NIV Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition - Flipbook - Page 57
page 1833
13:29
dJn 12:6
13:30
eLk 22:53
13:31
fJn 7:39
gJn 14:13; 17:4;
1Pe 4:11
13:32
17:1
hJn
13:33
iJn 7:33,34
13:34
2:7-11; 3:11
19:18; 1Th 4:9;
1Pe 1:22
lJn 15:12; Eph 5:2;
1Jn 4:10,11
j1Jn
kLev
13:35
3:14; 4:20
m1Jn
13:36
nver 33; Jn 14:2
oJn 21:18,19;
2Pe 1:14
•
J ohn 1 3 : 3 7
So Jesus told him, “What you are a
bout to do, do quickly.” 28But no one at the meal
understood why J esus said this to him. 29Since Judas had c harge of the money, d some
thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give some
thing to the poor. 30As soon as Judas had taken the b
read, he went out. And it was night. e
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial (212/ Luke 22:31–38 )
31 When he was gone, J
esus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified f and God is glori
fied in him. g 32If God is glorified in him, a God will glorify the Son in himself, h and will
glorify him at once.
33“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. i
34“A new command j I give you: Love one another. k As I have loved you, so you must
love one another. l 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love
one another.” m
36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, n but you will follow later.” o
37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
a
32 Many early manuscripts do not have If God is glorified in him.
BEING LOVED is the most powerful motivation in the
world! Our ability to love is often shaped by our experience
of love. We usually love others as we have been loved.
Some of the greatest statements about God’s loving nature
were written by a man who experienced God’s love in a unique way. Jesus’ disciple John expressed
his relationship with the Son of God by calling himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John
21:20). Although Jesus’ love is clearly communicated in all the Gospels, in John’s Gospel it is a
central theme. Because his own experience of Jesus’ love was so strong and personal, John was
sensitive to the words and actions of Jesus that illustrated how the one who is love loved others.
Jesus knew John fully and loved him fully. He gave John and his brother James the nickname
“sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17), perhaps from an occasion when the brothers asked Jesus for permission to “call fire down from heaven” on a village that had refused to welcome Jesus and the
disciples (Luke 9:54). In John’s Gospel and letters, we see the great God of love, while the thunder
of God’s justice bursts from the pages of Revelation.
Jesus confronts each of us as he confronted John. We cannot know the depth of Jesus’ love
unless we are willing to face the fact that he knows us completely. Otherwise we are fooled into
believing he must love the people we pretend to be, not the sinners we actually are. John and all
the disciples convince us that God is able and willing to accept us as we are. Being aware of God’s
love is a great motivator for change. His love is not given in exchange for our efforts; his love frees
us to really live for him. Have you accepted that love?
John (Jesus’ Disciple)
Strengths and
accomplishments:
• One of John the Baptist’s disciples before following Jesus
• Wrote five New Testament books: the Gospel of John; 1, 2, and 3 John; and Revelation
Weaknesses
and mistakes:
• Along with James, shared a tendency to have outbursts of selfishness and anger
• Along with James, asked for a special position in Jesus’ kingdom
Notable fact:
• One of the 12 disciples and, with Peter and James, one of the inner three who were closest
to Jesus
Lessons from
his life:
• Those who realize how much they are loved are able to love much.
• When God changes a life, he does not take away personality characteristics but puts them
to effective use in his service.
Vital statistics:
• Where: Galilee
• Occupations: Fisherman, disciple
• Relatives: Father: Zebedee. Mother: Salome. Brother: James.
• Contemporaries: Jesus, Pilate, Herod Antipas, the other disciples
Key verses:
“Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had
since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing
you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing
and the true light is already shining.” (1 John 2:7-8)
John’s story is told throughout the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation. His writings include the Gospel of John; 1, 2, and 3 John; and
Revelation.