Scripture
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
31As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man[1] to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. 32And since God receives glory because of the Son,[2] he will give his own glory to the Son, and he will do so at once. 33Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. 34So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
36Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?”
And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”
37“But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.”
38Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.
Translation notes (2)
- 13:31 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
- 13:32 Several early manuscripts do not include And since God receives glory because of the Son.
35Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
One of my favorite jobs in college was being a camp counselor. I loved getting to serve students and help them grow in their relationships with Christ. As a camp counselor, I was given a nametag and a few t-shirts that I was expected to wear. Why? I needed to be identified as a counselor so that any students around would know they could come to me for help or with questions. I needed to be identified, and my t-shirts and nametag did just that. Did you know that Scripture teaches that followers of Christ need to be identified? They need to be identified so that they can point others to Christ. The characteristic that is to identify them is love.
John 13 tells us about some of Jesus’ last moments with His disciples. As He was talking to them, He taught them what He called a “new commandment” (verse 34). What was this commandment? “Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other” (verse 34). With His impending death, Jesus wanted His disciples to know that they were called to love. Not only that, but Jesus declared to them, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples” (verse 35). Jesus did not say that the disciples’ extensive knowledge of Scripture would prove that they were His disciples. Their presence in the temple, where they went to worship God, did not prove that they followed Jesus. No, it was their love that proved that they were followers of Christ. This means that love is to be the defining characteristic of the follower of Christ.
The call to love that Jesus gave to His disciples that day is your call as well. People will know that you are a follower of Christ by the way you love. Your love is to point others directly to Him. Knowing this, how are you doing? Do you love the people around you, or have you found yourself caught up in self-centeredness, anger, and pride, demonstrating anything but God’s love? It’s time to take this call from Jesus seriously. After all, our love will show the world that we are Christ-followers.
Moving Toward Action
Spend some time journaling and thinking about this identifying characteristic for followers of Christ, love. Who is one person who models this love well? Write about them. What stands out about the way they show love to others? In what ways would you like to model them? Pick one of these ways this week to model love to the people around you. Strive to be a person defined by their love.
Going Deeper
Read John 13:31-38 (NLT)
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