It was the night when Jesus was betrayed and arrested. The next day He would be nailed to a cross to die. Jesus was speaking to His closest companions – men that He had hand picked; teachable men that followed Him for nearly three years; men who had learned to trust Him more than the politically correct views of any other voices of society. These men, like everyone else, had common human hang-ups: pride, selfishness, and jealousy. Jesus was preparing them to carry on His work. They would need to support each other in the face of great resistance. They would need to show sacrificial love. (True love is sacrifice.) Jesus’ words were pointing these men to the greatness of His own love. He would die – He would lay down His life for them. And more than that, He would lay down His life for everyone in the world, even those who hated Him with a passion, who couldn’t stand to hear His soul-convicting words, who hated hearing Jesus describe them as spiritually needy. Would you die for your worst enemy? “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). For you and me, greater love has no one than Jesus.
