Seeking once again the help of
God to grant me the words to speak to you this morning, I'd
like you to turn with me to the chapter that we read together
in the Gospel according to John, chapter 15, and the text you'll
find in verse 13. A greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. We are gathered today on this
Good Friday to come and to remember the death of the Lord Jesus Christ
as he laid down his life for his people, as he became the
Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, as he became
the substitute for his people, God the Father laid upon him
the iniquity of all of the people of God and punished the Lord
Jesus Christ for the sins of his people. And the Lord Jesus
Christ through his perfect life is able to give to them the righteousness
that he wrought and as he laid his life down as he died upon
the cross and cried out, it is finished. He bowed his head and
gave up the ghost and died. The Bible tells us that no man
took his life from him, he gave up his life as a ransom for sinners. It was a willing sacrifice. We know that the Lord Jesus laid
in the grave for those three days and rose again on the third
day, proving to us that the grave could not hold him, that the
Father was well satisfied with his sacrifice and he revealed
himself to above 500 people and then 40 days later rose up to
heaven and the scripture tells us that this same Jesus whom
we see, who the apostles see go up, will one day come again. And as the Lord Jesus Christ
said to his apostles, this do in remembrance of me and until
I come. And so we will continue to remember
the death of the Lord Jesus Christ as our only hope of salvation.
And as we sit around the Lord's table month by month, we are
constantly reminded of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
as this time of year comes again, we are again reminded of the
death of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is always to be at the forefront
of our minds to constantly remind the Lord's people that it is
of his grace that we are saved. We are constantly reminded of
the way in which we have been able to be redeemed. It is not
by works of righteousness that we have done but it is by the
grace of God through the sacrifice of his beloved son the Lord Jesus
Christ. And in the chapter that we read
together we see how dependent the Lord's people are upon the
Lord Jesus Christ. Not only are they completely
dependent upon him for their salvation, for the forgiveness
of their sin, but they are completely dependent upon him for that living
out that Christian life. They are to be grafted in to
the Lord Jesus. They are part of the vine. He is the vine and they are the
branches and they are to abide in him. And so as the Lord Jesus
Christ gives this parable of the vine to his apostles and
to those who were there around about him, he tells them, as
I have loved you, So you are to love one another. This is the commandment that
the Lord Jesus Christ left to his people that as Christ has
loved them as he has been drawn down from heaven and to be born
into this world and to live this perfect life and to lay down
his life for them so they are to lay down their lives for each
other. says that as I have loved you
so you are to love one another. Jesus says that greater love
has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. And so the extent of Christ's
love is that he laid down his life for his friends. The Lord Jesus didn't actually have many friends. The Bible tells us that at his
death, at the Garden of Gethsemane, they all forsook him and fled. They were afraid. Those who had
walked with him for those three years of teaching, at that moment
when Christ needed his friends, Through fear they all fled. Peter, who was so filled with
confidence about his ability to be a friend of the Lord Jesus
Christ, crumbled in the presence of a little maid and denied the
Lord Jesus Christ. All his friends deserted him. And when he came to be crucified
upon the cross, as he was there upon the cross, as those round
about him were mocking him and despising him, railing upon him,
there was just three ladies, the three Marys. One of them,
his mother, was at the cross and the Apostle John. They had
all forsaken him and fled. And so Jesus says this greatest
demonstration of love is that a man would lay down his life
for his friends and yet the Lord Jesus Christ did not have many
friends. You see friendship is a two-way
thing. You cannot have a friend who
doesn't know you. You cannot have a friend who
doesn't appreciate your friendship. Friendship is a relationship.
The Lord Jesus Christ came to die for those that he loved. You see you can love one way. You can love somebody who doesn't
love you. And the Lord Jesus Christ from
before the foundation of the world loved the people who didn't
love him. He loved the people, he chose
them before the foundation of the world and that those people
would be given to him. He lived a life for them and
he died for them, yet they didn't love him. He died for people
who hated him. He didn't have many friends. They all forsook him. and they
fled. He says, as the Father, verse
9, as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. And it was his love that moved
him to die for sinful people. It was the love of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It was his grace that moved him
to die upon the cross for sinful people. Romans chapter 5 tells
us there, from verse 6, for when we were yet without strength,
in due time Christ died for the ungodly. for scarcely for a righteous
man would one die yet peradventure or perhaps perhaps for a good
man would some dare even dare to die but God commanded his
love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died
for us much more than now being justified by his blood we shall
be saved from the wrath through him and so Christ died upon the
cross really for those who were still in their sins he came to
redeem them from the consequences of their sins they did not love
him They had no concern for him and if we look at our lives if
any of us have received the grace of God we will acknowledge that
you despised and hated the Lord Jesus Christ, you would have
been amongst those who said, crucify him, crucify him, crucify
him. We will not have this man to
reign over us. And it was the grace of God that
revealed to you and to me that the Lord Jesus Christ was in
fact dying for us upon the cross. It was the grace of God that
revealed that to us. that the one who we hated, the
one that we despised, actually was the one who loved us before
the foundation of the world. First John also. First John chapter
four and verse nine. In this was manifested love of
God towards us because that God sent his only begotten son into
the world that we might live through him. here in his love,
not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son
to be the propitiation or the payment for our sins. Beloved,
if God so loved us, we ought to love one another. And as we see the Lord Jesus
Christ upon the cross and you see the multitude of the Jews
mocking him, we see on the day of Pentecost
those same people whom were mocking the Lord Jesus Christ who were
crying crucify him. We see under the preaching of
the Apostle Peter as he tells them it is you who crucified
the Lord Jesus Christ in Acts chapter 2. Verse 36 it says, Therefore let
all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they
were pricked in their hearts and said unto Peter and to the
rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then
Peter said unto them, repent and be baptised every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and
you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. And so these
same people who were crying out to crucify Christ as he was upon
the cross was dying there for their sin. He died while they
still hated him. Yet he loved them. Father, forgive
them, he says, for they don't know what they are doing. So as Jesus says, greater love
has no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends.
There is a greater love. There is the greater love of
the Lord Jesus Christ who laid down his life for those who would
be his friends. But when he laid down his life
for them, they were still dead in trespasses and sins. They
still had no concern for their soul. They still had no love
for him. They still had no desire to follow
him and to obey him and to love him. And we will each acknowledge
that in the darkness when we were unregenerate. Yes, we hated
the Lord Jesus Christ. We may not have said so yet our
actions proved that we hated him because we rejected his word,
we rejected his promises, we rejected his counsel, we rejected
his people and we said we will not have this man to reign over
us and we will do as we please, we will live our life as we please.
Yet in God's appointed time He revealed to us that even when
we were yet dead in our trespasses and sins Christ died for us. And so his enemies were made friends of his by his
death. His enemies were made friends. By his death, by his grace, we
are saved. Sinners, haters of God and haters
of God's word. In verse 25 of our reading it
says, But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled,
that it is written in their law, they hated me. without a cause. It would be our state by nature. The Jews hated the Lord Jesus
Christ without reason. He had done everything to prove
that he was the Son of God. He'd done everything to prove
to them in the fulfilment of all the prophecies regarding
himself. He had done everything to prove. They hated him without a cause.
They hated him because they were jealous of him. They hated him
because they loved their religion more than they loved the true
Son of God. And so they hated him without
a cause. Yet Christ's death brought about
a transformation in the hearts of millions. Those who hated
him without a cause would one day cry out, Thou son of David,
have mercy upon me. Those who were once far off were
made near by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet Christ
himself had to die in order to get friends. If the Lord Jesus Christ had
not died upon the cross, he'd have had no friends. There would have been no church. The Bible tells us if Christ
be not risen, then our faith is in vain. Christ had just died
and never rose again then we would be wasting our time being
here we'd be worshipping a false prophet. that such is the love
of the Lord Jesus Christ to sinful people, to his people, that even
when those people were dead in trespasses and sins, he came
to die upon the cross in order to bring them out of that darkness,
to bring them out of that hatred towards him, to bring them out
of their lost condition, to bring them out of their separation
from God, and to make them his friends. So I said, friendship is a two-way. Christ died for those he loved
to bring them into a relationship with him that they became his
friends. There are many things that people
do to gain friends. Some people, they dress in a
certain way. They want to fit in with the
crowd in order that they may have more friends. Some people
begin to talk in a certain way. When I was young, there was children
or young people who were brought up in a Christian home. And then
when they went away from their parents and they hanged around
with their school friends, their language changed. They began
to swear. They began to talk about the
different things they'd seen on the TV and different things
that they were interested in. And so they altered their language.
so they would have more friends. Some people try and buy friends. They use their money to draw
people nearer to themselves. They buy them gifts in order
to win their friendship. Some people listen to a certain
type of music and their peers are all in the same group of
people and they all listen to the same type of music. Their
friendship is based upon the music that they listen to or
the clothes that they wear or the places that they go. But
friendships don't always last. Times change, people grow up,
people move and those friendships they can break down. But this
friendship, the friendship of the Lord Jesus Christ is an eternal
friendship. It is a friendship that is based
solely upon himself. that he has died for his people
to bring them to himself, that he befriends them and they love
him in return. But in order to secure that friendship,
the Lord Jesus Christ had to die. Such is his love and concern
for his people and such is the depravity of the human heart
and the sad condition that we're in. That even if people hear
about the love of Christ, even if people hear about the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross, even if people hear
about that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten
son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have
everlasting life. Even if the people hear of that
wonderful message and that wonderful work of the Lord Jesus and that
wonderful love that he had, still they will not respond to that
love. because they don't want to be
friends with the Lord Jesus Christ. They see no beauty in the Lord
Jesus Christ. They see no need of the Lord
Jesus Christ. They see no need of somebody
coming to earth and dying upon a cross and rising again the
third day for them. So they don't want to be friends
with the Lord Jesus Christ. So what does the Lord Jesus Christ
have to do? He has to send forth his Spirit, the Holy Spirit of
God to bring people under a conviction of their sin so that they see
their need of the Lord Jesus Christ. They see that they need
a friend, an eternal friend, a friend who sticks closer than
a brother, a friend who is able to last out. this world and for
time and for eternity. But although this friendship
is in a sense one way, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who has
secured the friendship, who built the foundation for the friendship,
who brings people into union with himself, yet as with any
friendship it is two ways. greater love has no man than
this and a man lay down his life for his friends Christ laid down his life and
demonstrated this great love but he said in response to this
great love in response to this love that you have received from
me ye are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you. Jesus's friends are those who
are doers of the word and not hearers only. If we are friends
of the Lord Jesus Christ, we desire to listen to the Lord
Jesus Christ. We desire to be obedient to the
Lord Jesus Christ. We want to walk with the Lord
Jesus Christ. You young people, as you go to
school, as you go to university and college, you have friends
and they are people that you want to be with, people that
you have something in common with, people that you want to
talk to and associate with. And so it is with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Those who are friends with the Lord Jesus Christ or
in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ they want to be
with him. They want to listen to his word. They want to talk
to him in prayer. They want to think about him.
They want to meditate upon his word. They want to do the things
that please him. If you've ever upset somebody
that you love or somebody that you care about It hurts if you
truly love someone or care about them and you find that you have
upset them there's feelings that you feel regarding that hurt. And you want to put it right.
You want to go and apologise. You want to go and speak to them
and explain the reasons why you have done this and that or to
ask for their forgiveness because you have done a certain thing
that has hurt them. And so it is with the friends
of the Lord Jesus Christ. When they realise they have grieved
him, when they realise they have hurt him, when they realise they
have sinned against him, they desire to go to him. and to ask
for forgiveness, a desire to be asked again for his favor
and for his love. And so he says to them, you are
my friends. If you do whatsoever, I command
you. You see, the veil has been taken
away. That veil that once hid the beauty
of Christ from us that once caused us to hate the Lord Jesus Christ
has been removed and we see him as though through a glass darkly
yet we see him as he is. The Bible tells us that the world
see no beauty in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's nothing that
we would desire about him. But when we are gifted with the
Spirit of God and that veil is taken from our eyes, we see a
beauty in the Lord Jesus Christ. We see him as our friend, as
our saviour, as our husband. And we desire to do what he has
commanded us. If you remember when the Lord
Jesus came along the beach to the apostles, he commanded them
to follow him. They left all and they followed
the Lord Jesus Christ. They abandoned their earthly
friendships and their earthly ties by nature and they were
devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ. That is where they focused their
attention. They lost sight of themselves
and they wanted to follow their friend. The Bible tells us or Jesus tells
us we're to deny ourselves to take
up our cross and to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. And so his
friends they follow him. His friends they serve him. If you have a natural friend
you desire to be with them, you desire to serve them, to care for them, to walk with
them and to be with them. And so it is with the people
of God as they serve and as they follow and as they walk in obedience
to the Lord Jesus they desire to be with him. In the book of James it tells
us there, James chapter 4, it says, Ye adulterers and you
adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is
enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a
friend of the world is an enemy of God. And so the followers
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the friends of the Lord Jesus Christ,
they have walked away from the friendship of this world and
they desire to look to a new master, the Lord Jesus Christ. They desire to follow the Lord
Jesus Christ. They abandon the following of
the world and they desire to fix their eyes upon the Lord
Jesus and to please him. with their life, with that obedience and
they desire to bear fruit for his honour and glory. They see
in themselves sin and they desire to overcome sin. They read in
his word that we are to pursue after godliness and holiness
and they strive after these things. They desire his word. and they desire to lay down their
lives for Him. To the people of God they are friends of the Lord
Jesus Christ and they desire to abide in His love and to abide
in Him. as Christ has laid down his life
for them, they seek to lay down their lives for him and for each
other. At our lives they are not our
own and we are to abide in the Lord Jesus Christ in his parable
of the vine. He says abide in me and I in
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except
ye abide in me. And to abide in Christ is to
continue believing and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. to
be daily living and drawing from his grace, drawing from the power
and influence of his Holy Spirit. As the branch is attached to
the vine, it is drawing that sap daily to enable it to grow. And so the people of God, they
draw daily from that living sap. that living grace, they come
to the throne of grace, they draw strength and ability by
his spirit and they desire to grow in grace. And so friendship with the Lord
Jesus Christ, it requires sacrifice. All relationships Even earthly
relationships require sacrifice. In a marriage there must be sacrifice. In friendships at school, at
college, at university or out and about those friendships require
sacrifice. You cannot just do and live as
you want to live otherwise you won't have any friends. In a
marriage relationship you cannot just live an individual life
Otherwise your wife or your husband will be extremely unhappy. This is a relationship of sacrifice
and it would be the same with the Lord Jesus Christ. If we're
in a friendship with the Lord Jesus Christ, in a relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ, it is a life of sacrifice unto the
Lord Jesus Christ. We do not live with our own will
but we lay down our wills at his feet. and desire to be guided
and directed. Greater love has no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends and we are
to lay down our lives for the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not
our life, it is his life. He dwells in us and we seek to
live a life that is pleasing and acceptable unto him and to
do whatsoever we are commanded to do. And if a relationship, if someone
in that relationship is living in an unsacrificial way then
that relationship will be spoiled. And it's us as Christians who
spoil our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is us who
drift away from him. It is us who grow cold in our
relationship with him. It is us who take our eyes from
him. It is us who go again to the
friendship of the world. He remains the same. the friend of tax collectors
and sinners. The Lord Jesus Christ, the friend
of little children, be a friend to me. And yet when we are friends
with the Lord Jesus Christ how often it is that we disappoint,
we disappoint him and we live selfishly, we live without concern
for our friend and we do not draw from our friend the strength
and the grace that he has promised to give to his people that they
may walk worthy of his calling. He says, I have called you friends
and we are called to lay down our lives for the Lord Jesus
Christ. There are many throughout history
that have had to lay down their life for the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostles martyred. Millions
of others have been martyred for the sake of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And he says, ye are my friends.
And that is the greatest demonstration of love to the Lord Jesus Christ
is to lay down your life for him. We don't have to lay down
our life necessarily in death. but in service to his people
in service in the ministry of the word we lay down our life
for his people for it is his life and so as Christ laid down
his life for us so we are to lay down our lives for the brethren
as Christ demonstrated what true love is laying down his life
for sinful people, those who hated him, in order to draw them
to himself, in order to cleanse them from their sin. He says
to us, greater love has no man than this, than a man lay down
his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if you do
whatsoever I command you. May the Lord add his blessing.
Amen. Our closing hymn is from Hymns
of Worship, number 83. When I survey the wondrous cross,
on which the Prince of Glory died, my riches gained I count
but lost, and pour contempt on all my pride. Hymn number 83
from Hymns of Worship to the tune 398. ? Christ the Babe of wondrous birth
? ? All praise the praise of glory doth ? My richest gain
I cannot lose, With the death of Christ my God,
O lovely face that shall be mine, Sorrow and love were mingled
now. Did e'er such love and sorrow
meet ? On the tree, on the tree ? ? The heart is full of sovereign
angels divine ? ? There was my soul, there was my soul, there
was my soul ? Dear Lord and our Heavenly Father,
we do thank Thee for the perfect sacrifice of Thy beloved Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ, and we pray that Thou enable us to walk
worthy of our calling as friends of the Lord Jesus Christ. We
pray now for Thy blessing to rest upon the food that has been
provided. We ask that it may be of a benefit
to our bodies and to our minds. We pray that Thou would forgive
all our sin amiss this day. And now may the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father, with the fellowship
and communion of the Holy Spirit, to be with us each now and for
evermore. Amen.