At this point in our study, Judas had left the upper room, and Jesus testified to all that Now, at this moment, as the betrayer was closing the deal to hand Jesus over to his enemies… NOW, the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him (John 13:31). It is as though the deed were already done and Jesus was already crucified and risen from the dead. The act had been set in motion. Nevertheless. we need to keep in mind that, according to the text, the Father had placed “all things” into the hands of Jesus. Jesus, not the betrayer, was in control. Jesus, not the Jewish authorities, was in control of what was to take place. He was to give his life a ransom for all (1Timothy 2:6); they didn’t take it from him (John 10:17-18). They made a secret, evil plan, but that plan was consumed by a higher, holy plan (viz. Exodus 7:12). We know this, because Jesus had sent Judas out to do the deed, he had conspired with the Jewish authorities to do. The deed was theirs, but Jesus set it in motion by sending Judas out into the night to fulfill his (i.e. Judas’) desire (John 13:27).
Perhaps the most dreaded thing that could happen in one’s life is to do one’s very best, to literally spend oneself in service to another and have one’s life’s work fall meaninglessly into the common life events that are not remembered, even forgotten by the very one who was served so well. Jesus’ life was spent in virtual obscurity. He was misunderstood by nearly everyone who knew him. He was betrayed by a friend, and although a few friends were by his side that evening, for all intents and purposes, who would remember him, considering these circumstances?
We may be thankful, that our Father is not such a one who forgets what is done for him, for his honor and glory, even when no one but a few common folk know what was done. All of Jesus’ trust was placed in his Father, and he was able to testify in truth: “If God is glorified in him (Jesus), God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him” (John 13:32). In other words, the Father would not permit Jesus to die without proper attestation. Jesus would, indeed, die, but God overruled the decision of the Jewish authorities, for he would be glorified in Jesus’ death, because the Father would declare Jesus is his Son by resurrecting him out from among the dead. Therefore, just as Jesus had declared what God was truly like in his own life (John 1:18), the Father would witness to the righteous character of Jesus’ life through the resurrection (Romans 1:14). And, such a witness told to the world by Jesus’ disciples, far from dying in virtual obscurity, has changed the world forever.
So, as though he sought to console his friends over his own death, Jesus gently prepared them for what was about to occur. Calling them little children, he told them he would be with them for only a little while longer. He would leave them, and, as he mentioned to the Jewish authorities earlier (John 7:34; 8:21), they would seek him, but they would be unable to go with him (John 13:33). Nevertheless, his departure was not equally the same for them, as it would be for Jesus’ enemies. The Jewish authorities would seek him, when war between them and Rome hoped for the coming of the Messiah, but they would be unable to find him, because they didn’t embrace him as Messiah, when they could have. On the other hand, Jesus disciples would follow him later (cp. John 13:36).
Therefore, at this time Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment. While the Old Covenant was fulfilled by loving God with all one’s power, and loving one’s neighbor as oneself, this would not be enough for the New Covenant. One’s self was the model one had for love under Moses. Everyone both needs and wants to be loved, and he is able to love according to the model of loving self. However, under the New Covenant a new commandment was given, and a new image was offered to fulfill that commandment. Instead of self, Jesus offered himself as the image or model of love. He loved his disciples to the very end (John 13:1), offering his own life for their ransom. We are to love one another in the same manner that Jesus loves us (John 13:34).
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