John 13 is the beginning of the second and somewhat different section of John’s gospel – that of the events in the upper room in the night in which Jesus was betrayed. The structure of the book of John differs from the other three gospels. Almost 40% of the book deals with the last week of Jesus’ life. The first 12 chapters deal with the three and a half years of His ministry, with no attention paid to His childhood.
Chapter one deals with the opening statement of John about the nature and purpose of Jesus – the Word- the communication of God that came into the world as a light to all men (1:9), but though he came to His own, His own didn’t receive Him (1:11). As it appears in John, John 12:44-50 is a record of the last words of Jesus’ public ministry, yet this doesn’t tie in with Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The end of Chapter 12 recapitulates on John one in that it generalises the result at the end of Jesus’ ministry:- he paints a simple picture with large strokes:- (a) a few disciples (b) generally a population characterised by hardened hearts (c) yet a percentage of hearts troubled by the appearance of Jesus. He paints with contrast – men afraid to admit to anything in contrast to Jesus openly speaking out (12:42,43).
His summation of the impact of Jesus in His time is fairly typical of most any community over the years. Men believe in power, wealth, pleasure, prosperity, acclaim and acceptance. These are the things worth fighting, suffering, and toiling for, according to the world. Many think these things are the highest good and bring their souls down to this level. Others, like the chief rulers referred to in 12:42,43, are torn betwixt two – the attractions of this world and what it has to offer and that of the spiritual eternal world for which man was ultimately made. A few become disciples of the Lord – disciples are also attracted by this world but they make a choice. Choices must be made, for what is man if he is not but a creature of choice?
These rulers referred to in 12:42,43 may have made a distinction between believing in God and believing in Jesus: that is, they could be separated into two systems. And also that they could have acceptance, respectability and God in the synagogue and still have Jesus secretly in their hearts. They rationalised a way to have it all and probably thought they were wise and prudent. But it was foolishness (Matt.10:32,33).
At face value, 12:44,45 seems like a piece of double-talk: ie. a paradox wherein it seems as if it may say that those who believe in Jesus don’t believe in Him. This is not an unusual figure of speech, other examples being found in John 7:16 and 1 Cor. 1:17. Jesus’ import is the idea that to believe on Jesus is not to believe on Him ONLY – or in some way divorced or separated (v.45 shows this is the meaning where it says to see Jesus is to see God also – thus to believe in Jesus is to believe in God also). It is not as if there are two legitimate systems – a system of faith in Jesus and another of faith in God. As 2 John 9 says, “he who abides in the doctrine of Christ has the Father and the Son”. Jesus makes the claim that is the basis of His whole life – that in Him men are confronted with God. To listen to Him is to listen to God; to see Him is to see God. In Him God meets man and man meets God. Man wants to know God and wants to see Him – yet this is impossible in this life. Yet God responds to this desire through Christ (Col. 1:15; John 1:14).
In v. 46 Jesus returns to a theme common in His ministry: He came as a light so that men might not live in darkness – the darkness of ignorance; the darkness of sin. Some men choose darkness (John 3:19) because they love darkness. Why is darkness appealing? Why are men not afraid of the dark? Because darkness hides evil deeds, bot physically and metaphorically. It is customary for men to justify their deeds (Prov. 16:2), but it is impossible to do that in the light and perfection of Jesus. That is why men hate Christ. Just as Alcibiades, a spoilt young genius of Athens used to say to Socrates, Socrates, I hate you, for every time I meet you, you let me see what I am. That is why men hate the light of the Bible and would rather live in darkness. The Bible is saying “I am not as good as I think I am, as good as I could be, and as I should be”.
Verse 47 records another common theme – He did not come to judge (cf. John 3:17). It was not the wrath of God which sent Jesus into the world, it was His mercy and grace. He did not appear as the Great Accuser but as the Saviour (Lk. 19:10). We are presently living in an age where it is graphically presented to us on the evening news with disturbing regularity that there are those whose religious views teach them they are judge and executioner; that in the name of their God they have the right to kill and maim others because they have the wrong religious views or are considered ‘infidels’. This did not Jesus Christ. By their fruits you shall know them, Jesus taught:- when a religion results in violence, paranoia, uncertainty, fear and instability in the world that ought to tell us something about the genuineness of that religion. There is something within man that prompts him to feel that he needs to defend what he believes to be true and have a “righteous indignation” in defence of God. It is true that man is under obligation to defend the truth, and man ought to feel something when his God is maligned, but violence is not the way. Remember the parable of the wheat and tares, and the teaching of Rom. 12:19?
Yet the coming of Jesus inevitably involves judgement – why? Because of the inevitable coming of judgement Jesus came. If judgement was not a reality there would have been no need for Jesus to come, for men could have remained in the darkness of ignorance and sin without any eternal consequences. When Jesus said in John 8:15 “I judge no man”, He was not denying either the guilt of man or the fact of judgement but rather implying that man was condemned already. This is proved by His statement in John 9:39: For judgement I am come into the world.
In verse 48 Jesus affirms the truth of judgement. His coming to save man did not deny the fact of judgement but was in view of it. The fact He came as a Saviour did not deny His role as Judge. On that great day the words these people had heard would be their judge. This is one of the great truths of life – every wise thing we have heard, and every opportunity we have had to know the truth will, in the end, be a witness against us. All that we have heard and known and did not do will be a witness against us (cf. Matt.7:24-27).
Verse 49 attests that Christ in His fleshy-clothed role did not take it upon Himself to pretend He was Judge of the world. He did not set the criteria of judgement, although if anyone in the flesh had the right to set the terms of judgement it would have to be the only perfect man who had ever lived. But He didn’t – He submitted to the Father, as we must, and spoke of what the Father had told Him to speak as any good prophet did. He did not speak out of human contrivance, but what He said was the outcome of the counsels of peace in the eternal halls of justice in Heaven, and he was sent by the Father into the world to bear the message.
In Verse 50 Christ affirms He had no problem with what He had to speak – it was a message of life. Many have the view of the Gadarene demons who asked of Jesus Have you come to torment us before the time? (Matt.8:29). God’s word has always been a message of life (Rom. 7:10; Deut. 6:24). If men could easily be deceived as to the purpose of the law and its end (cf. Gen. 3;4), then the Devil does so with Christ’s message. But in rejecting Christ’s gospel it is not only a rejection of law but a rejection of love too (John 10:10).
Light or Judge? Which is it with Christ? Do we have to make a choice? No, for he is both Light and Judge. He is both the lion of Judah and the lamb of God. He is both sacrifice and priest. He is both Saviour and Judge.
A young man was about to drown in a boating accident when he was pulled from the water by a passer-by. Several years later the same young man was on trial for a criminal offence. When the judge arrived at court the young man recognized him as the same man who had saved his life from drowning. He reminded the Judge of that incident and pleaded for mercy on that basis. The Judge replied, Young man, on that day I was your Saviour, but today I am your Judge.