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II.
The Love of Jesus Christ to God the
Father
(1) The
Fact of His Love
Jno. 14:31—“But
that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father giveth me
commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.”
FIRST PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ loved the Father.
The one thing that
Jesus desired the world to know about Him was that He loved the Father.
If the secret of His life was asked, it was this: “I love the Father.” If we
wish to know what love to God means in its purity and its fulness we have to
look at Jesus Christ.
(2) How
the Love of Jesus Christ to the Father Manifested Itself
(a)
Jno. 14:21—“But
that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me
commandment, even so I do.”
Jno. 15:10—“If
ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my
Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”
FIRST PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in His doing as the
Father gave Him commandment. (Compare
1 Jno. 5:3f
1–2.)
Note
1.—Jno. 6:38—“For
I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent
me.”
His
obedience to the Father’s will faltered not at forsaking the glory of heaven
for the shame of earth.
Note
2.—Phil. 2:8—“And
being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross.”
His
obedience to his Father’s will faltered not at death, even the death of the
cross.
Comp.
Jno. 10:15,
17,
18—“As
the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father; and I lay down my life for
the sheep. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that
I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.
I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This
commandment have I received of my Father.”
His death
was in the highest sense voluntary. It was the goal toward which
Jesus deliberately walked.
Luke 9:51—“And
it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he
steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.”
But it was
not only on that last journey that “He steadfastly set His face to go to
Jerusalem;” but when He first took upon Him the nature of man. He had
steadfastly set His face to go to Calvary. The Jews stood beside the tomb of
Lazarus and saw Jesus weeping
and said “Behold how He loved Him” (Jno. 11:36)—loved Lazarus. We stand beside
the cross and behold Jesus
bleeding and we cry “Behold how He loved Him”—loved God.
(b)
Jno. 8:55,
R.V.—“And ye have not known him: but I know him; and if I should say, I know
him not, I shall be like unto you, a liar: but I know him,
and keep his word.”
SECOND PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in His keeping; i.
e., attending to carefully, or guarding, the Father’s word.
To keep God’s word means more than to obey His
commandments. A man may obey commandments without hearty love to them, but we
guard that which we regard as a precious treasure. This
Jesus did. The Father’s word was
His most precious treasure. He guarded it as other men do their gold and
jewels. This esteem for His Father’s word was a peculiar mark of His love to
the Father. The Destructive Critics profess to love God. How little of it they
show in this way They are ready to give away God’s word to the first plausible
sophist that advances a high-sounding argument for surrendering some precious
portion of the Word of God.
(c)
Matt. 26:39,
42—“And
he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I
will, but as thou wilt. He went away again the second time, and prayed,
saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it,
thy will be done.”
THIRD PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in unwavering
submission to the Father’s will, even when that will might require that from
which the soul shrank in heart-breaking anguish.
(d)
Ps. 40:8—“I
delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”
FOURTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in positive delight
in doing the Father’s will. The connection shows that the Father’s will here
was His own sacrificial death.
Note
1.—Luke 2:49—“And
he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be
about my Father’s business?” This delight in the Father’s will manifested
itself even in the boyhood of
Jesus.
Note
2.—Jno. 4:34,
R. V.—“Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him who sent me,
and to accomplish his work.” The doing of the Father’s will, and accomplishing
his work was
Jesus
Christ’s meat, it was more to
him than His necessary food. (See context.)
(e)
Jno. 8:29,
R. V.—“And he that sent me is with me; he hath not left me alone; for I do
always the things that are pleasing to him.”
FIFTH PROPOSITION:
The love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in His always doing
the things which were pleasing to the Father.
This is more than obedience to express commandments. A son
may do whatever a father bids him, but a more loyal and loving son will not
wait to be bidden, but study to find out what is pleasing to his father and
anticipate the expression of his will. To know what was pleasing to the Father
was Jesus Christ’s constant
study; to do these things was his unvarying practice.
(f)
Jno. 5:30—“I
can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just;
because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent
me.”
SIXTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in His seeking the
Father’s will.
The accomplishment of His Father’s will was the one object
of His pursuit. As other men hunt for gold, or pleasure, or honor, or the
accomplishment of their own will, He sought for the accomplishment of His
Father’s will.
(g)
Jno. 5:34,
41,
R. V.—“But the witness which I receive is not from man: howbeit I say these
things, that ye may be saved. I receive not glory from men.” (Compare v.
44.)
SEVENTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in His seeking and
accepting testimony and glory from the Father alone.
(h)
Jno. 17:4—“I
have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”
EIGHTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in His finishing the
work the Father gave Him to do.
Note.—When
was that work finished? (Jno.
19:30—“When Jesus therefore
had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head and
gave up the ghost.”) On the cross. It was love to God before love to man that
brought Jesus to Calvary. We speak of God the Father loving men in Christ,
which is true, but it is also true that Christ’s sacrifice for men finds its
final reason and original source in obedience to the will of the Father, who
was the object of His Supreme love.
(i)
Jno. 7:18—“He
that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory
that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.”
Jno. 17:4—“I
have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest
me to do.”
Jno. 17:1—“These
words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the
hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.”
NINTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in His seeking the
glory of the Father alone.
The Father’s glory was
Jesus Christ’s first and great
ambition, the consuming passion of His life. It was for the Father’s glory He
planned, prayed, acted, suffered and died.
Jesus taught that the first and
great commandment is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” (Matt. 22:37, 38.) His own life
is the supreme manifestation of this law which He taught.
III. The Love of
Jesus Christ to Men
(1) Whom
Among Men Did Jesus Love?
(a)
Eph. 5:25—“Husbands,
love your wives, even as Christ also
loved the church,
and gave himself for it.”
FIRST PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ loved the Church.
The Church is loved by
Christ in a particular sense and
a peculiar way. While a philanthropist may love all mankind and yet, if he is
a true man, will in a peculiar way love his own wife as he loves no other
woman, so Christ has a peculiar
love for the Church, His bride. We must be on our guard, in studying the
various passages in the Bible which speak about the love of
Christ, to note whether they
refer to His love in general, i. e.,
His love to all mankind, or His love in particular;
i. e., His love to the
Church, which is His body and His bride.
(b)
Eph. 5:2—“And
walk in love, as Christ also hath
loved us,
and hath given himself for us as offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet
smelling savour.”
Gal. 2:20—“I
am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the
Son of God, who loved me,
and gave himself for me.”
SECOND PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ loves individual believers. Jesus Christ not only loves His
church as a whole, but He loves each individual who believes in Him.
(c)
Jno. 13:1—“Now
before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that
he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having
loved his own
which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.”
THIRD PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ “loved His own” which were in the world. Not all men were “His
own” when He was here upon earth, neither are all His own to-day.
Question:
Who are His own?
Jno. 17:2,
9,
12—“As
thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to
as many as thou hast given
him. I pray for them: I
pray not for the world, but for
them which thou hast given me;
for they are thine. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy
name: those that thou
gavest me I have kept,
and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might
be fulfilled.”
Jesus Christ’s
own are those whom God the Father has given unto Him. The proof that anyone
belongs to this elect company is that he comes to
Christ. Jno. 6:37—“All that the
Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out.”
This highly favored company given unto
Christ by the Father, and who
come to Christ, are objects of
Christ’s special love. To them
He ministers in a special way (see context Jno. 13:1), and them He guards so
that not one of them perishes. (Jno. 17:12, R. V.—“While I was with them, I
kept them in thy name which thou hast given me: and I guarded them, and not
one of them perished, but the son of perdition; that the scriptures might be
fulfilled;” 18:9—“That the word might be fulfilled which he spake. Of those
whom thou hast given me I lost not one.”)
(d)
Jno. 14:21—“He
that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he
that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will
manifest myself to him.”
FOURTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ loves him that hath His commandments and keepeth them.
Christ
has an altogether special love for His obedient disciples; to them He
manifests Himself as not unto the world.
Note
1.—Jno. 15:10—“If
ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my
Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” Those who keep his commandments
abide in his love. This does not mean, as sometimes interpreted, “abide in the
consciousness of his love.” It means rather what it says. There is a love of
Christ out of which one steps
by disobedience.
Note
2.—Mark 3:35—“For
whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and
mother.” Whosoever does the will of God stands in the relation of closest
kinship to Christ. Such an one is to Him his brother and sister and mother. A
man may love all men and yet he has a peculiar love to his own brother and his
own sister, and above all, to his own mother. Toward whosoever does the will
of God,
Jesus
Christ has that love which
combines all three in one.
Note
3.—Jno. 15:9—“As
the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.” (See
also v. 10.)
Jesus Christ’s love to those
who keep His commandments is just the same as His Father’s love to Him.
(e)
Matt. 9:13—“But
go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy; and not sacrifice: for I
am not come to call the righteous, but
sinners
to repentance.”
Luke 19:10—“For
the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was
lost.”
Rom. 5:6,
8—“For
when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.”
FIFTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ loves sinners, the lost, the ungodly.
Jesus Christ
loves the vilest sinner as truly as He loves the purest saint, but He does not
love the vilest sinner in the same way that He loves the purest saint. His
love to the sinner is one thing; His love to the obedient disciple quite
another. Toward the one He has pity, in the other He takes pleasure. There is
an attraction in both cases. In the one case it is the attraction of need
appealing to compassion; in the other case it is the attraction of beauty
appealing to appreciation and delight.
Christ pities the sinner, He delights in the saint. He loves them both.
In the parable of the lost sheep we see that the attraction of need is the
greater.
(f)
Luke 23:34—“Then
said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
SIXTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ loved His enemies.
(g)
Jno. 19:25–27—“Now
there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary
the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother,
and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman,
behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from
that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”
1 Cor. 15:7—“After
that he was seen of James.” (Comp.
Jno. 7:5—“For
neither did his brethren believe in him.”)
Jesus
seems to have shown himself to no unsaved man after his resurrection, except
his brother.
SEVENTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ loved His own kindred. Jesus Christ had a peculiar interest in
and love for those who were His kindred according to the flesh. Christianity
does not ignore but sanctifies natural ties.
(h)
Mark 10:13–16—“And
they brought young
children to him, that he
should touch them; and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when
Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little
children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of
God. Verily, I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as
a little child he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms,
put his hands upon them, and blessed them.”
EIGHTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ loved children. Children had an especial attraction for Jesus
Christ, and were the objects of his especial solicitude and care.
Matt. 18:3,
6,
10—“And
said, Verily, I say unto you, except ye be converted and become as little
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. But whoso shall
offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him
that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the
depth of the sea. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for
I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my
Father which is in heaven.”
The man or
woman who has not an especial love for children is not Christlike.
(i)
Jno. 11:5—“Now
Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.” (Mark
10:21).
Jno. 19:26—“When
Jesus therefore saw his mother, and
the disciple
standing by, whom he
loved, he saith unto his
mother, Woman, behold thy son!”
NINTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ loved especial individuals in an especial way.
While Jesus Christ
loves all men with infinite love, while he has a peculiar love to His Church
as His bride and His body, while He has an individual love to each member of
His body, while He has a still more especial love to all those who have His
commandments and keep them and do His Father’s will, yet, the more open any
heart is to Him by faith and love, the more is that person the object of His
especial delight.
(2) How
the Love of Jesus Christ to Men Manifests Itself
(a)
2 Cor. 8:9,
R. V.—“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was
rich, yet for your sakes
he became poor, that ye
through his poverty might become rich.”
FIRST PROPOSITION:
The love of Jesus Christ to men manifested itself in His becoming poor that we
might become rich.
How great the riches He renounced and how great the poverty
He assumed is seen in Phil. 2:6–8—“Who being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God: But made Himself of no
reputation, and took upon him the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a
man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross.” How great
the riches we obtain through His becoming poor we see in Rom. 8:16, 17: “The
Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of
God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God,
and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we
suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”
(b)
Eph. 5:2—“And
walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.”
Gal. 2:20—“I
am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in
me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son
of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
1 Jno. 3:16—“Hereby
perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we
ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
Jno. 15:13—“Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
SECOND PROPOSITION:
The love of Jesus Christ for us manifested itself in His giving Himself,
laying down His life for us.
His was a self-sacrificing love. The death of
Christ was not the only
sacrifice He made, but the crowning one. His whole life was a sacrifice, from
the manger to the cross. His becoming man at all was a sacrifice of
immeasurable greatness and meaning. (Phil. 2:6, 7.)
(c)
Luke 7:48—“And
he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.”
THIRD PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus to the vilest sinner was manifested in His forgiving them
when they repented and believed on Him.
(d)
Rev. 1:5—“And
from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the
dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and
washed us from our sins in his own blood.”
FOURTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to us manifests itself in His washing (or loosing, R.
V.) us from our sins in His own blood.
(e)
Luke 15:4,
5,
6,
7—“What
man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the
ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost, until he
find it? And when he hath found it he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying
unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say
unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth
more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”
FIFTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to His lost sheep manifests itself
(a) in His going after them
until He finds them; (b)
in His rejoicing over the lost one found; (c)
in His laying the lost one found on His own shoulders;
(d) in His bringing it safely
home.
(f)
Jno. 10:4—“When
he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him:
for they know his voice.”
Is. 40:11—“He
shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm,
and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”
SIXTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to His flock manifests itself in His tender care for
each member of the flock.
(g)
Matt. 8:17—“That
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself
took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”
SEVENTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ for men was manifested in Himself taking our
infirmities and bearing our sicknesses
(h)
Matt. 14:14—“And
Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude; and was moved with compassion
toward them, and he healed their sick.”
EIGHTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ for men was manifested in His having compassion upon
them and delivering them from their sicknesses.
(i)
Matt. 15:32—“Then
Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the
multitude because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to
eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.”
NINTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to men was manifested in His having compassion upon
them and supplying their physical needs.
(Compare
Heb. 13:8,
R. V.—“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to-day, yea and forever.”)
(j)
Rev. 3:19,
R. V.—“As many as I love, I reprove and chasten: be zealous therefore, and
repent.”
TENTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to men is manifested in His reproving them in order
to bring them to repentance.
(k)
Jno. 14:18,
R. V—“I will not leave you desolate: I come unto you.”
ELEVENTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to His disciples is manifested in His not leaving
them desolate. He Himself comes to them.
(l)
Jno. 11:33–36:
“When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came
with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have ye
laid him? They say unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the
Jews, Behold how he loved him!”
TWELFTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ was manifested in weeping over the sorrow of His
loved ones.
Note.—He
knew that this sorrow was but for a moment, that it was founded upon a
misapprehension, that in a few moments it would be changed for exceeding joy;
but it was real, and as it was theirs it was His also.
(m)
Jno. 14:1—“Let
not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”
THIRTEENTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to His disciples was manifested in his comforting
them in their sorrow and anxiety.
This is the purpose of the entire fourteenth chapter. Note
vv. 1 and 27—“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also
in me;” 27—“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world
giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid.”
(n)
Jno. 14:27—“Peace
I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I
unto you,” etc.
Jno. 15:11—“These
things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you and that your
joy might be full.”
FOURTEENTH PROPOSITION:
The love of Jesus Christ to His disciples was manifested in His leaving them
His own peace and His own joy.
(o)
Mark 3:5,
R. V.—“And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at
the hardening of their heart, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand.
And he stretched it forth: and his band was restored.”
FIFTEENTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to men was manifested in His grieving over the
hardening of their hearts.
The hardening of their hearts, as shown by the context, was
shameful and outrageous. It aroused Christ’s anger. But it also moved Him to
grief. Would that we had that feeling toward even the most outrageous sin that
our anger would be mixed with tears.
(p)
Luke 22:32—“But
I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted
strengthen thy brethren.”
Jno. 17:15—“I
pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou
shouldest keep them from the evil.”
Luke 23:34—“Then
said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they
parted his raiment, and cast lots.”
SIXTEENTH PROPOSITION:
The love of Jesus Christ toward His disciples and toward His enemies was
manifested in His praying for them.
This is a most important manifestation of love.
(q)
Luke 24:38,
39,
40—“And
he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your
hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me and see;
for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus
spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet.”
Jno. 20:24–29—“But
Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came,
the other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he
said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the prints of the nails, and
put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I
will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and
Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the
midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach
hither thy finger, and
behold my hands; and reach
hither thy hand, and
thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas
answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas,
because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not
seen, and yet have believed.”
SEVENTEENTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ toward skeptics was manifested in patient dealing
with unreasonable, inexcusable and stubborn doubts.
(r)
Mark 16:7—“But
go your way, tell his disciples
and Peter
that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto
you.”
EIGHTEENTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ toward a weak disciple was manifested by patient and
tender dealing with his lapse into grievous sin and apostacy.
(s)
Rom. 8:37—“Nay,
in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”
NINETEENTH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ to those who believe in Him is manifested in His
giving them overwhelming victory in all their conflicts.
(t)
Jno. 19:26,
27—“When
Jesus therefore saw his
mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother,
Woman, Behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And
from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”
TWENTIETH PROPOSITION:
The Love of Jesus Christ was manifested (a)
in His forgetting His own awful agony in His sympathy for the sorrows of
others; (b) by
intrusting His own work to the one He loved. It was to the disciple He loved
that He intrusted His own most sacred charge.
(u)
Jno. 13:1–5,
R. V.—“Now, before the feast of the passover, Jesus knowing that his hour was
come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his
own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And during supper,
the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to
betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his
hands, and that he came forth from God, and goeth unto God, riseth from
supper, and laying aside his garments; and he took a towel, and girded
himself. Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’
feet, and wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.”
TWENTY-FIRST
PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to men
manifested itself in His performing the lowliest and most menial service for
them.
It is easy to perform the most menial services for those we
love. A mother can perform the most humiliating and repulsive service for the
babe she loves. (Yet wealthy mothers usually employ a hireling to do it.) What
but love, wondrous love, could enable the only begotten of God, in the full
consciousness “that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that
He came forth from God, and goeth unto God,” to arise from the table and with
His own hands do this menial service for His disciples? And Judas was there,
too, and the devil had already put it into his heart to betray Jesus. (Vv. 2,
10, 11, R.V.)
(v)
Jno. 15:15—“Henceforth
I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth; but
I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I
have made known unto you.”
TWENTY-SECOND
PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ’s love to His friends
manifests itself by His making known unto them all things that the Father
makes known unto Him.
When you discover some great truth, what do you wish to do
with it? Do you not wish to hurry away to your most-loved ones and make it
known to them? So Jesus, in the fulness of His love to us, hastens to make
known unto us all that the Father makes known unto Him.
(w)
Jno. 10:3—“To
him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own
sheep by name, and leadeth them out.”
TWENTY-THIRD PROPOSITION:
Jesus’ love to His own sheep is manifested in His calling them by name.
This looks like a very small matter, but in that fact lies
part of its significance. It is a tender illustration of the Savior’s love for
His own. There was also something peculiar in the way in which He called His
own by name. (Compare Jno. 20:16.)
(x)
Jno. 17:12—“While
I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest
me, I have kept and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the
scriptures might be fulfilled.”
Jno. 18:8,
9,
R.V.—“Jesus answered, I told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let
these go their way: that the word might be fulfilled which he spake. Of those
whom thou hast given me I lost not one.”
Rom. 8:35–39—“Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ! Shall tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,
For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the
slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him
that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
lord.”
TWENTY-FOURTH
PROPOSITION: The love of Jesus Christ to His own
manifests itself in His keeping them so that not one of them is lost.
(y)
Acts 9:5—“And
he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus
whom thou persecutest:
it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”
Matt. 25:37–40,
41–45—“Then
shall the righteous answer him, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, and fed
thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took
thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison,
and came unto thee? And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say
unto you, Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand,
Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and
his angels: for I was a hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and
ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye
clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they
also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, or athirst, or a
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one
of the least of these, ye
did it not to me.”
TWENTY-FIFTH PROPOSITION:
The love of Jesus Christ to His disciples manifests itself in His so
thoroughly identifying Himself with them that He regards all that is done unto
the least of them as done unto Himself.
(z)
Eph. 5:31,
32—“For
this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto
his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I
speak concerning Christ and the church.”
TWENTY-SIXTH PROPOSITION:
The love of Jesus Christ to the church was manifested in His leaving the
Father to cleave unto the church, so that they two shall be one flesh.
This is, indeed, a great mystery.
(aa)
Jno. 14:21–23—“He
that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he
that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will
manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it
that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus
answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my
Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
TWENTY-SEVENTH
PROPOSITION: The love of Jesus Christ to those who
keep His commandments is manifested in His manifesting Himself unto them and
making His abode with them.
(bb)
Jno. 14:2—“In
my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.”
TWENTY-EIGHTH
PROPOSITION: The love of Jesus Christ to His
disciples has been manifested in His going to prepare a place for us.
(cc)
Jno. 14:3—“And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto
myself: that where I am, there ye may be also.”
TWENTY-NINTH PROPOSITION:
The love of Jesus Christ to His disciples will manifest itself in His coming
again for us to receive us unto Himself, that we may be no more separated one
from the other.
(Compare
1 Thess. 4:16,
17—“For
the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in
the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the
Lord.”)
Note
1.—He comes Himself: “I come again.” He sends no mere messenger.
Note
2.—It is to receive us “unto
Himself.”
Not merely into heaven. It is as if He longed for us, longed to press us to
His very soul, His very self “unto himself.” We long for Him, but not as He
longs for us. Heaven is a lonely place to Him without us. Earth ought to be a
lonely place to us without Him. Godet’s comment on these words is worth
repeating. “He presses him to His heart, so to speak, while bearing him away.
There is an infinite tenderness in these last words. It is for Himself that He
seems to rejoice in and look to this moment which will put an end to all
separation.” (Godet’s John, Vol. 2, p. 270, Am. Ed.)
(dd)
Eph. 5:25–27—“Husbands,
love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for
it: That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the
word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot
or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without
blemish.”
THIRTIETH PROPOSITION:
The love of Jesus Christ to the church manifested itself in the past by His
giving Himself for it; manifests itself in the present in His sanctifying and
cleansing it with the washing of water by the word; will manifest itself in
the future by His presenting it to Himself “a glorious church not having spot,
or wrinkle, or any such thing,” but “holy and without blemish.”
IV. Jesus Christ’s
Love for Souls
(1)
Luke 19:10—“For
the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
FIRST PROPOSITION:
The Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.
This was the great object of His earthly mission. Not to
receive honor nor to accumulate wealth nor to gain a kingdom. He left behind
greater glories than the world contained. To save the lost. Lost men were of
more value and preciousness in His sight than all earth’s wealth and glory. A
single soul was of priceless value. The whole material universe had not the
value in His sight of a single soul. Each soul had this value in His sight.
Not only the soul of the philosopher and the saint, but the soul of the savage
and of the outcast.
(2)
Jno. 4:6,
7,
10—“Now
Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore being wearied with his journey, sat
thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of
Samaria to draw water: Jesus
saith unto her, Give me to drink… Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou
knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink,
thou wouldst have asked him, and he would have given thee living water.”
SECOND PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ was ever on the watch for opportunities to save perishing souls.
We see this again in Jno. 9:35—“Jesus heard that they had
cast him out; and when he had found him he said unto him,
Dost thou believe on the Son of God?”
And in Mark, 2:4, 5— “And when they could not come nigh unto him for the
press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up,
they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their
faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son,
thy sins be forgiven thee.” “He made use of His
miracles as stepping-stones to reach the soul.” (Stalker: “Imago Christi”; p.
231.) So ought we to use every act of kindness which we are able to perform
for men.
(3)
Luke 15:4—“What
man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the
ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he
find it?”
THIRD PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ went after lost souls.
He not only watched for and welcomed opportunities when
they came in His way, He sought opportunities. He not only received the lost
when they came to Him, He went after them. A true love for souls will always
reveal itself in a going out in search of them.
(4)
Jno. 4:32–34—“But
he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the
disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him aught to eat? Jesus saith
unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his
work.”
FOURTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ found His joy and satisfaction in saving lost souls.
In this work He forgot weariness, hunger, thirst. In it He
found joy and refreshment for His body. Mark 3:20, 21—“And the multitude
cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread, and when
his friends heard of it they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is
beside himself.” Jesus so lost himself in His work that He neglected the
ordinary needs of his body in its prosecution and His friends said, “He is
beside himself.”
(5)
Luke 15:5–7—“And
when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he
cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them,
Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you that
likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over
ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”
FIFTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ rejoiced with great joy over lost souls found.
As a shepherd rejoices over the sheep that had gone astray
when he finds it; as the woman rejoices over the coin lost from her marriage
necklace when it is found again; as the gold-hunter rejoices over the great
nugget of gold that he digs from the rock; as the merchantman seeking goodly
pearls rejoices over the one pearl of great price—so and infinitely more Jesus
rejoices over a lost soul found.
(6)
Jno. 5:40—“And
ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”
Luke 19:41,
42—“And
when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou
hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto
thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.”
Matt. 23:37—“O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which
are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”
SIXTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ grieved with great grief over lost souls that refused to be
saved.
No woman ever grieved over her stolen jewels, no mother
over a lost child, as Jesus over lost men who refused to be saved. No words
can picture the agony that shot through the heart of Jesus Christ when men
refused to come to him that they might have life.
(7)
Jno. 10:11—“I
am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”
Matt. 20:28—“Even
as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give
his life a ransom for many.”
SEVENTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ gladly laid down His life to save souls.
Torrey, R. A. (1898). What the Bible teaches a thorough and comprehensive study of what the Bible has to say concerning the great doctrines of which it treats (103). New York, Chicago [etc.: Fleming H. Revell company. |
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