John 15:1-17 - True Love

In this movie the primary theme from beginning to end is the unique and desirable relationship Wesley and Buttercup share in spite of a lot of difficulties.

True Love.

The villain, Prince Humperdink, wants true love but can’t get it.

Wesley admits that true love doesn’t happen every day.

Miracle Max says that true love is the greatest thing in the world, except for a nice mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich.

But the thing this movie misses, and the thing our entire culture misses, is what exactly true love looks like and why we should want true love in the first place.

Does it simply look like being really pleased with each other’s presence.

Is it satisfaction in each other’s physical appearance and personality?

Or is it just that fluttery feeling in your stomach?

Should we pursue true love because we think it’ll be pleasurable or satisfying like a delicious sandwich?

Or should we pursue it because we think it’ll make us truly happy?

All of these ideas reflect an outlook on love that’s all too prevalent in the world.

Without realizing it we have pursued love thinking about how it will benefit us rather than how it will benefit the one we love.

Our love ends up being selfishness in disguise.

And because our love tends to be selfishness in disguise, Jesus has explained the nature and motivation of true love in him.

In John 15:1-17 Jesus gives us a metaphor about this love, and then he explains that metaphor.

In this metaphor he shows us the nature of true love.

How it’s promised by God, it’s painful for our good, it’s dependent on Christ, it’s glorifying to the Father, it perpetuates divine love, and it’s joyful in Christ.

Then in his explanation he shows us the motivation of true love.

How it’s motivated by Jesus’ command, his example, his intimacy, and his sovereignty.

But before we dive into this passage, I want to explain a bit of the context.

We need to understand something from the get-go so that we can really grasp what Jesus is getting at in our passage as we go through it rather than trying to grasp it in hind-sight.

Back in chapter 13 Jesus gave his example and command of humble, sacrificial, unconditional love.

But then in chapter 14 he took a moment to address the concern his disciples had for his imminent departure.

Now, in John 15:1-17 he returns to the topic of love in light if his departure with a metaphor.

In this metaphor Jesus clearly identifies himself as the vine, the Father as the vinedresser, and people as the branches.

But the thing he’s not so clear about at the beginning is identifying what the fruit is.

He waits until later to identify the fruit as love, but even then it isn’t super clear.

I believe that the fruit in this metaphor is love because of the context that Jesus has already been talking about, and a couple of clues that I’ll identify when we get to them.

But for now, as we read this metaphor, know that the fruit Jesus is talking about is the fruit of love for each other.

Humble, sacrificial, unconditional love like his love for us.

True Love.

And the first thing that Jesus explains is the nature of true love in verses 1-11.

Jesus says,

John 15:1–3 ESV

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

John 15:4–5 ESV

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:6–7 ESV

If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 15:8–11 ESV

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

So, in this vine metaphor Jesus explains…

The Nature of True Love (1-11)

He had already defined true love back in chapter 13 when he gave his example of humility, self-sacrifice, and unconditional kindness as the definition of true love.

But the nature of true love is a bit more nuanced.

So, Jesus uses a metaphor of a vine to explain it.

And the very first thing he says about the nature of true love is that…

True Love is Promised by God (1)

Jesus says that he’s the true vine in verse 1.

Every time Jesus uses one of these “I am” statements in the gospel of John it’s to assert some way that he is the promised one, the Christ.

And here, Jesus uses this “I am” statement as a comparison.

He’s the true vine compared to something else.

He’s comparing true and almost-but-not-quite, or true and anticipating.

This is a comparison of the form of something and its shadow, or, as theologians like to call it, type and antitype.

Jesus, the Christ, is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises in the Old Testament.

And some of those promises were depicted in metaphors describing how Israel’s failures looked forward to the coming of God’s perfect servant.

Specifically, Israel was depicted as a vine that had failed to produce.

In Jeremiah 2:21 God said of Israel, “Yet I planted you a choice vine, wholly of pure seed. How then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine?”

A significant passage that may have even been on Jesus’ mind regarding true love is Isaiah 5:1–7.

In verses 1 and 2 we get a metaphor of a vineyard that failed to produce properly.

“Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.

Verses 4-6 depict the just judgment of the owner for this failed vineyard.

But then in verse 7 the metaphor is explained as pertaining to Israel,

“For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!”

This imagery in Isaiah depicts the failure of Israel to be obedient, the failure of Israel to love each other humbly, sacrificially, and unconditionally.

Israel was just as lost and confused about love as the rest of us.

They loved themselves, and thought that it was true love… just like we tend to do.

The point of Isaiah’s “love song” is not despair that the vineyard was a waste.

The point is that Israel was still waiting for the fulfillment of the promises of God for a deliverer who would not fail like they did.

And we have that fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the true Israel promised by God.

In Isaiah 49:3 God calls Israel his servant, then in verse 9 he says of that same servant “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of everything anticipated in God’s people, Israel, and he would bring in the new covenant as the true Israel.

In Jeremiah 31:33 God says, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

Jesus Christ brought in that new covenant inaugurated at the last supper moments before our passage, and established in his blood on the cross.

In this new covenant in Christ we have God’s law written on our hearts.

God’s law which Jesus summed up in Matthew 22:37-40 as loving God and loving others.

This law of love written on our heart is exactly what Jesus is explaining with his metaphor in John 15.

And this love was promised by God in the Old Testament, and fulfilled in Christ in the New.

So, true love is promised by God.

Next Jesus explains in his metaphor how…

True Love is Painful for our Good (2)

The Father is the vinedresser.

The vinedresser, or farmer, is responsible for taking care of the vine.

There are quite a few different things vinedressers do to care for the vine, but in Jesus’ metaphor he only mentions two things.

The vinedresser lops off branches that don’t bear fruit, and he prunes branches that do bear fruit.

Remember, people are branches, and true love is the fruit.

So, those lacking any true love for God and others are cut off from Christ.

And those who do show their true love for God and others are pruned.

Both are painful.

The Father uses both his Word and the Holy Spirit to accomplish both loping and pruning.

The Father uses his Word that Hebrews 4:12 describes as, “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

He also uses the Holy Spirit who Jesus will describe later in John 16:8 saying, “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:”

The conviction of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit is painful, but ultimately for our good if we are truly Jesus’ disciples.

It’s painful to be separated from those we love.

Very often members of our own families will reject Christ, reject his love, and live in selfishness and sin.

It’s painful to be so separated from them because they refuse to believe.

Also, we may pour ourselves out in humble, sacrificial, unconditional love to those we think are believers…

But then they leave because they don’t love like that, they prove by their lack of love that they aren’t really believers.

John talks about these situations in 1 John 2:19.

He calls the people who refuse to love like Jesus antichrists, and says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

It’s also painful to be separated from the unhelpful things we take pleasure in.

Hebrews 12:1 calls these things weights and sins that cling closely to us.

Things that hinder us in our race of faith.

Things that hinder us from loving like Jesus.

The author of Hebrews goes on in verses 7-11 to describe the removal of these things by the Father as loving but painful discipline that proves we are his children and not illegitimate.

Sin is pleasant in the moment, and the loss of that momentary pleasure can feel painful, but the Father wants what’s best for us because he loves us.

So, he disciplines us to remove that sin so that we will have the ultimate good, a share in his holiness and righteousness in Christ.

He removes that sin or that distraction or weight because he wants us to share in the true love he already has for us.

It’s painful, but it’s also for our good.

So, true love is promised by God, and it’s painful for our good.

Next Jesus describes in his metaphor how…

True Love is Dependent on Christ (3-7)

In verse 3 Jesus makes a kind of odd-looking statement about being clean that emphasizes that fact that he establishes his branches, not the other way around.

Jesus uses the term “clean” which is actually a play on words in Greek.

The word for “prune” back in verse 2 is kath-AEE-ray.

And the word for “clean” here in verse 3 kath-a-ROY

Jesus is identifying his disciples as branches who are already bearing fruit and being pruned by the Father.

Jesus said almost the same thing back in John 13:10 “Jesus said to him (Peter), “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.””

But here in 15:3 Jesus says that his disciples are already clean because of the word that he has spoken to them.

Specifically the gospel.

The good news of his identity as the Christ, and his mission to give his life for the sins of the world and rise again three days later so that his disciples from all eras would have eternal life with him.

So, the branches are dependent on the vine to establish them, just like we are dependent on Christ to establish us as true branches.

Then in verses 4 and 5 Jesus gives a very clear depiction of our dependency on him to bear the fruit of true love.

This is the first of many uses in our passage of the word “abide.”

This can also be translated “remain,” or “reside.”

In this context it’s the idea of refusing to move away from Jesus as the source of our love.

This is one of only two commands in this whole passage, and this is the main one.

And the emphasis of this command is that Jesus is necessary for us to do… anything.

As the branch is completely unable to bear fruit if it isn’t attached to the vine, so we are completely unable to truly love or do anything of significance, apart from Christ.

But what about those who don’t stay attached to Jesus?

Well, in verse 6 Jesus says that they will wither, and they will be removed from the vine and gathered up and burned.

These are, again, the false believers that the Father lops off from verse 2.

And the example that’s closest at hand for us as John’s readers is Judas.

Although, the other 11 disciples probably didn’t think of Judas in this category until later.

He was one that looked just like a true believer.

He walked the walk, he talked the talk.

But when it came to loving others humbly, sacrificially, and unconditionally… he failed.

He didn’t have that love because he wasn’t abiding in Christ.

He loved himself, and disguised his selfishness as love.

One more aspect of our dependence on Christ to have true love is found in verse 7.

This verse depicts a unity with Christ such that we can know what he would want and ask for it according to his will and authority.

This is almost the same thing that Jesus said in John 14:13 “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

Here, though, instead of saying we need to ask in his name he qualifies the asking with two conditions.

He says that we must abide in him, and his words or his teaching must abide in us.

If we’re relying on him to fuel our love and we’re remembering his teaching about love and the gospel of his love for the world…

If we’re doing those two things then whatever we ask he will give us because it’ll be according to his will and authority… asking in his name.

So, true love is promised by God, it’s painful for our good, and it’s dependent on Christ.

Next Jesus says in his metaphor that…

True Love is Glorifying to the Father (8)

Jesus says here, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

When we bear much fruit it’s glorifying to the Father.

We may be tempted to think that bearing fruit is glorifying to us because we’re the ones who humbly, sacrificially, and unconditionally loved someone else.

We’re the one’s who are doing the work, so we’re the ones who should get the glory… right?

Not in this arrangement.

Perhaps if you were to attempt this love without being attached to Christ and without being tended by the Father you would get the glory…

But you and your glory would be short-lived and end up being gathered and burned up.

Think about Jesus’ metaphor.

Among the roles Jesus has defined here, who get’s the glory for a plentiful harvest?

The branches, the vine, or the vinedresser?

Yeah, the vinedresser!

It’s his vine, they’re his branches to do with as he sees fit, it’s his fruit.

All of it is his glory because it’s his plan, his love through his Son Jesus, and his love that we show others.

Paul said in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

God the Father get’s the glory and he in turn glorifies his Son, and we’re glorified along with him because we’re his disciples.

Now, this verse is the first clue that the fruit Jesus is talking about is loving like him.

Jesus says here that when we bear much fruit it proves that we’re his disciples.

And back in John 13:35 he said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

The proof that we’re Jesus’ disciples is the same thing that causes all people to know that we’re his disciples.

Our love for one another… bearing much fruit by loving each other.

And, again, this love is glorifying to the Father because it’s his plan, not ours… it’s his fruit, we just produce it by remaining attached to Jesus’ love.

So, true love is promised by God, it’s painful for our good, it’s dependent on Christ, and it’s glorifying to the Father.

Next Jesus says in his metaphor that…

True Love Perpetuates Divine Love (9-10)

Here, Jesus depicts a sort of back and forth cycle.

Love from the Father to the Son to us.

And obedience from us back to the Son back to the Father.

As the Father loves the Son, so the Son loves us, and we are called to remain, to abide in that love.

And as we remain in that divine love we’re compelled to obediently love each other just like Jesus has loved us.

And loving each other is actually the means of remaining in Jesus’ love.

And this obedient love is a reflection of Jesus eternally abiding in the love of God the Father.

And Jesus abiding in the love of God the Father is shown so vividly as he obediently loved us by selflessly dying on the cross for us.

Paul talks about Jesus’ obedient love at the cross in Philippians 2:8 “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

This love cycle has been going on between the persons of the trinity from before time began.

But now we are added into that cycle of divine love.

The Father loves Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, and Jesus loves us by going to the cross for us, and we abide in Jesus’ love loving him by obediently loving each other just like Jesus obediently loves us and the Father by dying on the cross as the supreme act of love.

So when we remember Jesus’ obedient love for the Father at the cross, loving us so much that he would die for us and rise again to live with us forever…

When we remember that it ought to compel us to love each other as an extension of his love.

Perpetuating the divine love between the Father and the Son as we are added into that cycle.

This is the second big clue that the fruit Jesus is talking about is love like him.

Because Jesus switched very obviously from talking about fruit to talking about love with the same line of reasoning.

So, true love is promised by God, it’s painful for our good, it’s dependent on Christ, it’s glorifying to the Father, and it perpetuates divine love.

Then Jesus wraps up his metaphor by explaining that…

True Love is Joyful in Christ (11)

Jesus said that the whole reason he brought up this metaphor about the nature of true love is so that his joy would be in us and that our joy would be full.

Jesus’ joy in us, and our joy being full.

Now, the word for full here can also be translated “fulfilled.”

And I think what Jesus is getting at is that we are as joyful as we will ever be when we have Jesus’ joy in us.

But what does it mean to have Jesus’ joy in us?

It means that the things Jesus finds joy in become the things we find joy in.

And Jesus’ joy is so strong that he’s able to endure the worst agony and shame of all just because his joy overwhelms that agony and shame.

According to Hebrews 12:2 Jesus endured the cross because of the joy that was set before him.

But what makes Jesus so joyful?

Jude 24–25 says, “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

Now, Jude is talking about God the Father here, but this gives us some insight into Jesus’ joy.

It says that God has great joy in presenting us blameless before himself.

And I think it’s not too much of a stretch to assume that Jesus is just as joyful about this as the Father is.

In Luke 15 Jesus gives three parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son or the prodigal son.

In each of these parables something is lost and then found, and there is joy when that lost thing or person is found.

And the point Jesus makes in all three of these parables is that all of heaven, the angels, and all three persons of the trinity including Jesus, rejoices greatly and celebrates when even one sinner repents.

In Matthew 13:44-46 Jesus gives two more parables: the treasure in the field, and the pearl of great price.

In both of these parables Jesus explains his joy at paying everything he has to purchase us.

The treasure in the field is those Jesus saves from the nation of Israel, and the pearl of great price is those Jesus saves from among the Gentiles since pearls are not considered kosher.

But the point is that Jesus joyfully gives all he has to purchase our salvation because we are valuable to him.

So, with all this in mind, what brings Jesus joy?

US!

Our salvation, our repentance, our righteousness, our love for each other.

We bring Jesus joy when we love like him!

And Jesus said in our passage in John that the whole reason he brought up the nature of true love in the first place was so that his joy would be in us.

So that we would have as much joy as Jesus has when we see each other saved, repent of sin, and pursue righteousness and love each other.

True love rejoices in the things that Jesus rejoices in… seeing people saved, seeing them repent, seeing them pursue righteousness, and seeing them love like Jesus as we love them too.

So, we saw the nature of true love through Jesus’ vine metaphor.

True love is promised by God, it’s painful for our good, it’s dependent on Christ, it’s glorifying to the Father, it perpetuates divine love, and it’s joyful in Christ.

Now Jesus is going to explain a bit more about true love.

In verses 12-17 he’s going to explain the motivation of true love.

Jesus says,

John 15:12–14 ESV

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

John 15:15 ESV

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

John 15:16–17 ESV

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

So, here Jesus explains…

The Motivation of True Love (12-17)

Having the right motivation is so important.

Without the right motivation all the right actions that look like true love actually become legalism,

and without the right motivation the pushback against legalism in the name of true love actually becomes lawlessness.

So, we have to be motivated by the right things or else our true love is not really true love at all.

And the first motivation Jesus explains is that…

True Love is Motivated by the Command of Christ (12)

Jesus reiterates the same command he gave his disciples back in John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

But the point isn’t the command itself.

We should not be motivated to love by the fact that it’s commanded.

What if it were commanded by the President of the United States?

What if it were commanded by the President of the Breakfast Club?

What if it were commanded by a random guy on the side of the road?

The thing that makes this command so weighty, the thing that should compel us to obey it is the authority of the one commanding it.

Yes, we’re commanded to love each other, but we ought to obey that command because of who Jesus is, not simply because it’s a command.

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

He’s the almighty creator and sovereign ruler of everything.

He has more authority than everything and everyone in all of creation combined.

Therefore, we ought to obey his command, and he commands us to love each other like he loves us.

And that brings us to the next motivation.

Not only are we motivated by Jesus’ command, but he also explains that…

True Love is Motivated by the Example of Christ (13)

Jesus says here that laying down one’s life for his friends is the greatest act of love.

And this is what Jesus did for them in a small way when he washed their feet.

He laid aside his honor and preferences to serve his disciples humbly and sacrificially in a small way.

But he would lay down his life in a very big way by going to the cross and paying the penalty for all of our sin.

He would do that very shortly after this in the narrative.

But laying down one’s life doesn’t always mean dying for someone in an ultra literal sense.

We talked about this when we looked at John chapter 10 a couple of months ago.

In John 10:11 Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

The picture is not that the good shepherd necessarily dies for his sheep otherwise the sheep no longer have a shepherd to care for them because he’s dead.

Rather, the good shepherd considers his sheep so valuable to him that he willingly steps between them and mortal danger regardless of what may happen with his life.

The example Jesus gave in laying aside his honor and preferences is closer to what it means to follow his example of laying down one’s life for his friends.

We can look to the extreme length Jesus went in his love for us, laying down his life at the cross, and use that as motivation to do likewise in a way that fits our role in perpetuating his love.

Look to Jesus’ love at the cross as your motivation to humbly, sacrificially, and unconditionally love like him… whatever that looks like in your context.

Well, Jesus continues with another motivation to love like him.

Not only are we to be motivated by Jesus’ command and example, but he also explains that…

True Love is Motivated by the Intimacy of Christ (14-15)

Jesus calls us friends.

But the condition he puts on that designation is obedience to his commands.

Only those who obey his commands are considered his friends.

Now, in verse 15 we get a description of the intimacy of friendship with Jesus.

There was a small group of people during the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry who had unrestricted access to the Roman emperor.

This group was called the “friends of the emperor.”

These friends could meet the emperor anywhere any time, even in his bedroom in the middle of the night.

They also knew the intimate thoughts of the emperor, things the regular citizens never knew.

He would talk to them about plans before they were set in motion, ideas before they became reality in the empire.

The idea Jesus is getting at in our passage is that friends are not like servants or slaves.

Those who are hired or enslaved don’t know the plans or the thoughts of their master.

They only know their orders.

The disciples used to be slaves because all they knew was their orders under the old covenant.

But now in the new covenant Jesus has told us everything he’s heard from the Father.

Now we have an intimacy with Jesus as friends who know everything that’s going on in God’s household.

In 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 Paul explains this intimacy and the fact that God has imparted to us spiritual wisdom unlike the wisdom of the world.

And Paul concludes his argument there saying that we have the mind of Christ.

This intimacy is a motivation to love like Jesus because of what verse 14 in our passage says.

Again, only those who obey Jesus’ commands are considered his friends.

Only those who love like Jesus will have this intimacy to know all that God is doing.

Only those who love humbly, sacrificially, and unconditionally have the mind of Christ.

We are motivated by this intimacy because in the mind of Christ is the desire to love like him.

So, not only should we be motivated by Jesus’ command, example, and intimacy…

The last thing Jesus explains is that…

True Love is Motivated by the Sovereignty of Christ (16-17)

Jesus says that he chose his disciples, he chose us… not the other way around.

His disciples didn’t really choose him, and we didn’t really choose him.

Now, it sure looks like some of the disciples did choose to follow Jesus.

Looking back at John 1:35-42 Jesus was just walking by when John the Baptist cried out identifying him as the Lamb of God.

So two of John’s disciples, one being Andrew, chose to follow Jesus, and Andrew brought his brother Simon Peter who also chose to follow Jesus.

But Jesus says here that they didn’t really chose to follow him, he chose them.

It can be the same with us, too.

Very often it feels like we made a decision to follow Christ, and from our limited perspective that’s exactly what happened.

But when we understand God’s sovereignty we realize that apart from his choice to draw you… you never would have made that choice.

He chose you first so that you could chose him.

And your choice wasn’t free as in uninfluenced.

None of our choices are uninfluenced.

Jesus’ choice to save you and give you spiritual life and draw you to himself so influenced you that you couldn’t help but be drawn to chose him too.

This is not like a robot.

It’s more like giving food to a starving person.

Their need and the food offered so influence them that they can’t help but freely chose to eat.

So Jesus chose us, and in his sovereignty he appointed us to a specific task… to go and bear fruit, and that our fruit should abide, or remain.

Remember that fruit is loving like Jesus.

He appointed us to the specific task of going and loving like him.

The word for “go” here is a completely different word from what we find in Matthew 28:19.

In the great commission Jesus uses a word that means to go out, or scatter.

Here in John 15:16 Jesus uses a word that means to go away, or depart.

The difference is subtle, but significant.

I don’t think Jesus has the spread of the gospel in mind here.

I think he has the recipients of the love of his disciples in mind.

He wants them to go and love others, not just him.

He appointed them and us to love each other, not just loving him and ignoring each other.

I think that’s why he adds that their love would abide.

He already talked about his love abiding, and his disciples abiding in his love.

But now he specifically mentions making sure that our love for each other remains just as sure as we remain in the love of Christ.

And then Jesus adds a reason for this abiding love for others according to his sovereign appointment.

We are to do this so that whatever we ask the Father in Jesus’ name, he will give it to us.

Remember asking in Jesus’ name is asking according to his will and authority.

When we’re loving each other like Jesus loves us, motivated by his command, example, intimacy and sovereignty, then we really understand his will and authority.

And whatever we ask will be according to his will and authority, and the Father is pleased to give us what we ask.

And when we’re loving each other like Jesus what we ask the Father for will be things that are loving for each other.

Well, Jesus concludes his explanation of true love by citing his command again, but this time it has the context of his sovereignty backing it.

He says that he commanded all of this to his disciples and us for the sovereign purpose of influencing us to love each other like him.

If we really understand the nature and motivation of true love like Jesus loves us, then we will long to obey like a starving person being given a feast.

Conclusion

Let’s recap.

Jesus has explained for us the nature and motivation of true love.

True love was already defined as humble, sacrificial, and unconditional kindness as Jesus demonstrated in chapter 13.

But the nature of true love is that it’s promised by God, it’s painful for our good, it’s dependent on Christ, it’s glorifying to the Father, it perpetuates divine love, and it’s joyful in Christ.

And the motivation of true love is Jesus himself… his command, example, intimacy, and sovereignty.

So, after going over all of these things, do you feel compelled to love like Jesus?

If you don’t, then really consider if you understand Jesus’ love for you in the gospel or if you have really submitted to him as ruler of your life.

If you haven’t yet believed and submitted to Christ, then please, do it right now.

And tell us so that we can help you love like Jesus.

If you do feel compelled to love like Jesus, then great!

Go and love like him, abide in his love, and ask the Father for those loving things in Jesus’ name and watch him work!

If you’re already loving like him and you feel compelled to do so more…

or even if you haven’t yet begun to love like him but you desire to do so, then lean into that desire.

Consider the promises God has made to you that Jesus fulfills.

Consider the sins and distractions you will have to painfully but beneficially give up to love like Jesus.

Consider Jesus’ love for you, the source of the love you desire to have.

Consider the Father’s love for you that he would send his Son to die for you.

Consider the love Jesus has with the Father, and the extension of that love to you.

Consider the overwhelming joy awaiting you in loving like Jesus.

Consider the authority Jesus has in commanding you to love like this.

Consider the example of Jesus’ own love for you as he went to the cross to pay the penalty for your sins.

Consider the intimacy of Jesus as his mind is revealed to you in this love.

And consider the sovereignty of Jesus who chose you and influences you to feel this desire to love like him.

Consider all these things and look for ways to humbly, sacrificially, and unconditionally love each other.

Meeting each other’s needs.

Helping each other overcome sin.

Spurring each other on to righteousness.

This is what Jesus does for us.

This is what we are called to do for each other.

This is true love.

Pray

Father, thank you for showing us what true love is really like and why we should pursue it.

I pray that you would help us to remember these truths as we seek to obey.

Help us remember your promises.

Help us to cut off the things that hinder us from this love.

Help us to truly love like Jesus by abiding in him and glorifying you for this amazing plan of love.

Thank you for extending your love to us… including us in your love with your Son, Jesus.

I pray that our joy would be overwhelming as we see people come to faith in Jesus, as people repent of their sin, and pursue righteousness.

Please help us remember that the proper motivation for loving this way is the person and work of Jesus.

Guard us from legalism and lawlessness.

Lord, we need you to keep our gaze fixed on Jesus…

so that his command to love has meaning,

so that his example of love is compelling,

so that his intimacy draws us deeper into this love,

and so that his sovereignty makes our love make sense.

Father, I pray that you would do this work in us by the power of your Spirit as he applies your Word to our hearts.

I ask all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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