Jesus made covenant with His disciples at His Passover and in so doing, demonstrated a vision of love in completion. This is not something we can strive to attain; we receive His love first, then we can love like Jesus.
Jesus’ love is found in His acceptance before the Father
Justification by faith is our place given to us through Christ. He was able to give us this gift in Him because Jesus Himself lived in perfect union with the Father. He could fulfill His Father’s will because He was totally complete in the Father’s love and acceptance. From this place of union, love, and acceptance, He knew from the Father that His hour had come and He would depart from this world to be with His Father. He had loved His own in the world, and loved them to the end. Jesus knew that the Father had given Him all things, and that He had come from God and was going back to God. In love, He said, “Yes” to His mission and to His Father’s will.
Jesus demonstrates love in service
Jesus rose from the supper and washed His disciple’s feet. This was not the service of a slave with no rights or choice, but service as a beloved, secure Son choosing to love as a slave. Only confidence can allow such humility. Jesus set the example and called us “blessed” if we would follow.
Jesus loves in vulnerability
Jesus washed the feet of Judas, His betrayer. Love not only serves inside the confidence of acceptance and access to all things, but it also makes itself vulnerable. Love extends kindness to the “unthankful and evil” (Luke 6:35, NKJV). Love is a choice, empowered in acceptance through faith, which allows for service even to the treacherous! Jesus was troubled in spirit at the intent of his betrayer, but even more so, He was resolute in His spirit to reset humanity! Jesus NEVER STOPPED LOVING.
Jesus loves in covenant
Jesus promises His disciples secure acceptance, inside His love, through His forgiveness. He demonstrated this with clear action: His body broken for us, His blood poured out for the remission of sins. When we know intimately His justification given us through His death, resurrection, and intercession, we too can love with Jesus’ love. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
God’s love is received by faith; it is inexhaustible and beyond discovering or apprehending merely in, by or through life’s circumstances. In other words, His love exceeds even the best, most idyllic life on earth and is also not reduced to be only a salve or reward for life’s troubling circumstances. Rather, God’s love is His all-encompassing fullness. We can know this love by faith experientially, apprehending together with all saints its width, length, depth and height, and thereby be filled with the fullness of God.
Jesus gives His new commandment: Love as I have loved
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another“ (John 13:34). Jesus moved the commandment to love from one based on our love for ourselves, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39b) to, “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). The commandment to love is resourced through being loved by Jesus. No longer is man asked to love from self –love, but from Christ’s love. To be loved by Jesus is to then love like Jesus.
Jesus promised union with Him in love!
Jesus ends His Passover with the stark reality of His impending sacrifice; that through only what He could do, He would bring all of us into His victory. He was going to prepare a place for us, so that where He is, we would be also. He would send the Holy Spirit, and we would then abide together in love, in His words. . . in His victory! Now, today, for EVERY believer, is the promise of a new baptism of love poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit– given to us at the end of every trial! That’s the promise we will apprehend together at “Mansions” this Wednesday. Please join us as we receive the blessing below!
Here is this Passover blessing, found in Romans 5:1-5:“Therefore, having been justified by faith, [a]we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces [b]perseverance; 4 and perseverance, [c]character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
