of gospel proclamation.

You couldn't get more central. So we need to understand that there are deep fakes And God is warning us. There'll be betrayers. You'll be betrayed. It's part of gospeling.

There are milder forms, as well as betrayal, aren't there? Many ministers, unfortunately, are giving up ministry in this country, in America all over the place. There are lots of people that start out doing ministry and then just give up. And 1 of the things is a sort of sort of milder version of this betrayal that goes on. There are too many people that come into church and go with devastating comments.

Exaggerated things. There's a cup there was a couple around here. I won't say their names. But I I know them very, very well. They went to loads of different churches, so they were an older couple.

They come across as very godly, They usually last about 4, 5 years in a church. They went from 1 church to another church to another church to another church I know at least 4 of well, actually 5 churches that they went to as a couple. They are godly. They come across very godly. They try to worm their way in with the workers, the staff, the ministers.

They become friends, and then they bash you. They turn. They get something. They say something. You said this.

They exaggerate it, and they leave the church and go into another church. And it's devastating to have this stuff because as leaders, you can't always stand up to defend yourself. And they've been doing the rounds. They're very old now, and they're gonna have to stand before the living God. But they did devastation to a whole load of local church Jesus says, this is the pattern.

Don't give up. Don't chuck it in. This is the pattern. Do you see that? It's been the pattern for David, for me, for you.

And then we get this funny little verse. Just have a look again at verse 19. Look, I'm telling you this before it happens, Thank you. So that when it does happen, what? You will believe that I am who I am.

When you're betrayed, you will believe I am who I am. So you really do need to be betrayed to understand who he is. I am who he I I am, obviously, is a reference to the I am God. He's claiming to be God there. This is 1 of the Iams of of John.

I am God. But he's speaking about this, when you're you're betrayed, when you know betrayal in your you'll understand something about God. I read this this little paragraph. From Providence by John Piper, it was out it's outstanding. Let me just read this couple of paragraphs here.

Where he's talking about how God is betrayed, and how we ought to be outraged. But we're not. Listen. Who loses sleep over the outrage of god abuse? Adam hit god.

But not with his fist. He hit him with his heart. He said in effect, I don't trust you anymore, to prove the best life to provide the best life. I think I know better than you, what the best life is. I reject your love I will reject your wisdom.

I reject you as my all wise, all providing father. I vote for myself as the sovereign in this relationship, I will do it my way. That was man's derision of the greatness and beauty and worth of God, which was outrageous in proportion to the infinite worthiness of God, to be treated otherwise. Listen to this. But here is the problem.

Fallen human beings are oblivious to the magnitude of that outrage. God is so insignificant in the hearts of fallen people that they do not lose any sleep over the infinite outrage that holds sway every day in the world in every human heart where God is not the supreme treasure. You see what he's saying? It is outrageous the betrayal that we give to God. It is outrageous that we don't praise him.

It is outrageous that we reject him. It's outrageous that we say we know better than God. It's outrageous that rejection. It's so outrageous we shouldn't sleep tonight. You know what it is when you've been betrayed.

It hurts even a little bit, doesn't it? You can't sleep. What did I do? Why did I say it? Why are they treating me like this?

You go round and round in your head. God, is that outrageously betrayed by thousands of millions around the world. Look at verse 19 again. I tell you now before this happens, so that when it does happen, you may believe that I am who I am. Something about knowing betrayal in your life.

Something about knowing personal betrayal pushes you to believe. Believe what. To believe that god The god who's so betrayed and yet loves the world really is love. Do you see that? A god who's betrayed by millions of people, billions of people, billions of times, every second, and yet loves.

When you understand something of that betrayal you're self, and you apply it to the I am. You grow. And growth is always painful You grow in understanding just how big God's love is. That's my first point. The love of God displayed in Jesus by preparing his disciples for betrayal.

There are be betrayal in your life, and it hurts. But it's meant to take you to Jesus. To see how big his love is. Here's my second point. The love of God displayed in Jesus towards his enemy then.

The love of god displayed in Jesus towards his enemy, but rejected. How are you to react and act when betrayed? Is it once bitten twice shy? You know that stuff? Once bitten twice shy, are are are you to be cynical and hard hearted towards people?

You're not gonna open your heart anymore because you've had it crushed. Are you never to trust anyone again? Nope. Or I don't trust anyone? I've been let down.

I trust my dog, and that's it. And if you're more stupid, a cat. Are we to just all the time quest everybody's actions and motives. What are you doing? What do you mean?

What about? Why did you say that? Are you a Judith? We keep everybody at arms length. In the face of betrayal, it's very easy to become bitter.

Seething with rage, calling for justice, to become self defensive or even self righteous. Look how Jesus displayed love for his enemy, Judas. Look at verse 21. After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified. Very truly, I tell you 1 of you is going to betray me.

Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified very truly 1 of you is gonna betray me. The word troubled there is the same word that made that is used for him crying at lazarus' grave. He's troubled. He's he's he's his friend, lazarus' debt. The word troubled there is the same word that he uses in gethsemane before the cross.

Where he was trying to pray, and he was so distressed and troubled. That's the word that is used about Jesus' feelings towards Judas, a strong emotion A brokenness. Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus. But jesus would not embrace it. This is a window into the heart of Jesus.

Jesus had known that Judas was gonna betray him for 3 years, and yet what did he do What did he do? How did he act? He invested in Judas? He loved Judas, He spent time with Judas. He equipped Judas.

He empowered Judas. He talked with Judas. He prayed with Judas. He spoke the word of God to Judas. He cared for Judas.

He gave Judas a job. He washed Judas' feet. But even more in this scene, 1 commentator William Barclay says the seating arrangements here, and I don't wanna go into it all because it would take a lot of time. But if you know the traditional way of how they they didn't sit at tables. They reclined at tables, leaning into where the table was and their feet away from the table.

And they did this in bunches of threes. Around a sort of u shaped thing. You can look that up online and you'll see it. But what William Barclay says is that Judas was placed in the place of highest honor at this last supper. The honored guest of Jesus, Judus had his head on Jesus breast, his chest.

It's the way you lent, and you lent like that. This is extraordinary. Jesus head was on John's chest, where the heart is. But Judith's head was where Christ's heart is. You hear it beating Judith, my honored guest.

You hear it? You hear the trouble? I'm troubled. Do you hear the miss beat? You hear it over beating?

See why I'm a little bit breathless when I speak to you? I'm troubled my dear, Judas. Do you hear my heart? You honored guests. But even more than that, there's this funny little scene where Peter asks John to ask Jesus, who's gonna betray?

And you pick the story up in verse 26. Look, Jesus answered, It is the 1 whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it into the dish. Then dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Escariot. Again, William Barclay brings out that that was a was a thing of honor. That the the host would dip the bread into the sort of meal, the mashed up food and figs and stuff like that, and take a piece of bread and dip it in and it was always the honor to receive that gift of bread with the dates and things on it.

So this is this is honor. He's in the most honored place. His head is on Jesus breast, Jesus has given him the peace of food as an honored guest, my lovely Judith. I am your friend. Don't you know that I honor you?

Look. Don't you know that I want the best for you? I've put you in the best place. I've given you the most honored position, take this bread as a sign. That I'm best for you.

1 final moment, Jesus is reaching out in love to his enemy. Look at verses 27 to 30. Gosh, they're shocking. As Judas as soon as Judas took the bread, there he is lying again, you see, pretending to receive honor from Jesus. Pretending to be a disciple.

As soon as Jesus Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, what you're about to do do quickly? But no 1 at the meal table 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 festival or to give something to the poor.

And here's verse 30. This is the end of the long and winding road for Judas. As soon as Judith had taken the bread, he went out, and it was night. It's the dark night of the soul there. It never gets light for Judith.

It's dark forever from that moment on. I mean, what was his money what's his money worth right now? 30 pieces of silver. 2000 years later, well, it wasn't worth anything to him at the time. He had to throw it away.

But now, even if he kept it, it would have been well spent. This is chilling. Because of the deep fake of Judas. He was 1 of the 12. He was an apprentice of Jesus.

It'd been with Jesus for 3 years in the inner circle. It's chilling. He was a preacher. Chosen to go out and cast out demons in the name of Jesus. It's chilling because he had a trusted position of being a treasurer.

It's chilling because he'd been a friend. It's chilling because the whole life of Judith tells us that you can be near Jesus. You can be around the followers of Jesus. You can be in the honored position and have Jesus. Very close to you.

You can even hear the heart of Jesus and be moved by the beat of the heart of Jesus. But be unsaved. You can preach the good news, but be deep fake. Someone said gee, Judah serves to remind us that church attendance, Christian parents, Even involvement in ministry do not articulate a genuine faith. Jesus holds out the bread and says, I love you.

And he took the bread and went out into the night. Sin will always take you further than you want to go. Sin will always cost you more than you're willing to pay. SY will always require more than you're able to give. SY will cause you to do things you never thought you were capable of, And with Judah its day aside, he wanted to kill God, the I ham.

If you have secret sins, watch yourself. We saw that this morning. What shall you lie to yourself? What shall you twist things? Watch how you justify yourself.

Watch how you blame others. Watch how you raise yourself up and put others down. If there's secret sins, there be careful. You can be sure Satan will fan them into flame. But The bigger point is, do you see how Jesus gives himself in love?

That's the point even to an enemy. He doesn't retaliate. He loves. He serves any gospels. Do you see that?

When Judas was going out into the night, he says, go and do it quickly. He could've said, Lads, ease him. Here's him. Let's smack his head in. Come on, lads.

This is the bloke. Let's kick him in. Let's give him a good kick in. Or at least let's just swear at him. Or at least just boo him as he goes.

Look at him. But he loves. He loves, and that's the condemnation of Judith, isn't it? Here's my third point. The love of God displayed in Jesus on the cross Now, look at this.

Look at the link here. Just have a look at the link here. Look at verse 31. When he was gone, that's Judas. When Judas has gone into the night, When that betrayal as as as, you know, is now happening, when he had gone, Jesus said, now The son of man is 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. So now, we know that glorified is talking about the cross It's the plan of God and all of that stuff. We've been seeing that. But do you see the connection between this betrayal and the glorification. To get to glory, you go through the town of betrayal.

Remember I said that? To no glory, to understand something of the glory of God on the cross, the love of God on the cross. To understand the love of God, you've got to understand a betraying world. To the disciples, Judus betrayal and Jesus' death represented the end of all their hopes, the end of the messianic hope But Jesus is reaffirming and saying, no, it's the absolute opposite. The betrayal shows you just how glorious God is.

This world that rejects God that we should lose sleep over. The starkness of the betrayal of Jesus here shines out his love. And Peter, even you will deny me. Look at verse 38, then Jesus answered, will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you before the cock grows.

You will disown me 3 times Listen, the cross is gonna show the glory of God just how big his love is, agape. Just how big this love is, and all you need is this love. Love is all you need. You deny Peter, you 1 who's so close to Judas. The glory is shining when the betrayal had happened.

You see the love of God on the cross when you understand what the world is really like. My fourth point The love of God displayed in Jesus disciples. Look at verse 34, And you commandment I give you, love 1 another, as I have loved you, so you must love 1 another. By this, everyone will know that you are my decide if you have love 1 another, have love for 1 another. A new commandment, well, love has always been in the bible, as I've said, it's all the way through.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, love your neighbor, self. There's always been love, but he says this is a new commandment. Well, in 1 sense, it's not new at all, except its intensity. It's intensely new. This is a love for an enemy.

Love your enemy. I've just shown this in Judas. Now, that intensity of love, even for an enemy, you must show to each other. That's what he's saying. If you are to love a Judas out there an enemy, then you are to love each other.

And if you're a brother or sister, that's where you can forgive each other. Love, with that intensity, a cross shaped, foot washing, enemy loving love for each other. That's what he wants. That's Agape. That's what we want to be as a church, across shaped, foot, washing, enemy, loving love for each other.

That's new, that's vibrant, that's real. So have you been betrayed? I guess so. If you had your heart broken, I guess so. Has someone walked out on you, Well, ask the lord to help you not be bitter.

Ask the lord to help you to grow to see the love of God for you. Use that feeling of betrayal. I'm not denying the feeling. Use that sense of of anger against how you've been treated to turn you to see how we treat God and how the cross shows the love of God for even people like me. And what about brothers and sisters?

They let us down. They exaggerate. They say things that are not true sometimes. Well, we need to confront them. But there should be love there.

We're to have that cross shaped foot washing, enemy loving, love for each other. Let's take a moment of quiet, and then I'll hand over to Dean.