As I Have Loved You

As I Have Loved You (Jn 13)
Intro: A new section of John
Matthew, Mark & Luke show us Christ's body, but John shows us Christ's soul (Calvin).

Exposition

1. Jesus loves them to the end by becoming the slave of all (v1-11)
   See Luke 7:44, Phil 2:7-8.

Jesus is calling us to love one another just as Jesus has loved us, by serving one another as Jesus has served us, by humbling ourselves as Jesus humbled himself for us, by giving ourselves for one another, as Jesus gave himself for us.

Application: Serve one another (v12-20)
"It is honorable to preach, & grace in teaspoons would have been enough for a preaching tour. But ditch digging lent dignity to nobody. Grace in rivers was required for this. Day by day they grew in manliness" (Elliot, A Chance to Die, 264).

See Luke 22:27.

It is the love of serving one another, & giving yourself for another, as John says, "He loved them to the end" (13:1).

2. Jesus loves them to the end by giving his life for them (v21-33)
   See Ps 41:9.

Throughout, we're being shown that most dreadful & wonderful irony: in this unbelievable humiliation, betrayal, denial & suffering, the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ is shining most brilliantly. This is what we must remember & proclaim, "That the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread" (1Cor 11:23-24).

Application: Love one another, love one another, love one another (v34-35)

We shouldn't read this & primarily consider whether we're going to depart from the Lord, but rather whether we are going to follow the Lord in giving his life for others.