In John 13-17, Jesus is covering a lot of ground as He prepares His disciples for His departure. He’s equipping the 11 as leaders, who will continue to follow and trust in Him following His death, resurrection and ascension.   

Jesus went first in leadership, so that they might follow.  And that any disciple of Jesus in the centuries since, might follow in that same way.  Humbly saying to those around them…follow me, as I follow His example.  This is the vision that Jesus is painting for His 11 leaders in John 13-17, a vision that all followers of Jesus are to imitate in the centuries since. Because it is Him ultimately that we long for people to see and trust in.  Not us.  

Below are 21 truths or principles of Jesus following leadership from John 13-17. Some of these truths show up in multiple spots in the chapters, so take my chapter groupings with a grain of salt. 

Chapter 12

Because Jesus is the light of the world, leaders walk in the light of His grace and truth. 

Leaders are no longer children walking in the darkness and demonic, but have transferred kingdoms by the power of His gospel and now are children of light.  And we didn’t earn it by dressing up our lives. So when we sin, we don’t run and hide, but rather we walk in the light, for it is by His light alone, we are saved and sanctified.  

Chapter 13

Because Jesus washed feet, leaders are servants.

Leaders are commanded to follow in the way of Jesus who used His authority for the good of others.  Who through His words and actions declared that no task was beneath Him and no person was beyond His reach.  God’s people are servants who serve because Jesus, the glorious and great One came to serve and not be served.  

Because Jesus loved us first, leaders love one another.

His lavish love toward us, overflows to fellow believers around us.  He loved us while we were still sinning and wandering, and demonstrated His love through the cross.  We are reborn in Him, so that we might walk in the same way, loving one another through both word and deed.  

Chapter 14

Because the promised Counselor has come, leaders are dependent on the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said it would be for the benefit of the 11, let alone all who would come afterwards, if He departed.  For through His departure, the Holy Spirit would be poured out to all believers.  And leaders never stop living all of life dependent on the Counselor who will guide us into all truth.  Dependence is our posture all the way through to eternity.  

Because the Son is loved by the Father, leaders are loved by the Father.

It is so clear in this leadership conference teaching that Jesus wants the eleven to know how loved they are by the Father.  And that the Father is for them and will not forsake them.  Just as the Father did not forsake the Son in the midst of suffering, let alone death.  Nothing can separate leaders from the love of the Father through Christ Jesus our Lord.  

Because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, leaders are to be anchored to who and what is true.

Leaders are not anchored to the shifting sands of culture, but to the unchanging, eternal and true cornerstone of Jesus Christ.  So we proclaim what is true, amidst a world that we pray would humbly receive and respond to the truth in faith.  Paul later instructs Timothy to watch his life and doctrine closely.  And our life should be lived in light of the doctrine and truth we believe.  

Because the Son has gone ahead to prepare an eternal place for believers, leaders serve in light of eternity.

We know how the story ends.  We know that this life is but a vapor, a mist.  Life is precious and brief, and when we are reborn in Christ, we are now citizens of Heaven.  A citizenship that is ours now, so how we handle time, money, relationships, our jobs…all of life is seen through the eyes of what is to come and in worship of the One who has saved us.  

Chapter 15

Because Jesus is the true vine, leaders are to remain in Him and bear much fruit.

For apart from Him, Jesus promises, we can do nothing.  Life is found in Jesus alone, so leaders reject the temptation to try and draw life from the dead and lifeless vines and idols of this life.  Leaders abide in Jesus, through drawing upon His living and active Word, for through it, we are formed as the branches.  

Because Jesus laid down His life, leaders are to lay down their life for the good of others. 

Robert Quinn, a professor on leadership, has pointed out that the origins of the word leader, means “to go forth and die.”  That sounds like Jesus does it not?  Leaders following in the pattern of Jesus, are those who declare, this life is not about me, or my glory, or my name.  It is about His glory and name.  For it is by His name that we are saved.  So my purpose as a leader, in whatever I do, is to worship Him and make it about Him.  Go forth and lay down your life for the good of others in the way of Jesus.  

Because the Son was obedient to the Father, leaders have the desire and power to keep His commands.

Leaders have been given resurrection power through the Spirit, to walk in obedience to the Words of our Savior and Lord.  We have both the new creation desire, and the actual power to walk in a new way.  A way that is not conformed to the patterns of this world, but a way that is conformed to Jesus Christ.  

Because Jesus’ sacrifice for our sin was sufficient, leaders are forgiven and clean in Christ.

Jesus said with His final breath, that it is finished.  The sin debt was paid in full.  So leaders rest in that truth.  Our life of good works is not trying to add to what has already been finished or trying to make ourselves clean, but rather our good works are in worshipful response to the forgiveness we have received by grace and through faith.  That we’ve been washed white as snow, so we flee the things from our old creation, because that is who we are now in Him.  

Because Jesus rose from the dead, leaders persevere in hostility and persecution.

Leaders reject the temptation to try and disengage from this world or hide our faith under a bushel.  Leaders testify to the name of Jesus, for we were once the ones who were hostile to the faith.  But we’ve been transformed, and we pray that those who are opposing might humbly turn toward receiving.  

Chapter 16

Because Jesus overcame the world, leaders are joyful, peaceful and courageous.

In a world that has trouble to it, God’s people entrust themselves to our overcoming Lord.  So in the midst of sorrow, we can rejoice.  We can lead with joy and not misery, because we know how the story ends.  In the midst of anxiety, we can be steady and rest in Jesus for He is our sabbath rest.  In the midst of fear, we can instead be courageous for we are not looking to ourselves to find that courage, but Him.  The One who has overcome. 

Because the Son was never forsaken by the Father, leaders are never forsaken by our God.

In victory or in suffering, the Father is with us.  He is our hope, our comfort, our strength, our fortress whose walls are never shaken and never crumble.  

Because Jesus was faithful in His hour, leaders talk to our Father in Heaven, all the time and about everything. 

Jesus instructed us to ask and you will receive.  And because the Son, our high priest, was faithful to accomplish the mission of redemption, the adopted children of God have access to the Father.  We can approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.  In everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, we can lay our requests before the Father.  

Because Jesus has overcome the ruler of this world, leaders have power over sin, and are protected from eternal harm.

We no longer have to walk in the ways of our flesh, or the deceiver, or this broken world.  In the face of temptation, we can turn around and run to the One who is better.  And when the enemy wants to condemn us for our sin, we point to our Advocate, Jesus, who declares that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.  

Chapter 17

Because Jesus was sanctified, leaders are not of the world and are sanctified by His true Word.

By grace and through faith, we are set apart in the same way Jesus was.  Set apart to live for His purposes and not ours.  And leaders, as they depend upon the Counselor who will guide them into all truth, are sanctified, they are grown in Christlikeness through His Word that is true.  In a world that values the outward appearance over inward character, God’s people lead with a character seeking to be like Christ.  

Because Jesus entrusted Himself to the Father in suffering, leaders entrust themselves to their Father in suffering.  

Leaders do not expect their lives to be free from suffering, for if His life had suffering, we can anticipate that ours will too at times.  And at the same time, we don’t fixate on the suffering itself, but we fix our eyes on the Father who has never lost one of His blood bought kids.  Because of the resurrection, we can live with living hope, even and especially in suffering.  

Because Jesus was sent into the world on a mission, leaders are sent into the world on the same mission. 

A mission to see the lost found, and the captive of sin set free, and the one walking in darkness, brought into the light of our marvelous Savior.  A mission to make disciples of Jesus to all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow the pattern, the words of Jesus.  

Because the Son and the Father are one, leaders humbly pursue unity with one another. 

Because the unity and the love among leaders, not only brings good to the church, but is a testimony to the world that we are disciples of Jesus.  

Because the Son glorified the Father, leaders are to glorify our God.

We are to reveal Him through our life of leadership.  We are to worship Him wholeheartedly, for He is glorious, good, and great, and we pray that our life of obedience would exalt our God, like the Son’s obedience did the Father’s.