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DAY 1: ASH WEDNESDAY

LOVING UNTO THE END

John 13:1-3

John 13:1-3 NIV
13 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;

It was before the Passover Festival. Passover was a festival commemorating the deliverance of the Israelites; the angel of death passed over the households of Israel on which door posts featured the blood of lambs. “Before the Passover Festival” means that Jesus, the true Passover Lamb, was about to be scarified; his hour had come.[1] This is the beginning point that unfolds the acts of Jesus Christ’s last three days on earth. The term ‘the last days on earth’ is in other words ‘death.’ The time of death is approaching for Jesus. John does not record that Jesus knew that his end has come, rather he records that “Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.” He knew that he was returning to God.

The life of Jesus Christ was begun for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son to this world (3:16). Jesus also knew that “he had come from God and was returning to God” (v. 3; cf. 8:42; 16:5). This is the self-identity and self-awareness of Jesus. This is a summary of the whole mission of the Son. Indeed, it is a summary of the whole gospel.[2]

“Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (v. 1).

This is the first verse of chapter 13 and it may be regarded as a kind of headline for the remainder of this gospel.[3] The life of Jesus Christ was begun because of the love of God. Therefore, his whole life can be summarized in one word, “love.”

Even at the moment of death where he had to carry the cross, Jesus still loved.

What kind of love is this love of Jesus Christ?

To say that this is only a new category of love, or to insist that this was only divine not human love, may sound like the message of theGnostics. They constantly denied the humanity of Jesus. However, this love is not metaphysical and mysterious, not just divine love but it is the love that we also possess.  Unlike us, Jesus simply loved unto the end.

That he loved them unto the end, eis telos means he loved ‘completely.’[4] This love was dedicating himself completely without leaving anything at all for his own. This unchanging love of Jesus swallowed even the impending death of the cross. He knew that he was returning to heaven. While he was hurrying there, he did not cease to love his own as before.[5]

Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end”(v. 1).

If we remember that when the evangelist uses “his own” rather than “his disciples,” he wishes to include all believers down the ages.[6]

But we must not allow ourselves to think that this love for the world was in any way undifferentiated. This love with which Christ loved hisown in the world is individual as well as distinctive.[7] Jesus loved all, even the ones who are not worthy to be loved, including Peter who denied him and even Judas who betrayed him.

“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (11:5). In this list of Jesuses’ love, my name is also included and can be protracted to infinity. 


[1] Comfort, I am the Way: A Spiritual Journey through the Gospel of John, 114.

[2] Stanley B. Marrow, The Gospel of John: A Reading (New York: Paulist Press, 1995), 227.

[3] R. H. Lightfoot, St. John’s Gospel: A Commentary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1960), 260.

[4] R. V. G. Tasker, The Gospel According to St. John: The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, 2nded. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1965), 154.

[5] Calvin, John, 319.

[6] Marrow, The Gospel of John, 234.

[7] Marrow, The Gospel of John, 225.

Question

1. Retell today’s message in your own words. 2. Death to Jesus meant that the life which was initiated by love is now returninghome according to the will of the love of God. What is the meaning of death to me? 3. How can I apply the lessons from today’s message into my life?

Prayer

Jesus was born of God’s love, obeyed God’s will with love, and then returned to God. I wish to know more about the life of Jesus Christ. Especially during this period of Lent, I want to be touched by the love of Jesus Christ who gave us all things without leaving anything. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

40 Day Lenten Bible Study

Christians often hear about God’s love for us, but have they truly felt and believed in His love? Prior to Christ’s death on the cross, no one saw God’s love in its full measure. But God revealed His love to the whole world through the cross and resurrection. This Lenten Bible Study provides an in-depth look into the transformative power of God’s love. Readers will examine the most central part in the whole arrangement of the Gospel of John from the Last Supper (John 13) to Christ’s crucifixion (John 19:30). – Taken from The Cross of Christ: 40 Day Lenten Bible Study through the Gospel of John with illustrations by Christy Tran. Buy the book on Amazon, Stevens Books

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