John 13:1 says: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” What did it mean for the disciples to have Jesus express His love in the final hours before His death?
It means, first of all, that He prefers you.
Love is a multifaceted term, and we use it in many different ways. I love to read. I love being on the water. I love sports. I love Christmas. I love this church. I love my kids. I love my wife. We use “love” to mean everything from “enjoy” to “adore.”
The Bible describes God’s love with similar degrees of intensity and intimacy. God loves all creation and cares for it. He loves all people everywhere. But John 13 describes the preferential love Jesus has for His own, blood-bought brothers and sisters. Notice again how the verse says it: “…when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”
There’s more than a hint of election in that phrase, isn’t there? “His own” = “the ones He chose, those He personally selected.” It’s a theme that runs all through John’s gospel. I often stress the doctrine of unconditional election in connection with Jesus’ love because this is where I believe it can do some of the greatest good in your heart. If you have trusted Christ for your forgiveness, God wants you to know for certain that you are specially, preferentially loved by Jesus. Tell me, which statement shows a sweeter, more reassured sense of being loved by God: ”I know Jesus loves me because He loves everybody,” or “I know Jesus loves me because He specifically chose me to be His own“?
And which sounds more biblical? “He loves us because we first loved Him,” or “We love Him because He first loved us”?