October 15, 2017

John 13:18-38: The Distinguishing Mark of a True Disciple

Preacher: Josh Tancordo Series: The Gospel of John: That You May Believe Scripture: John 13:18–38

John 13:18-38: The Distinguishing Mark of a True Disciple

Please take your Bibles and open them to John 13. If you’re using the Story Bibles we provide, that’s on page 746. We’re going to be continuing our series of messages going through the Gospel of John passage by passage. And this morning, the passage we come to is John 13:18-38. John 13:18-38: 18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ 19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” 21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. 31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” 36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times. 

What do you think is the most important question you’ve ever considered in your life? You know, when I was younger—maybe about 13 or 14—I used to love watching the show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Now usually, I don’t really get into game shows very much. I typically like things that have a lot of action and adventure and espionage and plot twists and things like that. But there was something about the suspense that was created on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire that just drew me in. Basically, contestants won money by answering questions correctly. And at first, I think they would start with questions that were worth a few hundred dollars. But as the contestants answered more and more questions correctly, the questions soon became worth tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars. And as they would answer one question after another, the suspense and the intensity would grow greater and greater. And of course, as the name of the show suggests, the final question—if the contestant made it that far—would be worth one million dollars. It literally was a million dollar question. So surely, by any measure, that was one very important question. I’m sure a lot of the contestants who made it that far wouldn’t hesitate to describe it as the most important question they had ever considered. 

But this morning, I’d like to suggest that there’s one question in particular that’s more important than any question Regis Philbin ever asked on that show. And it’s this: How do you know if you’re truly a Christian? How do you know if you’re truly a Christian? Yes, you think you have faith, but how do you know your faith is genuine? And yes, you think you’ve been born again, but how do you know you’ve really been born again?  

As we look at our main text in John 13, I believe it helps us answer that question. It helps us understand what the distinguishing mark of a true Christian—a true disciple—is. And, in fact, it’s wonderfully simple. The distinguishing mark of a true disciple is a heart that loves like Jesus. That’s the answer and, I believe, the main idea of the text. The distinguishing mark of a true disciple is a heart that loves like Jesus. And, of course, we get that primarily from verses 34-35. But before we get to those verses in this passage that describe what the distinguishing mark of a true disciple is, we first see a number of verses that show us what it isn’t. So that will serve as our outline this morning. Two ways in which we can understand the mark of a true disciple. Number one, what the mark of a true disciple isn’t, and number two, what the mark of a true disciple is

What the Mark of a True Disciple Isn’t

So first, let’s look at what the mark of a true disciple isn’t. In the first part of our text, we see that the mark of a true disciple isn’t anything external. Christianity isn’t about just reforming your external behaviors to bring in them in line with the way Jesus teaches us to live. 

Now, where do we see that in the text? Let me present to you Exhibit A, which is Judas Iscariot. Let’s go back and reread verses 21-30. John 13:21-30: 21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

Don’t those last four words describe what we see happen in these verses? “And it was night.” Of course, I’m sure it literally was night in the sense that the sun had gone down. But I believe John tells his readers that “it was night” also as a way of emphasizing what a dark moment this was for Jesus. Judas Iscariot, who had followed him around for three years, has now left the group with the intention of betraying Jesus into the hands of his enemies. And it’s very interesting to observe how well Judas fit in with the rest of the disciples. Nobody suspected that he would betray them. When Jesus predicts that somebody from the group is going to betray him, it’s not like everybody just turns their head and looks at Judas. Verse 22 says they were “uncertain of whom he spoke.” Also, Peter and John have to ask Jesus who he’s talking about. And even when Jesus tells Judas, “What you are going to do, do quickly,” the rest of the disciples still can’t put two and two together. Then furthermore, notice how verse 29 records that Judas was the keeper of the group’s moneybag. I’m pretty sure that if there was any question of Judas’s loyalty, they wouldn’t let him hold on to their money. So we see that Judas looked just like a true disciple on the outside. He had all the external behaviors and all the external marks of a true disciple. But something was amiss in his heart. And because something was amiss in his heart, we have to conclude that he wasn’t really a true disciple at all. True discipleship—true Christianity—is about a lot more than what you do on the outside. 

I think a lot of people suppose that being a Christian is a lot like being a Boy Scout or maybe a Girl Scout. Growing up, I was able to be involved with the Boy Scouts for a few years, and it was nice. Unfortunately, my troop only had a handful of kids in it and a scout leader who lived a bit far away, so I don’t remember going on any camping trips or anything like that. Kind of disappointing from that perspective. But we did do different things that were pretty fun at our regular meeting. And of course, as Boy Scouts, we had all kinds of different things that marked us a Boy Scouts. We had scout uniforms, a special salute, a special handshake, an official scout motto and scout oath and scout slogan. And, of course, they had different merit badges for scouts to pursue. And if you did all those things, you were considered a Boy Scout. But notice that all of those things are external, right? And it’s not necessarily bad that they’re external—that’s just the nature of being a Boy Scout. It’s something you do. It’s something you put on. 

Unfortunately, however, that’s what a lot of people think being a Christian is all about. They think it’s simply about doing Christian things—checking off the appropriate boxes—going to church, reading the Bible, saying you believe the Bible, donating money, helping people in need, and all these other things that Christians do. And make no mistake: those are really good things to do. You should do those things. But none of those things necessarily marks someone as a true Christian. You can do all of those things and check all of those boxes and totally miss true discipleship. 

What the Mark of a True Disciple Is 

So, if that’s the case, how do you know if you’re truly a disciple? Well, that’s point number two. Having first talked about what the mark of a true disciple isn’t, let’s talk secondly about what the mark of a true disciple is. Look what Jesus says in verses 34-35: 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Now, think about all the things Jesus could have said here but that he didn’t say. Jesus could have said that people will be able to identify his disciples by their church attendance or by what they profess to believe or by different habits they’ve adopted or by the fact that they speak with a lot of Christian terminology or Christian lingo. I mean, those are the ways a lot of people today identify people as Christians. But Jesus doesn’t mention any of those things as the distinguishing mark of a true Christian. Instead, he says that the thing that will mark Christians more than anything else is the fact that they love one another. And not just love one another according to some random definition of love but love one another according to a very specific pattern. Look what Jesus says in the second part of verse 34: “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” That’s the standard. That’s the pattern. “Just as I have loved you.”

Think about the way in which Jesus has loved us. He didn’t just think nice thoughts about us or feel sentimental emotions toward us. He loved us in an incredibly selfless and sacrificial way. Even when we had sinned against him and deserved nothing but wrath and judgment and hell, he determined to rescue us regardless of the cost. And as it turned out, that cost would be terribly high. You see, God couldn’t just sweep our sins under the rug and pretend they never happened. That’s what a crooked judge does, not one who’s truly just. So God wasn’t about to do that. Yet at the same time, he desired to recue us from our sins. So here’s what he did. God came to this earth as a real human being in the person of Jesus. And after living a sinless life and not doing even one thing to deserve punishment himself, he took on himself the punishment for our sins. And he did that when he died on the cross. When Jesus died on the cross, he was dying in our place, taking the penalty that we deserved. And because he then rose from the dead, he’s able to rescue us from those sins forever. We simply have to look to him and put our trust in him for that rescue. 

And as we think about everything Jesus has done—especially the way he died as our substitute on the cross—we encounter a kind of love that we’ve never encountered before—a kind of love that’s higher and deeper than any other love in this world. I remember living in the Adirondack mountains in upstate New York as a child. And our family really loved the outdoors, so we would often go out hiking in the mountains. And I remember visiting some of the higher mountains in the Adirondacks that had peaks that were so high in the air, I wouldn’t even be able to see the peak when I was standing at the base of the mountain. The peaks were at such a high elevation that they were hidden by the clouds. That’s the way it is with Jesus’ love toward us. It’s just beyond us—beyond what we can see, beyond what we can fathom, beyond what we can grasp. 

And yet, Jesus tells us in this passage that we’re supposed to love one another as he has loved us. That’s what makes this a “new commandment,” as Jesus calls it in verse 34. God had commanded the Israelites on countless occasions to love others. But this command Jesus is giving now is a “new commandment” in the sense that he’s telling his disciples to love one another as he has loved them—with a love that’s truly beyond comprehension, a love that’s selfless, a love that’s sacrificial. So the logical next question is, “How in the world are we supposed to do that?” If we can’t even comprehend the love of Christ, how in the world can we actually exhibit his love and show ourselves to be true disciples? Well, there’s only one way: God has to give us a new heart. That’s what we need: a new heart. 

You see, left to ourselves, there’s no way we can love like this. Our natural inclination isn’t to love others; it’s to love ourselves. I mean, think about it. Even people who aren’t Christians and don’t believe what the Bible says about sin still understand that people love themselves. Marketers and salespeople understand that they have to show potential customers what’s in it for them in order to entice those customers to purchase their product or service. People want to know how it benefits them. Also, Darwinian evolutionists believe in something called natural selection or, we might say, survival of the fittest. And of course, that theory presupposes that creatures will naturally act in their own best interest. That’s how they survive and advance their species. So even secular thinkers recognize that people love themselves and are, in fact, consumed with love for themselves. 

And so, the only way we can ever love one another the way Jesus loves us is if God gives us a new heart. You may remember the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus back in John chapter three. Jesus told Nicodemus that the only way he would ever see God’s kingdom in heaven is if he was, as Jesus described it, “born again.” That’s a good metaphor to describe this heart change. It’s a change that happens within you that’s so radical, it’s like you’ve been born a second time. It’s like a new person has just entered the world. And that’s how you know that you’ve truly been saved—that you’re a true disciple. You’re a new person on the inside. 

You know, I thought I became a Christian when I was nine years old. I had attended this huge evangelistic rally with a gifted speaker and top notch music. And at this rally, as I heard them talk about Jesus, I became very emotional. In fact, I was so moved by the things I heard that when the speaker invited people who were interested to come to the front and become a Christian, I was one of the people who went down. Once I got to the front, the speaker had us all together repeat the words to a prayer out loud. And after repeating those words, I walked away with the assurance that since I had prayed those words, I was now saved. I was a Christian. But there was only one problem: nothing really changed as a result of that experience. Now don’t get me wrong, I looked great on the outside. There wasn’t really anything external in my life that would make anyone question whether I was truly converted. I listened to my parents, I treated other people well, I was in church every Sunday, I had a pretty good knowledge of the Bible. But even though my life looked great on the outside, I was spiritually dead on the inside. My heart was the same as it had always been. It was never changed. All the emotions I experienced at that evangelistic rally disappeared within a matter of weeks, and I returned to business as usual. All of my Christianity was so external. 

Now thankfully, God eventually did change my heart and genuinely save me, and I’m very grateful for that. But if I had to guess, I would say that the way I was prior to my true heart change is not at all uncommon even among people who attend church every single week. Everything looks great with them on the outside, but there’s no spiritual life on the inside—no desire for God, no delight in God, no love for God. And as it is toward God, so it is toward others. They’ve never really grasped what it means to do what Jesus says here in John 13 and love others the way he has loved us. Because in order to have that love, you first have to get a new heart. 

So when you read Jesus saying in John 13 that love is the defining mark of a true disciple, don’t think to yourself, “Man, I just need to try harder to be a loving person. I just need to exert more effort to love others.” No. The only way you can ever love this way and possess the mark of a true disciple is if you have a “born again” experience—if God gives you a new heart. Now after you have that new heart, you should seek, by God’s grace, to live out this new commandment to love, but don’t even try to do it before you receive a new heart. That’s not the way the gospel works. God has to change you on the inside so that you naturally become a different person on the outside.

Conclusion

So this morning, I want you to ask yourself a very important question: Do you see any sign that God has given you a new heart? Has God ever done something to you that’s changed you to the core of your being so that you think the way he thinks and desire the things he desires? And most importantly, has God so changed your heart that, instead of being consumed with love for yourself, you’re now inclined to love other people selflessly and sacrificially, just like Jesus? That’s the question you should be asking yourself from John 13.

A few years ago, my father-in-law Bill, seemed to be in wonderful physical health. He was in the process of training for his third marathon (remember, that’s over 26 miles), he had also completed several half-marathons, he played racquetball during his lunch break just about every day, and there was no obvious sign that anything was wrong. But he went in to see the doctor one day and discovered that he had some very serious blockages in his arteries that were too serious for stents. And if these blockages were left untreated, he would almost certainly die from a heart attack in within a few months. So the doctors got him in for triple bypass heart surgery as soon as they possibly could. And thankfully, he’s now back to running marathons, and my mother-in-law sees to it that he’s very careful about what he eats. And I think that’s a good reminder that everything can seem great on the outside but be very, very bad on the inside—both physically and spiritually. So ask yourself, “Is that you?” Have you been assuming that you’re okay spiritually because everything looks great on the outside but forgetting that what you really need to do is to be looking on the inside? 

And if you’d like to talk to be about any of this, please know that I would love to talk with you. A great way to do that would be for you to take one of the Connection Cards at the end of your pew, fill out your information, and down at the bottom in the prayer request section, just write, “Schedule a conversation.” Then after the service, simply put that card in the box at the back of the sanctuary. So fill out a card, put down that you want to “schedule a conversation,” and drop the card in the box—and I’ll follow up with you in the next day or two so we can work out the details. So if God is stirring your heart, please do that—because that may be the most important conversation you’ve ever had.

other sermons in this series