← Back to sermon library

Well, you can turn with me in 
your Bibles to the Gospel of John as we continue to move our 
way through the fourth gospel. We're in John chapter 15. Our 
focus this morning will be verses 12 to 17. Specifically, I mentioned 
last week that verses 9 to 17 are a unit, so we looked at part 
one last week, verses 9 to 10, or 9 to 11, basically Jesus emphasizing 
the love of the disciples for Christ. And in this section, 
verses 12 to 17, their love to one another. And this isn't the 
first time in the fourth gospel that he has mentioned this. We 
know it's very important as we read our Bibles. In fact, in 
John 13, he says, by this, all men will know that you are my 
disciples, if you have love for one another. So we're gonna look 
at the disciples' love to one another in verses 12 to 17, but 
I'll read the unit beginning in verse nine. As the father 
loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love. 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. These things 
I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you and that 
your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that 
you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no 
one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You 
are my friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I 
call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master 
is doing. But I've called you friends for all things that I 
have heard from my father I have made known to you. You did not 
choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should 
go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever 
you ask the Father in my name, He may give you. These things 
I command you, that you love one another. Amen. Well, let 
us pray. Our gracious God and our Holy 
Father, we thank you for the Lord's Day, we thank you for 
your house, we thank you for your people, and the glad occasion 
of worshiping our gracious God, even Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
We pray that your Holy Spirit would work in our hearts now, 
that we'd approach you as that high and lofty one who inhabits 
eternity, that one who looks upon those who are lowly and 
of a contrite heart. And God, we know that's not us 
by nature, so we praise you for that grace. We praise you for 
the power of the Holy Spirit, for that conviction of sin wherein 
you showed us our need for the Savior and directed us to the 
Lord of glory. We pray, Father, that you would 
be merciful to any and all here this morning that are dead in 
their trespasses and sins. We pray that you would awaken 
them. We pray that Christ would be altogether lovely and chief 
among 10,000 and that they would believe on him for salvation. 
May you encourage and may you build us up. May you strengthen 
us in our faith. May you cause us to truly express 
that love for one another that is symptomatic of the people 
of God. Forgive us now for all sin and all unrighteousness. 
And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, as we have 
noted several times, moving our way through this section of scripture, 
we call it the Upper Room Discourse, or some have called it the Farewell 
Discourse, because it's Jesus addressing his disciples prior 
to his death, resurrection, and ascension on high. One of the 
primary themes that he sets before them, by way of encouragement, 
is who God is. He mentions the doctrine of the 
Trinity, not in those particular words, but certainly the substance 
concerning Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And here we see He is 
getting very practical with the disciples, not only again in 
terms of their love for Him and obedience to Him, but also their 
love for one another, which is an expression of their love for 
Him and obedience to Him. So as we investigate verses 12 
to 17 under the general heading, the disciples love to one another, 
we'll notice four things. First, there's a command in verse 
12. Secondly, a pattern in verse 
13. A privilege in verses 14 and 
15. And then finally, a reminder in verses 16 and 17. So we'll 
look first at the command in verse 12. Very simply, this is 
my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Now, in terms of this particular 
command, as I mentioned, it's not the first time it comes in 
John's gospel. It's not the first time it comes 
in the Bible. And it's probably pretty elementary 
in terms of people that have been saved for any amount of 
time. Well, of course, we know that we're supposed to love one 
another, but the attention that Jesus gives it, the emphasis 
that the Bible shines upon it, recognizes that obviously at 
some point or at some level, the people of God may actually 
struggle with this. Remember, we are prone to wander 
and prone to leave the God that we love. Remember, there is the 
reality of remaining corruption according to Romans 7 and Galatians 
5. So, constant recurring reminders in scripture, they're not superfluous, 
they don't just sort of fill up the white space in the pages, 
but rather it is something that is intrinsic to Christian discipleship. So with reference to this command 
in verse 12, this is my commandment that you love one another as 
I have loved you. I would suggest first that the 
command to love is a summarizing statement. Remember that we are 
still connected to verse 10. Jesus says, if you keep my commandments, 
you will abide in my love. So he stresses there how they 
are to abide in his love. It is by commandment keeping. 
so that he refers to commandment keeping here in verse 12, shouldn't 
surprise us, but as I suggest, this is a summarizing statement. 
To say love one another is to summarize the entirety of God's 
law. Love to God and love to man summarizes 
the Ten Commandments. The Decalogue. In Protestant 
interpretation, we refer to the two tables of the law. The first 
four commandments are our duty toward God, and the latter six 
commandments are our duty toward man. And love your neighbor as 
yourself, love one another as I have loved you, summarizes 
the entirety of that second table. You can turn to Matthew's Gospel 
to confirm this. In Matthew chapter 22, the Lord 
Jesus Christ is questioned, specifically at verse 34. When the Pharisees 
heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 
Then one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him and 
saying, Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? 
Jesus said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all 
your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This 
is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it. You 
shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang 
all the law and the prophets. So in our immediate context, 
when Jesus stresses commandment keeping in verse 10, as a recognition 
of his love for them, and as an expression of their love to 
him, it is commandment keeping. So when he gets specifically 
in verse 12 to say, that you love one another, he's summarizing 
the entirety of the second table. As well, this command to love 
is a comprehensive statement. Turn over to the book of Romans, 
Romans chapter 13, where the apostle invokes the second table 
of the law as that standard by which love for one another is 
to be measured. Notice in Romans 13, specifically 
at verse 8, he says, And if there is any other commandment are 
all summed up in this saying. So it's a summary statement, 
love your neighbor as yourself, love one another as I have loved 
you, but it's a comprehensive statement. Our love for one another 
is to be expressed in terms of what God commands us in that 
second table. We're not supposed to commit 
murder against those we love. We're not supposed to commit 
adultery against those we love. We're not supposed to steal from 
those we love. We're not supposed to lie about 
those we love. We're not supposed to covet or 
envy or engage in that kind of mindset with those we love. Notice 
his summary statement, verse 10, love does no harm to a neighbor, 
therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. So when we see in 
the upper room that he says, if you keep my commandments, 
you will abide in my love, commandments there, plural, are summarized 
by this statement in verse 12, this is my commandment, singular, 
that you love one another. Why? Because it summarizes the 
entirety of the second table, and it's a comprehensive statement 
concerning the love that we are supposed to have with one another. 
But then notice in verse 12, this is my commandment, that 
you love one another. Not the way that Hollywood defines 
love. Not the way the popular romance 
novels define love. Not the way our godless, Christ-hating, 
abortion-loving, old-people-killing, child-mutilating society wants 
to dictate what love looks like. No, love is expressed, declared, 
manifested, and revealed by our blessed Savior. So notice in 
verse 12, this is my commandment, that you love one another as 
I have loved you. Now, with reference to the love 
of Christ, we know that love of Christ is self-sacrificial. In Matthew's Gospel, in chapter 
20, the disciples are jockeying for position. The Lord Jesus 
reproves that. And then the Lord Jesus summarizes 
His argument by saying, just as the Son of Man did not come 
into this world to be served, but rather to serve and to give 
His life a ransom for many. or in the word of God revealed 
to us by the Apostle Paul in the book of Ephesians. There's 
a general statement in Ephesians 5 too. We're to walk in love 
just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us. And 
then the Apostle moves from the general to the very specific 
in terms of Christian marriage. Husbands, love your wives just 
as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. So when 
we ask the question, what does it mean to love one another? 
It means to love like Jesus does with reference to his people. 
So that love is self-sacrificial. I would suggest as well that 
that love is constant. Turn back to chapter 13 in the 
upper room, specifically at verse one. Now, before the feast of 
the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come, that 
he should depart from this world to the Father, having loved his 
own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. So when 
he calls upon us to love one another, just as I have loved 
you, certainly self-sacrificially, certainly constantly, but I would 
suggest thirdly, the love of Christ is toward sinners. We are never told in the Bible, 
love the object you're supposed to love insofar as they are lovely. We look for conditions for our 
obedience. Well, you don't know what my 
wife is like. You don't know what my husband 
is like. You don't know what my parents 
are like. If you knew what they were like, 
then you would excuse me in my sinful rebellion, wherein I don't 
love them as I ought. God demonstrated His own love 
toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for 
us. These men in the upper room were 
not perfect men. They were godly men. They were 
upright men. They were faithful men. They 
would prove to be very useful men in the extension of the kingdom 
of Christ on earth. They were not perfect men. And 
yet Christ loves His own even to the end. Brethren, our love 
for one another is not to be conditional. Our love for one 
another isn't to be predicated upon their good behavior. Well, 
you've earned my affection this week by 15 units of compliance. Husbands, if you love your wives 
that way, you need to repent and forsake your wickedness." 
If any of us love that way, in light of this passage or in Ephesians 
5, 2, wherein we're to walk in love just as Christ loved us 
and gave himself for us, we need to repent. That doesn't mean 
we excuse their sin. It doesn't mean we're not hurt 
by their sin. It doesn't mean we don't reprove 
them of their sin. But it doesn't mean that the 
love stops. It doesn't mean that you're dead 
to me. I have no use for you anymore 
because you've crossed the boundary and you have offended the Holy 
Me. You're not supposed to live that way. You're supposed to 
be like our Lord Jesus. In the presence of men that were 
not perfect, He loved them and He loved them to the end. So 
the commandment in verse 12, I think, is very simple, at least 
in terms of understanding. It's a little bit more difficult 
in terms of application. And the fact of its repetition 
throughout the Bible should cause us to reflect upon its importance. 
Verse 17, that's how this section or unit is capped off. These 
things I command you that you love one another. Go back to 
John 13, specifically in verse 34. A new commandment I give 
to you that you love one another. It's not new in terms of, wow, 
we never heard this before, but new in terms of standard, new 
in terms of demonstration, new in terms of revelation as Christ 
loved us. In other words, we now have the 
embodiment of the divine word showing us and demonstrating 
what love looks like on earth. As I have loved you, that you 
also love one another. By this all will know that you 
are my disciples, if you have love for one another. The teaching 
of the apostles, we've seen that in Romans chapter 13. You see 
the great love chapter by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 
chapter 13. Why do you think Paul writes 
1 Corinthians 13? Because this is intuitive on 
the part of the people of God. If you read the preceding chapters 
in 1 Corinthians, you'll know why he comes to write 1 Corinthians 
13. Because if I could put it in 
the vernacular, the church in Corinth was a mess. You know, 
we get these people there, we've got to get back to the early 
church, the first century church. Really? Corinth was pretty messed 
up. It's actually reported among 
you that a man has his father's wife. Not sure I want to get 
back to that. A mean sacrifice to idols to 
the point where people were stumbling in terms of their Godward focus. The great abuse at the supper 
of the Lord's table, the haves excluding the have-nots. So when 
Paul comes to deal or finish that particular unit, and he 
comes with 1 Corinthians 13, he's underscoring the primacy 
of love amongst the people of God that will facilitate their 
ability to deal with one another in a gracious, God-honoring, 
glorifying way. You've got Ephesians 5. You've 
got the parallel in Colossians 3. You've got it riddled all 
throughout 1 John. How do we know that we have passed 
from death to life? John asks. Because we love the 
brethren. At one point, we didn't love 
the brethren. At one point, the brethren irritated 
us. At one point, we didn't quite 
appreciate the brethren. At one point, the brethren were 
obnoxious as far as we were concerned. But by God's grace, we've passed 
from death into life. And what does that then end in? 
It ends in love for the brethren. You've got the teaching of the 
Old Testament. I think Leviticus 19 is the Old 
Testament counterpart to 1 Corinthians chapter 13. When you think of 
the book of Leviticus, do you think of love chapter? Probably 
not. You think of blood, and gore, 
and tabernacle, and priesthood. and lots and lots of legislation 
about sores and leprosy and houses being under the ban and all kinds 
of odd things for our 21st century minds. But listen to Leviticus 
19.18, which is paradigmatic or foundational for New Covenant 
ethics. It says, but you shall love your 
neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. This is not a 
new thing. This isn't something that is 
peculiar to New Covenant teaching. This is something that was to 
characterize Old Covenant participation. But of course, it didn't. But 
why? Because there wasn't an assurance 
of salvation built into the Old Covenant. That is not the case 
in the New Covenant. When the prophet prophesies concerning 
New Covenant reality, he tells us what that covenant community 
is going to look like. They will know the Lord. They'll 
be forgiven of their sins. They'll have the law of God written 
on their hearts. What will be the automatic reflex 
in terms of their lives? They'll love God and they'll 
love one another. So the Lord Jesus Christ underscores 
what has always been an emphasis in terms of our relationship 
one to another. Notice secondly, in our particular 
section, the pattern in verse 13. So verse 12 is the command, 
verse 13 gives us the pattern. Note the declaration, he says, 
greater love has no one than this than to lay down one's life 
for his friends. We'll look at that latter part 
in just a second, but just think about this, greater love. Greater 
love seems to indicate or suggest that our love for one another 
ought not to be static. Well, you know, I love this guy 
because I haven't killed him. Okay. You're doing great, champ, 
but maybe you could probably excel still more. Greater love. I wonder at times 
do we pray, God help me to love the brethren more. We probably 
pray, God help the brethren to love me more, but do we always 
pray, God help me to love the brethren more? Increase my love 
for Christ, increase my love for his people, increase the 
demonstration of that in my life, not so I can get kudos or points 
or, you know, ring the bell of success in terms of sanctification, 
but because it's right. Greater love seems to imagine 
or seems to imply a growth in this particular aspect of our 
Christianity. Greater love in our marriages, 
greater love to our children, greater love from children to 
their parents, greater love one to another amongst our friends, 
greater love within the context of the local church, greater 
love to the world outside. Greater love such that by this 
all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love 
for one another." Shouldn't be hard to discern the love that 
we have for one another. It shouldn't be, well, I think 
it's there. I hope it's there. Let me throw 
it on the torture rack and start to spin the wheel and see if 
it pops out. Greater love is what Jesus envisages 
for his people in the context of the local church. I just mentioned 
a few sample passages in the New Testament. I didn't even 
mention Peter, didn't mention the others, didn't mention the 
other gospel narratives. What's the overarching concern? 
In fact, Peter says, above all things, have love or put on love 
for one another. Love is that wonderful demonstration 
that the people of God are living like the people of God. So notice, 
with reference to the Declaration, he says in verse 13, Now, we know that Jesus does 
this, right? We know where the narrative is 
going. We know where the Passion Week 
ends, with Christ on the cross, crying out to the Father, my 
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? They should have known, because 
this wasn't the first reference or allusion to his self-sacrificial 
love amongst them. But in the original setting, 
what would they have heard? They would have heard greater 
love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his 
friends. Sure, they would have thought, 
oh, that's what Jesus is going to do. That's what Jesus shows 
in terms of love for us. But they would have also heard, 
this is what I need to be doing for these guys. Remember, the 
disciple group is sitting together, they're in the upper room, they're 
discoursing, and what would they think? I need to have that kind 
of greater love for this group of brothers that is sitting here 
with me. I need to have a self-sacrificial mindset to be willing to die 
for them. And that's what the New Testament, 
again, everywhere puts forth as the standard and as the habit 
of God's people. The self-sacrificial element 
involved with reference to love. Greater love has no one than 
this than to lay down one's life for his friends. This is the 
supreme demonstration. This is the supreme example. 
If in another few years, government agents are in the parking lot 
and they lob grenades in here, it'll be curious to see how we 
respond. If everybody bolts out that door, 
then we've all failed, according to Paul in Romans 5. But if we 
dive on that grenade, now I'm not necessarily recommending 
this as a course or habit of choice, but that's the demonstration. Don't we read stories of valor 
and military history and the man who jumps on the grenade? 
What do we say? We say, he really loved his fellows. He was really self-sacrificing. He really gave to the end for 
them. And this is the standard, the 
love that is set forth here. Greater love has no one than 
this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. Turn over 
to Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5, and note the 
argument that the apostle uses. I think it's a lesser to the 
greater argument. The greatest being, of course, 
that God demonstrates his own love toward us, and that while 
we were still sinners, Christ died for us. But notice in verse 
6, for when we were still without strength, in due time Christ 
died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous 
man will one die. The apostle's a realist. He knows 
the heart of man for scarcely one out of a hundred. But then 
he goes on to say, yet perhaps for a good man, someone would 
even dare to die. You'll always have that guy that's 
going to jump on the grenade. And Paul recognizes that. For 
the most part, people aren't jumping on the grenade. But there 
are those blessed exceptions to that rule wherein some do 
jump on the grenade. They make it into our history 
books. Well, not necessarily our history books, but they should. Scarcely for a righteous man 
will one die. Yet perhaps for a good man, someone 
would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own 
love toward us in that while we were still sinners. So we 
weren't righteous men. We weren't deserving men. We 
weren't worthy men. The emphasis or the accent falls 
on the self-sacrificial nature of Christ's love. Christ died 
for us. So going back to the upper room, 
when the Lord Jesus issues the command in verse 12, he then 
sets forth the pattern in verse 13. It is to be self-sacrificial. It is to be others-minded. I 
often encourage people as they get married, you don't enter 
into a marriage relationship first and foremost seeking what 
you get. It is to seek rather what you 
can give. I want to get married because 
it's going to be nice. I'm going to have a wife. She's 
going to make me waffles. She's going to rub my feet. It's 
going to be wonderful. It's at this point I respond 
like that and laugh and tell them, you have no clue, young 
man, what lies ahead in your future. But we're mercenaries, 
aren't we? We go into something for what 
we get. Sign me up for all the benefits. I want all the assets. 
I don't want any liabilities or responsibilities. You go into 
marriage to give. You have a relationship with 
one another in the life of the church to give. Now it's mutual, 
it's reciprocal, there's all that give and take to be sure, 
but the mindset indicative of our culture and our world is 
give me, give me, give me. Solomon said, the leech has two 
daughters, give, give. It's the basis of the advertising 
industry today. It ought not to be the basis 
for Christianity in terms of discipleship relative to our 
blessed Savior who loved us and gave himself for us. self-sacrifice 
in terms of love for one another. That brings us then to privilege 
in verses 14 and 15. Notice there's a declaration 
in verse 14 and then an explanation in verse 15. Note first the declaration 
in verse 14, you are my friends if you do whatever I command 
you. That sounds a bit harsh. Usually in our friendship, we 
don't say, look, I'll keep you on the line as long as you do 
whatever it is that I command you. You might be tempted to 
say, well, I'm not so sure I want to be your friend anymore. But 
with reference to this, the place of obedience and friendship is 
not outlandish. I mean, if I call you, hey, friend, 
come over and wash my car, because it's quite dirty. And if you 
don't, you're no longer my friend. Now, that's an abuse, to be sure. 
But obedience, servanthood. A willingness to give, that's 
not outlandish in friendship. That's perfectly consistent with 
friendship. Giving, deferring, giving preference 
to others, that is most certainly part and parcel of friendship. What Jesus is saying here, He's 
not saying, this is conditional. As long as you wash my car, I'll 
call you my friends. But see, it's not outlandish 
because good friendship, good relationship, again, is a reciprocity 
of give and take. Giving usually involves some 
sort of obedience, some sort of servanthood. But as well, 
there's a specific theological order that we cannot forget as 
we navigate through this section of Scripture. We're not saved 
because we obey. We're not saved because we do 
what He commands. We obey and we do what He commands 
because we are saved by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus 
Christ. I feel that is very important 
and very much necessary to stress as we move through narrative 
passages, which people can say, wait a minute, that sounds a 
bit awkward. It seems to present a challenge 
to the doctrine of justification by faith alone. The sinner is 
justified freely by the grace of God through faith in Jesus 
Christ, Obedience is a consequence of that. As our confession speaks 
concerning good works, it says these good works done in obedience 
to God's commandments are the fruits and evidences of a true 
and lively faith. They're the fruits and evidences, 
not the cause of salvation. So again, Jesus is talking to 
people that have been justified freely by grace. The believer's 
obedience is not what makes them friends. It is rather what characterizes 
them as his friends. I stole that from D. A. Carson, 
not the specific quote, but the theme. Listen again. The believer's 
obedience is not what makes them friends. It is what characterizes 
his friends. That is crucial to get so that 
you don't end up with a conditional approach to salvation. As long 
as I obey the Savior, then I can call him friend or he'll call 
me friend. No, you're saved by grace through faith in our Lord 
Jesus Christ. The consequence, the fruits, 
the lively evidences of that is your obedience to Him. What 
happens when I'm not perfectly obedient? We have an advocate 
with the Father, even Jesus Christ, the righteous. We don't enter 
into heaven because of our obedience. We enter into heaven because 
of His obedience, because of His doing, His dying, His rising. We go because of God's grace. The Apostle says in Ephesians 
1, in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness 
of sins according to the riches of his grace. We're not saved 
by works, we're saved unto works, and Jesus affirms that everywhere 
in these narrative discourses with his disciples. So it's not 
a condition. If you obey me, then I'll keep 
you around. No, because I've saved you. This 
is what is the case with those I've saved. They obey, they follow. Do they do it perfectly? No, 
that's why I'm their advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ 
the righteous. That's why he ever lives to make 
intercession for his people. So don't mess up theology when 
you read through these sections and say, wait a minute, it sounds 
like our Lord is being very conditional in terms of his friends. Verse 
14, you are my friends if you do whatever I command you. Verse 15, he sort of expands 
it now or amplifies it or explains it. He speaks of their former 
status and he speaks of their present status. And again, what 
is owing to the change of status? Their obedience? Their wisdom, 
their ingenuity, their choice for Jesus, their signing the 
card, their altar call. No, it's the grace of God. And 
Jesus is gonna make that abundantly clear in 16a. You didn't choose 
me. You didn't raise the hand at 
the tent meeting and say, I have decided to follow Jesus. You 
didn't choose me. I chose you. This is the same 
theology you find throughout the rest of the Bible. The condition 
is not there by way of, do this to be saved. It is rather, do 
this because you have been saved. So note their former status according 
to verse 15a. No longer do I call you servants, 
for a servant does not know what his master is doing. I don't 
call you servants anymore. Again, brethren, in the grand 
scheme of things, Christ at the right hand of the Father, dispatching 
His disciples out into the then known world to engage in the 
greater works He tells them to do in 1412, yeah, they're serving 
Him. but their status relationally 
to him is as friends. In Romans chapter 8, the apostle 
says, For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to 
fear, but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 
Abba, Father. In a more close context, look 
back at John chapter 8, as Jesus is mixing it up with the religious 
leaders, the unbelieving Jews. Look at how he deals with them 
in 8.31-36. acknowledges that they are the 
ones in slavery, they are the ones in bondage, and that those 
who are in Christ are free men, they are free women. Notice in 
831, Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him, If you 
abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed, and you shall 
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered 
him, we are Abraham's descendants and have never been in bondage 
to anyone. How can you say you will be made 
free? Jesus answered them, most assuredly 
I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a 
slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 
Therefore, if the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. So back to John 15, specifically 
at verse 15, no longer do I call you servants, for a servant does 
not know what his master is doing. He just works the grinder. He 
just rows the ship. He just shovels the coal. He 
just engages in those activities without any insight whatsoever 
into the mind of the master. But differentially, notice what 
he goes on to say in verse 15. Now brethren, this language of 
friend of God has a rich heritage in scripture. Abraham was a friend of God, 
according to 2 Chronicles chapter 20, Isaiah chapter 41, and James 
2.23. Abraham was called the friend 
of God. And Moses, in Exodus chapter 
33, specifically at verse 11, God spoke face to face with Moses 
as a man speaks to a friend. I think those two images, or 
those two men rather, should help inform us as to the rationale 
there in verse 15b. So notice again, he says, but 
I have called you friends for all things that I heard from 
my father, I have made known to you. So revelation of divine 
truth to the disciple is a blessing. As our brother mentioned in the 
scripture reading, do you ever ponder how we got this blood-stained 
book? The great lengths that men went 
to, the great lengths that women went to, the great lengths that 
people went to, so that we could have that written word of the 
living God. And now that it's in our laps, 
that it's on our phone, that it's all over our bookshelves 
in our homes, do we bless God for the privilege of revelation? This is one of the end games 
of the incarnation, practically speaking, in the prologue in 
John 1.18. No one has seen God at any time, 
but the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, 
has declared Him. So it separates the servants 
on the one side and the friends on the other side. It's divine 
revelation. It's faith comes by hearing, 
hearing by the word of Christ. It is the recognition that, fowl 
I to the fountain fly, wash me, Savior, or I die. It's the recognition 
that Christ is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. That 
it's He alone that has the ability to save. It's He alone that speaks 
John 6, 37. All that the Father gives me 
will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will certainly 
not cast out. It is the recognition of the 
glory of John 3, 16. God so loved the world that He 
gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life. Brethren, we count ourselves 
blessed as the recipients of divine truth, not just externally, 
yeah, I own a Bible or five, but internally by the power of 
the Holy Spirit who's opened our hearts. As the hymn writer 
says, reflecting, I think, the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 
32, "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear." Brethren, 
if we have that revelation, we understand the glory of God. 
Not that we can explain successfully every jot and tittle of the Christian 
faith, but that we know Him, the only true God, and Jesus 
Christ whom Thou hast sent. That's where our friendship or 
where our status as friend is recognized. The servant just 
does what he does. There's no mind of the master 
that is actuating him, but the friend, we know what the master 
wants. We know what the master has come 
to do. We know what the master's intentions 
are. So we are not on an equal level 
with him, may it never be, but we are subordinate, but nevertheless 
friends. The idea that you can't have 
a subordinate that's a friend is completely contrary to what 
we find in this particular passage of scripture. One man, Edward 
Plank, makes the observation, it is knowledge that distinguishes 
a friend from a slave. And this knowledge is reflective 
of relationship. Right? Many people know your spouse, 
but they don't know your spouse the way you know your spouse. 
Many people know other people as well, but there's not that 
intimacy that people have in a marriage. Well, many people 
have a concept of deity, God, out there, but not knowing the 
master, not having that status of friendship. They don't have 
that relationship of friendship. So this is a wonderful explanation 
on the part of our Lord in the larger context of the upper room 
as an impetus for these men to go out and do what he says to 
do in 1412. You've got to do greater works. 
And this greater works isn't the grinder, it isn't the shoveling 
of the coal. It is out of love for Christ 
and out of love to your fellow men that you go there for, that 
you make disciples of all the nations, and that you baptize 
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy 
Spirit. These brothers needed impetus. They needed encouragement. 
The world is about to collapse all around them. They're going 
to see their Savior mocked. They're going to see their Savior 
crucified. They're going to see their Savior buried. They're 
going to see their Savior raised again and ascended on high, to 
be sure. But at this particular vantage point, what is it that 
they need in terms of motivation to go and engage in those greater 
works? They need all that Jesus is telling 
them. You ever hear those questions? 
Could God do this and could God do that? God does all his holy 
will. And God, as he speaks to us in 
scripture, there might be enigmatic portions. That means puzzling 
portions to you. The book of Leviticus, I've already 
mentioned that. Yeah, you got to deal with this 
sore and this scab with this hair in it in this particular 
way and quarantine this particular facility if this kind of stuff. 
You know, modern readers read that and they go, what? It just 
seems so foreign, it seems so far. In fact, most people, not 
most, I would imagine some, they... I'm going to read the Bible from 
cover to cover. Leviticus is probably the great rock that 
levels a few of them. I'm just not sure I can make 
it through. Leviticus is all about Jesus. I know that sounds 
odd. I think you see it in many, many 
ways. Leviticus 16 and the day of atonement, 
Leviticus 21 and 22 or 20 and 21, the fitness of the priest 
and the fitness of the sacrifice. But with reference to Scripture, 
when it comes to these particular things, when we ponder these 
particular things, we ought to remember that our gracious God 
has brought us into this position of friendship, revealed to us 
these things, and called us to function in a capacity that is 
consistent with his mind revealed to us in the Word. So Jesus comes 
along to these disciples to encourage them, to help them along, to 
be a blessing to them. Not a harsh taskmaster snapping 
the whip, but he comes to speak to them in a way that moves them 
from the upper room to the then known world to take the gospel 
to all the places in the earth. And then that brings us finally 
to the reminder. Notice in verses 16 and 17, he 
emphasizes sovereign grace. You did not choose me, but I 
chose you. I think this functions in a particular 
way, and I'll speak to that in just a moment, but the nature 
of his choice. What did he choose them for? He chose them for apostleship. 
We know that from Matthew 10, verses 1-4, and the parallels 
that you find in Mark and Luke. He chose them for apostleship. 
He didn't have, you know, sign-ups today, if you want to be my apostle, 
you know, come and, you know, do your thing and show me that 
you're one that ought to be included in this apostle group. No, he 
doesn't do that. But not just to apostleship specifically, 
but to salvation generally. You didn't choose me, I chose 
you. Ephesians 1.4, just as He chose 
us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should 
be holy and without blame before Him. He doesn't choose us because 
we are holy and without blame. He chooses us so that we'll become 
holy and blameless. As John Gill rightly says, election 
does not find men in Christ, but it puts men in Christ. So I think Jesus is doing something 
here in terms of showing them privilege. You didn't choose 
me, but I chose you. Showing them privilege. I don't 
call you servants anymore, but I call you friends. But he's 
doing it to encourage that intimacy that he has with them. That relationship, 
again, when these guys go out into the world to preach the 
gospel, and brethren, notice in verses 18 to 25, that's where 
the accent lay. Believe it or not, I'm gonna 
let you know something. According to 14.12, Jesus is 
gonna send these men out to do greater works. When these men 
go out to do greater works, believe it or not, the world's not gonna 
like it. They're not. You look around 
today and say, wait a minute, why is it that Christians are 
persecuted throughout the earth? Well, why don't we just spend 
a part of the prayer meeting this morning praying for six 
different countries, or maybe two of them were the same country, 
but six different instances of grievous suffering among the 
people of God. Because the world hates Christ. And the world hates Christ's 
people. I really don't know how to make that more of a simple 
proposition. So what is Jesus saying to prepare 
them for the eventuality of 18 and following? Know that when 
you go out into the Roman Empire and you preach another king, 
Jesus, The world's not going to be happy. Of course, God saves 
out of the world those whom he has chosen from before the foundation 
of the world. There will be receptivity. There 
will not be an extinguished church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It 
will march onward. The gates of Haiti shall not 
prevail against it. But in your own lives, in your 
own experience, in your own doings within the empire, you're going 
to end up in jail, you're going to end up before magistrates, 
you're going to end up dead. But be mindful of this. I call you friends. You didn't 
choose me, but I chose you. I chose you for this privileged 
position to go out and die for me. I chose you for this privileged 
position to go out and suffer for me and say, well, Butler, 
that's a stretch. Read the book of Acts. After 
the apostles are scourged, after they are beaten, they leave from 
that place not to go call their lawyer. They leave from that 
place rejoicing because they had been counted worthy to suffer 
shame for his name. It is a privilege to suffer for 
the cause of God and truth. It is a privilege to follow the 
Lamb wherever He bids us go. This is the way 20 centuries 
of Christ's church has interpreted it. But in this 21st century, 
well, you know, that just doesn't fit into our lifestyle. We can't 
actually go against governmental decree. We can't actually go 
against the norm. We can't actually take a stand 
upon the Holy Word of God. Brethren, 20 centuries before 
us, saw it as their great privilege to take that stand. The Lord 
Jesus Christ is calculatedly fitting his disciples for service 
in a John 15, 18 world. He says, if the world hates you, 
you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of 
the world, the world would love its own, yet because you are 
not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore 
the world hates you. Before moving on, and we're going 
to close this soon, I think that this statement as well, you did 
not choose me, but I chose you, should at least through the back 
door serve as a check against our pride. What does privileged 
status often yield in the privileged? Pride. Arrogance. I'm a friend of the master. I'm 
a servant in the functional term of the master. You didn't choose 
me. I chose you. It's like that scene 
in Ezekiel chapter 16 when God is rehearsing the founding of 
Israel. When I came to you, you were 
like a baby lying there in its blood. Your father was a Hittite. Your mother was a Hivite. And 
I came to you and I said, live, live. And then I picked you up. I cleaned you off. I decked you 
with ornaments. I set you on the path that you're 
on. Brethren, I think, again, through 
the backdoor, this should serve to check our pride, our arrogance. I'm a disciple of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, owing to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, not owing 
to your good decisions, or to your works, or to your law-keeping, 
or to your merit. So the Lord Jesus is encouraging 
and he is helping the disciples to go into the then known world. So from verse 16, you did not 
choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should 
go and bear fruit. This appointment, as I mentioned 
earlier, is in Matthew chapter 10, the appointment to the apostolic 
ministry. And then the purpose for that 
appointment is to go. Not to stay, but to go, the disciple 
group here specifically, to go to the lost sheep of the house 
of Israel. That is the Matthew 10 specifics. And then of course, in Matthew 
28, there's expansion. Go to the uttermost parts of 
the earth, go to all nations, make disciples of all nations. 
You see, Jesus' appointment of these men is with the specific 
task of extending His church, of extending His kingdom, of 
extending the salvation of God to the uttermost parts of the 
earth. Again, as our brother was mentioning, every tribe, 
every tongue, every people, every nation. This is the purpose of 
the Savior relative to the missionary enterprise. Notice specifically 
then the provision, or I'm sorry, the mission for the disciples 
follows. I appointed you that you should 
go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain. This is 
a connection to the unit in verses one to eight. Here in chapter 
15, he gives the meaning of who he is as the true vine. And then 
what does he say? your branches and the vine and 
my father pruned you so that you're fruitful, so that you 
get the sap and the nutrients, you get the nourishment and the 
satiation so that you can go out and actually bear fruit. 
You see, that's what he wants from his disciples. I appointed 
you to this particular task and I want you to bear fruit and 
I want that your fruit should remain. Now, as our brother, 
again, picking on Mark here, he started off the statement 
with, I want to ask a question. I want to ask a question. Did 
their fruit remain? You better believe it did. You 
better believe their fruit remained. What was the complaint of these 
men or about these men in the book of Acts? They turn the world 
upside down. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that 
glorious? Isn't that blessed and amazing 
that a handful of men from different backgrounds, different walks 
of life, united in God's grace under the headship of their friend, 
the Savior, go and turn the Roman Empire upside down? It probably 
seemed like an impossible task. It probably seemed like there's 
nothing that's going to stop the Roman Empire. Yeah, there 
is. It's God Most High who rules 
and reigns at the right... The Lord Christ Most High rules 
and reigns at the right hand of God. And then notice, provision 
from Christ that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He 
may give you. He's already said this in chapter 
14. He'll repeat it again in chapter 
16. They're supposed to be doing greater works, 1412. Those greater 
works are gonna require great resources. And so when he says, 
whatever you ask the Father, he's not saying if you want summer 
homes, if you want a new boat, you want a new job, you want 
a new this, you want a new that. The whatever you ask in my name 
is conditioned by the greater works of 1412, always governed 
by the will of God itself. When we pray, we're not praying 
to change God. What a miserable approach to 
prayer. Boy, I just want to go change 
God. No, God in infinite wisdom has 
everything under perfect control. He governs all His creatures 
and all their actions. A primary focus in prayer is 
to align our will under His will. So the whatever you ask in my 
name are the resources necessary to take the gospel to the uttermost 
parts of the earth. And I would argue specifically 
the Holy Spirit in light of 14, 15 to 18, and Luke 11, 9 to 13. It's the Holy Spirit in these 
men, with these men, empowering and enabling these men, illuminating 
these men, teaching these men, bringing all things to remembrance 
to these men, that will be the grand impetus for them to go 
out, to proclaim the truth as it is in Jesus, to make those 
disciples, and to baptize them. And then the text, or the unit, 
ends with a reiteration in verse 17. These things I command you, 
that you love one another. Importance, comprehensiveness, 
and then the power of obedience to that command. By this all 
men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for 
one another. And then I would suggest, as 
we move into the next section, this is the necessary help that 
obedience to the command affords. There needs to be a community 
of love when we live in a world that is filled with enmity. I 
mean, if just that alone is a reason to come to church, and I'm not 
suggesting that alone is the reason to come to church, but 
that's a good one. Six other days that you live, 
if you have any contact with social media, any contact with 
at least understanding what's going on in terms of the political 
realm, you probably have discovered that they hate you. There's a 
lot of hatred out there for Christ and his church. A lot of hatred 
out there for the commandments of God. So we come in here and 
at least for an hour, 15, gonna push it to 20, we're not hated 
expressly, This is a safe haven, at least for an hour 15. Again, 
I think there's a myriad of other reasons why you should come to 
church, but that's certainly a good one. A community of love 
that is planted in the midst of the enmity of the world. How 
is it that we go out and face the battles of this current generation? We find impetus from our blessed 
savior and from one another. Prayer meetings are very helpful 
for that. Midweek meetings are very helpful for that. Just imagine 
the soldier that never has any reprieve, the soldier who never 
gets a good hot meal. One of the military leaders said 
that an army is basically fueled by its stomach. Remember that 
scene in King Saul's reign where he forbid everybody to eat? Not 
a genius move when you're going into battle, Saul. Jonathan comes 
and he tastes the honey and his countenance shines. And then, 
of course, Saul wants to kill his own son because he broke 
the oath or broke the vow. Thankfully, the people of Israel 
intervene. See, we need that. No man is 
an island unto themselves. The God-haters have that. They 
certainly have their rallies and their times together, and 
they have all their points wherein they get encouraged to go out 
and do their horrible and vicious deeds. Yet, for some reason, 
the people go, I don't need church. Again, if it's an hour and 15 
where people aren't screaming insults at you, it might be a 
good thing sometime in the future. Brethren, this is the community 
of love within the enmity of the world. So in conclusion, 
we need to count ourselves as privileged by Christ. We are 
loved by Him. We have communion with Him. We 
get to obey Him. Prior to conversion, you probably 
thought obedience to God was probably the whole obedience 
to God. But as converted men and women, 
isn't obedience to God the recognition that that's what we were made 
for? True freedom is doing what God made you to do, not rebelling 
against Him. We have joy in Christ. We are 
friends of Christ. We have been chosen by Christ. 
We are empowered by Christ. So let us count ourselves a blessed 
lot. The privileges are manifold. 
We have been richly smiled upon by our King of grace. And let 
us live in a manner that is consistent with His revealed will to us. 
As his friends, let us love him. As his friends, let us love one 
another with a self-sacrificial love, with a constant love, and 
with a love that doesn't demand that you better clean up everything 
in your act before I'll convey love to you. You gotta love people 
where they're at. Now again, help them to be somewhere 
else or better if where they're at isn't necessarily good. And 
if you're not a Christian here this morning, may I just emphasize 
this Lord Jesus Christ, this one who always did what the Father 
commanded. As I mentioned earlier, hopefully 
you heard it, we don't enter into heaven because of our obedience, 
we enter into heaven because of his obedience. Notice what 
he says in verse 10. 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. Why did Jesus keep the commandments 
of God? Because it was necessary for 
us men and for our salvation. without that righteousness of 
Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone, with that forgiveness 
of sins that we get through His precious blood, we would never 
enter into heaven. The way of salvation isn't leave 
here and try to be a better you. The way of salvation is to look 
unto the Lord Jesus Christ in faith, and He will save you by 
His grace. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this section 
of Holy Scripture and the wisdom of our Lord Jesus and encouraging 
and helping his disciples along as they leave that upper room 
and as they go into the Roman Empire with the gospel of salvation. 
May we receive these things as well. May you encourage our hearts. 
May you increase our faith or our love for the Savior and our 
love for one another. And we ask in Jesus' name, amen.