John 15:9–17 ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

¹² “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

Grace, mercy, peace, and love to you from God the Father and His Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Our text this morning is a continuation of the sermon text from last week.  Judas has left the Upper Room and is in the act of betraying Jesus.  Jesus is now teaching His disciples knowing that these were His final moments with them before He would go to the cross where He would put His life on behalf of His friends.

Last week we covered the first eight verses of Jn. 15 where Jesus taught, “I am the Vine, My Father is the Vinedresser, you are the branches.”  Jesus’ repeated plea to the disciples was, “Abide, remain, stay in My love.”

The text today continues that theme and takes the next step.  “The Father has loved Me.

“I have loved you with that same kind of inseparable, indivisible, perfectly united love.

“Abide in that love.”

What a beautiful picture.  The same love the Father has for Jesus is the love Jesus has for you.  “The Father loves me.  I love you.  Abide in My love.”  The care, the protection, the guidance that the Father has given to the Son is the same love that Jesus gives to you.

We say, Yes, Jesus this is wonderful.  By Your grace keep me in Your love.  Forgive me of my sins.  I know that whenever I sin, I can turn to You and receive Your forgiveness.  Amen?

“The Father loves me.  I love you.  Abide in My love.”

Why couldn’t Jesus have stopped speaking?  Jesus’ call to abide in His love fits with our desires and wishes.  We want to abide and remain in His love.  But when Jesus explains how that abiding occurs in v. 10, well, there is disappointment.  “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.”  What does Jesus command? v. 12, “This is My commandment, that you love one another.”

“The Father has loved Me.  I have loved you.  Abide in my love.  Love one another.”

I don’t want to hear that last part, “Love one another.”  I don’t want to hear it because of what I know.

When I look at the ways in which I ‘love’ others, I find not love, but selfishness.  Deep down, when I look at the ways in which I try to help people, I see the stains of self-interest.  I help others so that I will get noticed.  I make sure that when I help others I get something in return.

My love is not sacrificial.  My love is not giving of myself.  My love, frankly, stinks.

“The Father has loved Me.  I have loved you.  Abide in my love.”  I wish Jesus had stopped there, but He goes on to say, “Love one another.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.  This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

Jesus describes this love that you should have for one another.  “Greater love has no one than this, than that he lay down (put) his life for his friends.”  How true that is.  There is no greater thing that you can do than to give your life to save someone else.  More on that in a minute.

Jesus says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you—love one another.”

“[Name someone], I really like you.  You are my friend.  Now, do whatever I tell you.”   What kind of friendship is that?  Doesn’t that sound weird?  Yet, that is what friendship is.  A friend will do what his friend asks.  A friend will even try to help before he is asked.   A friend is going to give his friend commandments that are beneficial to his friend.  And as we look at the context v. 13-15 and see how it all fits together, there is beautiful Gospel here.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  You are My friends if you do the things which I command you.  No longer do I call you slaves because the slave does not know what the Master is doing, but I have called you friends for all that I have heard from My Father, Who loves Me, I have made known to you.”

Usually, when we consider a man laying down his life for a friend, we think of peers.  A husband dying for a wife, a soldier jumping on a grenade to protect the rest of his troop.  Those are beautiful pictures of this, but an even greater love is going on here.

In Jn. 19:12,  Pontius Pilate is trying to release Jesus.  But the crowd cries out, “If you release this Man, you are not Caesar’s friend.”  There is a friendship between two people of unequal status.  When a high-ranking official has someone in his charge or care, that official has a vested interest in the success of those under him.

When we understand Jesus’ work and words about laying down a life for friends in this way, it sharpens what Jesus is saying.  There is no way that Caesar would lay down his life for Pilate who was just a governor of the outer territories of the empire.  We wouldn’t expect the President of the United States to lay down his life for the East Grand Forks city zoning superintendent.

That is the love Jesus has for you.  He laid down His life for you.

“The Father has loved Me.  I have loved you.  Abide in my love.  Love one another.”

Absolutely central to this is what Jesus said in Jn. 15:5, “Apart from Me you are not able to do even nothing.”

Jesus repeats the same idea in v. 16, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and I appointed you (I ‘put’ you) that you should go bear fruit.  I chose you which results in you bearing fruit which remains.”

Jesus did not chose you because you were bearing fruit that lasted.  He chose you and appointed you which results in you bearing fruit that lasts—the fruit of loving one another.

And so often people want to take this last part of v. 16 and say, “If you perfectly obey God, He will give you whatever you want.”  Just perfectly obey God’s commands and He will become your Heavenly Rich Uncle.  “O Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz.”  But that is not what Jesus is talking about.  Jesus is not talking about prayer in general; He is talking about bearing fruit and loving one another.

In Jn. 15:1-8, Jesus says, “Already you are clean because of the Word that I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me because apart from Me, you are not able to do even nothing.  If you abide in Me, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”  He continues this teaching in v. 9-17, “Abide in My love and remain clean and free from sin.  I chose you to bear fruit that would abide.  The fruit that abides is love for one another.  So ask Me to help you love one another.”

Jesus has made you clean through His Word.  He has freed you from sin.  And you don’t want to return to sin.  You don’t want to return to being outside God’s will.  You have just been cleaned from all that rot and filth.

So your prayer becomes, “Jesus, You have freed me from sin.  Keep me free from sin.  You have appointed me to bear fruit.  Make me bear the fruit you want me to bear.  Help me love my neighbor.  Help me love the person You have put in front of me right now.  Help me be a better spouse.  Help me be a better parent.  Help me be a better worker.  Help me be a better neighbor.  Help me to show Your love to others.  Help me abide in Your love.”

It all comes full circle.

“Love,” is Jesus’ command, and the key to obeying that command is His love.  Jesus says, “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you.  Abide in My love.  If you keep My commands, you abide in My love.” And back in Jn. 14, Jesus says, “If you abide in My love, You keep My commands.”  Put it together, “If you keep My commands, you abide in My love.  If you abide in My love, you keep My commands.”

It always starts with God and His love for you.  “in this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us.  We love because He first loved us.” Jesus’ love poured into you leads to obedience.  Obedience leads to fruitfulness.

Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

If you want to know what God thinks about you, listen to what Christ has to say.  Do not look to your thoughts or experiences.  Listen only to Christ.  He says, “You did not chose Me.  You did not chose Me, but I chose you and appointed You.  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Abide in My love.  Love one another.”  Amen.