Understanding the Red Letters Part 28
On the night He was betrayed, Jesus Christ introduced us to a new covenant, a new arrangement, between God and man. This new arrangement would be made available to us through the precious blood of Christ Himself. “And in the same way Jesus took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood’ “ (Luke 22:20). Jesus followed up this proclamation with a beautiful message of what life under this new covenant would look like for you and me.
This upper room message, recorded in John chapters 13 through 17, is 100% new covenant. It is 100% for you and me living under our new arrangement with God as His forgiven and beloved children. This IS a Christian manifesto, if you will. This IS where we turn to learn what life under the new covenant is like.
Jesus began his discourse with a new command for a new covenant. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). I have talked about this selfless love in several previous posts. It is a love that is unconditional, without grievance, forgiving, welcoming, and gracious. It is loving as Christ loves us.
What we will learn in Jesus’ upper room message is that we can only love this way because Christ is loving through us. How? By literally living His life through us. Christ in us, His Holy Spirit in us, is a revolutionary and recurring theme in these chapters. And it is a theme completely absent from the Sermon on the Mount. The paramount, and might I say only, power to live the Christian life is the Spirit of Christ living in us. The Sermon on the Mount does not include this vital good news of the gospel.
But Jesus’ upper room message does just that. “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper [the Holy Spirit], that He may be with you forever … you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you” (John 14:16-17). “In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:20). “I have made known to them Your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26).
And this is just the start. There is so much more about our new covenant life in these chapters of John’s gospel. Jesus now calls us His friends, not servants or slaves. Jesus says that He will give us His glory. Is it possible for us to be glorious? I thought that word is only reserved for God. Jesus says that we will do “greater works” that He did. Again, how is that possible? He also says it is to our advantage that He goes away. I don’t see how that works. Jesus says that if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father. OK, now that is something that I can start to grasp.
In these chapters, Jesus promises us His peace, His fullness of joy, His power, His answers to our prayers, His friendship, His presence, and His life; a life that is supernatural at its core.
Jesus’ most complete and concise description of life under the new covenant is in John chapters 13 through 17. And He answers all of our questions above and many more in these red letters. We will cover several of these topics in the days ahead.
I have such a love for this message, that I wrote a book about these chapters from John’s gospel. The book, Abiding in the Father’s Love, is available from Amazon. Pick up a copy if you would like a more thorough discussion than we will be having here. It will be an encouragement to you. Click here for a link to the book.