Our text will be the first verse
in John chapter 13. Of course, this was written by
that disciple that was known and referred to himself as the
disciple whom Jesus loved. John was a part of that inner
circle. Some have referred to he and
his brother James Peter as the elect of the elect. They were
privileged by our Lord to see and experience things the others
didn't. And John, I suppose out of modesty,
didn't refer to himself by name, but simply as that disciple whom
Jesus loved. For example, you have a demonstration
of it here in this very chapter. Look at verse 23. Jesus answered and said unto
him, If any man love me, he will keep my words and my father will
love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. That's not the verse I had in
mind, but we're told that leaning on Jesus bosom was that disciple
whom Jesus loved and of course that was John himself. Mary,
sister of Lazarus and Martha were told in Luke, sat at his
feet and heard his word. Our Lord came to the little home
in Bethany, one of the few places while he was on this earth that
he was welcome. One of the very few places and
he seems to have gone there often. On one occasion he went there,
you're familiar with it, Luke 10, and while Martha was cumbered
and troubled and became anxious and fretful about what our Lord
called many things, Mary sat at his feet, hearing every word. But John seems to have enjoyed
even a closer communion than that. He leaned on Jesus' breast,
the disciple whom Jesus loved. Can you imagine what that must
have been like? As the custom was, they reclined. They didn't eat like we do, sitting
at a table with chairs, and I'm sure you're familiar. They reclined
as they ate. Therefore, John was in a position
to lean against Jesus' breast. Can you imagine what that was
like to look up into the eyes? of His Redeemer, to be so close
to Him and to catch every precious word out of His mouth. But even
John, even John, speaking of the love of Christ would be like
standing at a great mountain and looking up and feeling like
this is a peak too high for me to reach. Just too high. And if you could reach the summit,
if you could reach the peak of such a mountain, the air up there
would be such that it wouldn't support a mortal, sinful man. Oh no, for that, for that, we
must be changed. And John said that in his epistle,
didn't he? In chapter 3, Behold, all when
this happens, When this happens, then we shall be known as we
are known, and see as we can't see now. John said, Behold, what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should
be called the sons of God, but not till then. One hymn writer
expressed it like this, very accurately. When I see thee as
thou art, love thee with an unsinning heart, Not till then, Lord, shall
I know, but not till then how much I owe. When I remembered
those words and jotted them down, I paused over that second one,
that second verse. Love thee with an unsinning heart. What will that be like? To love
him with an unsinning heart. Only by doing that, not having
a heart, a nature, a mind contaminated with, polluted with sin, then
we'll see Him as He is, love Him as we should, appreciate
Him, who He is and what He's done in a way that is just not
possible now. Therefore, John says, behold,
Behold, it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but when He
shall appear, then we'll be enabled to climb to the summit of that
mountain of His everlasting love and appreciate a way that we
just can't now. Heaven is a prepared place for
a prepared people. Look what our Lord said just
after our text in chapter 14, this very familiar verse of scripture. He tells his troubled disciples,
after telling Peter plainly, you're going to deny me, Peter,
that not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you. A prepared place. And remember
what Paul wrote in Philippians 1. He that's begun a good work
in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. A prepared place, heaven. where our Redeemer is. For a
prepared people, prepared by His grace, that good work of
grace, He'll keep on until the day of Jesus Christ. Turn, if you will, to Revelation
chapter 14, and again, we look to the Apostle John, that beloved
disciple. In Revelation chapter 4, John
says, After this I looked, and behold, behold, a door was opened
in heaven, And the first voice which I heard was, as it were,
of a trumpet talking with me, which said, come up hither. Come
up hither. Oh, now we see through a glass
darkly, but when? When we come up hither, I will
show thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately, I
was in the spirit. And behold, a throne was set
in heaven, and one, Only one sat on the throne. There was
only one king of kings and lord of lords. It's his throne. And
he rules everywhere. And he that sat was to look upon
like Jasper. or he looked upon, then we shall
love him, as the hymn writer said, with an unsinning heart. Then we'll not be looking through
a glass darkly, but face to face. Face to face with Christ my Savior. I'm sure you think of that. Face
to face, what shall it be? When in rapture, I behold him,
Jesus Christ, who died for me. Behold what manner of love to
help us demonstrate This great love that our Lord had for his
own, having loved his own which was in the world, he loved them
unto the end. Turn back, if you will, a page
or two in your Bible to chapter 11 of John's Gospel. Chapter
11. Very familiar passage. Again,
it concerns that family in Bethany, Martha and Mary and Lazarus. Verse 1 of John 11. Now a certain
man was sick named Lazarus, a certain man, a certain of God's chosen,
a certain that the Lord loved, a certain one that he came to
redeem. But he wasn't exempt from sickness. This family weren't
exempt from trial and heartache. Now a certain man was sick named
Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary, and her sister Martha. It was that Mary which anointed
the Lord with ointment. and wiped his feet with her hair,
whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore his sister sent unto
him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick." Notice
how they sent the message, the words that they used. They don't
appeal their love to the Lord. Or they don't appeal to Lazarus,
their sick brother, who also loved the Lord. No, no, no. But
they appeal to the love of Christ for their brother. I always feel
a little uncomfortable attempting to sing the song, Oh, How I Love
Jesus. I'm just not so sure that my
love is worth singing about. How I love Jesus. Oh, but his
love for me is. His love for me is, and this
is what the sisters appealed to on behalf of their brother,
Lord, not we who love you, but he whom you love, who you love,
he's sick. At the same time, let me say
this. As Peter said to our Lord, right
before he went back to glory, Lord, you know everything. You
know everything, and you know You know that I love you. And I'm thankful. Aren't you,
child of God? Aren't you? Aren't you so thankful
that you can say you can take your place with Peter, you can
stand beside him, knowing as this same apostle John tells
us in his epistle, we love him because he first loved us. But
we can also say this with Peter. Lord, you know everything. And
you know that I love you. So thankful for that, Lester.
So thankful for that. Not like I should, not like I
want to, not like he deserves, and not like one day by his grace
I'm going to, but yet I do love him. His love deserves all the
songs of praise, does it not? Strange it must have seemed to
these two sisters, Martha and Mary, When they sent the message
to our Lord concerning their sick brother, their very sick
brother, and our Lord doesn't come, the messenger goes and
he comes back. without the Messiah, without
the master, without the great physician. They couldn't help
but wonder about that. They were human. Look at verse
5. Now, Jesus loved Martha and her
sister and Lazarus. He loved them. Our text, or rather,
notice how this verse begins, now. Now Jesus loved Martha and
her sister, of course, Mary and Lazarus. His love is always now,
always present, regardless of our circumstances. It's an eternal
now. Like having loved his own which
were in the world that we read in John 13 and 1. Having loved
his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. I have appeared to thee of old
saying I have loved thee with an everlasting love. His love for his own is without
beginning. We're creatures of time. Everything
we do, we do. Our life is occupied by time. Time to be here, time to be there. Our life is just a vapor, a matter
of minutes. But the love of God through his
own had no beginning. Had no beginning. Like God himself,
everlasting. His love had no beginning, it
shall have no end. God's love for his own is without
measure. Paul says the love of Christ
surpasses knowledge. It's more than this little brain
can get a hold of. Behold what manner of love the
Father had bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons
of God. His love is without end, without
end. He loved them unto the end, the
end of their life, the end of his life, the end of his time
in this world. And he shall love us when this
world shall be no more. When heaven and earth shall pass
away, he'll still love his own with the same intensity with
the same everlastingness, with the same love that he's always
loved us, he'll love us until the end. He shall still love
me as much but never less when he gave himself for me. What
a demonstration of his everlasting, undying, unending love. He loved me, Paul said. He loved
me. and gave himself for me. He laid down his life for me. He takes that glass of wine that
night and told his disciples, take this. All of you drink from
it, because this is my blood, which is shed for you, for you,
all brothers and sisters in Christ. Make it universal, and it loses
its preciousness. Tell me that it did no more for
Judas than it did for Peter, and it loses its preciousness.
All but once we realize, He loved me. That precious blood was shed
for me. And then we bow down before Him
and exclaim, Oh, what matter of love is this? greater love
hath no man than this, than he should lay down his life for
his friends. I will love thee freely without
a cause, without a cause to attract him. There was nothing in us
to attract his love. Isn't that amazing? And yet there
will never be nothing in us that will repel His love, that will
ever defeat His love. Nothing. Love is stronger than
death. The love of God in Christ Jesus
is without change. Without change. Having loved,
He continues the love. Look again at verse 5 of John
11. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Their present heartache, and
it was real. It was a real heartache. It was
a real trial. But their heartache in no way
indicates a lessening of his love. No matter what my sense
of things may be, don't trust that. Don't trust that. No matter how my little faith
may appear, no matter what Satan may whisper in my ears to the
contrary, I know now, now, Jesus loves me. No matter what God's
children may pass through, However dark or however long the night
of their distress might be, and like on this occasion, Jesus
didn't go to them immediately, did he? Not when he received
the message. Reminds me of that night in chapter
6 of John's Gospel. He sends them out on the sea.
They go at his bidding. They didn't go on their own.
He told them to cross over. He stayed on the shore. And as
they cross over, a great storm arises. And it says, it grew
dark. Grew dark. And we read these
words. It now grew dark, and Jesus was
not yet come. Jesus was not yet come. Martha
and Mary, it grew dark for them. They watched her brother swiftly
approach death, and Jesus was not yet come. But that doesn't
affect this whatsoever now. Now, Jesus loved Martha. Jesus loved Martha. He loved
Mary. And he loved Lazarus. Nothing
can change that. Nothing that happens today, nothing
that happens tomorrow, his love remains the same. Stand with
Paul as he challenges anything present. anything past, anything
that might come in the future. He asked the question, what can
separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus? So tribulation, distress, persecution,
famine, Ask those noble martyrs that were burned at the stake
and that were tortured and tormented by every conceivable way the
enemies of Christ could think of. Did any of all they did succeed
in separating even one of his sheep from his love? Paul said,
I'm persuaded. Paul answers that question for
us, doesn't he? I'm persuaded. I'm convinced
about this. It's not a matter of speculation
with me anymore. It's not uncertainty. Oh, no,
no. I'm persuaded that neither life,
nor death, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nothing shall be able to separate us from the
love of God that's in Christ Jesus. Isn't that comforting
now? Now, regardless of what that
now may bring, regardless of what that now may include, it
may be dark, it may be a heartache, it may be a burden, but I know
this, it doesn't have anything to do with Jesus not loving me. Oh, no. He's loved me with an
everlasting love. Paul says, we're more than conquerors
through him that loved us. Now, always, now Jesus loves
his own. Look at verse 4, are you still
in chapter 11? Look what we read here. When
Jesus heard that concerning the message about Lazarus, he said
to his disciples, this sickness is not unto death, but but for
the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. And you want to see how that
takes place. You're familiar with it, but
he goes to Bethany. And Martha meets him first. Look
at verse 21. Martha hears that he's coming.
She goes out to meet him. The first thing she says, Lord,
if thou had been here, my brother had not died. But I know that
even now, whatsoever thou would ask of God, God will give it
thee. Jesus said unto her, thy brother shall rise again. My, my, never a man speak like
this man. Martha saith unto him, I know
that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
And whosoever liveth, whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall
never die. Believest thou this? Martha goes
and tells Mary that Jesus has come. and Mary goes out to meet
him, verse 32. Then when Mary was come where
Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto
him, Lord, if thou had been here, my brother had not died. When
Jesus therefore saw her weeping, And the Jews also weeping which
came with her, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled and
said, where have you laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come
and see. Jesus wept. Jesus wept. We don't have a high priest that
cannot be touched with the filling of our infirmities. Does Jesus
care when my heart is pained? Does Jesus care? Oh, yes, he
cares. I know he cares. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, just
as our Lord said in verse 4, would see the glory of God. Ask them later. Let's see, look
at chapter 12. Martha, Mary, Lazarus, do all
things work together for good to them that love God? To them
who are called according to his purpose? Well, let's see the
answer. Look in chapter 12. After their brother's been raised
from the dead, then Jesus, six days before the Passover, Just
a few days before the verses we read in John 13 took place,
came Jesus to Bethany, where was Lazarus, which had been dead,
whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper,
and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the
table with him. Had they ever been so thankful
before? Had they ever been so in love
with the Master before? Had Mary ever before worshipped
so deeply from the heart as she did now? Did they ever view Him
with eyes of faith like they do now, which they would not
have done had it not been for the trial that they had passed
through? Oh, now they know. Now they look at Him in a way
they never could or did before. Oh, yes, He's the resurrection
and the life. There's nothing too hard for
Him. Look what Mary does. Verse 3,
Then took Mary a pound of ointment of smitener very costly, and
anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair,
and the house was filled. The house was filled with the
odor of the ointment. But more than that, the Son of
God smelled the sweet Savior of deep, heartfelt devotion from
Mary. Did He not? Judas says, why was
this done, verse 5, why was not this ointment sold for 300 pence
and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared
for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag and
bear that was put therein. Then said Jesus, look what he
says concerning this act of devotion on Mary's part, let her alone.
Against the day of my bearing hath she kept this. And this
he said only of her. For the poor always ye have with
you, but me ye have not always. She seems to be the only one
that understood. the necessity of his death. His disciples didn't. Far be
it from thee, Lord, Peter said when our Lord spoke of his death,
but Mary saved this costly ointment to anoint his body for burial. And there sits Lazarus. At the
table. Look again at verse 1. Lazarus
who was dead, but he's not dead anymore, is he? He's got his
feet under the table. That reminds me of when David
ascended the throne. Saul, his persecutor, is now
dead. Most of Saul's household is now
dead. Jonathan, the son of Saul, David's
Very good friend. He's dead. And David asked, is
there any left of the house of Saul that I might show mercy
to? You remember the story. And a
servant told David, there's one left. There's one. Mephibosheth. He's staying down in Lodabar.
He's a cripple. He's a cripple. He can't walk.
He's lame in both his feet. And remember what David said.
Go fetch him. Didn't he, Lord? Go fetch him.
Go fetch him. And that's what the son of David,
that's what the son of David said concerning all his elect,
all those that he loved even unto the end. Fetch him by my
grace. Bring him to myself. Bring him
all the way to glory, that where I am, there he may be also. Let me read you a few verses
from 2 Samuel 9 concerning this thing with Mephibosheth and David. Mephibosheth is brought before
David, and in verse 5 we're told, Then King David sent and fetched
him out of the house of Matthew, from Lodabar, and when Mephibosheth,
the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was coming unto David,
he fell on his face and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth,
and he answered, Behold, thy servant. And David said unto
him, Fear not. Fear not. I didn't know it was
grace at the time that taught my heart to fear. I would have
never believed it was grace that made me fear. Fear that just
and holy God. Fear to approach Him. Fear that
they could not have mercy on me. All but the Son of God in
grace says, fear not, fear not. For I will surely show thee kindness
for Jonathan thy father's sake. And will restore to thee all
the land of Saul thy father. And thou shalt eat bread at my
table continually. Down at verse 11, the second
sentence of verse 11. As for Mephibosheth, said the
king, he shall eat at my table as one of the king's sons. Verse 13. So Mephibosheth dwelt
in Jerusalem, for he did eat continually at the king's table
and was lame on both his feet. But you couldn't see that cripple's
feet under the table of the king, could you? Oh no, with his holy
garments on, as holy as God's own Son. And like Lazarus who
was dead, now he sits at the table of King Jesus feasting. And we who were dead in trespasses
and sins have now been quickened, and have been robed in the perfect
righteousness of Jesus Christ, and been made to sit at the table
of the King of kings and Lord of Lords. Isn't that a marvelous
thing? Now let's look again briefly
at verse 1 of John 13. Behold how He loved them. Behold
how He loved them. Not just these eleven, but that
includes you and I. All His own. All those that were
given Him by the Father. Now before the feast of the Passover,
when Jesus knew that His hour was come, that He should depart
out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were
in the world, He loved them unto the end. Those who are loved,
His own. But look how they're described.
They were in the world, like all other men. They loved the
world, like all other men. They were dead in sin at one
time, like all other men. But God, but God, God the Father
made a difference because these were given to the Son before
the world began. God in love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. Imagine that. Look what our Lord
prays in John chapter 17, just shortly after this. In John chapter
17, look at some of the things he says concerning those that
the Father gave him. He says in verse 6, I have manifested
thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine
they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word. Verse 9, I pray for them. The same them that the Father
gave him. I pray for them. I pray not for
the world, but for them. He loved them to the end. And
but for them which thou gavest me, for they are thine. Verse 15. I pray not that thou
shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest
keep them from the evil. They are not of the world. Go
fetch them. They're not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. And look at verse 23, I in them
and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that
the world may know that thou hast sent me and has loved them. Father, you've loved them as
you've loved me. Isn't that amazing? God's love
for his son, And yet he says, you love them the same way that
you love me. Imagine that. Could we with ink
the oceans fill? And were the skies of parchment
made? Were every stalk on earth a quill
and every man a scribe by trade? The right to love of God above
would drain the oceans dry. nor could the scroll contain
the whole, though stretched from sky to sky. They're also described
not only as being in the world, but his own. Having loved his
own by the gift of the Father and by his own purchase. We're
not our own, we're bought with a price. He loved me. and gave himself for me. But
they'll soon forsake him, won't they? Soon after this, just a
matter of hours, they all forsake him and flee. Look what he says
in John chapter 16 at verse 31, knowing all things. After they
all profess faith in him, he says, Do you now believe? Behold,
the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered,
every man to his own, and ye shall leave me alone. And yet
I'm not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have
spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world
ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome
the world. He'll soon trod the winepress
alone. And shortly after this, as he
stands in the palace of the high priest to where they first took
him after they arrested him in the garden. At that same moment
as he stands before the high priest as our glorious substitute,
Peter stands at the campfire of the Lord's enemies denying
that he even knows that man. Isn't that something? At the
very same time That same one who said, I know that you're
the Christ. You're the Christ, the Son of
the Living God. And our Lord responded, Blessed
art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah. And now he's saying, and he's
cursing, cursing and swearing to convince them that it must
be so. I don't know the man. Don't know
the man. How quickly he had fallen. I
know who you are, Jesus. You're the Son of God. I'll lay
down my life for you and now He won't even speak His name.
But you know what? The Lord Jesus didn't love Peter
any less Then when he was cursing and saying, I don't know that
man, then when he was saying, I know you're the Christ, the
son of the living God, his love was the same on both occasions. Isn't that amazing? Isn't that
amazing? Amazing love. How can it be that
thou, my God, should love a soul like me? That's who they were. And he loved them, his own, that
were in the world. And who loved? Jesus. Knowing all things that should
come upon him. When his hour was come, This
hour, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that
his hour was come, that he should depart out of the world, that
hour that this world was created for in the first place, that
hour had come when that corn of wheat himself would fall into
the ground and die and bring forth much fruit. Before the
Passover, the last Passover, because now shortly Christ our
Passover would be sacrificed for us. Behold how he loved them. He goes to the Garden of Gethsemane. John doesn't tell us, but Luke
does. I suppose because that's holy
ground. I don't understand a lot about
it, but I won't pretend to. But it seems that the realization,
that's not the best word, I can't think of one. But we see the
Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane in a way that we've never seen
Him before, never seen Him before. Father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me. And he arises and goes to that
inner circle that included John, the beloved disciple, and they're
asleep. He looks for some, and there's
none. Could you not watch with me an
hour? And he goes back, we're told,
and he falls on his face. Father, if it's possible, let
this cup pass from me. And Luke says, he was passing
through such an intense experience such anguish of soul that the
blood forced its way through the pores of his skin and fell
to the ground. Behold how he loved them. The shadow of the cross was now,
I suppose, eclipsing his holy soul. Now, now was he realizing
something? Was he feeling something of the
desertion of his father? That one he said just shortly
before, although all you forsake me, the Father's with me. He'll
be with me always. Behold how he loved them. See
him first drug to the palace of Caiaphas, the high priest,
and then to Pilate, then to Herod, and they mock him, make sport
of him, then send him back to Pilate. Beaten, mocked, spat
on, beard plucked out, humiliated every step of the way. And Paul
brings him forth and says, Behold the man, and there's the king
of kings and lord of lords, led like a sheep before her shearers
is done. He didn't open his mouth. Behold
how he loved them. In John chapter 1, we're told
that no man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son who
is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." John,
the disciple, leaned on Jesus' breast, leaned on His bosom. What a blessing! But the Son
of God was in the bosom of the Father. What was that? Wrapped in the very soul and
heart of the Father from all eternity. We'll not read it now,
but in Proverbs chapter 8, it speaks of that blessed union.
I was daily His delight. I was with Him from the beginning,
from everlasting as one brought up with Him, rejoicing before
the sons of men. Ever in the bosom of the Father,
I and my father are one, he said. And now he hangs on the cross
and that eclipse of the sun is just symbolic of the darkness
that was passing through his soul when the son of God was
forsaken by his father. And he cries out, and I've never
been able to preach a message from that, My God, my God, why
has thou forsaken me? I just have to do like Luther
and say, who can understand that? God forsaken of God? But I will
say this, when I hear those words piercing the darkness, behold,
behold how he loved us. Someone once said that a man's
ruling passion, that which he lives for, that's what he devotes
his time and energy to, usually manifest itself even on his dying
bed. That that passion is strong even
in death. That's usually what he speaks
about, that which he lived for, be it what it may. And our Lord
was facing death. Knew that the hour was come that
he should depart out of this world. What was on his mind? What was on his heart? The same
thing that was on his heart and mind in life had he loved his
own. He loved them until the end. All behold, behold how he loved
them. Let me close by reading a few
sentences of an article that was in your bulletin today by
Brother Donnie Bale. We know Donnie. We know what
he and Mary are going through at the moment. But this is what
Donnie wrote. So no matter what happens in
this world, it is not our home. We are just strangers and pilgrims.
We don't feel at home here, but what a blessed and glorious hope
we have. When Christ shall appear, then
shall we also appear with him. Old sinful self, I'll leave you
behind. Heartaches, fears, doubts, troubles,
sorrows, sighs, groans, and especially death, I'll leave you all behind. And I like this. Donnie says,
but until that day, hope keeps on looking out the window. That's a good way to put it.
Hope keeps looking out the window, looking for my master to come.
Even so, come Lord Jesus. Lord bless you.