The letter of 1 John is one that many people are familiar with. There is a focus on multiple themes; from the truth of Jesus as the Son of God and as our advocate, to obedience as evidence of our love and of our faith that is manifested in love for others. But what I want to meditate on this morning is 5 verses found in chapter 4.

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Here we hear the call to love one another. This is not an unfamiliar call (cf. John 13:34,35; 15:12, Romans 12:10; 1 Thess. 4:9, 1 Peter 1:22; 4:8). This is something we all believe and hopefully we strive to do. And how vitally important this is in the time in which we find ourselves. Not only to help care for others in the midst of our ‘shelter in place’ order, but also to be loving and gracious toward others who hold different persuasions in regard to what should be done next as we move out of this season of sheltering. Love is an amazing attribute that we all hope and pray grows more fully in us.

Yet as great as the display of love between humans can be truly beautiful, there is a much greater love - that is the love of God. And John makes clear that his love is most plainly and undeniably seen in Jesus Christ. God sent Christ so that we could live. Ponder that for a moment! And he didn’t just send Jesus to give us some steps to follow in order to know how to live. He sent Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins. Now there is a million dollar word: propitiation. What does that mean?

To propitiate is to turn away wrath. It is the satisfaction of God’s demand for justice. God is holy and righteous - and that cannot be ignored. Our sins cannot merely be swept aside (cf. Romans 3:21-26). They must be dealt with. They must be atoned for. That is what Jesus did for his children. He took the penalty that our sins deserved. He died in our place. This is unquestionably the greatest love ever witnessed.

In the Heidelberg Catechism Question 37 asks (this in reference to a line in the Apostles’ Creed): “What do you understand by the word ‘suffered’?”

Answer: “That during his whole life on earth, but especially at the end, Christ sustained in body and soul the wrath of God against the sin of the whole human race*. This he did in order that, by his suffering as the only atoning sacrifice he might deliver us, body and soul, from eternal condemnation, and gain for us God’s grace, righteousness, and eternal life.”

Jesus took the blame and bore the wrath - and because of him - through our faith in him - we stand forgiven at the cross. Take time to meditate on this glorious truth…this wonderful manifestation of the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

"The Power of the Cross" Official Lyric Video As performed by Keith & Kristyn Getty Stream this song and others on our official Spotify channel: https://open...

* For those who read this and wonder if it goes against the “L” in the TULIP - it does not. This, according to Ursinus (the primary author of the catechism), refers to the sufficiency of Christ’s death. It is absolutely sufficient for all, but it is efficient only for those who are God’s sheep (cf. John 10:11, also John 6:37, Matthew 1:21, Acts 20:28, Ephesians 5:25).

Today I am turning over the blog to a guest post - Tristan has written an excellent devotional in regard to what happened on this day.

“Maundy” is derived from the Latin word mandatum, translated “commandment.” It refers to Jesus’ words in John 13:34: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” Jesus said this on the day he instituted the Lord’s Supper, prayed in Gethsemane, and was given over to be crucified. But with so much action, why do we define the Thursday of Holy Week simply by Jesus’ words to his followers in the hours before his death? I think it is because these words serve two functions. 

First, they summarize what has come before. When Jesus spoke to his disciples in John 13, it’s not as though he was springing something entirely foreign on them. The Old Testament had clearly commanded love of neighbor (Lev. 19:18). So why did Jesus call his commandment “new”? Well, in all of Israel’s history, no one had seen obedience to this commandment modeled perfectly. The Israelites had a sense of what it required, based on all of the other commandments that God gave them, but they’d never seen this neighbor-love on full display. Now, Jesus tells his disciples that they are to love one another “just as I have loved you.” In other words, Jesus’ life and ministry are intended to give us a picture of what obedience to the law looks like. On Maundy Thursday, we remember that Jesus didn’t just fulfill the law; he perfected our understanding of it.

Second, Jesus’ words also foretell what would come to pass in the next 24 hours. In John 15, Jesus says, This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you (v. 12). Notice that Jesus repeats what he said just a few chapters earlier. But then he offers an even more radical notion of love. He continues, Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (v. 13). Self-sacrifice, Jesus says, is love on display. In the past, Jesus had instructed crowds of followers to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Mt. 5:44). He had told a parable about a Samaritan who was a neighbor to a Jew (Lk. 10:25–37). And just that night, he had knelt down in the presence of his disciples and washed their feet, setting an example of humility and servitude (Jn. 13:1–20). All along, Jesus had shown in his life and ministry what love for one another looked like in the day-to-day, but it is in his death that he offers the greatest example of love. On Maundy Thursday, we anticipate the lengths to which our Savior went to show his love for us.

Maundy Thursday invites us to reflect on the life of Christ, to learn to imitate him, to obey him. But it also invites us to marvel. No one had ever seen love like this. No one had ever known love like this. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God (I Jn. 3:1a).

And for your listening pleasure: O the Deep Deep Love of Jesus

Holy Week, Day 5: Thursday Thursday, April 2, AD 33. To continue through the week, follow the link below for Friday: https://vimeo.com/89429101 The link for Palm Sunday: vimeo.com/89013208 The link for Monday: https://vimeo.com/89117797 The link for Tuesday: https://vimeo.com/89651201 The link for Wednesday: https://vimeo.com/89420035