John 13:1. Now before the feast of the passover, -
Or, just as it was about to begin, -
John 13:1. 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.
That is a very beautiful description of Christ’s death: "His hour was that he should depart out of this world unto the Father," - just as though he was merely going on a journey, leaving one land for another; and if this be a fair description of such a stormy passage as that of our Lord Jesus, who died for our sins upon Calvary’s cross, it must with equal truth describe the death of any of the children of God. There is also an appointed time for us to depart, and to be with Christ which is far better than remaining here. The loosing of the cable, the spreading of the sail, the crossing over the narrow sea, the coming to the eternal haven, and the abiding there, - what Christian heart needs to dread this? How much better is it even to look forward to it with ardent anticipation! Think much of the abiding lore of Christ: "Having loved his own" - his by election, his by redemption, for he regarded that as already done which was about to be accomplished, - "Having loved his own which were in the world," - not yet in heaven, but still in the midst of trial, still imperfect, even as you and I are, - " he loved them unto the end," or "unto the perfection," as it might be rendered. The Alpha of his love, which we find in eternity, bids us believe that we shall find the Omega of it nowhere but there.
John 13:1. Now before the feast of the passover, -
Or, just as it was about to begin, -
John 13:1. 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.
That is a very beautiful description of Christ’s death: "His hour was that he should depart out of this world unto the Father," - just as though he was merely going on a journey, leaving one land for another; and if this be a fair description of such a stormy passage as that of our Lord Jesus, who died for our sins upon Calvary’s cross, it must with equal truth describe the death of any of the children of God. There is also an appointed time for us to depart, and to be with Christ which is far better than remaining here. The loosing of the cable, the spreading of the sail, the crossing over the narrow sea, the coming to the eternal haven, and the abiding there, - what Christian heart needs to dread this? How much better is it even to look forward to it with ardent anticipation! Think much of the abiding lore of Christ: "Having loved his own" - his by election, his by redemption, for he regarded that as already done which was about to be accomplished, - "Having loved his own which were in the world," - not yet in heaven, but still in the midst of trial, still imperfect, even as you and I are, - " he loved them unto the end," or "unto the perfection," as it might be rendered. The Alpha of his love, which we find in eternity, bids us believe that we shall find the Omega of it nowhere but there.