John chapters 13-17 covers the story of Jesus Christ with His disciples. The story begins with Jesus and His disciples taking the Passover Meal, so it’s the 14th of Nissan – the beginning of the Jewish Spring Festival. The Jewish day begins at sundown (6pm) to sundown (6pm) – the following day to us. It was the last moments of the Lord with His disciples. John 18 narrates the occasion of His arrest by the temple guards and the betrayal of Judas Iscariot.
John 13:30 tells us that Judas had departed after Jesus had handed him the morsel of bread. So beginning at John 13:31 to 17:26, it’s Jesus Christ and eleven apostles. These chapters of John’s Gospel were the last words of Jesus Christ to His eleven remaining disciples.
Jesus spoke of His glorification; see John 13:31-32
When he [Judas Iscariot] had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him at once.
Jesus spoke of His departure; see John 13:33
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.’
Jesus spoke of the New Commandment; see John 13:34
A new commandment I gave you, that you should love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
Jesus spoke of His Return; see John 14:3-4,6; also John 14:18-21
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going … I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:3-4,6)
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. (John 14:18-21)
Jesus spoke of the coming of the Holy Spirit; see John 14:25-26
These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper [Advocate], the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Jesus spoke of the tribulation of His disciples; see John 15:18-25
If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hated you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his Master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of My name, because they do not know Him who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates Me hates My Father also. if I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated Me without a cause.’
Jesus Christ, in John 15:25, quoted Psalm 35:19. “Let not those rejoice over Me who are wrongfully My foes, and let not those wink the eye who hate Me without cause.”
Psalms 34 & 35 does speak of David’s suffering. He was unjustly hated by Saul. But these two psalms are messianic psalms prophesying about the unjust persecution and suffering of Jesus Christ. So the story of David actually foreshadowed the betrayal and suffering of Jesus Christ by His own people – the Jew – and that He was hated for no cause. This further affirms my previous assertions in my blogs entitled “Immanuel, Our Confidence”, “Jesus Christ, Our Righteousness”, and “The Son of Man, Our Redeemer” that Psalms 34 & 35, both psalms of David, were Messianic prophesies concerning Jesus Christ.
Amazing, isn’t it? The Lord God truly is sovereign over all things. By divine providence, David’s life and righteousness foreshadowed that of Christ Jesus our Lord. Bear in mind that the context of Psalms 34 & 35 were those of David’s life involving his battle against Goliath, his faithful service to Saul and his anointing as God’s appointed King over Israel. Psalms 34 & 35 was written many years before David’s sin with Bathsheba. Psalms then are not simply utterance of praise or lament; Jesus said the Psalm/Psalms were Laws of the Jews (Luke 24:44).
In conclusion, the Bible really is a unit. The Old Testament Scripture is a commentary to the New Testament Scripture and vise-versa. Moses, the author of the First Five Books of the Old Testament Scripture – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy – existed 1600 years before John, author of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament Scripture. Yet, both spoke of the same truth – the end of Old Covenant Israel.
In this time of the pandemic, there is no other assurance other than the Bible. But the Bible must be understood and interpreted according to its intent and purpose. We must not fall into the mistake or errors of the past, the traditions that have no real biblical basis. Neither should we be led astray by modern preaching that have no regard of the biblical context, time statement and audience relevance. Don’t just listen to Sunday preaching, read along the Scripture to see if indeed what was said was from the inerrant teaching of the Scripture.
Blessings!
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Liberating Truth 