Loving each
other is the outward sign of the inward change that is happening in us proving the
fruit of the Spirit is growing and flourishing in our lives. This is fruit that will not go bad and spoil
but will remain intact as long as we are connected to the True Vine and the life-giving flow that comes from Jesus.
This passage
starts out with Jesus changing the dynamic of the relationship we (His Disciples)
have with Him. It first starts out that
we are called servants or slaves which have given themselves up for the call of
Christ to follow Him and to serve Him. The
original twelve disciples must have recognized that sitting under the tutorship
of Jesus as a student was probably one of the lowest positions they could take,
for they were men with jobs or careers which had with it certain standing in
the community. For example:
- Andrew, Peter, James and John were fishermen who daily took their boat out into the sea in search of a new catch of fish for their families and for the community.
- Matthew was a tax collector, he worked as a tax collector for the Roman government. He would have acquired some education and reputation to achieve this job. His job provided him with considerable wealth because tax collectors earned a portion of what they collected. Not necessarily the most loved or admired person around, but still a position of necessity.
- Simon was known as the Zealot, not strictly a profession, and as a Canaanite. Zealots engaged in politics and anarchy, attempting to overthrow the Roman government. He may have been a politician or a revolutionary. When he joined Jesus, he remained zealous, but with allegiance to Jesus rather than political revolution.
- Judas served as the treasurer in Jesus' band, and John 12:4-6 identifies him as a thief and an embezzler. The Bible doesn’t tell us what he did prior to becoming an apostle. Each of the Gospels identifies him as the one who betrayed Jesus.
Not much
is known about the other disciples regarding their former careers.
These men
were self-sufficient and gave up their careers to take the position at the feet of Jesus
learning and experiencing firsthand what Jesus had to teach them. The
teaching of Jesus involved learning something they had never known before, and
that was how to become a servant. It is truly
amazing that these burly men willingly took this role as students of Jesus.
From the passage above, Jesus, after
being with them for some time now graduates them to a new status in
relationship with Him, He has chosen to call them friends. This is the Greek word ‘Philos’ (in the masculine tense denoting "loved, dear, or
friendly, a companion or an associate") Now His disciples are brought close as
friends because Jesus has communicated everything that He has heard from the
Father to them with clarity and fidelity.
The true heart of the Father has been revealed, and Jesus’ time is short
before his passion is revealed.
Jesus
says something next which is very disarming, that His disciples did not choose
him, but rather He has chosen them and appointed them to a
purpose. This flies in the face of our the common belief of how we come to Jesus, it
is said we make a decision for Christ by confessing that Jesus is Lord, but in
actuality, He made a decision for us long before we ever make a decision for
Him.
We also were given a purpose, and that purpose is to bear much fruit which will
remain and not wither. This is the fruit
of the spirit which is described in Galatians 5:22-23 “But the Spirit produces
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and
self-control. There is no law against such things as these.”
Jesus sums up this passage by telling us
that “the Father will give you anything you ask of Him in My name” this isn’t a 'free for all' jumping into the Father’s back pocket, but in context stating any
desire born out of the fruit of the spirit which if formed in our lives by the
relationship with the Spirit of God is ours for the asking in Jesus’ name.
Lastly, Jesus commands us “to love one another”,
this Greek work is “agapaō” which is different from the word “philos” used before because this goes
beyond friend to dearly beloved. We are
to love one another with an abiding deep love based from a Godly transaction,
from the fruit of the spirit operating and growing in our lives, we are demonstrating the Godly character can only come from the Spirit of God.
There is a lot happening in this passage as
Jesus communicates His desires to the disciples, He is preparing them to be
sent out on their own with everything they have been taught.
No matter
what our job or career path, today Jesus still reaches out to us by His love
and calls us out by our name unto Himself to be His disciples (students),
that we may see what He is doing as He is revealing the Heart of the Father to us
and to others through us. He chose us from eternity
past to be His own during our lifetime on earth, scripture says "our name is written on His
hands".
Our deepest purpose is to bear fruit which is allowing the King of Love to live in us and through us by the
power of the Holy Spirit.
We have
everything that we need to live lives of service to the Lord all has been
provided for, we only need to ask the Father in Jesus’ name for it to become
part of our life in Christ.
It is from
this intimate knowledge (knowing) of Christ abiding within us, that love
(Agape) is produced. This type of
love can only come from the heart of the Father and His deep affection and desire for us.
His love
which is beyond imagining, through many centuries and generations have gone by,
nothing changes our value to the Father. Passing time only further proves His
love to be true.
Be Blessed;
Stephen
Barnett
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