"Greater Love Has No One Than This" John 15:12-17

What We Learned Together  Sunday May 28, 2023
INTRODUCTIONSo many stories in our culture of friendship.  It is the grace of God in our human experience to have friends. Friends take different forms and even songs express the heart desire of so many “You Got A Friend in Me.”  In our Scripture passage this morning three references Jesus makes to friends in verses 13, 14, and 15. In John Chapter Fifteen three different relationships explained: Relationship with Jesus [15:1-11], Relationship with One Another as His Disciples [15:12-17], and Relationship with the world [15:18-25].  Look on your notes this morning for our summary statement of these verses. Jesus teaches us that being His disciple means loving others because He has loved us in this discipleship relationship with Him. Here Jesus Entrusting Himself to His Friends.  Notice how these words of Jesus are bracketed by the same instruction, “This is my commandment, that you love another.” [verse 12 and 17] We have entitled our message this morning “Greater Love has No One Than This.”  We will see three main themes for better understanding friendship in the words of Jesus:  Present Love, Present Relationship, and Present Plan.  We as New Life Fellowship are a church to glory God by becoming more like Jesus Christ and making Him known.
 
First, Present Love for One Another Because They Are Loved by Jesus [15:12-13]. Both the Mandate and Model of Love communicated in these words of Jesus.  There is His Present Commandment Is Love One Another in verse twelve. His words “This is My commandment, that you love one another . . .” The present tense verb emphasize both loving personally and humbly. These words by Jesus are in repetition, importance, truth. Remember the words of Jesus in John Chapter Thirteen. “ I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another.” [John 13:34-35] And then he says, “. . . just as I have loved you.”   In His will, action, and choice His love is demonstrated and communicated.  This means our love ought not be conditional nor reciprocal.  Even further we would say the character of this love is grounded in the nature of His love.  And also the nature of this love is rooted in the presence of His love.  The love of Jesus shown in both His service and sacrifice. These words of Jesus put before us as His disciples our testimony for Christ, our ministry as a church, and our identity as Christ’s disciples.  There is also His Present Commitment Is Love For Each One of Them in verse thirteen.  Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than this . . .” An axiomatic statement pointing to Himself when He then says, “. . . that one lay down his life for his friends.” The present tense verb emphasizes both loving sacrificially and willingly. Elsewhere we have seen this phrase in the words of Peter in chapter thirteen [John 13:37-38]. As one commentator said, “no greater proof of love than the sacrifice of one’s life.”  Know what Jesus did do, would do, and has done! This tells us also that there are many other things we must lay down in our loving one another.  In order for us to offer both sacrifice and service in love for others we should lay down selfishness, unwillingness, and unforgiveness.  We all must grow in this degree of our love in self-sacrificing for others.  Our love should be measure by serving, sacrificing and suffering just as Jesus has loved us as His disciples. John would write later in his first epistle in chapter three.  “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters. But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God remain in him?  Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” [1John 3:16-18] Indeed never fully like Jesus but indeed we can love personally and humbly, sacrificially and willingly because of both the mandate and model of His love.  Who is it in my life that I love like Christ loves me?  Who would say that I love them the way Christ loves me?  Who needs to be loved in our midst that we can show them the love of Christ? 
 
Second, Present Relationship for Each One of Them As Friends of Jesus [15:14-15].  Both the Meaning and Message of Friendship communicated in these words of Jesus.   There is His Present Statement That Who Are His Friends in verse fourteen.  See His words, “You are My friends if you do what I command you.” Literally “you yourselves My friends are . . . I Myself . . .”  Reality of personal obedience by those in this relationship because of the reality of His sacrifice for them.  Jesus sees His disciples as His friends but His disciples loved Him as Savior and served Him as Lord.  Friendship involves words, plans, counsels, and cares in sharing our time and talking together in a relationship expressed in love for one another.  There is also His Personal Statement About What Being Friends Means in verse fifteen.  “No longer do I call you slaves . . . but I have called you friends . . .” And “for all things that I have heard . . . I have made known to you.” The disciples of Jesus are more informed, more privileged, and have more understanding through what Jesus has said to them and for us in these chapters.  Such friendship shares, gives, relates, and reveals communicated with love and for love for others.  Therefore, we possess knowledge in this friendship and have love in this kind of friendship through our close association in this friendship.
 
Third, Present Plan for Those Who Are His Disciples [15:16-17].  Both the Mission and Ministry of Discipleship communicated in these words of Jesus.  There is His Personal Appointment of Those Who Are His in verse sixteen. “You did not choose Me but I chose you and appointed you . . .”  Jesus emphasizes not you yourselves Me chose BUT I Myself.  It could be explained this way, "it is not about you but about Me.” Other places where Jesus teaches His choice of them as His disciples in His initiative in this discipleship relationship [cf. John 6:70; 13:18; 15:19].  There is also His Personal Assignment for Those Who Are His in verses sixteen and seventeen.  Three elements of this assignment: 1) that you would go, 2) bear fruit, and 3) that your fruit would remain.  Friendships because of Gospel relationships expressing the love of Christ as disciples of Jesus.  And we are called upon as His disciples to be asking and praying through these steps and on this assignment.  And Jesus said at the end of verse sixteen, “so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”   And finally Jesus says again, “This I command you, that you love one another.”  We should all memorize this as disciples of Jesus.  These summary words by Jesus for His disciples “that you keep loving.”  What does Jesus want me to do today?   Why should I go to church this Sunday morning?  All sort of ministries through this church body that will grow as we love one another through service and sacrifice in laying down our lives for others because of the love of Jesus for us.
 
CONCLUSION
The Loving Relationship with others where we are personally and humbly, sacrificially and willingly showing love in these Gospel friendships with others because of our discipleship relationship with Jesus.  Jesus teaches us that being His disciple means loving others because He has loved us in this discipleship relationship with Him. Here Jesus Entrusting Himself to His Friends. Again, Jesus words place before each of us as His disciples Present Love, Present Relationship and Present Plan. We learn that our Relationship with Jesus is shown in our relationship with His disciples. We see These words of Jesus decide & mark How I am relating to others. We together show These words of Jesus shape & form How We are relating to one another.  Sacrificing of selfishness, unwillingness, and unforgiveness so that self-centeredness and shallowness be set down as we pickup love for one another.  Listen as I read “The Friendships of John Newton” which give testimony of such gospel friendships as disciples of Jesus. These words of Jesus put before us as His disciples our testimony for Christ, our ministry as a church, and our identity as Christ’s disciples.  We as New Life Fellowship are a church to glory God by becoming more like Jesus Christ and making Him known.