Manifested Love Pt 1: Introduction
The Upper Room Discourse
During the Sermon on the Mount Jesus spent a great deal of time talking about how a disciple should live in a contrary world. Jesus spoke about how God will provide comfort for believers who struggle with various things, and he spoke about the different attitudes and the more lofty and holy kind of living which should be part of a believer’s life. But there are those of us who might say, “Don’t talk to me about the Beatitudes, or about loving my enemy! I live in the real world!” Or we might hear, “Of course Jesus would teach such things. He’s God! He doesn’t have to live my life.” Times are tough these days and that kind of attitude is very real and very common. The problem, though, is that that attitude is very wrong.
Most of us have a difficult time loving our enemy. That’s no surprise as most of us also have a difficult time loving those who love us. We really don’t understand what true, encompassing, love is because we have grown up with a conditional, temporal kind of love the world teaches. Even the most loving of parents are flawed, fragile people who love in the same way. But that is not the kind of love that Jesus teaches. Yes, Jesus is God, but Jesus is human too and he grew up with the same kind of fragile people and in the same kind of world we live in. He understands our struggles.
And this is why the Upper Room Discourse, in John 13-17, is so beautiful and tender. Jesus knows the time is near for him to return to his Father. He knows that will occur through the great sacrifice of his life, and that it has been part of his Father’s plan all along to deal with the sin of the world. He knows that his Father covets fellowship with His children and that He even wants to walk with us on this planet, but that that isn’t possible until the planet can be cleansed.
Jesus knows the coming days will be very traumatic for his beloved disciples. He is concerned for them and wants to help them deal with the coming times. And he wants us to understand that he understands. We learn in Chapter 13 of Judas’ imminent betrayal, and we see the tender loving episode of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. I’ve been involved with a few of these kinds of services, and they are usually kind of troubling for the person whose feet are being washed. They always wash their feet before they are washed at the service because they are kind of embarrassed about the sweat or odor or shape of their feet. For the great Master to wash the feet of the humble disciple was an ultimate example of love and humility in itself.
In Chapter 14 we see Jesus reassuring them that even though he will be leaving soon, he is really going to prepare a place for all of us to spend with him for all of eternity. He explains that in the seeing of him, His disciples really are seeing the essence of God the Father in Heaven who cannot actually be seen because His holiness is so overwhelming. We are told that Jesus will himself send the Holy Spirit to help us through our struggles. This is itself an act of love because Jesus in his human form was limited in time and space, yet the Holy Spirit can be supportive and loving to everyone everywhere all the time.
In Chapter 15 we read the parable of the vine and the branches where Jesus promises that he will, through the Holy Spirit, provide all the nourishment and care we need and that he will strengthen us during our struggles. He warns his disciples that the world will come to hate them, and us, but not to take it too hard because the world hated him first. Then in Chapter 16 he cautions us that although times will be tough, we should be careful not to fall away because of them. “Don’t worry” he says, “I have overcome the world.”
In Chapter 17 we find the High Priestly Prayer. Jesus prays for himself, for his disciples and for all believers. He prays that his Father be glorified and that Jesus be glorified through the work of bringing eternal life to those who believe. He prays that his Father will protect his disciples from the world and from the evil one. He prays that we believers will be united through him with one another, and that he has revealed God the Father to all his followers so that the love of the Father will be in all of us.
Some of Jesus’ most beloved and comforting words are found in John 13-17.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.” (John 14:1)
“I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:2-3)
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
“If you love me, keep my commands.” (John 14:15)
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” (John 15:9)
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” (John 15:17)
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” (John 16:13)
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
So, as we begin this series of some 40 weeks, please understand that these passages are God talking to you the individual. Yes, these words are meant for all of us corporately, but also for you personally. This is God manifesting his love for you in personal unique ways. As you read through these passages, and read these postings, remember that God loves you no matter what. You can’t shock Him, and you can’t hide from Him.
Psalm 139 says it best:
1You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. 2You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. 5You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 7Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. (Psalm 139:1-10)