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Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. John 13:1
D.L. MOODY
It is recorded of Jesus Christ, just when He was about to be departed from His disciples and led away to Calvary, that: “having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.” He knew that one of His disciples would betray Him, yet He loved Judas. He knew another disciple would deny Him and swear he never knew Him, and yet He loved Peter. It was the love which Christ had for Peter that broke his heart and brought him back in penitence to the feet of his Lord. For three years, Jesus had been with the disciples trying to teach them His love, not only by His life and words, but by His works. And on the night of His betrayal, He takes a basin of water, girds Himself with a towel, and taking the place of a servant, washes their feet; He wants to convince them of His unchanging love.
ERWIN LUTZER
When Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, He did what they were too proud to do. He “laid aside his outer garments” the same way He laid aside His glory (John 13:4; Philippians 2:7). Then He gave a new commandment: “Love one another: just as I have loved you” (John 13:34). What made this new? The standard of this love was nothing less than “as I have loved you.”
This “eleventh commandment” established Christ’s own love as the measure for believers. He loved them to the end—to the “full extent.” The full extent involved the cross. Because He loved us, we love Him and one another—sacrificially, even irrationally. Love doesn’t confine itself to reason. It goes on loving. That is how Christ loved us.
How will others know you’ve been with Christ? Through God’s work as we obey Christ’s new command: Love one another.
PRAYER
Holy Spirit, empower me to love not by the world’s standards, but by Christ’s—loving beyond reason or convenience.REFLECTION QUESTIONS
If the world judged the character of Jesus solely by the way you love your fellow believers, what would they conclude about Him?What “garments” of reputation, comfort, or rightness do we need to lay aside today so that we can truly serve those around us?