A Savior Who Practices What He Commands
John chapter fifteen, beginning in verse twelve, says:
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another.
Let me begin with a familiar phrase. You’ve probably heard this many times in your life:
“Do as I say… not as I do.”
We don’t like hearing that statement because it exposes something to us immediately. When someone gives instructions they themselves are unwilling to follow, we recognize the contradiction. In fact, we have a word for that kind of person—we call them a hypocrite.
People often say they avoid church because they think it is full of hypocrites. They believe Christians expect others to live a certain way while refusing to do the same themselves. That concern is understandable, because when someone requires something from others they are unwilling to do personally, it communicates a lack of respect.
But I am thankful to say this morning that our Savior, Jesus Christ, is not a hypocrite. He has never required something from us that He was unwilling to do Himself. Jesus never said, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Instead, He says, “Do as I say—and watch how I do it.”
As we continue in John 15, we are in the portion of Scripture where Christ is instructing His disciples how they are to live in His absence. Earlier in the chapter He commanded them to abide in Him—to live in continual dependence on Him for nourishment, strength, guidance, and fulfillment. Abiding produces fruit.
Now, in verses twelve through seventeen, we see something else that flows out of abiding in Christ: fellowship. Abiding in Christ produces genuine, loving fellowship with God and with other believers.
And Jesus makes it very clear what that fellowship looks like.
He says:
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Loving others is easy to understand, but it is much harder to practice. Part of the difficulty is that the word love is often used loosely today, and people are confused about what biblical love actually looks like. Another reason loving others is difficult is that sometimes people are not easy to love.
Yet Jesus does not leave us guessing. He does not simply say, “Love people.” He says:
Love one another as I have loved you.
In other words, watch Me. Look at My example. Then follow it.
So how has Christ loved us?
Christ Loves Us Sacrificially
Jesus begins by pointing us to the sacrifice of His love:
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Within just hours of speaking those words, the disciples would watch Him hang on a cross before a mocking crowd. There, Jesus gave the clearest picture of sacrificial love the world has ever seen.
I have had the opportunity several times to visit Washington, D.C., including Arlington National Cemetery. When you step onto those grounds and see a sea of white crosses stretching across the landscape, each one representing someone who gave their life so others could live in freedom, it overwhelms you. It reminds you of the cost of sacrifice.
We honor those who made those sacrifices—and we should.
But when we look at the death of Jesus Christ, we see something even greater. Every soldier buried there was a sinner like you and me. Yet Jesus was perfect. He never sinned. He never mistreated anyone. He never spoke a wrong word. The only person on that hillside who did not deserve to be on a cross was Him.
And yet He hung there willingly.
Jesus did not go to the cross by accident. He went there on purpose.
Why?
Because He loved you.
If Jesus had not taken your place, every sin you ever committed would stand against you at judgment. But He paid a price He did not owe so that you could receive a reward you did not earn.
That is sacrificial love.
Loving like Christ means sacrifice. It may not mean martyrdom, but it will always mean setting yourself aside so someone else can experience care, encouragement, and peace.
Sometimes that sacrifice looks like giving your time. Sometimes it means giving your resources. Sometimes it means waking up in the middle of the night to care for someone who cannot care for themselves.
So the question becomes simple:
Who needs you to sacrifice a little so they can experience a lot?
Christ Loves Us by Sharing the Truth
Jesus continues:
Henceforth I call you not servants… but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
We deserved to remain servants outside the family of God. Scripture tells us we were enemies of God. Yet in His mercy, He crossed the battle lines, rescued us, and brought us into His family.
Like the father of the prodigal son, He ran to us. He clothed us. He restored us. He seated us at His table.
And then He did something remarkable.
He shared His truth with us.
Because we are His friends, He has revealed the wisdom and purposes of His kingdom to us. He has not hidden His will from us. He has given us comfort:
“I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.”
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Sometimes He tells us things we do not want to hear. He corrects us. He exposes sin. He confronts our mistakes.
But He does not do that to hurt us.
He does that because He loves us.
If we are going to love like Christ, we must be willing to tell the truth. That includes sharing the gospel and sometimes having difficult conversations with people we care about.
Real love does not stay silent when someone is walking toward danger.
Christ Loves Us by Choosing Us
Jesus says:
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.
That truth is shocking because we know ourselves too well. Christ is perfect, yet He chose imperfect sinners like us before we ever desired Him.
His love is not based on our behavior. If it were, we would still be His enemies.
It is also comforting because His love does not depend on our consistency. It depends on His faithfulness.
And His love never ends.
But this truth is also challenging.
If we are to love like Christ, then we must choose to love people who do not deserve it and may not even want it.
We were once in that same position.
Yet Christ loved us anyway.
Christ Loves Us by Supporting Our Success
Jesus continues:
I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain.
Christ loves us in a way that equips us for spiritual success. He enables us to bear fruit. He invites us into a living relationship with the Father where our prayers matter and our lives make an eternal difference.
That does not mean worldly success. It means spiritual fruitfulness.
If we love like Christ, we must care about the spiritual success of others.
Someone may need your encouragement to keep going.
Someone may need your words to come to faith in Christ.
Someone may need your support to step into ministry.
Imagine what would happen if every believer decided to help someone else succeed spiritually. The church would become a network of strength, encouragement, and grace.
The Command That Shapes Everything
Jesus closes this passage with a reminder:
These things I command you, that ye love one another.
So the question is simple.
Have you experienced the sacrificial, truthful, choosing, supporting love of Christ?
And if you have—who in your life needs to experience that same kind of love from you?
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