The Full Extent of Jesus’ Love
By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min.
Is there a scene in the ministry of Jesus that uniquely demonstrates the full extent of Jesus’ love? I suggest there are at least three.
Jesus knew He was already in the shadow of the brutal Roman whip that would follow immediately after sunrise, and the three rugged nails would be next. The mission of His incarnation was rapidly coming to an end. It meant His exaltation was on the other side of crucifixion. Jesus held an unblinking focus on doing the will of His Father amid the suffering at hand. No matter how He was pushed, pulled, or pressured, He always maintained His sharp fixation on Calvary as His immediate goal, while never losing sight of returning to His Father in heaven. It was as Jesus of Nazareth, the man, that the Son of God was nailed to a cross and suffered beyond the power of language to describe. Jesus knew He must take the Calvary Road to complete His mission and arrive at His heavenly home beside His Father.
First, The brutal treatment Jesus took shows the full extent of His love. Why did He do it? Because of “His great love with which He loved us.” God is “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4). Jesus was the Lamb of God who offered His own life as the final sacrifice for the sins of the whole world; there would never be a need for another sacrifice (John 1:36; Hebrews 10:12; Revelation 5:11-12).
Such love, such wondrous love,
Such love, such wondrous love.
That God should love a sinner such as I,
How wonderful is love like this.
Bishop, 1929.
The disciples had seen His miracles, listened to His teaching, and observed His tender care for whoever was hurting. Jesus loved people – all people. He lived with an anointing of the Holy Spirit far, far greater than any of the prophets. He was God’s Son incarnate who came veiled in human flesh as Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 10:38).
Jesus’ disciples knew His batting average as a prophet was 100%. He had never faced an illness He could not cure, a devil He could not cast out, a crowd He could not feed, or a storm He could not calm. Amid it all, His thoughtful tenderness was such He would not even break a bruised reed (Isaiah 42:3; Matthew 12:20).
It is a great irony of the gospel – the same miracles and teaching that certified Jesus as the Son of God also confirmed Him to the religious establishment as an enemy of the nation. This is true because their thinking was tied to a huge stumbling block, believing Messiah could not suffer, and He certainly would not submit to the humiliation of crucifixion. They refused to accept the evidence all around them that proved Jesus was God’s Son. Instead, they turned that very proof that certified Him as God’s Son into the stumbling stone that sent Him to Calvary.
Crossing the line to acclaim Jesus as the Son of God has always required a step of faith that affirms who Jesus is (Matthew 16:16-17). Abraham’s faith had that strength, the resilience to walk through the storms of life and always end up standing “strong in faith” (Romans 4:20). Millions around the world hold to this faith today.
Second. I ask again. Is there a scene in the ministry of Jesus that uniquely demonstrates the full extent of His love? Yes, there is. Jesus did it by washing His disciples’ feet. “It was just before the Passover festival. Jesus knew the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, He now showed then the full extent of His love” (John 13:1).
Think about it: dirt streets and roads were the norm in first century Israel and most travel was done on foot. People’s feet would be dirty, smelly, sore, and tired. The duty to wash the feet of their masters fell to slaves. The job was rated in the culture as the lowest humiliation. Not a single disciple in the twelve, for example, volunteered at the meal to wash Jesus’ feet.
Jesus “got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (John 13:4-5).
Our Savior disrobed to the dress of a slave. The disciples’ eyes must have been bulging as they witnessed Jesus doing what they had never seen Him do – and could not imagine why He was doing it.
The Apostle Paul said Jesus humbled Himself to the lowly level of a slave (Philippians 2:7). The Greek word for slave and for servant is doulos. [In contemporary English a servant is not thought of as a slave.]
Jesus voluntarily stripped down to the lowest level of a servant, becoming the slave who did the menial task of washing His disciples’ feet. But Jesus went lower still. A slave washing the feet of his master is an act of a lesser person serving a greater person. Jesus reversed it so that the greater person [Jesus] washed the feet of the lesser persons, the disciples, including Judas]. Jesus poured water into a bowl and began doing the work slaves did in the Empire. One by one He washed the disciples’ smelly, dirty, and sore feet.
It was love in action, pure humility at its lowest level, the full extent of His love. This becomes all the clearer when we interpret Jesus’ action in the context of the first century slavery culture.
Third. The full extent of Jesus’ love was also demonstrated in Jesus’ love especially for Judas. Jesus had the strength of character to feed Judas a meal and wash his feet too. The Lord did it with the thirty silver coins most probably jingling in Judas’ pocket. One can be sure the money did not go into the bag that provided the support for Jesus and the disciples.
John did not try to get inside Judas’ mind to discover exactly what he might have been thinking in those moments. John’s primary focus was on Jesus, not Judas. At a minimum by including Judas in the meal and washing his feet the Lord showed His followers for all future generations how to love their enemies (see Romans 12:20; Proverbs 25:21-22).
Jesus is the source of all wisdom and knowledge; yet, He loved as a lowly servant of all mankind.
The world system says the higher your position the more you have earned the right and can expect to be served. Jesus taught the higher your position the more you are voluntarily freed to serve, lovingly giving, and blessing others, even the poor and the outcasts (Matthew 20:25-28).
The contrast is amazing!
It was Jesus’ way of showing that He, the greatest of all, loved so much He would become the servant of all, and in that culture washing feet was the best way to reveal it. The full extent of His love – ah! Jesus is the model.
May our gracious Lord help us to love as Jesus loves.
That for a wilful outcast such as I,
The Father planned, the Savior bled and died;
Redemption for a worthless slave to buy,
Who long had law and grace defied.And now He takes me to His heart, a son,
He asks me not to fill a servant’s place;
The “far-off country” wand’rings all are done,
Wide open are His arms of grace.Such love, such wondrous love,
Such love, such wondrous love,
That God should love a sinner such as I,
How wonderful is love like this!
Bishop, 1929.
October 23, 2021 8:21 pm|
Great work for the glory of our precious LORD who has given you the marvelous ability to write your books and to teach and preach the Word of The Lord in fullness by reaching out to all who will receive!!! God bless you my brother in Christ!!!!!!!