Jesus’ Final Word

Jesus’ Final Word
Rev. Dr. Chris Hensley
John 13:31 – 35
Sardis Baptist Church
May 18, 2025

 

The Gospel of John can be divided up into two major sub sections, chapter thirteen is the beginning of the second, known as “The Book of Glory.” The tone is set in chapter thirteen which begins a subsection known as the farewell discourse. To this point, the author has crammed three years of ministry, teachings, and encounters with Jesus into twelve chapters. The author now slows the narrative down and will describe the events of what amounts to a twenty-four hour period in much of what remains in the Gospel text. Common themes for farewell discourses include a declaration of what is about to happen to the speaker, in this case Jesus’ execution, an attempt on the part of the leader to leave their followers with a state of non-anxiety, and a declaration that their hour of glorification is at hand, or their time of death. This fits the bill of John’s account in this section which encompasses chapters 13-17.

We, for this morning, are hyper focusing on the idea of a leader who is about to leave attempting to settle any fears or anxieties at their looming departure amongst their followers. Backpedaling slightly and looking to the Hebrew Bible text, we see a psalm of praise, a song lifting up God for all of the wondrous things the Divine hands have accomplished. Everyone life up your voice in praise, even the natural world is called to join the chorus of exaltation. Jumping back to Jesus and John’s Jesus in particular, we have a figure who has seen himself doing the work of God throughout his ministry, he said so in our reading last week in stating that he and the Father are one, and it is a theme which occurs in the Gospel according to John as far back as chapter 5:19. As Jesus is offering this farewell, he is setting his disciples up for an understanding of who he is and what he is about. Jesus’ work and ministry are coming to a head and his time of glorification is at hand, following the theme of a farewell discourse.

Jesus concludes the opening of this discourse in our reading for this morning with a final word, another reminder, a summation of the work with which his followers ought be busying themselves as he departs. The followers are called to love one another as Jesus has loved them. It is imperative that we remember who this Jesus is for the author of John’s account, he is the incarnated God, the Christ or Messiah, the Anointed One of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What Jesus is reminding his followers of is that they are loved by this God and they are called to both love one another and others in the name of this God whom Jesus sees himself representing as presented in the Gospel of John.

The literary placement of this final reminder of this greatest command, coming nestled in the midst of the farewell discourse, highlights the significance of what is being said and done. We often hear that the final words of someone are significant, or we place significance upon them. This is John’s final word from Jesus which are aimed directly at his closest followers. Yes, John’s Jesus has more to say in the coming chapters, though this is the message which the followers are left with. What happens after this discourse is unknown to the followers as they are not present. Jesus is leaving them with this message and command that they should live lives which set themselves apart from the world around them because their deeds, words, and their very lives are steeped in Divine love as revealed to them in and through both their Jewish upbringing and also through this Jewish Messiah whom they have journeyed with and learned from over the last three years.

What does this mean for us, though? At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it means that we who are the spiritual descendants of those huddled around Jesus’ feet during this final discourse have been called to the same good and hard work of loving those around us with the same Divine love which recognizes dignity and Divine spark within all persons and within the world around us. This is challenging work. To love others in the vein of the teachings of the Hebrew Bible and Jesus the Christ is to give respect to all, to recognize the value, worth, and dignity in each person. This work is not for the faint of heart, it requires patience, forgiveness – of others and the self – and careful insight into both the self and those around us, and significant emotional intelligence which begins with an unwavering self-awareness. In short, be aware of who you are and of whose you are as you begin this good and hard work anew this week.

 

References

Burridge, Richard A. Four Gospels, One Jesus? A Symbolic Reading 3^rd Ed, William B.

Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 2014, p.153-58

Dr. James McConnell, The Gospel According to John, Lecture, Gardner-Webb University

School of Divinity, Boiling Springs, NC, 2015

Additional Suggested Reading

Oswald, Roy M. & Jacobson, Arland, The Emotional Intelligence of Jesus: Relational Smarts

For Religious Leaders, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2015

 

Jesus’ Final Word