15:12,13
“This is my commandment , that you love one another as I have loved you”. So how did Jesus love the disciples? Our first thoughts go to the cross, Jesus laying His life down for us, taking upon Himself the punishment that we all deserve. However, there is more to it than that. Jesus lived a life of obedience to the Father. And this obedience continued even when the disciples did not understand it at all. Jesus then does point towards His laying down of His life “for His friends”. So there must be a deep commitment, one prepared to pay any price. The giving up of one’s life is the ultimate price.
15:14
Jesus then expands on the theme of the disciples being His friends, and He does this in both directions. When the disciples do what Jesus commanded them then they were His friends. We should not look at this in the context of earning friendship, but of simple fact. We are called to a life of obedience. When we do obey Christ it may involve us in paying a significant price, but if it comes to that we should know that we are living as friends of Jesus.
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