“The Love of Christ” (John 13:1)

Series: “John: Life in Christ’s Name”Text: John 13:1

By: Shaun Marksbury Date: March 3, 2024

Venue: Living Water Baptist ChurchOccasion: AM Service

Introduction

Love is a popular topic today. The world loves to talk about love! However, if you get up close to examine the kind of love the world has, it is but a superficial veneer. For instance, people will get divorced today for some of the silliest reasons. Here are some examples of that:

A man divorced his wife just days after their wedding because he finally saw her without makeup. He felt deceived by her cosmetics, including the false eyelashes. A beach outing revealed the truth when the ocean washed away her makeup.

A woman in California left her husband of 22 years after she learned he had voted for President Donald J. Trump. She considered it a “betrayal.”

Another woman divorced her husband, because, as she said on national television, he was just “too nice.” She was bothered by how often he said “I love you” and that his great cooking caused her to gain weight.

For many people, love is a noun, a feeling or an idea that you can fall into or out of, hence frivolous divorces. In Scripture, though, it is most often a verb — something done for someone else. Scripture demonstrates love through the actions of God in Christ. When Scripture commands Christians to love one another, for instance, it always gives tangible examples of service. Love is the opposite of self-serving in God’s Word.

That’s because the exemplar of love is Jesus Christ. His love is all throughout this Gospel account, but most pointedly starting at this point in the text. Through the rest of this book, we see both the passion (or suffering) of our Lord and then His resurrection. These are His more notable expressions of love for us, but we also see the heart of His ministry in Chapters 13–17 as He instructs and then prays for His disciples (both His present disciples and His future ones, including us!).

This section of text takes place in an upper room in a larger Jerusalem home. It includes a meal, which the other Gospels record as Jesus’s last supper with His disciples. While the other three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) focus on the institution of the Lord’s Supper or communion during the meal, John gives far more details from that night, highlighting other events and teaching from that evening. These events include Jesus washing His disciples’ feet and His promise to send them the Holy Spirit. Some consider these five chapters Jeus’s “farewell discourse;” it parallels Moses’s final address to the people in Deut. 31–33, and it seems to center around Jesus’s charge to the disciples to remain in Him and His teaching (John 15:1–17).

We’ll note four points about Christ’s love. This love doesn’t just apply to His disciples at that moment, of course, but to us as well. Christ loves all those who are His own with a sacrificial love, a divine love, a sanctifying love, and a complete love.

First, Jesus loves us with a sacrificial love

Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come…

As we get into this verse, we should use the first few words here to set the stage. First, we need to remind ourselves what the Passover was. It was an event God commanded for yearly observance to remind the people of how He delivered them from Egypt. Remember that, on the night of the final plague, the enslaved Jews applied the blood of a lamb to the doorposts of their homes; the angel of death then “passed over” the homes protected by the blood, sparing the firstborn inside (Exod. 12:7, 12–13). The meal occurred after the sacrifice of the lambs. This work pointed to the redemption found in Jesus Christ, who’s blood covers sinners and protects them from the wrath to come.

As such, one commentary notes,

This Passover would be the last divinely authorized one. From this point on there would be a new memorial—not one recalling the lambs’ blood on the doorposts but the blood of the Lamb of God (1:29, 36; Rev. 5:6; 6:9; 7:10, 17; 14:4, 10; 15:3; 19:9; 22:1, 3) “poured out for many for forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28). The Last Supper celebrated by the Lord with His disciples gave Him opportunity to use the elements of the Passover meal to form a transition from the old covenant Passover to the new covenant Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:23–26).

So, this is the feast of the Passover that we’re reading about here, and the text says that it was just before it. We might take this to mean that it was a day or two before, but this also could mean that it was just before the feast or the Passover seder. The other Gospels record that there were preparations to undertake; for instance, Matthew 26:17–19 says, “Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?’ And He said, ‘Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, “The Teacher says, ‘My time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.’ ” ‘ The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.” It would have been that evening, then, that they ate the supper (v. 20).

One of the confusing details John provides here is that this seems to take place before the Passover. As the Reformation Study Bible notes here:

The Synoptic Gospels all state that the meal alluded to in 13:2 was the Passover meal (Matt. 26:17–30; Mark 14:12–26; Luke 22:7–23). John, on the other hand, implies that the meal took place on the eve of the Passover, and that Jesus died at the precise time when the Passover lambs were being slaughtered (13:1, 29; 18:28; 19:14, 31, 42). Among scholars who accept the truthfulness of John and the Synoptic Gospels, several possible solutions have been proposed.

One solution might be that v. 1 provides a summary of everything that is about to happen, while v. 2 takes the reader straight to the supper. However, since John also says that Jesus was crucified at the same time as the Passover lambs (19:14), that doesn’t seem to be a fitting solution. Moreover, since the Passover meal mentioned in the previous Gospels would take place after the Passover sacrifice, not before, this seems to create a larger problem.

One solution here is that the Passover meal, as the other Gospels note, was part of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a week-long celebration. Another consideration here is that northern, Galilean Jews (which would include Jesus and eleven of the twelve disciples) observed days differently from those in the south (including the priests and Sadducees). This might be confusing for us, but as one commentary notes, this would have had “practical benefits at Passover, allowing the feast to be celebrated on two consecutive days. That would have eased the crowded conditions in Jerusalem, especially in the temple, where all the lambs would not have had to be killed on the same day.” It is conceivable, then, that Jesus held His last supper, the Passover seder, on a Thursday night before the priests would offer up sacrifices on Friday.

Jesus predicted His death several times, but the disciples did not or would not understand. In Luke 9:44, Jesus said, “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men;” the next verse says, “But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.” Jesus tells them clearly in this chapter that He’s about to die, but again, they don’t understand. Why might this be?

In part, it is a supernatural concealing until they were ready — consider that Peter was foolishly willing to use his sword to prevent the arrest of our Lord. Consider also some of the other events and teachings leading up to this moment; after the rich young ruler left them, Jesus says that His disciples will sit with Him in glory (Matt. 19:27–28). They witnessed the healings along the way to Jerusalem (20:29–34), and then the pageantry surrounding the triumphal entry (21:1–11). Sparking the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24–25, they ask about the signs of Jesus’s coming kingdom. They were expecting victory, not the “defeat” of Christ’s death.

But this is the hour for which Christ came. He would need to first redeem His disciples from sin before He could give them the glory He promised. As Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” And we read here that Jesus knew His hour for doing just that had arrived.

It’s worth noting, then, that Jesus had divine insight with His love. In fact, the tense of the verb describing Jesus’s knowledge in the original language is perfect, meaning that it is a full or completed action. He wasn’t “coming to know” that it was His hour; He already knew. There are other examples of this, such as Jesus “knowing all the things that were coming upon Him” at His arrest (John 18:4) and, from the cross, Jesus knew “all things had already been accomplished” (19:28). Jesus seemed to have complete knowledge of what needed to occur and when, meaning that His sacrifice would be complete and pleasing to the Father.

Not only is this a reference to His atoning work, but also to His eventual glorification. Peter will later explain that the Old Testament prophets were seeking to know the person and time surrounding “the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow” (1 Pet. 1:11). Yet, Jesus knew it was His time to demonstrate that love upon the cross; again, as He said in Matthew 26:18, “My time is near.” He knew all of this because of His divinity, bringing us to the next point.

Second, Jesus loves us with a divine love

that He would depart out of this world to the Father,

We’ve already considered a bit about the divine insight that our Lord had. He understood the calendar of events that the Father had selected for Him. We see the supernatural insight of our Lord throughout this chapter. For instance, He tells them that one of them is about to betray Him (vv. 18–30). At the end of this chapter, He predicts that Simon Peter will deny Him three times before the rooster crows the next morning (vv. 36–38). He understood this because of His divinity.

This verse reaffirms the truth of Christ’s divinity. This has been a theme in the Book of John from the first verse. Even here, we read it again v. 3 — Jesus “had come forth from God and was going back to God.” Jesus says this in the upper room discourse, which might be why John thinks of it here; “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father” (16:28). Of course, Jesus’s divine knowledge helped Him to know both that the time had come and that He had come from the Father.

This speaks of His preexistence. Again, as we noted in John 1:1–3, Jesus was already in the beginning with the Father, being God of very God. He wasn’t created; He brought all created things into being. He always has existed, being older than time itself, there with the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:13).

If Jesus is eternal, then the love with which He loves is also eternal. He had His people in mind when He first created the world. He will also keep them into eternity. We’ll talk more about that in a few minutes, but note for now that His is a divine love.

This love will grant to us what we need, as we see next.

Third, Jesus loves us with a sanctifying love

having loved His own who were in the world,

He was concerned about those He was leaving behind in the world, specifically, His disciples. We might be confused here because, in the first chapter of this Gospel, John says that Jesus came to His own which did not receive Him (1:11). Yet, the next verse there talks about those who did receive Him (v. 12). Jesus said in the high priestly prayer that He manifested the Father’s name to those whom the Father gave Him out of the world. Obviously, those who Jesus loved here would be those who received Him.

Of course, the context here is His time alone with His disciples. His family isn’t there with Him, nor are the unbelieving Pharisees and Sadducees, busy with their own position and duties. Jesus is there with His disciples, knowing that He is about to be taken from them, and knowing that they will face strong temptation. This is the night Jesus says, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31–32). Jesus knows what lies before those He loves.

As we consider this, note the love of Christ is a particular love, a love for those who are His. He takes this knowledge with Him to the cross. As He offers up His life as an atoning sacrifice, He doesn’t do so in the name of possibility. Rather He does so for particular people, those who are His out from this world. His love is a love for individual believers (including yourself).

This means that He knows each of us. He sends the Holy Spirit for believers so they are not left comfortless. He knows our struggles, our fears, our anxieties, and our pain. He knows how each of us are inclined to sin. And because He’s our sympathetic high priest, He’ll give grace to all who need help in this world (Heb. 4:15–16). His love is that of provision.

And, while He is there, He prays for more provision. As we just noted, He prayed for Peter. He prays to the Father in John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” The grace He provides is a grace which instructs us to deny and godliness (Titus 2:11–12). His love is a love that sets us apart for His loving elective purposes, and it’s a love which internally makes us more holy. His is a sanctifying love.

As we consider that His is a sacrificial love, a divine love, and a sanctifying love, we are seeing that His love is one of substance. This aren’t just superficial feelings, fleeting moments which may pass at a whim. Rather, His love is perfect, complete until the end. And that brings us to our final point.

Fourth, Jesus loves us with a complete love

He loved them to the end.

There are a couple of ways of translating this. The New American Standard Version here says He loves “to the end.” The footnote, though, suggests “to the uttermost; or eternally.” There is a debate as to whether this would be better rendered “in perfection.” Either way, though, we get the picture of the complete love that Christ has for His people.

You might ask, “Doesn’t Jesus love everybody, though?” In a sense, yes. In John’s Gospel, we read that the incarnation was the result of God’s love for the whole world (John 3:16, cf. Titus 3:4). The Lord shows grace to unbelievers, allowing the sun to rise both on the evil and the good, and sending the rain for the crops of the righteous and the unrighteous (Matt. 5:45). Evidence of God’s love are all around us in creation.

Yet, as we’ve noted before, He also has a particular love. This is not strange. For instance, parents might have love for children in general while having a unique love for their own children. Those who are of Christ have a unique love of God upon them.

We’ve already considered many of the ways in which the particular love of God is given to us in Christ. Ephesians 3:19 describes the love of Christ as a love which surpasses knowledge or understanding. In chapters 13 through 17 of John, we see many examples of Christ’s specific love for His disciples.

This is a complete love. The Lord doesn’t just bring us to a certain point in our spiritual journey with Him only to abandon us! As He said to Israel, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness” (Jer. 31:3). Knowing our temptations, for instance, He died that atoning death for our sins. Knowing our weakness, He rose from the grave to give us new life. And His love continues on into eternity.

We read elsewhere that He guards our salvation (1 Pet. 1:5). As Jesus said back in John 10:28–29, “I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” He promised earlier in the book of John that He wouldn’t cast out any who came to Him. Consider the dramatic ending of Romans 8, which says,

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (vv. 35–39).

Because of Christ’s complete love, He will hold on to us until the end.

Some struggle with what we sometimes call eternal security. Still, once an unbeliever is adopted into the family of God, that person does not become unadopted. Someone doesn’t become born again only to die spiritually again. That would go against everything Christ promised, and it would violate His love. As Jude 24 says, He is “able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy.” So, another term theologians use to describe our security in Christ is the perseverance of the saints; while temptation may come, and we may wonder sometimes if we can stand, the love and the grace of God keeps us secure until the end.

Conclusion

As we consider the love of Christ, we are considering an example to us. We’ll see next time that, as Christ washes His disciples’ feet, He tells them that He did this to demonstrate the kind of service that we should show to one another. A bit later, we will read Him saying that we are to love as He loved us (v. 34). We’ve experienced the love of Christ, so we can show that love toward other members of our church, toward our spouses, toward our children, and toward anyone else with whom we have contact.

But the hope of this message is not that if you love enough, Jesus will love you. In fact, the truth is that you probably do not love as you ought to love. Yet, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, His love remains with you, nonetheless. Where you fall short, He offers both forgiveness and grace.

Of course, you may not have been a believer in Jesus. However, if you realize that you do care about whether you have His love fixed upon you, all you need to do is to call upon Him to be saved from the weight of your own sins. You’ll find that He had you in mind all along, even when you did not have Him in mind. Turn toward the love of Christ today.