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Sermon

Are You a Friend of Jesus?

Speaker
David Capoccia
Scripture
John 15:12-17

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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

This passage from John 15:12-17 teaches us about the centrality of love in the Christian life and what it means to be a friend of Jesus. The fruit God seeks from His people is threefold—internal righteousness, external righteousness, and saved believers—and the particular fruit Jesus commands in this passage is love. We are reminded that Jesus’ friendship is unlike any human friendship: He chose us, died for us, revealed God’s Word to us, and appointed our perseverance in faith.

His friendship is utterly asymmetrical—He is Lord and God, yet He treats us as dear friends. Because of this overwhelming love, we are called to love one another with the same sacrificial, courageous love that Jesus has shown us.

Key Lessons:

  1. Jesus’ command to love one another is not optional—it is the supreme command that sums up all other commands and reflects the very heart of the Christian life.
  2. Friendship with Jesus is proven by obedience, not earned by it; our love and faithfulness are evidence of a saving relationship already established by His grace.
  3. Jesus chose us for friendship, salvation, and persevering fruitfulness before we ever chose Him—this sovereign love should move us to love others sacrificially.
  4. The greatest act of love ever demonstrated is Jesus laying down His life for His friends, and this same love is the standard to which we are called.

Application: We are called to examine how much Jesus has loved us and then ask practically how we can show that same love to our brothers and sisters in Christ—today, this week, this month, and this year. We must not excuse lovelessness but pursue courageous, sacrificial love toward one another and toward the lost.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does understanding that Jesus chose you—rather than you choosing Him—change the way you view your obligation to love others?
  2. In what specific, practical ways can you demonstrate sacrificial love to someone in your church community this week?
  3. Jesus says friendship with Him is proven by obedience. How should this truth both comfort and challenge us when we struggle to love others well?

Scripture Focus: John 15:12-17 — Jesus commands His disciples to love one another as He has loved them, explains the nature of His friendship love, and reveals that He chose and appointed His followers to bear lasting fruit. Supporting passages include John 13:34-35, Romans 3:23, Ephesians 2, 1 John 3:21-22, and 1 Corinthians 13:13.

Outline

Introduction

Let’s pray.

God, again, we depend on you. We depend on you to speak to us and to cause us to listen.

I feel a desire this morning, Lord, to pray Paul’s prayer from Ephesians 3.

God, I pray that you would grant us power in the inner man to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and breadth and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge so that we might be filled up to all the fullness of God. Please accomplish that purpose this morning even through my preaching in Jesus name.

Amen.

What Is Spiritual Fruit?

Okay, we’re coming back this morning to talk more about obeying Jesus and bearing fruit for God. Now, perhaps you were wondering from last week’s message, what exactly does the Bible mean when it says you must bear fruit?

What is fruit?

Well, the concept of producing good spiritual fruit is all over the Bible, especially in the New Testament. And though certain passages emphasize one or other aspect of the divinely desired fruit or the divinely desired crop, the fruit that God seeks is basically of three types. The first is internal righteousness.

“The fruit that God seeks is basically of three types.”

Internal Righteousness

God desires holy character reflecting his own character in every person’s heart.

So this would be the fruit of the spirit as Galatians 5 describes love, joy, peace, patience etc. This would also include the fruit of godly desires, godly thoughts, godly beliefs in the inner man rather than sinful desires, thoughts and beliefs.

External Righteousness

This is the first type of fruit, internal righteousness. The second type of spiritual fruit that God seeks is external righteousness.

God doesn’t just desire righteous hearts, but he desires the righteous behavior that flows from a righteous heart.

“God doesn’t just desire righteous hearts, but the righteous behavior that flows from a righteous heart.”

Now again, in this type of fruit, you do not merely abstain from evil actions.

You don’t do what’s evil, but you do what’s right. You do what’s good. And including in these good things, these good works would be things like giving and serving and praising God and preaching the gospel.

This is a second type of fruit. Now note that the fruit of internal righteousness and the fruit of external righteousness, they always go together.

Internal righteousness that does not produce external righteousness is not internal righteousness at all. It’s something else. Whereas external righteousness that does not come with internal righteousness is just hypocrisy. It’s a show. And that’s offensive to God.

Like Jesus says in Matthew 12, either make the tree good and its fruit good or make the tree bad and its fruit bad.

There’s no point in trying temporarily to pin good fruit on a bad tree. That’s not going to work. Why not? Because eventually a tree will be known by its fruit, especially before God.

But how does one become a good tree? A good tree full of internal righteousness producing the fruit of external righteousness.

Saved Believers as Fruit

Well, the answer is in a third type of fruit that God seeks and that is saved believers.

Because of the fall, none of us could ever work or will ourselves into becoming good fruit bearers. We’re all bad trees born from bad seeds which produce bad fruit.

So for anyone to be saved, God in mercy must do what we could never do by his holy spirit and by his preached word by his that is the good news of Jesus. God must put his seed in us so that we believe are saved and become good trees. Good trees in a spiritual sense. And thus you could say that we believers are another kind of fruit of the spirit or fruit of the gospel. We believers ourselves are that.

“God must put his seed in us so that we believe, are saved, and become good trees.”

Indeed, Paul says in Colossians 1 that God’s preached gospel is constantly bearing fruit in the world and in every place. How so?

In producing saved believers. People responding to the gospel, believing and being saved. They are people born from above. They are true Christians.

You see, all saved believers are regenerated. The Bible says they are made spiritually alive to have the fruit of internal righteousness, manifesting in the fruit of external righteousness, good words and deeds.

This born fruit even as Greg had mentioned in his prayer. This born fruit it does not save a believer neither the fruit of internal righteousness or external righteousness but it is a mark of already having been saved by God by faith. Jesus record applied on your behalf.

Furthermore, and this is important too, all saved believers are immediately brought into God’s enterprise of producing more believers.

We are charged by Jesus Christ, every single Christian, to make disciples, to preach the gospel, and to back up what we preach by the holy fruit of our lives.

Now, with God’s word, we sometimes plant, we sometimes water, and we sometimes harvest for God. But regardless of what role we play at a particular time, God calls all of us, yes, even all of us here at Calvary, to be about seeking the fruit of more saved believers.

Overview: Three Types of Fruit

So, that’s an overview of the Bible’s teaching on bearing fruit for God. We have those three types, internal righteousness, external righteousness, and saved believers. God expects that all these types of fruit will come from his people.

“God calls all of us to be about seeking the fruit of more saved believers.”

Now, as we examine our next passage from the Gospel of John this morning, we will quickly notice that Jesus is concerned that his followers bear one particular kind of fruit even in those three categories I mentioned. And that fruit is love.

In John 15:12-17, Jesus again will command his disciples to love one another as he loves them.

And Jesus not only speaks of this command as a means for us to bear good fruit for God, but also interestingly as a way to prove our friendship to Jesus.

Yes, Jesus teaches that all his true friends will love one another with his very same friendship love.

Thus, with my sermon title, I don’t know if you’ve seen it in the bulletin already or not, I pose to you the central question that is raised by this next passage. And that is, are you a friend of Jesus?

Are you a friend of Jesus?

Does how you love others prove that you are loved as Jesus? Friend, if you haven’t already, please take your Bibles and turn to our next passage.

We’re in the Gospel of John chapter 15.

If you’re using the Bibles we’ve provided, you can find our passage on page 1,79.

Reading of John 15:1-17

We’re looking at John 15:12-17 today, but for the sake of context, let’s read the preceding section as well. We’ll start from John 15:1 and go to verse 17.

Jesus is speaking. Follow along with me, please, as I read.

John 15:1.

I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine.

You are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit.

For apart from me, you can do nothing.

John 15:5-6: “He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing.”

If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up.

And they gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned.

If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

My father is glorified by this that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. Just as the father has loved me, I have also 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 so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full.

This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, but a slave does not know what his master is doing, but I have 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 would go and bear fruit and that your fruit would remain so that whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he may give to you. This I command you that you love one another.

Context of the Farewell Discourse

You can see here that we’re still in the larger section of Jesus farewell discourse in the Gospel of John. The farewell discourse runs from chapter 13 to chapter 17. What is this farewell discourse? It is a final delivery of comfort and instruction from Jesus to his troubled disciples before Jesus goes to the cross.

Within this larger discourse, John 15:1-17, which we began to look at last time, is a section of exhortation. Is probably given while Jesus and his disciples walk by torch light at night through the streets of Jerusalem toward the garden of Gethsemane.

“A final delivery of comfort and instruction from Jesus to his troubled disciples before Jesus goes to the cross.”

Now, last time we noted that this section of exhortation begins with a striking metaphor in verses 1 to2. Jesus identifies himself as the true vine where he identifies also the father as the vine dresser, the one caring for and cleaning up the vine branches.

Jesus primary command of this section is in verse four and it’s based on the opening metaphor and that command is abide in me or said another way no matter what troubles may come stay in me as the true vine and bear good fruit to God.

Review: Seven Reasons to Stay in Jesus

Now why stay in Jesus? We saw previously seven reasons Jesus gives in verses 4 to 11 to stay in Jesus. I’ll just review those briefly. Number one, because Jesus will stay in you. Verse four. Number two, because you can only bear fruit in him. Verses four and five. Number three, because the fruitless will be judged.

Verse six. Number four, because God will answer your prayers. Verse seven. Number five, because your proven disciplehip glorifies God. That’s verse eight. And number six, because you will enjoy Jesus love. Verses 9 to 10. And then number seven, because you will receive Jesus joy. That’s verse 11.

What does it mean to stay in Jesus? We answered last time by noting several clarifications that Jesus gives through the passage. Staying in Jesus means continuing to believe in Jesus and depend on Jesus, verses 3 and four. It means continuing to hold fast to Jesus’ teaching. Verse 7 and continuing to obey Jesus’ commands. Verse 10, we also noted previously the logical connection between these different aspects of staying in Jesus. Believing in Jesus leads to holding fast his teaching and holding fast his teaching leads to obeying his commands.

“Believing in Jesus leads to holding fast his teaching, and holding fast his teaching leads to obeying his commands.”

They are part of Jesus teaching.

Now, our new set of verses, verses 12-1 17, they represent another clarification and logical component of staying in Jesus. Continuing to obey Jesus’ command means continuing to obey Jesus great command to love.

Thus, we can rightly say, going back to verse four, that staying in Jesus means loving one another with Jesus same love.

However, if you scan verses 12 to 17, you may notice that the vine and branches metaphor largely falls away.

Instead, the emphasis here is on Jesus loving believers as friends and why such should move believers to obey Jesus’ command to love one another.

We can therefore work our way through the passage under the following guiding proposition. What we see in John 15:12-17 are five reasons why you as Jesus’ friend should love like Jesus. If you are a Christian, you have repented of your sins and believed in Jesus as Lord and Savior, then here are five reasons why your being Jesus’ friend should move you to love with his own love.

The Command to Love One Another

Now, before we look at the first of those five reasons, let’s look at the main command that appears in our section. And we see that in verse 12.

Look at verse 12.

This is my commandment that you love one another just as I have loved you.

Notice here first that Jesus identifies his words as a commandment. It’s an order. It’s a nonoptional binding rule from Jesus, the son of God, the Lord.

Refusal or neglect of this rule represents disobedience and it will have consequences.

“It’s a nonoptional binding rule from Jesus, the Son of God. Refusal or neglect will have consequences.”

Not a second that this is a command to love.

The Meaning of Agape Love

Word for love is the Greek verb agapa from which we get agape love. To agapa someone means to have affection for to cherish or to feel good will towards someone.

But this feeling of love of course it necessarily manifests in loving action.

You share with this person. You seek the good of this other person. You bring benefit to this other person.

“This feeling of love necessarily manifests in loving action. You seek the good of this other person.”

This is Jesus’ command. It is this command to agape love. But which people should we agape love? Jesus says one another.

Who’s that?

Well, one another refers to all people generally, but according to the original context, in particular, it refers to brothers and sisters in Christ. Remember Jesus is speaking to his disciples. He says, “You together who are to love one another.” Thus we can say that Jesus commands that we both feel and express genuine love to one another at this church.

The Standard: Love as Jesus Loves

And to what extent? Jesus says, “Just as I have loved you.” Oh, okay. Don’t worry. So, we only need to love just as much as Jesus loves us.

But wait, how much is that? Well, just go back to John 13:1 and remember what we heard of Jesus there. John 13:1, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. And to the end is one of those phrases with a double meaning, to the completion, to the max.

The extent of love that Jesus commands here in verse 12 is not merely what the Old Testament commands. Love your neighbor the way and to the extent that you naturally love yourself, which is still a pretty high standard. No, this goes beyond that. Jesus raises the standard, the command of his love to the level of his own abundant divine love for his people. He says, “You are to love one another like that. All people generally, but especially your brothers and sisters in Christ.

“Jesus raises the standard of love to the level of his own abundant divine love for his people.”

Now, this commandment should sound very familiar to you if you’ve been with us previously because Jesus said nearly the same words back at the beginning of his discourse in John 13:34. Just to remind you of that verse, John 13:34, Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

Why Jesus Repeats the Command

So you might wonder why is Jesus repeating himself?

Well, clearly Jesus wants to emphasize this particular command as important.

He’s going to say it more than once.

Obeying Jesus command to love should be top priority for us believers.

“Obeying Jesus’ command to love should be top priority for us believers.”

However, Jesus command to love in John 15:12 is not a simple repetition.

Rather, this already introduced charge from Jesus is now given from a new angle.

Before Jesus spoke of his commandment to love as a new commandment because Jesus wanted to emphasize that there is a newness in both the divine standard to which Jesus calls us and the enabling new covenant realities that are being brought into being. He’s accomplishing salvation. He’s giving us his spirit.

This enables us to actually obey this new commandment.

But here Jesus gives the command again, but from the standpoint of the incredible and instructive friendship that believers already enjoy in Jesus.

I know Greg broached this earlier in his prayer, but brethren, do you realize that Jesus, the son of God, the Lord of the universe, he has made you his dear friend?

Have you also realized that he didn’t really designate you as such, but he treated you and still treats you as his dear friend?

In fact, no being in all the universe has been a friend to you like Jesus has been your friend.

“Jesus, the Son of God, the Lord of the universe, has made you his dear friend.”

Even though on your own you must confess you have provided no good reason for him to do so.

Like the original disciples, we often have trouble understanding the great love that Jesus has for us and that he has shown us.

So in the verses that follow verses 13 to1 17 Jesus is going to explain again his love for his disciples so that they and we might obey this previously stated but now reiterated command to love like Jesus.

Reason 1: Because Jesus Died for Your Sins

The first reason why you as Jesus’ friend should love like Jesus appears in verse 13. And that reason is number one because Jesus died for your sins.

Because Jesus died for your sins.

Verse 13.

Greater love has no one than this, that one laid down his life for his friends.

John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

We might have expected a climactic reason like this to appear near the end of our section. But no, Jesus goes for it right in the beginning.

For human beings, our lives are the most precious earthly resource that we have.

You only get one life and once you use it, use it up or lay it down, it’s gone.

You’re not getting it back.

The Greatest Act of Love

Just to risk the ending of your life for another person’s benefit is a great act of love.

But to accept knowingly your own death so that others might be saved.

There is no greater love.

“To accept knowingly your own death so that others might be saved—there is no greater love.”

And if you designate someone as your friend, there is no greater way to show your love for that friend than to die in his place.

To give up your own precious life so that your friend may keep his.

Now notice here in verse 13, Jesus does not say plainly that this is what he is doing for his disciples. He is merely stating a maxim or a general principle.

But as we know by now reading through this gospel and as the 11 would soon discover after the cross, this is exactly what Jesus is doing for his disciples and for all believers across time.

If you believe in Jesus, then Jesus has already designated you as his friend. He had done that before you believed. Thus, he knowingly laid down his own precious life so that you could keep yours.

And not just keep yours for a few more years until you eventually die of old age or something, but so that you could keep yours for eternity. So that you could enter into the kingdom of God.

Why Jesus Had to Die

But someone might ask, well, why did Jesus have to die for anyone? Couldn’t he have shown us God’s great love another way?

Well, Jesus does express God’s great love for his friends in other ways, as we’ll see shortly.

But Jesus chose to show us his love by dying because that is what his friends needed most.

“Jesus chose to show us his love by dying because that is what his friends needed most.”

The Apostle Paul says in Romans 3 that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

We are not righteous internally, which means we are not righteous externally.

We think evil thoughts. We say evil words. And we commit evil acts.

We’re still we failed to be and to do all that God commands of us positively.

We are not like God in our hearts and in our actions.

Thus the Bible says that the wage that we have earned by our sin, the wage that we have all earned is death.

We earn spiritual death now in our hearts. We earn physical death soon in our bodies and we earn eternal death thereafter in hell.

Such is the only appropriate penalty of a holy God against sin.

The Father’s Commission to the Son

But what did God also do for doomed sinners like us?

God sent his son, his own divine son, to the earth as a sinless man and commissioned his son, I’m going to paraphrase the the divine mind here just to help us. He commissioned his son thus. I want you to treat those enemies of mine as your friends and I want you to save them. You will live the perfect life that they should have lived while dying the deserving death that they should have died.

You will give them your own perfect record of righteousness while you take on yourself the full record of their sins.

You will thus suffer eternal death and hell in their place so that they may receive forever my eternal life.

“You will suffer eternal death in their place so that they may receive forever my eternal life.”

Brothers and sisters, if you have repented of your sins and if you have believed in Jesus Christ, those things I just described, they are true for you.

Jesus did those things for you.

He didn’t merely suffer physical death in your place. He suffered eternal death in your place.

Why?

Because he treated you as his own dear friend.

And he desired to meet your greatest need, which is to save you from your sins and to reconcile you once and for all to God.

Do you see more now the great love that Jesus has demonstrated for you as his friend?

Well, if so, Jesus says, “Now, show the same love to others, especially in my church.” it’s kind of funny. All too often, we excuse lovelessness, even to our friends, by saying, “But he hasn’t been very kind to me lately.” or what she’s asking for is unreasonable or serving is just not convenient right now.

But look at Jesus love for his friends, for you when it was undeserved, unreasonable, and inconvenient.

If he gladly showed you such love, shouldn’t you show the same kind of love from the heart to others?

Reason 2: Because You Prove Friendship by Obedience

The second reason why you as Jesus’ friend should love like Jesus appears in verse 14. That is number two.

Because you prove friendship by obedience. Because you prove friendship.

You prove friendship by obedience. Verse 14.

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

John 15:14: “You are my friends if you do what I command you.”

Now, as with some statements we’ve seen previously from Jesus in John 14 and 15, one could easily misunderstand Jesus words here as offering a mercenary kind of love. Maybe you’re reminded of the shallow friendship promises that we sometimes hear from young children or maybe that you spoke as a young child.

If you give me an Oreo, I’ll be your friend.

Or if you don’t share your toy with me, we won’t be friends anymore.

As before, Jesus words here are not about earning or maintaining his friendship. Rather, Jesus is speaking here about proving the friendship that already exists between you and him.

Truly, if Jesus designated you as his friend and therefore died for your sins, that overwhelming act of love will have a serious effect on you.

You will consequently love Jesus, you will believe in Jesus, and you will obey Jesus.

But if the opposite is true, you do not love Jesus, you do not believe in Jesus, and you do not obey Jesus, well then you prove that you were never Jesus dear friend.

Connecting that fact to what Jesus already declared in verse 13, you also prove that Jesus never met your greatest need by dying in your place for your sins.

You are still bound in your sins and on your way to hell.

Now remember in the original setting, Jesus is speaking to disciples who already believe in him, who already are clean. If we go back to verse three. So Jesus does not speak verse 14 to scare them into obedience.

Rather it is to stir them up to stir up the love and zeal that they already have for Jesus and show it to their saving Lord.

The same is true for us. If you already believe in Jesus, if he already has amazingly made you his friend, well Jesus now says prove it.

Demonstrate it by obeying what I command you, including this particular command to love others like Jesus loves you.

Asymmetrical Friendship with Jesus

Now, someone may ask here, but what kind of friend demands obedience? Isn’t that kind of weird?

Well, outside of Jesus, it would be kind of weird because our friendships tend to be symmetrical, roughly the same on both sides. We usually are only friends with peers or people of generally similar station. We might be friends with somebody who’s different in age than us, a little bit older, a little bit younger, but two friends generally see each other as equals.

We also tend to have a give and take quality in our friendships which is roughly equal. You and your friend both bring something desirable to the other in the relationship and neither side is too overrelyant on the other.

But friendship with Jesus is different because it is obviously asymmetrical, not the same on both sides.

Though he is our fellow human and though he is our older brother in God’s family, Jesus is ultimately not our peer, not our equal. He is our Lord and he is our God.

Consequently, our friendship with him is decidedly lopsided.

“Jesus is ultimately not our peer, not our equal. He is our Lord and our God. Our friendship with him is decidedly lopsided.”

We do offer him our little love, obedience, and praise, but he doesn’t need that. And at the same time, he overwhelms us with his love and blessing.

So then, like a lowly peasant or slave who somehow gains the friendship of an ancient great king, so we should marvel at becoming recipients of the son of God’s love.

We should also find new motivation to obey and show the same love to others that he asks of us.

Reason 3: Because Jesus Told You God’s Word

The third reason why you as Jesus’ friend should love like Jesus is also based on the fact of this asymmetrical relationship but in an unexpected way.

From verse 15 we see number three because Jesus told you God’s word.

Because Jesus told you God’s word. Look at verse 15.

No longer do I call you slaves. For the slave does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends.

For all things that I have heard from my father, I have made known to you.

John 15:15: “I have called you friends. For all things that I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you.”

Jesus Acknowledges His Lordship

The first part of verse 15 here is interesting for several reasons.

By stating, no longer do I call you slaves, Jesus acknowledges on the one hand that the relationship between him and his disciples is like slaves to a master.

After all, as the eternal word, Jesus is the holy creator God. He made and owns everything.

As the promised Messiah, Jesus is the king of Israel and the king of the world.

As the head of the church, Jesus is our one leader and our spiritual lifegiver.

And as our interceding savior, Jesus bought us with his own precious blood.

“As the eternal Word, Jesus is the holy creator God. As our interceding Savior, Jesus bought us with his own precious blood.”

Thus, for multiple reasons, we Christians can freely acknowledge along with the apostles of the scripture that Jesus is the supreme one. While we are just his privileged slaves.

On the other hand, up to this point, John has not recorded anywhere in this gospel an instance in which Jesus actually calls his disciples slaves.

The closest we come is John 13:16 in which Jesus says in reference to his disciples, John 13:16, “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.” Compare also John 15:20, which is coming soon.

So that is an analogy applied to his disciples, but doesn’t actually call them slaves.

Nevertheless, the customary title by which the disciples referred to Jesus throughout the gospel, Lord, it does imply something like a slave and master relationship.

Actually, the Greek word normally translated Lord, curios, it appears right in verse 15. But in the New American Standard, New American Standard 95, it’s not translated Lord here. It’s translated as master.

But Lord and Master, they are synonyms.

They’re basically the same thing.

So then in verse 15, Jesus acknowledges his rightful lordship over his disciples and even the appropriateness of his disciples of referring to his disciples as slaves.

But at the very same time, Jesus announces a change in the way that he will address his disciples.

And why is that? Well, Jesus immediately explains, “For the slave does not know what his master is doing.

Back in the first century, those serving as slaves did not need to know nor have a right to know the thoughts of their master.

If, for example, the master said, “Slave, go check the sund dial in the city square and report to me the time of day.” The slave did not need to know why the master requested this or what the master was going to do with that information.

If the slave had the gumption to ask, the master need not answer with anything beyond, because you’re my slave and I told you to do it.

Now, since we by faith have become saved slaves of Christ, we also do not have the right to know our master’s thoughts or plans.

He could simply say to us, “Obey my commands,” and that should be enough for slaves.

Yet Jesus explains that while we are his slaves, he treats us as more than slaves. He treats us as friends.

Look at the rest of verse 15.

But I have called you friends. For all the things that I’ve heard from my father, I have made known to you.

Here we see how Jesus further has exalted us far beyond our station because we are his dear friends.

Divine Disclosure to Friends

Not only has Jesus chosen to die for us, we who are mere slaves, but he has shared with us the thoughts of God. In the Old Testament there are only two people who are identified as friends of God. They are Abraham and Moses.

And what stands out as part of the privileged status of these two men?

Divine disclosure.

Maybe you remember Genesis 18:17 and 19.

Right before God goes to investigate Sodom, God asks rhetorically Genesis 18:17 and 19, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” Expected answer is no. And he tells him exactly what he’s about to do. And then in Exodus 33:11, we hear this description. Exodus 33:11, “Thus the Lord or Yahweh used to speak to Moses face to face just as a man speaks to his friend.” Now, brethren, do you realize that Jesus has given you similar and even greater divine disclosure?

If you believe, Jesus has revealed God to you. He’s revealed the Father. He’s told you God’s will. He’s given you many reasons and encouragements to obey God’s commands.

Now, Jesus didn’t tell you everything that God knows. You couldn’t handle that. That wouldn’t be good for you. But he did tell you everything that the father gave him to tell. Everything that you truly needed and that would truly benefit you.

Why did he do that? Why did Jesus give you the revelation of God? Why did Jesus ultimately give you the Bible?

Because that’s what you do for a friend.

“Why did Jesus give you the Bible? Because that’s what you do for a friend.”

You share with your friend.

You disclose yourself to your friend.

Therefore, because Jesus has loved you as a friend in this way, what should you do?

You should obey his command to love your brethren to the same great extent.

Reason 4: Because Jesus Appointed Your Perseverant Faithfulness

A fourth reason why you as Jesus’ friends should love like Jesus appears in verse 16. Number four, because Jesus appointed your perseverant faithfulness. Because Jesus appointed your perseverant faithfulness. Look at the first part of verse 16.

Jesus Chose You

You did not choose me, but I chose you.

When it comes to Jesus’ blessed friendship, something Jesus wants you to realize is that Jesus alone is the one who makes it happen.

Jesus doesn’t wait for you to reach out for him as a friend and then respond.

Neither does Jesus merely foresee that you will respond to him when he reaches out to you. No. Though we as Christians indeed experience choosing to believe in Jesus, choosing to follow Jesus, Jesus clarifies emphatically, especially in the original Greek, you yourselves did not choose me for yourselves, but I myself chose you for myself.

“You yourselves did not choose me, but I myself chose you for myself.”

In other words, Jesus says, I ultimately was the one doing the choosing, not you.

And you would have never been my friend unless I myself chose you for such.

You might ask, well, why wouldn’t we have ever chosen Jesus on our owns?

Because without him, we are spiritually dead in our sins. As Ephesians 2 says, without God’s intervention, without him actually giving us new spiritual life all on his own, we would never move to love him in return.

We would never reach out for him. We would never have come to Jesus light. We would have fled from it.

Thus Jesus choosing us for friendship, for salvation, it is a precious gift, especially when we realize it is one not given to all.

Jesus doesn’t choose the deserving to be his friends because there is no one deserving. No one deserves his friendship.

So why did Jesus choose you to be his friend if you believe?

There is no answer except that he graciously chose to do so.

He chose to set his great love on you.

And aren’t you grateful?

Shouldn’t that move you to love him in return and obey his command to love others with his same love?

Appointed for Lasting Fruitfulness

But Jesus didn’t just choose us for salvation, but for all that comes with it. Look at the next part of verse 16.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit and that your fruit would remain.

Okay, here we’re back to the vine and branches metaphor from verses 1 to two and the need to bear fruit for God.

Yet notice Jesus clarifies that our persevering righteousness and bearing fruit internally in Christlike character and bearing fruit externally in obedience and good works and even yes in the bearing fruit of going notice the word go there going and preaching the gospel and seeing others saved. All of this has already been chosen for us appointed for us by Jesus.

And notice this is not just a beginning thing. It’s not like Jesus says, “I’m going to get you started. I’m going to do all that and then you take it from there.” No, Jesus appoints our lasting fruitfulness. It says, “I will appoint I have appointed fruit that will last. You will bear fruit for God until the end.” What is this?

“Jesus appoints our lasting fruitfulness: you will bear fruit for God until the end.”

This is more of Jesus great love for undeserving sinners on display.

Jesus love is of such a kind that he not only chooses us for saving friendship with him, but he also appoints our very perseverance in faith and obedience which Jesus commands of his friends.

I’m going to choose you for friends. And then that faith and obedience that I require of my friends, I’m going to choose you for that, too. I’m going to appoint that for you.

But there’s more. Look at the end of verse 16.

So that whatever you ask of the father in my name, he may give to you.

Now this part of verse 16, it sounds like a repetition of again things we’ve seen earlier. John 14:13, John 15:7, where we see promises from Jesus that those who believe in him, those who stay by faith in him, they will have their prayers answered.

We could therefore interpret this part of verse 16 as just another blessing that Jesus has appointed for his friends. Just as he appoints our faith and our obedience, he also appoints answered prayer for us as his people.

Yet the grammar is such in the end of verse 16 and we see it reflected in our New American Standard 95 translation that this last portion it appears as the stated goal of what was mentioned before. That is to say, Jesus chose both our faith and our faithfulness so that God would hear our prayers.

Obedience and Answered Prayer

Have you ever considered the connection between obedience and answered prayer?

God warns many times in the Old Testament that he will not hear, he will not regard, he will not answer positively the prayers of those who are wicked in their hearts or wicked in their actions.

By contrast, 1 John 3:21-22, 1 John 3:21-22 says that we can pray confidently to God knowing that we will receive what we ask of him because we keep God’s commandments.

You see, God loves to answer prayer. He desires so much to answer the prayers of his people, but he will not he will not indulge the disobedient.

So how can God ever answer our prayers?

We who are prone to disobedience?

Well, because Jesus desires that our prayers would be answered and that we would be able to pray confidently to God, he appoints both our faith and our faithfulness to enable God answering our prayers.

“Jesus appoints both our faith and our faithfulness to enable God answering our prayers.”

Is this not love?

And again, if Jesus has done this for you, even this for you as his dear friend, won’t you obey his command to love others like he’s loved you?

Reason 5: Because Love Is God’s Great Goal

The final reason why you as Jesus’ friend should love like Jesus appears in verse 17, last one of our section number five.

Because love is God’s great goal.

Because love is God’s great goal. Verse 17 says, “This I command you, that you love one another.” At first glance, this is just a third and final appearance in this discourse of Jesus’ command to love one another.

John 15:17: “This I command you, that you love one another.”

The statement also ties off verses 12 to 7, verses 12 to 17 nicely in its focus on loving like Jesus. It’s clearly the end of the section.

But there is something different about the command to love here in verse 17 compared to the previous commands Jesus gave to love one another.

Back in John 13:34, Jesus says, John 13:34, “A new commandment, singular, a new commandment I give you that you love one another.” And then in John 15:12, which we saw at the beginning of our section, John 15:12, Jesus says, “This is my commandment.” Singular. This is my commandment that you love one another.

But here in John 15:17, the Greek more literally says, “These things plural, I command you. These I command you that you love one another.” Thus, the sense of this final verse appears to be more than a simple repetition of what came before.

Rather Jesus is giving a purpose statement of all the commands in the previous section. John 15:1-17, the commands to stay in Jesus, to have his teaching stay in you, to stay in his love, and to keep his commandments.

Why did Jesus give these commandments?

Why did he give all the encouragements that go with them?

Well, Jesus says in verse 17, in another way that we could justly translate it, “These things I command you all so that you all might love one another.” How central is love to the Christian life?

Love Is the Christian Life

In many ways, love is the Christian life.

“How central is love to the Christian life? In many ways, love is the Christian life.”

After all, what are the two greatest commandments according to Jesus? Love God. Love people. That’s Matthew 22:37-39.

What is the fulfillment of God’s whole law?

Love. According to Paul, Romans 13:10, Galatians 5:14.

Indeed, love largely sums up everything that God has done and does in salvation.

Love in the Story of Salvation

Out of the father’s love for the son, the father gave a love gift to the son, a people, a bride to love the son forever.

But this bride needed redemption in the costiest way possible.

So out of love for the son and for the son’s bride, the father sent the son to redeem her. And out of love for the father and for the father’s gift, the son indeed redeemed her.

And now that she is redeemed, father and son pour out their love on the bride and on one another.

“Out of the Father’s love for the Son, the Father gave a love gift—a people, a bride to love the Son forever.”

Meanwhile, we the bride, we respond by loving the father and the son and by loving the other fellow members of the bride.

It all comes back to love.

And does not the apostle Paul say in 1 Corinthians 13, you do all these nice things but don’t have love? It doesn’t matter at all. But 1 Corinthians 13:13, “But now faith, hope, love abide these three, but the greatest of these is love.” Read the letter of First John. You’ll find there’s a ton of parallels from the section we’ve been through and the letter of First John. What topic does the Apostle John there return to again and again and again and again?

Love for God proved in love for people, especially the brethren.

And not too long ago, we heard Jesus himself say in John 13:35, John 13:35, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have great knowledge, if you have great faith, if you are extremely holy.

No, by this all men will know that you are my disciples if you have a love for one another.

Brethren, so much of God’s gracious purposes for us are tied up in our knowing the love of God and being transformed to become a people of love.

Not merely a nice people or a cowardly indulgent people, but a courageously loving people.

Love in a Hate-Filled World

And we need to become such a people because what will we face in the world?

Just look at the next two verses. John 15:18 and 19.

If the world hates you that it has hated me before it hated you.

If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world. Because of this, the world hates you.

My brothers and sisters, how will the church of Jesus survive collision with a hatefilled world? With a world that fundamentally hates Jesus and hates those who follow Jesus.

The answer is by growing up to become a people who love Jesus and then love each other like Jesus loves us. That’s the only way. That’s the only way.

“How will the church survive a hate-filled world? By growing to become a people who love Jesus and love each other like Jesus loves us.”

This is Jesus commandment for us. This is his great goal for us.

And this is what he has encouraged us toward today.

Conclusion: Are We True Friends of Jesus?

So brethren, I ask again, I ask again, are we true friends of Jesus?

Do we know his love as those who have been made his friends?

And let us obey his command to love one another.

“Are we true friends of Jesus? Let us obey his command to love one another.”

Ask yourselves as we close and after you leave church today, ask yourselves, how much has Jesus loved me?

How can I love my brethren practically?

How can I do that today?

How can I do that this week? How can I do that this month? How can I do that this year?

Let’s pray together.

Lord Jesus, we reminded of the earlier statement that you gave here in John 15 where you say, “Just as the father has loved me and I have also loved you.

Abide in my love.

Practically speaking, we know that remaining in your love, staying in your love means continuing to believe in you, holding fast to your teaching, and obeying your commands.

But surely in all of that is simply taking time to know your love, understand your love, comprehend your love.

We admit that we know so little of your love.

Not because you haven’t declared it. You are so gracious to do so and you’ve demonstrated it in so many ways in our lives. But our minds get so distracted.

We are weak in our frame.

Your love is so abundant we can barely get a grip on it.

So I pray again what I prayed in the beginning. God, grant us strength in the inner man to comprehend your love.

But we know what your word says. This comes not alone. This is a comprehension that is to be pursued with all the saints.

We need each other simply to understand your love.

And then as a result of that, Lord, we are to show your love to one another.

That is part of being filled up to the fullness of God, becoming more and more like Christ.

God, I pray that we would understand your love, we would be transformed by it, and we would show that love to one another. And Lord, that we would show it to those who are not yet part of the church. We know that you do have your elect out there. And we want to say with Paul, I endure all things for the sake of those that God has chosen. Even if they’re not saved yet, we need to go out and speak to them. We need to show them the love of Christ. Certainly, we show it to all people.

We desire all to be saved in Jesus Christ and brought into his saved community of friends.

Lord, don’t let us be insular. Don’t let us be isolationist.

Help us to be a people overflowing in love, courageous in love, those who bear the fruit of saved souls just as you have appointed for us.

Thank you God for these comforting words, this exhortation. I pray God that we would indeed put it into practice.

And if there are those here today, Lord, who are listening and they recognize that they are not yet your friends, they’ve not yet believed in you, they’ve not yet turned from their sins and from their own lordship to have you be the master.

I pray Lord that they would do so today when they think about your love and that you’d make them into vessels of love along with the rest of us here.

In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

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