Being With Jesus:
John 13:2,38 (NLT)
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus… “Very truly I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”
It is hard to fully fathom and completely embrace God’s immeasurable, inexplicable, crazy love that is revealed in this moment as Jesus washed his disciple’s feet. The story, which connects us to Jesus’ final hours before his sacrificial death on the cross, begins with this shocking statement in verses 1-2: “Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world to go to the Father. Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end.”
What makes that so shocking is that Jesus knew full well that not only would his love for these disciples not be reciprocated, there were two in that group who would publically deny him and actually betray his love: Judas and Peter. Verse 2 goes on to say, “It was suppertime. The Devil by now had Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, firmly in his grip, all set for the betrayal.” Verse three adds, “Jesus knew…” what the Father had put before him. In verse 38, Jesus responds to Peter’s promise to stand with him through thick and thin, “Actually Peter, the truth is that before the rooster crows, you’ll deny me three times.”
Now with that in mind, let’s go back and explore what “full extent of Jesus’ love” looks like in what Jesus did in that intimate setting for his disciples—and more importantly, by extension what he did for you.
For one thing, the full extent of his love means you are fully loved, when from a human perspective, you aren’t fully lovable. Verse 2 says, “It was time for supper, and the devil had already enticed Judas to carry out his plan to betray Jesus.” Verse 11 adds, “Jesus knew who’d betray him”; that Judas would hand him over to the Jews later that night. I don’t suppose we could think of anyone any more unlovable and unworthy than Judas—yet Jesus loved him nonetheless.
He humbly knelt as Judas’ servant to wash his feet, knowing everything in his past, present and future, yet Jesus still showed him the full extent of his love! What that means is that if Jesus loved Judas, then knowing everything about you—past failures, present junk, future sin—he’ll still stubbornly love you. If Judas was worthy of love, then certainly you’ll always be the object of Christ’s unstoppable love. In fact, you don’t have enough sin or darkness to even slow his love down! You are fully loved!
That leads to another thing that you ought to know about the full extent of Jesus’ love for you: It is a love that is rooted in his nature, and is not dependent on yours. Verses 4-5 say, “Jesus got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.”
Now think for a moment about those whose feet he washed. Of course, there was Judas, whose betrayal Jesus knew was just moments away. But there was also one he knew would deny him—in spite of that one’s insistence otherwise. And of course, there were ten others around that room he knew would desert him in his hour of greatest need before the night was out.
Not their character—nor yours—motivated his love; no, it flowed out of his. That’s why you can always depend on being the recipient of the full extent of his love.
Finally, what you ought to know about the full extent of Jesus’ love is that it will transform your worst nature so radically that you, yourself, will become a conduit of his love. Jesus said in verses 34-35, “So now I’m giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I’ve loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you’re my disciples.”
That’s what the “full extent of his love” will do—if you let it! Again, that love flows from his character, not yours, but when you surrender to it, you can then enter what will be your most satisfying experience in life—to yourself becoming a conduit of his full love to others.
And that is the answer to the deepest longing of your innermost heart: To know the full extent of God’s unconditional love and become the conduit of that inexhaustible love to others!
If nothing could stop Jesus from loving Judas and Peter, certainly nothing will prevent Jesus from showing you the full extent of his unconditional love.