1. The Cross, the Resurrection, and the Way of Faith
John chapter 13 depicts the scene from the night Jesus shared His final supper with His disciples. Verses 31 to 38 take place against the urgent backdrop of Judas Iscariot’s betrayal, which sets Jesus’ crucifixion in motion. The moment Judas leaves Jesus and vanishes into the darkness confirms that Jesus’ death is now irreversible. At this last supper, Jesus imparts the final words He wishes to leave with His disciples. The first of these sayings is the remarkable declaration: “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him” (John 13:31).
Pastor David Jang emphasizes that we must pay close attention to how the word “glory” can possibly be proclaimed in a moment as weighty and fearful as this one, in which Jesus’ death is about to begin. From a human perspective, the path of the cross looks like utter defeat and despair. It is natural for everyone to tremble in fear before death. Death appears to be the ultimate barrier, one that cannot be overcome by any human wisdom or wealth. Yet Jesus, speaking of this path, says, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.”
Believing that the path Jesus walks does not end in a futile death or meaningless sacrifice, but rather that it is a path of glory and victory, is the core of the gospel. The gospel comprises both the cross and the resurrection. There can be no resurrection without the cross, and without the resurrection, the cross is not complete. However, everything ultimately begins with the cross. The betrayal by Judas recorded in John 13 is the beginning of the cross, and Jesus’ proclamation, “It is finished” in John 19:30, is the cross’s completion and conclusion. From the moment the cross approached, Jesus walked that path without wavering and without the slightest retreat.
Pastor David Jang explains that Jesus’ unwavering stance stemmed from faith. Here, “faith” means absolute trust and obedience that does not yield to circumstances or environments. While the world sees death as defeat, Jesus saw the cross as glory and victory. This is because Jesus saw God’s ultimate work, the resurrection beyond the cross, and believed it without any doubt. Humanly speaking, the cross was a degrading death and a symbol of failure, but Jesus proclaimed at that very place, “Now is the Son of Man glorified.” This is the deep mystery revealed by Jesus’ faith.
Indeed, if we look closely at the Gospels, we see that in every one of Jesus’ teachings and actions, He was filled with the conviction, “The way the Father has entrusted to Me, the way of the cross, is the way of glory.” Thus, as Romans 5 contrasts the “history of disobedience” with the “history of obedience,” Jesus walked the path of perfect obedience to overturn the history of sin and death that began with Adam’s disobedience. Through faith and obedience, He opened the way beyond death to the new life of the resurrection.
Pastor David Jang stresses that if we truly want to follow Jesus’ path, we must first have immovable faith in the reality of the cross. The cross is not something Jesus bore alone; it is also the road His disciples must follow, which is one of the main teachings found in John chapters 13–17. Jesus told His disciples, “You know the way where I am going,” and “Come after Me.” The problem, however, was that the disciples’ faith had not yet been fully established.
For example, Peter boldly declared that he would protect the Lord and even die with Him, but on the very night Jesus was arrested, that resolve was shattered. In the courtyard of the high priest, Peter denied Jesus three times and fled. It happened just as Jesus had foretold: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times” (John 13:38). Nor was Peter the only one who fell apart before the cross; the other disciples were scattered in fear as well.
This shows that mere human courage or resolve cannot uphold someone at the place of suffering that the cross represents. The cross is not a burden we can bear by our own will or strength; it is only borne by faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. More than anyone, Jesus knew this truth deeply, so He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane until His sweat became like drops of blood. By absolute obedience to the Father’s will, He triumphed over the path of death.
Pastor David Jang goes on to say that the gospel is ultimately about believing in and following God’s almighty power and love revealed through the cross and the resurrection. Even though Jesus was facing death, He could still say, “Now is the Son of Man glorified,” because He had unshakable trust that God’s will was about to be fulfilled and that His will would end in victory. Thus Jesus declares, “If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him at once” (John 13:32). The phrase “will glorify Him at once” is a clear expression of faith looking ahead to the glory of the resurrection after the cross.
Immediately afterward, Jesus announces His departure to the disciples: “Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me… I also say to you now…” (John 13:33). In human terms, it is a deeply sorrowful and heartbreaking moment. For the disciples, the reality of losing Jesus was both terrifying and painful. However, in this very situation, Jesus gives them His final command—the new commandment—whose central theme is “love one another.”
Even on the threshold of death, Jesus says, “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). The scene in John 13:31 and onward sets Jesus’ unshakable conviction before the cross in stark contrast to the disciples, who have not yet grasped the meaning of that path and are filled with uncertainty. Clearly, the disciples do not fully understand the implications of the cross Jesus is about to endure. This is shown when Peter asks, “Lord, where are You going?” (John 13:36).
Jesus replies, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later” (John 13:36). In other words, though their understanding is incomplete and their faith weak at the moment, one day they will truly participate in His path of faith. Peter even displays boldness by saying he will lay down his life for the Lord, but Jesus points out that human resolve alone cannot suffice: “Truly, truly I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times” (John 13:38). This shows that without the essential core of faith, no amount of determination can withstand the way of the cross.
Ultimately, the truth that only faith makes it possible to bear the cross is one of Pastor David Jang’s central messages. Because Jesus had an unassailable belief in the glory of the resurrection after the cross, He could speak boldly even in the face of suffering and death. We must adopt the same perspective. The Christian life is one in which we walk a path that seems foolish in human eyes—calling the cross our “glory.” As Paul says, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us…” (Romans 5:8). Knowing this means realizing that the cross is never a defeat but rather a sign of victory.
Until Jesus finally proclaimed, “It is finished” (John 19:30), He walked that path without wavering: a path in which the cross and the resurrection were inseparably joined in the faith. Pastor David Jang explains that when we apply this to our personal lives, we need the kind of faith that looks ahead to the glory of the resurrection, even amid the sufferings, hardships, or despair we are going through right now. As Paul urges in Romans 12:12, “Rejoice in hope,” we can overcome any difficulty if our hope is certain.
Moreover, that hope is grounded in the fact that we have already been promised victory. Jesus achieved complete victory through the cross and resurrection. Therefore, the moment we decide to participate in the path of the cross, we must believe that Christ’s victory is already transferred to us. Thus, to say, “Since the Lord bore the cross, I too will embrace the small cross given to my life. I will rely not on my own strength but on Jesus,” is a genuine posture of faith in regard to the cross.
Of course, this road is by no means easy. We may stumble or even deny the Lord as Peter did. Yet, just as Jesus said, “You will follow later,” if we truly repent and seek the help of the Holy Spirit, eventually we can also walk the path Jesus walked. The transformation of Peter in the Book of Acts testifies to this truth. After encountering the risen Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter became a bold witness to the gospel.
In the end, the cross does not signify death but rather the beginning of new life, not defeat but the threshold to true glory. Our absolute belief in this reality is what we must hold on to, according to Pastor David Jang’s repeated emphasis. Therefore, Jesus’ words—“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him”—carry even greater weight. Even before being crucified and facing that dreadful suffering, Jesus envisioned the resurrection and God’s plan, and He never retreated.
When we imitate this faith, we will gain the same conviction in various circumstances of our lives. Situations that appear to be defeat or failure from the world’s perspective can be transformed into glory from God’s perspective—because we ultimately rely on the Almighty God and on Jesus Christ, who has already conquered the power of death through the resurrection. Pastor David Jang teaches us to fix our gaze on this truth: “Even when the cross looms before you, hold firmly to the faith that beholds the glory of the resurrection.”
In this way, the first part of the sermon (Subtopic 1) reflects on John 13:31 and onward, focusing on Jesus’ statement, “Now is the Son of Man glorified,” and exploring the essence of faith in the context of the cross and the resurrection. Moving on to Subtopic 2, we examine the new commandment Jesus gave at the very end, namely, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
2. The New Commandment
In John 13:34-35, Jesus says:
“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 people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
This is an exceedingly important statement, akin to a final testament Jesus imparts to His disciples during the Last Supper. The Israelites already possessed numerous laws and commandments, including “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), yet Jesus refers to this as a “new commandment.”
Pastor David Jang asks, “Why did Jesus proclaim ‘love one another’—a law that already existed in the Old Testament—as a ‘new commandment’?” He explains that the key lies in the phrase, “even as I have loved you.” The command to love that Jesus gives surpasses the mere text of the Old Testament law. It is founded on Jesus Himself—His life of sacrifice, substitution, and forgiveness.
Though the Old Testament did indeed command love, many in the Jewish community often interpreted it literally or applied it with limitations. Knowing the sinful nature of humanity, Jesus recognized that the Old Testament command to love would be lifeless if confined merely to words. Thus, Jesus took on human flesh and walked among us, showing love concretely for sinners, enemies, and even those who betrayed Him. Whether it was the woman caught in adultery in John 8 or His interactions with tax collectors and prostitutes—figures on the fringes of society—Jesus demonstrated how tangible and self-sacrificing His love was.
The pinnacle of this love is the cross. Jesus came as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) and bore the punishment we deserved. This substitution and sacrifice reveal the immeasurable extent of God’s love. The phrase “even as I have loved you” is anything but abstract. It points to the love Jesus embodied with His very body—a love that did not condemn sinners but took their place, a love that offered complete forgiveness and embraced them.
Now Jesus passes that same love on to His disciples: “Love one another. Even as I have loved you, love one another.”This becomes the most fundamental and defining hallmark the church must adhere to. “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). This statement clearly indicates how Christians should be manifested in the world.
Pastor David Jang, in interpreting this teaching, notes that love is the essential marker that distinguishes the church from all other religions and organizations. There are countless organizations in the world, each with its own symbols and markers. For instance, adherents of Sikhism wear turbans, and Buddhist monks shave their heads—outward markers showing their identity. Yet Jesus tells His followers to show their identity as Christians through brotherly love.
Indeed, in the era of the early church under Roman persecution, the mutual service and love demonstrated by Christians astonished the world. They cared for each other even in tribulation or poverty, sold their possessions, and shared with the poor among them, forming a community of love. Observing this, outsiders exclaimed, “Look at how they love one another!” That was the church’s true evangelism and witness. When they practiced the command to love, the world began to glimpse who Christ was and what path He had walked.
Yet, this is by no means an easy task. From a human standpoint, our capacity to love is always limited. We find it relatively simple to show love to those who are friendly toward us, but showing love to those who harm or bother us—or to those we find burdensome—is hard. Moreover, we often feel disappointment and anger toward our own selves, let alone others. True love for others is therefore difficult to maintain.
Here, Pastor David Jang once again emphasizes the spiritual meaning of the cross. Jesus’ love replaces condemnation with forgiveness, and alienation with substitution. The cross stands as the greatest symbol of the love Jesus demonstrated for us. And Jesus commands, “Love one another as I have loved you.” In other words, we are to lay aside our instinct to condemn, to bear the faults and weaknesses of our brothers and sisters, and if need be, to take on their burdens. Only then do we truly embody Christ’s love.
When such love is realized, profound healing and transformation take place within the church community. People who are hurt, alienated, or weighed down by guilt can experience true freedom and joy as they share one another’s burdens. Paul echoes the same idea when he urges, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Bearing one another’s burdens is precisely “loving one another,” the way to practice the love of the cross.
When the church loses this commandment of love, the world withdraws its trust and levels criticism at us. “They speak of love only in words, but in reality, they fight and divide,” people say, and such a reputation is tantamount to the church forfeiting its identity as Christ’s disciples. This is why Jesus, in the sacred moment of the Last Supper, declared, “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Pastor David Jang asserts that “love one another” is therefore a commandment we must keep throughout our lives. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Yet as saved individuals gather as the church in the world, the essential testimony we must bear is this mark of ‘love.’ Without love, no spiritual gift or knowledge has any meaning (1 Corinthians 13). A confession of faith without love is empty, and discipleship without love degenerates into hypocrisy.
The reason Jesus proclaimed, “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another,” is that He provided the ultimate example Himself. Jesus even stooped down to wash the disciples’ feet (John 13:1-20), including the feet of Judas, who would betray Him. Then He said, “You also ought to wash one another’s feet, just as I have done to you.”Serving one another in the lowliest position—this is Jesus’ way of love. Whenever anyone in the church does the same by taking the lowest place to serve, the new commandment shines brightly.
However, the disciples—and specifically Peter—did not grasp Jesus’ words immediately. Peter’s anxious question, “Lord, where are You going?” (John 13:36), shows that he did not yet realize the cross is the center of Jesus’ commandment of love. Peter tried to defend Jesus with human bravery and resolution, saying, “I will lay down my life for You,” but he failed because he did not understand the path of service and substitution—the path of the cross—that Jesus exemplified.
Yet Jesus loved these frail disciples to the end (John 13:1). His statement, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow later” (John 13:36), carries deep trust and hope. Indeed, once Peter encountered the risen Lord, he repented and ultimately became someone who truly loved both the Lord and the church, even to the point of martyrdom. Previously, he had tried to protect Jesus with a sword or impassioned vows, but he failed. Later, he came to a full understanding of the cross’s meaning and embraced it in perfect obedience.
Pastor David Jang emphasizes that this is the process the church must undergo. We cannot practice perfect love right from the start. We sometimes hurt one another, break relationships, and give and receive wounds. However, when we remember the grace of the cross and continue keeping in mind Jesus’ words—“Love one another as I have loved you”—this love will gradually take root in our lives and in our community.
Therefore, the main priority the modern church must recover is this new commandment. When we truly love one another, refrain from condemnation, choose forgiveness, and dedicate ourselves to others rather than serving ourselves, the world will finally acknowledge that we are a community of Jesus’ disciples. The testimony of the gospel does not come solely through eloquent speech or knowledge. It flows naturally from a church that actually lives out the love of the cross.
Pastor David Jang concludes by explaining that obeying this new commandment is not achievable by human effort alone. We must rely on the grace poured out through Jesus’ cross and the help of the Holy Spirit. Day by day, we ought to pray for the Holy Spirit’s power and fix our eyes on Jesus, so that we can practice a love of an entirely different order from the world’s—a love that is sacrificial and forgiving.
Moreover, the way of “the cross and the resurrection” in Subtopic 1 seamlessly connects to “the way of love.”Through the cross, we received forgiveness of sins and new life; if we are filled with that joy, we naturally express it by loving our brothers and sisters. The command—“Love one another as I have loved you”—invites us to share the love we have received so that we may glorify God and also participate in that glory ourselves. Jesus, having already gone this way, encourages us not to be afraid but to follow Him.
In conclusion, John 13:31-38 shows us Jesus declaring “Now is the Son of Man glorified” even as death stands right before Him, and then giving the new commandment of “Love one another as I have loved you.” Pastor David Jang interprets this passage to underscore that the cross is not a place of fear and despair but rather the path of glory and victory, and that the driving force of that path is love.
The challenge for us is to carry the cross with the conviction of resurrection—like Jesus did—and at the same time practice the new commandment, “Love one another,” in our daily lives. Just as Jesus opened the way of forgiveness and substitution for all sinners, we too must refrain from condemning but instead forgive and build each other up. Only then will the world know that we are followers of Jesus.
Although Peter denied Jesus three times, the risen Lord returned to him, asking, “Do you love Me?” (John 21), and established him as the rock of the church. Jesus’ love is powerful enough to overcome failures and weaknesses. We are no different from Peter, but as Pastor David Jang often says, we too, by the grace of God, can turn back and follow Jesus’ way. This is the joyful news the gospel brings to us.
Hence we must stand firmly in our faith in “the cross and the resurrection,” while also keeping the new commandment—“love one another”—in our lives. Remember the great path of Jesus, who transformed death and despair into glory. Then look to His example of love when He washed His disciples’ feet, and seek to realize that in our own lives. Within and outside the church, when we show each other cross-shaped love, we will experience a joy and peace the world does not know, and the world will glimpse the glory of Jesus Christ.
The path may be hard and sometimes bitter, requiring sacrifices. However, Jesus has clearly promised, “If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him at once” (John 13:32). There is an assurance that resurrection glory surely follows the cross. As we serve and love one another, taking up our crosses, we can hold onto the hope that God will lead us into His glory.
This, ultimately, is the “way of the cross and the way of love” emphasized throughout John 13 and indeed all the Gospels. Centering on this teaching, Pastor David Jang reiterates that discipleship is not just about external rules or the accumulation of knowledge, but about the spirit of the cross taking root in us and spreading into loving relationships. If we truly become disciples of Jesus, that will be manifested in us loving and serving one another.
Bringing our reflection on this passage to a close, the vital point we must imprint on our hearts is Jesus’ exhortation: “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” This, more than anything, is the farewell message He left, and it most concisely expresses the spiritual identity of Christians. As Pastor David Jang frequently mentions, this is not an optional suggestion but a command that must be obeyed. If we fail to love one another, we forfeit our own witness as Jesus’ disciples.
Therefore, in our Christian life, we must daily meditate on the cross of Christ, continually recalling that this is truly a path of glory. Moreover, following the model of forgiveness and sacrifice seen on the cross, we must progress to genuinely loving our brothers and sisters. When these two come together—faith in the cross and resurrection, and obedience to the command of love—we embody the true appearance of a disciple, distinct from the world. This is the essence of the gospel proclaimed in John 13 and the core of the practical spiritual journey Pastor David Jang emphasizes.
Furthermore, if the church community consistently embraces and practices this message, then even the darkness of betrayal (like Judas’) or the wounds of failure (like Peter’s denial) can eventually be healed through love. Jesus has already demonstrated this by restoring Peter, transforming a failure into a foundational rock of the church. The more we learn Christ’s heart, the more such miracles will unfold in our lives and in the church.
Thus, from John 13:31 onward, we glean two major teachings. First, the cross is to be believed as glory and victory.Even though the world sees it differently, Jesus proclaims glory in the face of death. Second, we must imitate and practice in our own relationships the redemptive and forgiving love revealed in the cross. This is the new commandment Jesus left, the reason and identity for which the church exists.
Summing it up, it is highly significant that Jesus’ declaration, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him” (John 13:31), is immediately followed by the instruction, “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). One side highlights an absolute faith in the glory of the cross and resurrection, while the other side presents “love for one another” as the lived expression of that faith.
Pastor David Jang repeatedly stresses that these two aspects must not be separated but kept united. If our faith is genuine, it will manifest in love; if our love is true, it must spring from a profound faith in the glory of the cross. Holding on to these truths, we too must take possession of the faith of the cross and resurrection, while demonstrating in our lives the reality of the new commandment—loving one another—so that the world may recognize us as Jesus’ disciples.
Only then will “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35) become alive and active in our churches and communities. As people who look to the cross and hold to the hope of the resurrection love one another, the world will see, through us, the glory of God and the power of Jesus Christ.
Ultimately, this is the vision Jesus has for us and the central message of the Gospels. When the saving act of the cross merges with the love we learned there, we tread the true path of discipleship. And at the end of that path, as Jesus predicted—“He will glorify Him at once” (John 13:32)—we, too, will share in the glory of the resurrection.
In closing, may we all contemplate this word and practice it in our lives, applying the powerful message of John 13:31-38. As Pastor David Jang repeatedly reminds us, the command “love one another” in the faith of “the cross and the resurrection” cannot merely remain a slogan. It is the way we must choose and decide upon daily. The path ahead is clear—abandon fear, lay down prideful determination, and serve, forgive, and love in the manner of Jesus. When we do, the glory of God will be revealed in us, in the church, and throughout the world.