John 13:31-38

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The Lord Gives His Disciples a New Commandment

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. God was glorified in the cross of Christ.

  2. The mark of a Christian is love.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Let’s love those fellow believers that we don’t naturally like.

  2. Let’s realize the deceitfulness of our own hearts.

QUESTIONS

  1. When did the Lord speak only to the true disciples in this portion of Scripture?

  2. What is the prophecy of John 13:36?

  3. What was the time of the cock crow?

  4. How was God glorified in the cross of Christ? Seemingly, this would have been a victory for Satan.

  5. What is the mark of a disciple?

  6. What did the pagan Romans of the first century say about the early Christians?

ANSWERS

  1. After Judas left the upper room. The tension was gone, and the Lord spoke to His disciples more intimately.

  2. Of Peter’s death as a martyr.

  3. It was the third of four Roman night watches, from midnight until 3:00 A.M., so called because it ended with the first streaks of dawn in the sky, and the crowing of the cock.

  4. When Jesus was crucified, every righteous claim of God against sin was settled, and the holiness of God’s nature was upheld. God’s love was seen in the greatest degree at the cross. The judgment of God against the sin of the world was taken by Christ because He loved us. As the Son of God, Christ’s sacrifice was of infinite value. The cross, in actuality, was a defeat for Satan and a victory for God.

  5. His love. See John 13:34-35.

  6. “See how they love one another.”

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. How can you love a fellow believer that you don’t naturally like? (Only by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit). Do you let the Holy Spirit direct your actions at such times?

  2. Review the definition of agape love: the voluntary denial of self in the interests of others. Are you loving with agape love?

CHALLENGE

  1. Review Peter’s good intentions, then his actions. Have you made promises to the Lord that were left behind? See Jeremiah 17:9. Have you heard the rooster crow?

KEY VERSES

  • “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” John 13:34

  • “He who has seen Me has seen the Father… I am in the Father, and the Father in Me.” John 14:9, 11

  • “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.” John 13:36

John, Talks, New TestamentDeb HarmsJohn 13:31-38