For the past while we've been looking at Jesus' last
teaching to the apostles. It's good to remember what's going on as Jesus speaks
to these men. In just a few hours He's going to die. So, as He prepares Himself
for that He also prepares these men. So, the words that He speaks have a
certain tone to them. And that is especially true of the words that we will be
looking at this morning. Jesus speaks a command and so much is caught up in the
words He utters. Jesus said,
Abide in My love.
Take a moment to consider what He is saying. 'I really love
you guys. I have given Myself to you over these last three years. And I'm glad
that I did. But, please be careful. I don't want the close relationship that we
enjoy to change. I want it to last. I want you to remain in My love.' That's
what's going on here. That's what Jesus is talking about. And that's what we're
going to take a look at.
First, we have a church word to translate. And the word I'm
thinking of is 'love'. In one sense, it is quite familiar, but I want to be
sure that you understand it. What does Jesus mean when He talks about His love
for these men? I'm going to use two words to try to explain it.
Here's the first: affection. Sadly, there have been those
who have thought about love simply in terms of deciding on a course of action
that results in good for the person being loved. There is something to be said
for that. But there is something important lacking. That notion of love lacks
warmth. It is too intellectual. That kind of love is just a matter of looking
at the facts and coming to a conclusion. It's all very logical. But there is
something emotional about real love. The one who loves connects emotionally
with the one being loved. The love of Jesus is a love that is full of
affection.
Then there is the other word that I want to use: delight.
The one who loves delights in the one who is being loved. The one who loves
relishes the one being loved. He or she is so very pleased with the other
because of the beauty seen in the other. So, there is a certain enjoyment of
the one being loved. He or she is delighted in.
So, love is this warm reaching out to the other because of
the beauty seen and enjoyed in the other. Affection and delight. That's what
Jesus is talking about when He appeals to His friends to be sure that His love
relationship with them continues.
Now, how does Jesus know about these dynamics of a love
relationship? It's not because He read it in a book somewhere. And it's not
even because He is incarnate Deity who just knows everything. He knows these
things because of what He has experienced. He knows these things because of how
He has experienced the Father's love for Him. Jesus loves in this way, with
affection and delight because this is the way the Father has loved Him. Jesus tells
us that in our text.
As the Father has loved me, so have
I loved you. Abide in my love.
Think back to when Jesus was baptized. Along with John the
Baptist and all the people standing around, the Father was there, and He spoke
words of love.
You are my beloved Son; with you I
am well pleased.
This is affection - 'beloved Son'. And that affection is
expressed because of delight - 'well pleased'. Jesus knew He was loved. His
Father was very clear in expressing that. And that is how He loves you.
Affection and delight.
For this love relationship between Jesus and these men to
continue there were certain things that had to happen. There were things that
these men needed to do. And Jesus tells them what that is.
If you keep my commandments, you
will abide in my love…
Now, when most people today read that there is a problem.
For one thing, it's not what they expect. Isn't Jesus just supposed to love,
you know, unconditionally? But here He tells those men - and you - that there
are things that need to be done. There are conditions to be met so that you can
abide in His love. And He is clear about what that is: keeping His commandments.
Our culture has a problem thinking about love in the context of rules and law.
For most folk these days, love is a beautiful spring day. The sun is warm and
shining against the bright blue sky. There is a gentle breeze and the birds are
flitting here and there. And all you have to do is enjoy it all. But law - that
presents a completely different picture. Law is dark. It is cold. It is
constraining. There are no flitting birds. No blue sky. And that's because law
isn't about beauty. It's simply about making sure that business gets done and
that it gets done in a certain way. And so, talking about abiding in Jesus'
love by obeying His commands just doesn't fit in the common thinking. But that
is what He said. So, is He wrong?
I hope that you will agree that the problem isn't with Him.
It's with us. We don't understand God's idea of law. We think law is about
rigorous rule-keeping. We are supposed to keep the rules, and we do that just
because it's the right thing to do. But that isn't how Jesus thinks of law. Obedience
to God’s law is about being able to live well. The wise person understands how
life works. That's why he is able to make good choices as he moves through life.
And the result of those choices is a life lived well, a life that makes sense
and can be enjoyed. But how is it that this wise person understands how life
works? He knows that because it has been described in God's Law. It's by
looking into God's Law that we come to know what a good life actually looks
like.
So, you see, obeying Jesus' commands is not about deadly
rule-keeping. We don't obey because it is, in some abstract way, 'the right
thing to do'. The goal is not to try to become the person whose life conforms
to this ill-fitting standard called ‘the law’. The goal is to live well. And
seeing that difference is so very freeing.
And, again, Jesus knows all about this life of obedience not
because He read it in a book. This is also something He has learned from
experience.
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.
Jesus abides in the Father's love because He has obeyed the
Father. It is out of this experience that He calls for your obedience.
And what is the result of all of this? Again, Jesus tells
us.
These things I have spoken to you,
that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
Jesus tells you all these things because He wants you to
experience joy, His kind of joy, the joy that He has experienced because of His
own love relationship with the Father.
I have told you before that joy is all about an optimistic
spirit. We rejoice because we know that our Savior is at work bringing about
good for us and for others. So, whatever our circumstances, we can look to the
future optimistically. Now, a person can understand that in an intellectual
way, just as he can understand love in an intellectual way. But joy, like love,
has an emotional aspect. There may still be those times when we will need to
rejoice through tears. And yet, even in those situations, our rejoicing lifts
our eyes so that we can see that the sun still shines. Jesus still rules. Good
will come. By rejoicing we avoid the despair that so many fall into when life
gets hard. The result of abiding in Jesus' love is joy. It's being able to
rejoice even when life gets hard.
Jesus appealed to these men. He appeals to you. He wants to
continue to enjoy this relationship of love with you. He wants you to continue
to enjoy this relationship of love with Him.
He knows all about abiding in a love relationship because of His own
love relationship with His Father. He knows about affection and delight because
that's how the Father has loved Him. He knows about the importance of obeying
commands because He has obeyed His Father's commands. And when He talks about
your experiencing joy because of His love, He is speaking out of His own
experience of joy because of the Father's love. He is not talking about something
theoretical. Jesus is passing on to us what He has learned.
So, what do you do with this? Well, for one thing I think it
would be good to enjoy it. Jesus wants His love relationship with you to
continue. That is one of His great desires. He loves you with affection. He is
not some cold, distant deity. He is near and warm toward you. And He loves you
with delight because He sees beauty in you. So, enjoy that.
The other thing that you might want to do is to take a look
at your own attitude when it comes to obedience. For one thing, I hope that it
is clear that obedience is actually rather important for any Christian. It is
obedience that results in a continued love relationship with Jesus. Failure
here can be fatal. But please understand what obedience is about. It's not
about rule-keeping for the sake of rule-keeping. Obedience is about living
well. So, the psalmist writes,
I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have given me life.
Life, real life, comes through obedience. And at the heart
of that life is Jesus and His love.