September 26, 2025 - John 13-16

“. . . when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (13:1).  Wow, events are moving quickly toward their conclusion! Of course, the ultimate conclusion, in which Jesus demonstrates his absolute rule over all, awaits the consummation.  But the conclusion of the justification that Jesus brings us is just around the corner, so to speak.  I once had a student who argued with me that everything Jesus did he did only out of obedience to the Father.  As I recall, the argument started with a reference (whether his or mine, I do not remember) to lyrics from the Gaithers’ recorded song, “When he was on the cross, I was on his mind.”  The student, astonishingly, argued that Jesus’ love for his own had little or nothing to do with the cross; Jesus went there simply out of obedience. That is, we were not on his mind; he was motivated merely by obedience.  Do we need to rehearse all the Scripture texts about Jesus’ love for us?  “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  Paul reminds us that the cross and the resurrection were all for our sake (2 Corinthians 4:15).  “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).  The Son’s love for us is the same as the Father’s love.  Jesus’ love for us is constant and never ending!

Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus—

Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free—

Rolling as a mighty ocean

In its fullness over me!

Underneath me, all around me

Is the current of His love—

Leading onward, leading homeward

To His glorious rest above.   -- S. Trevor Francis (1902)