Today is communion week. We have finished “Looking Unto Jesus,” a long communion series of 19 weeks. I believe we will not forget it all our lives. This is why I don’t like to just give miscellaneous sermons; with one isolated sermon, no one remembers and no lasting good comes out of it. That is why I always try to do a series. We may not do a long series this time, but rather a short three- or four-sermon series to prepare ourselves for communion. In a way to remember our Lord Jesus Christ in love and gratitude, I want to begin this year with a short series called “Unchanging Christ’s Love.”
We looked broadly at Christ’s pre-creation, the Old Testament, His life, death, and resurrection in eternity. Now, we will zoom in. We will not only see a few incidents but also go deeper into the infinite ocean of Christ’s loving heart: Unchanging Christ’s Love.
We all struggle with a hindrance of faith and do not feel the reality of Christ with us. When we go to prayer, we pray for a few minutes, but it seems like we are talking into the air. We feel Christ is very far and detached from us; we don’t sense His love. More so now, Christ is absent physically and exalted to a position of immense glory at God’s right hand. We feel a strangeness in coming to Him. We think it would have been easy when He was on earth in humble form; He was very meek and gentle as a man so that Peter freely spoke to Him, John slept on His bosom, and Mary hugged His feet. But now, He has ascended to the highest heaven—very far, full of glory, with all things under His feet. We may wonder if all this glory has changed His heart’s love.
My prayer and aim in these lessons is to show that Christ’s love has never changed. His compassion and mercy are the same. He continues to intercede with the same compassionate heart as He had here. With the same meekness, gentleness, and love, He is always with us, fully feeling everything we go through and always eager to provide us with grace and help. He is as fully approachable today as He was before. Beyond just believing it, I want us to feel and experience that.
This knowledge brings immense comfort and encouragement to those who yearn for a deep and intimate communion with their Savior. As we look at the depth of Christ’s melting love, it will encourage even the unbelieving to come to Christ and give confidence to believers to come to the throne of grace often when they see what a lovingly compassionate heart Christ has, even in His glorious state right now. When we come to Him while struggling on earth, we will see how He is touched with gracious desires to help us, how willing He is to welcome and receive us, and how tenderly He pities us in all our weaknesses—whether it is our sins or our worldly difficulties.
I plan for three messages in this series:
- The unchanging love of Christ before He died.
- The unchanging love of Christ after the resurrection.
- The unchanging love of Christ after the ascension.
Today, we will look at the unchanging love of Christ before His death. Nobody records that like the apostle John. He gives a detailed farewell message in five chapters in John 13–17. We studied this maybe 18 years ago, verse by verse for about a year; my first Bible book was the Gospel of John. Today, very briefly, I will focus on three things: the Affection of love, the Act of love, and the Assurance of love.
1. The Affection of Love
The word “affection” is something we feel in the heart. No one can see affection; we only see affection expressed in action. Let us see the depth of Christ’s affection. Only the apostle John gives us a glimpse of the vision of Christ’s heart in John 13.
The disciples are sad now that He has announced He is leaving them. He avoided saying this in the beginning, but when He told them He had to leave, they became sad; so, He shares many things with them in five long chapters, all at once, only to comfort them. He not only expresses His current feelings toward them but also reveals how His heart will be toward them when He is in His glorious state. We see that in His words and His actions during that last night’s supper.
Look at verses 1 and 3. John highlights that on that night, Jesus knew two things. John gives us a deep vision of His heart’s affection and reveals to us His heart’s state at the time of His departure. It gives us the explanation for all His subsequent actions. It reveals to us the deep affection He would have for us in heaven. This sight of His heart sets the stage for everything that follows.
Notice verse 1: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world…”
We see the depth of Christ’s love here. Depart how? Through horrible suffering. He is going to face the worst suffering and pain: the sweat drops of Gethsemane, the scourging at Gabbatha, and being forsaken by the Father at Golgotha. At that time, it could have said Christ was full of self-pity and sorrow, or that He was filled with fear of how He would face it. So many things could have been natural. But see what the rest of the verse says amazingly: in His final hours, not thinking of His own coming pain, “having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” Wow! All He does in these five chapters is express that love by comforting, promising, and assuring them.
On one side, we see this is what Christ deeply contemplated: the fact that He was soon to depart from this world. The text states “Jesus knew,” indicating His active contemplation that He should depart unto the Father. He knew not only His shameful, painful death on the cross, but He also knew something else after that, as you see in verse 3: “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God…”
He knew that after His terrible death, He would possess all authority in heaven and earth. As soon as He set foot in heaven, He would be exalted above all, and all things would be under His feet. If we grasp these two realities of His heart, it is amazing to see His next words and actions. Verse 1 says, “having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”
On one side were His thoughts of deepest humiliation and suffering, and on the other side were these elevated thoughts of glory. What was Christ’s primary concern? It was not how He would bear the suffering or how wonderful His glory would be afterward. Knowing all this, such was the magnitude of His heart’s love that His heart was primarily directed toward “His own.” John 13:1 states “having loved His own,” using a term that signifies the closest proximity, endearment, and intimacy based on ownership. The elect are Christ’s own, not merely as possessions; it is a deeper word. In a deeper sense, they are beyond His own children, His own members, His own spouse, or His own flesh; they are an integral part of Himself.
He recognizes that while He was to depart from the world, they would remain in it. Hence, it is explicitly added, “which were in the world,” signifying their continued presence. They still have to struggle, fight the good fight of faith, and overcome sin, the flesh, and the devil while facing the trials of life. So, His heart is set on those who will be in the world. If, after deep suffering, He is leaving the world and going to heavenly bliss, He should be thinking either of His suffering or His glory in heaven. He is going to heaven; He should be thinking of meeting perfected saints like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That is how we think. But not Christ. All His care and focus are for His own who were to remain in this world—a world filled with much evil, sin, and suffering, which would inevitably defile and afflict them. He thinks, “Oh, my own will still suffer these things, but I will go away.”
See how deep His love is: “having loved His own,” will He forget them? Oh no; “He loved them to the end,” indicating the constancy and unchangeable affection of His love and what it will be when Christ is in His glory. “To the end” conveys the idea of its perfection. Having commenced His love for them, He will bring it to its fullness and completion. And “to the end” also signifies forever. His affectionate feelings toward us will continue forever.
Is this vision of Christ’s heart not a great Holy Spirit assurance of Christ’s deep, unchanging affection of love? When at this great juncture, under the shadow of His suffering, His heart was full of love for us—and when He was going to heaven after His humiliation—His primary heart was full of love for us. Do you doubt that when He is in glory He will love us less? Oh no, His heart is full of love for us even at this moment. He wants us to feel and know it. Having loved them, He does not change or alter, and thus His love for them will be everlasting. Truly, this vision should make us realize His love toward us will endure forever.
2. The Act of Love
What act will make us believe that this God-man, who will be exalted above all with all authority, loves us forever? What act will make your unbelieving heart feel the love of Christ? Behold His act of love. Not only the vision of the affection of His heart, but see the act of love. Here is a tangible testimony regarding His love for us in heaven. Amidst His profound contemplation of approaching glory and the supreme position He would hold, what does the Lord do?
After 33 years of humiliation, no worship, only rejection, insult, and mockery, He should generally sit on a chair, show a vision of His glory to the disciples, and make them kiss His feet. But behold the wonder of wonders:
Verses 4–5: “He rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.”
Wow! The Holy Spirit shows that even when Christ’s thoughts were consumed by His glory, even then, He humbly washed His disciples’ feet. Has not the Holy Spirit recorded this event to show that even now, in all His glory in heaven, Christ’s heart is filled with infinite love for you and me? He is ready to do any service for our good, even the humblest service we need. The glorious God is willing even to wash our feet. Oh, the wonder of this shocking act. Have you seen anywhere in the universe God washing His people’s feet?
Why did He do this? He demonstrates that while in heaven, He would be physically unable to perform such visible outward displays of His heart by engaging in humble acts of service, yet His heart would still willingly do for us any service we need. Such is the magnitude of His love for them. If you ever doubt whether Christ will do this or that for you, remember He is willing even to wash your feet in love! Remember this vision, oh my unbelieving heart; even while knowing His full glory and dignity, my Lord stooped to wash my feet. See Him today, even now lifted to highest glory, still willingly washing the feet of poor sinners and serving those who come to Him.
What does the act of washing their feet signify? He explains that in John 13:8 and 10. It signifies two things: First, the cleansing of all their uncleanness and sins. Second, an example of mutual love and humility. We have an obligation to love one another, serve one another, and be humble with one another as Christ has done for us. It is true that now, in heaven, He cannot physically wash our feet, but He conveys the message that those sinners who come to Him in His glory will have their sins washed away. His love keeps cleansing us and sanctifying His church. As stated in Ephesians 5:25–27, “He loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle.”
3. The Assurances of Love
What assurances do you need today that Christ still loves you with an unchangeable heart? There are many. I will give five; tell me if it is enough to melt your unbelieving, stony heart! He talks as if to a lover. He gives four broad assurances: Greater Advantage, Intense Preparation, Final Return, and Treasure Gifts (GIFT).
First Assurance: Greater Advantage To the sad disciples who wondered how they would face the world without the physical presence of Christ, He reveals, “It is to your advantage that I go away” (John 16:7). It is like the great love of a mother on the first day of school. The child is terrified and clings to the mother’s hand at the gate. To the child, the mother “going away” feels like a tragedy. But the mother knows that by leaving, she is actually giving the child an advantage. By “going away,” the mother isn’t abandoning the child; she is sending them into a new “dispensation” of growth. Otherwise, the child would never grow. In the same way, Christ, like a mother, comforts them with open-hearted speech, saying He is going away for their advantage.
He tells them what His attitude will be toward them and how He will always be mindful of them in heaven through the task He is going there to fulfill for their sake. In chapters 14, 15, and 16, the language is full of care and tenderness, akin to a mother speaking to a child. He speaks with utmost transparency, ensuring that nothing is hidden from them. “I tell you the truth,” He says, “it is to your advantage that I go away” (John 16:7). He tells them that His departure is entirely for their benefit and happiness. “I go to send you a Comforter,” He assures them for the time when they are in this world, and “to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2) for when they depart from this world. “In my Father’s house are many mansions,” He explains, “and I go to prepare a place for you,” assuring them that He will secure and keep their places until they arrive.
Once again, He says He is telling them the pure truth with openness and honesty. “If it were not so,” He declares, “I would have told you.” They can trust Him; He would not deceive them. Even all the glory in the place He is going to will not change His heart’s love for us. Who could resist such sincerity, openness, and vulnerability of heart?
Second Assurance: Intense Preparation He is going to be involved in intense preparation for them. This is going to be greatly beneficial for us and our happiness. This preparation involves intercession, representation, provisioning, and preparing heaven for us. He argues that because He is going to be involved in intense preparation all for us, His love for us will never change. As in John 14:3, “If I go and prepare a place for you,” it indicates that if that is His mission, they need not doubt His love when He is there in heaven, for all the glory of the place will never cause Him to forget His purpose.
While on earth, in spite of all impossible hindrances—even the bloody sweat of Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and Golgotha—nothing stopped Him from His journey of love for us; He will love us to the end. If He perfectly fulfilled His earthly love ministry for us by atoning for all our sins until He cried “It is finished,” and by obeying the law to the utmost, surely He will not forget any of His heavenly love ministry for our good. In fact, His heavenly ministry is even more delightful for Him than the earthly one.
In Hebrews 6:20, we see He has entered as a forerunner to secure places for us there. Our names are all inscribed in heaven around Him, continually before His eyes—not only through God’s election, but Christ Himself marks them afresh with His blood over each mansion He secures. Yes, He carries our names written in His heart, just as the high priest carried the names of the twelve tribes on his breast when entering the Holy of Holies. In a way, it is as if He sits in heaven to ensure that no one else occupies our places. Thus, in 1 Peter 1:4, salvation is said to be “to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” It is specifically reserved for them by Jesus Christ.
Third Assurance: Final Return To show His heart is set on loving us always and to demonstrate His attentiveness toward us when He is in His glory, He informs them that once He has completed the necessary preparations in heaven and the entire elect have come, He promises to come back to take us. John 14:3 says: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
This is nothing but the pure expression of unchanging love. He says, “After this terrible earthly work, I go to heavenly glory.” He could have said, “I will never even sleep on this side of this horrible, cursed earth,” but no—He promises to come back. When He has attained the pinnacle of His glory in heaven, He says, “I will leave that heaven and come back for you.” He could have said, “I will send my angels to bring you to the place where I am,” but no—”I myself will come back.” He will temporarily leave the splendor to return to His beloved. “Once I came to save you, I will come back to glorify you. I will come again and receive you to myself,” says Christ, “so that where I am, you may be also.”
The language and emotions in those verses are so intimate. Later on, in 14:19–20, He says: “Because I live, you will live also. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” It all shows the unchanging, complete, intense affection of His heart. It is as if He were saying, “Please understand my love. The truth is, I cannot live without you. I will never be at peace until I have you eternally with me, never to part again. Even all the glory of heaven cannot contain me if I do not have you with me. My heart is so devoted to you, and if I possess any glory, you will share in it.” The phrase in John 14:19, “Because I live, you also will live,” is the Old Testament language of a solemn oath: “As the Lord lives.” He uses that and says, “As I live”—He stakes His life on it and desires to live on no other terms—”you shall live also.”
To us, the coming of Christ seems so long. Two thousand years have passed; oh, so long. But do you know how it is for Christ? John 16:16 says, “A little while…” You know why? Because of His intense, unchanging love. Just as Jacob’s love for Rachel made seven years of difficult, hard labor seem like a few days, Christ is so fully engaged in acts of love for us that it seems like a short while for Him. He promises He will not delay; as soon as the time comes, He will come.
He will not remain a moment longer than necessary; He waits only until He has completed all our tasks in heaven through His heavenly ministry. The doubling of the phrase in Hebrews 10:37, “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry,” indicates His intense desire to come and that His mind is constantly focused on it. He is always coming and can hardly be kept away. This Hebrew phrase signifies urgency, intensity, and determination. Didn’t He keep saying words such as “I have earnestly waited” and “I have fervently desired”? All this signifies the infinite ardor of His heart toward His chosen ones below and His desire to have all His elect in heaven with Him.
Fourth Assurance: Treasure Gifts These are the treasures and the legacy He left with us. It is as if He said, “My beloved, I know I am leaving you in an evil world with many trials. But to prove my constant love for you never changes, and that I love you every second of your life, here are my treasure, all-sufficient gifts for your protection, comfort, joy, and peace in the midst of the trials of the world.”
The central and greatest gift is the Holy Spirit. How tenderly He says in John 14:18, “I will not leave you as orphans,” like motherless, fatherless, and friendless children left in a state of confusion. “My Father and I have only one big, true friend, who resides in the embrace of both of us and proceeds from both of us—the Holy Spirit. From the time I leave until I come back to you, I will send Him to you.” In John 14:16, He says, “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter.” He says “another paraclete,” meaning He is exactly like Me; He will compensate for all My physical absence.
In fact, He will be a better comforter than Me because I can be with you, but He can be in you. I can be with either Peter or John in physical form, but I can be in only one place. When I go to pray alone on the mountain, you can get stuck in a storm and I may not be with you—but He will be in you, with all of you at the same time. Also, He will be with you always. So John 16:7 says, “It is advantageous for me to go away; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come.” The Comforter will comfort you more effectively than I could with my physical presence.
All the comfort He provides during My physical absence will come from the expression of My heart toward you. Just as He does not come of His own accord but is sent by Me, as stated in John 16:7, “He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak.” In John 16:14, He says, “He will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
“I will purposefully send Him to take My place and fulfill My role to you, My beloved, and He will reveal My love to you. If you are willing to listen and not grieve Him, He will show the height, depth, and width of all My love to you in experiential reality. He will not only show what I did for you on earth, but with what intense love I am every minute doing for you in heaven.”
As it is said, “He will glorify me,” specifically to you, because I am already glorified in heaven. All His revelation and enlightenment in your hearts will serve to exalt Me and enhance My worth and love for you, and He will delight in doing so. He can come from heaven in an instant, bringing you fresh news of My thoughts and sharing with you the very ideas I have of you at that very moment. He tells you what they are while I am still contemplating them. So you will have My heart assuredly and swiftly, as if I were physically present with you. The Spirit will continually stir your hearts, either with My love for you, your love for Me, or both. If either is present, you can be certain of My love.
John 14:20 says, “On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” He will inform you, while I am in heaven, that there is a true connection between you and Me, and a genuine experiential affection in Me toward you, just as there is between My Father and Me. It will be impossible to sever this bond and to divert My heart away from you, just as it is impossible to separate My Father’s heart from Me or Mine from My Father.
Thirdly, you can be certain that what He conveys about My love for you is true, for “He is the Spirit of truth” (John 16:13). If you ask, “Won’t He also leave us for a while, just as You have?” “No,” says Christ in John 14:16, “the Father will give you another Comforter, and He will remain with you forever.”
I know in your unbelief you don’t believe that I am going to take you to heaven or that there is a glorious inheritance I am preparing for you. You have doubts, but He will be like an “earnest of inheritance in heaven.” He is the pledge of Christ’s love ever given. So the first great sign of love is the Holy Spirit Himself.
Secondly, He promises His divine, supernatural peace. John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Imagine the peace that made Him face all rejections and the opposition of the world; the peace that allowed Him to face the horrors of Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and Golgotha; the peace that overcame all that. That peace is promised to us. What can we not manage with that peace?
Third Treasure Gift: Fullness of joy from His divine words. John 15:11: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Fourth Treasure Gift: Courage in the midst of world tribulations. John 16:33: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but take courage, I have overcome the world.”
If this is not enough to assure us how much He loves us even now, He promises continuing daily experiences of His love and how He feels about us by the Fifth Treasure Gift: Daily answer to prayers. John 16:24: “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
“Just test Me,” He says, “when I am gone, and do so by sending Me a text, pinging Me, or sending a word on all occasions about what you would like Me to do for you.” If you struggle with how to send the message, I have left My Spirit to be your secretary to compose all your petitions. John 14:13: “And whatever you ask in My name, I will do it.” “So far you have asked nothing (or very little) in My name”—He reproaches them for not asking Him to do more for them—”but now ask, and you will receive.” And if you still won’t believe, you will believe your own eyes; ask, and you will see immediate answers. Then He says your joy will be full when you see how I answer your prayers. Believe, and in doing so, believe in Me, He says, “for the sake of the works” (John 14:11). He refers to the works He would perform for them in response to their prayers when He was gone, which would serve as love letters from His heart responding to theirs.
He says in John 14:14, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” Just let Me hear from you, whether it’s every week, every day, or every hour; you can be sure of an answer. “Open your mouths wide, and I will fill them” (Psalm 81:10). Your prayers will serve as continual love connections of your hearts toward Me, and My answers will reflect My love feelings toward you. He keeps promising, “I will do it, I will do it.” He speaks as someone eager to act on their behalf, as someone desiring them to know and take notice of His close involvement in every detail of our lives. You ask, and I will do it, and you will know My deep love for you by the answers to your prayers.
Not only will He answer our prayers, but He also promises to unceasingly intercede for us with the most persuasive expressions, deepest care, and determination to act. It is the most important work He does in heaven. “He always lives to intercede” (Hebrews 7:25)—just as He lives eternally, He intercedes without ceasing and never remains silent until we reach heaven. Read John 17 for a summary of His intercession for us; He even prays for us now.
“I do not pray for the world,” He says, not uttering a word for any in the world, but all for My own. This is not a general prayer of love; I employ all My earthly and heavenly ministries, My blood, and My prayers entirely and exclusively for you. He prays for our glorification to the Father: “I am glorified in them,” He says (John 17:10), “and they are My joy” (John 17:13), and therefore I must have them with Me wherever I am (John 17:24). He uses all kinds of arguments in prayer regarding election and predestination: “Father, You have set My heart upon them, and You have loved them just as You have loved Me, and You have destined them to be one with us, just as we are one, and therefore I cannot live apart from them for long. I have Your company, but I must have theirs too.” “I want them to be with Me where I am” (John 17:24). “If I have any glory, they must share in it, that they may behold the glory which You have given Me.” He speaks all of this in John 17 as if He were already in heaven, in possession of all that glory; therefore, it is an expression of His heart in heaven.
Wow, so here are the three ‘As’ that prove Christ’s unchanging love before He went to the cross: Affection of love, Act of love, and Assurances of love. Read through those three chapters (John 14, 15, and 16), for in them you have the longest recorded sermon of His. He spent the most time on this subject compared to any other because His heart was truly invested in it more than any other point He ever preached on. Are these not enough to show how much, even at this moment, Christ’s heart yearns with love for us?
Application
The greatest expression of His love is the cross, giving His body which we remember by bread, and His blood, remembered with wine. The Lord’s Supper passage forces us to see the past, present, and future.
Past: His sacrifice for us on the cross. Even as the “shadow of the cross” fell over Him, Jesus’ primary concern was washing the feet of His followers and comforting their hearts.
- For Communion: As you hold the bread, remember that you, the congregation, were the last thing on His mind before He suffered.
- Practical Call: In your first week of the New Year, you likely have many priorities. But today, see that you are Christ’s priority. He didn’t just die for “the world”; He died with your specific name and your specific struggles on His heart.
Present: His present unchanging love. Friends, do not look at this table and see a distant God. Focus on the “Real Presence” of Christ’s love. Look at it through the eyes of John 13. See a Savior who, knowing He was about to rule the universe, chose instead to wash feet and break bread. He is not here to judge your failed resolutions of the last week; He is here to fulfill His farewell promise: that where He is, there you may be also.
You may feel like an orphan in this world, or perhaps you feel lonely as you start this year. But this cup is the “pledge” of His Spirit. You are not communing with a memory; you are communing with a living Advocate who told His disciples, “I will not leave you comfortless.”
Jesus knew Peter would deny Him and the disciples would flee. Yet, Jesus spent His final breath comforting them before they even knew they would be distressed. His preventing love—it goes before us. Christ did not wait for the disciples to be faithful before He gave them the Sacrament. He gave it to them while they were about to fail. As you start this New Year, you don’t need to fear your future failures; Christ has already “pre-loved” you through them. Plead for grace with Him to be faithful to such love—such love that demands our life, our all.
A great exchange happens at communion. Jesus told the disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:1). He was essentially saying, “Give Me your troubles, and take My peace.” Use the physical act of “taking” the bread as a spiritual “exchange.” This is a blessed exchange. At this table, Christ takes your “troubled heart” of January and gives you His “triumphant heart.”
Future: Christ’s heart is so set on us that He is currently busy in heaven making sure we have a home there. When you drink this cup, remember that He is currently in heaven doing exactly what He did in John 17: mentioning your name to the Father. Your name is etched on the heart that was pierced for you.
For the Heart: Christ’s love is not just a “massive” love that saved the world; it is a “meticulous” love that cares for your specific anxieties about the coming year. He who took the time to wash dirty feet in the Upper Room will take the time to walk with you through every mundane day of this year.
- Practical Call: This table is a small, earthly version of the feast He is preparing for you in heaven. When you eat today, don’t just look back at the cross; look forward to the room He has ready for you. If He cared enough to provide this bread today, He will certainly provide for your whole year.