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Matthew Henry's
Commentary on the Gospel (John 15:12-16)
12
This is my commandment, That ye love one
another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay
down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are
my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command
you. 15 Henceforth I call you not
servants; for the servant knoweth not what
his lord doeth: but I have called you
friends; for all things that I have heard of
my Father I have made known unto you. 16
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen
you, and ordained you, that ye should go and
bring forth fruit, and that your fruit
should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask
of the Father in my name, he may give it
you. 17 These things I command you, that
ye love one another.
Christ,
who is love itself, is here discoursing
concerning love, a fourfold love.
I.
Concerning the Father's love to him; and
concerning this he here tells us,
1. That the Father did
love him (v. 9): As the Father hath
loved me. He loved him as Mediator:
This is my beloved Son. He was
the Son of his love. He loved him, and
gave all things into his hand;
and yet so loved the world as to
deliver him up for us all. When Christ
was entering upon his sufferings he
comforted himself with this, that his
Father loved him. Those whom God loves
as a Father may despise the hatred of
all the world.
2. That he abode in
his Father's love, v. 10. He
continually loved his Father, and was
beloved of him. Even when he was made
sin and a curse for us, and it
pleased the Lord to bruise him, yet
he abode in his Father's love. See Ps.
lxxxix. 33. Because he continued to love
his Father, he went cheerfully through
his sufferings, and therefore his Father
continued to love him.
3. That therefore he
abode in his Father's love because he
kept his Father's law: I have kept my
Father's commandments, as Mediator,
and so abide in his love. Hereby
he showed that he continued to love his
Father, that he went on, and went
through, with his undertaking, and
therefore the Father continued to love
him. His soul delighted in him,
because he did not fail, nor was
discouraged, Isa. xlii. 1-4. We
having broken the law of creation, and
thereby thrown ourselves out of the love
of God; Christ satisfied for us by
obeying the law of redemption, and so he
abode in his love, and restored us to
it.
II.
Concerning his own love to his disciples.
Though he leaves them, he loves them. And
observe here,
1.
The pattern of this love: As the
Father has loved me, so have I loved
you. A strange expression of the
condescending grace of Christ! As the
Father loved him, who was most worthy,
he loved them, who were most unworthy.
The Father loved him as his Son, and he
loves them as his children. The
Father gave all things into his hand;
so, with himself, he freely giveth us
all things. The Father loved him as
Mediator, as head of the church, and the
great trustee of divine grace and
favour, which he had not for himself
only, but for the benefit of those for
whom he was entrusted; and, says he, "I
have been a faithful trustee. As the
Father has committed his love to me, so
I transmit it to you." Therefore the
Father was well pleased with him, that
he might be well pleased with us in him;
and loved him, that in him, as beloved,
he might make us accepted, Eph. i.
6.
2.
The proofs and products of this love,
which are four:—
(1.) Christ loved his disciples, for
he laid down his life for them (v.
13): Greater proof of
love hath no man to show than
this, to lay down his life
for his friend. And this is the
love wherewith Christ hath loved
us, he is our antipsychos—bail
for us, body for body, life for
life, though he knew our insolvency,
and foresaw how much the engagement
would cost him. Observe here, [1.]
The extent of the love of the
children of men to one another. The
highest proof of it is laying down
one's life for a friend, to save his
life, and perhaps there have been
some such heroic achievements of
love, more than plucking out
one's own eyes, Gal. iv. 15. If
all that a man has he will give
for his life, he that gives this
for his friend gives all, and can
give no more; this may sometimes be
our duty, 1 John iii. 16. Paul was
ambitious of the honour (Phil. ii.
17); and for a good man some will
even dare to die, Rom. v. 7. It
is love in the highest degree, which
is strong as death. [2.] The
excellency of the love of Christ
beyond all other love. He has not
only equaled, but exceeded, the most
illustrious lovers. Others have laid
down their lives, content that they
should be taken from them; but
Christ gave up his, was not merely
passive, but made it his own act and
deed. The life which others have
laid down has been but of equal
value with the life for which it was
laid down, and perhaps less
valuable; but Christ is infinitely
more worth than ten thousand of us.
Others have thus laid down their
lives for their friends, but Christ
laid down his for us when we were
enemies, Rom. v. 8, 10.
Plusquam ferrea aut lapidea corda
esse oportet, quć non emolliet tam
incomparabilis divini amoris
suavitas—Those hearts must be harder
than iron or stone which are not
softened by such incomparable
sweetness of divine love.—Calvin.
(2.) Christ loved his disciples, for
he took them into a covenant of
friendship with himself, v. 14,
15. "If you approve yourselves
by your obedience my disciples
indeed, you are my friends,
and shall be treated as friends."
Note, The followers of Christ are
the friends of Christ, and he is
graciously pleased to call and
account them so. Those that do the
duty of his servants are admitted
and advanced to the dignity of his
friends. David had one servant in
his court, and Solomon one in his,
that was in a particular manner
the king's friend (2 Sam. xv.
37; 1 Kings iv. 5); but this honour
have all Christ's servants. We may
in some particular instance befriend
a stranger; but we espouse all the
interests of a friend, and concern
ourselves in all his cares: thus
Christ takes believers to be his
friends. He visits them and
converses with them as his friends,
bears with them and makes the best
of them, is afflicted in their
afflictions, and takes pleasure in
their prosperity; he pleads for them
in heaven and takes care of all
their interests there. Have friends
but one soul? He that is joined to
the Lord is one spirit, 1
Cor. vi. 17. Though they often show
themselves unfriendly, he is a
friend that loves at all times.
Observe how endearingly this is
expressed here. [1.] He will not
call them servants, though they
call him Master and Lord.
Those that would be like Christ in
humility must not take a pride in
insisting upon all occasions on
their authority and superiority, but
remember that their servants are
their fellow-servants. But, [2.] He
will call them his friends;
he will not only love them, but will
let them know it; for in his
tongue is the law of kindness.
After his resurrection he seems to
speak with more affectionate
tenderness of and to his disciples
than before. Go to my brethren,
ch. xx. 17. Children, have
you any meat? ch. xxi. 5. But
observe, though Christ called
them his friends, they called
themselves his servants:
Peter, a servant of Christ (1
Pet. i. 1), and so James, ch. i. 1.
The more honour Christ puts upon us,
the more honour we should study to
do him; the higher in his eyes, the
lower in our own.
(3.) Christ loved his disciples, for
he was very free in communicating
his mind to them (v. 15):
"Henceforth you shall not be kept so
much in the dark as you have been,
like servants that are only
told their present work; but, when
the Spirit is poured out, you shall
know your Master's designs as
friends. All things that I have
heard of my Father I have declared
unto you." As to the secret will
of God, there are many things which
we must be content not to know; but,
as to the revealed will of God,
Jesus Christ has faithfully handed
to us what he received of the
Father, ch. i. 18; Matt. xi. 27. The
great things relating to man's
redemption Christ declared to his
disciples, that they might declare
them to others; they were the men of
his counsel, Matt. xiii. 11.
(4.) Christ loved his disciples, for
he chose and ordained them to be the
prime instruments of his glory and
honour in the world (v. 16):
I have chosen you, and ordained
you, His love to them appeared,
[1.] In their election, their
election to their apostleship (ch.
vi. 70): I have chosen you
twelve. It did not begin on
their side: You have not
chosen me, but I first
chose you. Why were they
admitted to such an intimacy
with him, employed in such an
embassy for him, and endued with
such power from on high? It was
not owing to their wisdom and
goodness in choosing him for
their Master, but to his favour
and grace in choosing them for
his disciples. It is fit that
Christ should have the choosing
of his own ministers; still he
does it by his providence and
Spirit. Though ministers make
that holy calling their own
choice, Christ's choice is prior
to theirs and directs and
determines it. Of all that are
chosen to grace and glory it may
be said, They have not chosen
Christ, but he had chosen them,
Deut. vii. 7, 8.
[2.] In their ordination: I
have ordained you;
hetheka hymas—"I have
put you into the ministry (1
Tim. i. 12), put you into
commission." By this it appeared
that he took them for his
friends when he crowned their
heads with such an honour, and
filled their hands with such a
trust. It was a mighty
confidence he reposed in them,
when he made them his
ambassadors to negotiate the
affairs of his kingdom in this
lower world, and the prime
ministers of state in the
administration of it. The
treasure of the gospel was
committed to them, First,
That it might be propagated:
that you should go, hina
hymeis hypagete—"that
you should go as under a yoke
or burden, for the ministry is a
work, and you that go about it
must resolve to undergo a great
deal; that you may go
from place to place all the
world over, and bring forth
fruit." They were ordained,
not to sit still, but to go
about, to be diligent in their
work, and to lay out themselves
unweariedly in doing good. They
were ordained, not to beat the
air, but to be instrumental in
God's hand for the bringing of
nations into obedience to
Christ, Rom. i. 13. Note, Those
whom Christ ordains should and
shall be fruitful; should
labour, and shall not labour in
vain. Secondly, That it
might be perpetuated; that the
fruit may remain, that the good
effect of their labours may
continue in the world from
generation to generation, to the
end of time. The church of
Christ was not to be a
short-lived thing, as many of
the sects of the philosophers,
that were a nine days' wonder;
it did not come up in a
night, nor should it
perish in a night, but be as
the days of heaven. The sermons
and writings of the apostles are
transmitted to us, and we at
this day are built upon that
foundation, ever since the
Christian church was first
founded by the ministry of the
apostles and seventy disciples;
as one generation of ministers
and Christians has passed away,
still another has come. By
virtue of that great charter
(Matt. xxviii. 19), Christ has a
church in the world, which, as
our lawyers say of bodies
corporate, does not die,
but lives in a succession; and
thus their fruit remains
to this day, and shall do while
the earth remains.
[3.] His love to them appeared
in the interest they had at the
throne of grace: Whatsoever
you shall ask of my Father, in
my name, he will give it you.
Probably this refers in the
first place to the power of
working miracles which the
apostles were clothed with,
which was to be drawn out by
prayer. "Whatever gifts are
necessary to the furtherance of
your labours, whatever help from
heaven you have occasion for at
any time, it is but ask and
have." Three things are here
hinted to us for our
encouragement in prayer, and
very encouraging they are.
First, That we have a God to
go to who is a Father; Christ
here calls him the Father,
both mine and yours; and the
Spirit in the word and in the
heart teaches us to cry,
Abba, Father. Secondly, That
we come in a good name. Whatever
errand we come upon to the
throne of grace according to
God's will, we may with a humble
boldness mention Christ's name
in it, and plead that we are
related to him, and he is
concerned for us. Thirdly,
That an answer of peace is
promised us. What you come for
shall be given you. This great
promise made to that great duty
keeps up a comfortable and
gainful intercourse between
heaven and earth.
III.
Concerning the disciples' love to Christ,
enjoined in consideration of the great love
wherewith he had loved them. Three things he
exhorts them to:—
1.
To continue in his love, v. 9.
"Continue in your love to me, and in
mine to you." Both may be taken in. We
must place our happiness in the
continuance of Christ's love to us, and
make it our business to give continued
proofs of our love to Christ, that
nothing may tempt us to withdraw from
him, or provoke him to withdraw from us.
Note, All that love Christ should
continue in their love to him, that is,
be always loving him, and taking all
occasions to show it, and love to the
end. The disciples were to go out upon
service for Christ, in which they would
meet with many troubles; but, says
Christ, "Continue in my love.
Keep up your love to me, and then all
the troubles you meet with will be easy;
love made seven years' hard service easy
to Jacob. Let not the troubles you meet
with for Christ's sake quench your love
to Christ, but rather quicken it.
2.
To let his joy remain in them, and fill
them, v. 11. This he designed in
those precepts and promises given them.
(1.) That his joy might remain in
them. The words are so placed, in
the original, that they may be read
either, [1.] That my joy in you
may remain. If they bring forth
much fruit, and continue in his
love, he will continue to rejoice in
them as he had done. Note, Fruitful
and faithful disciples are the joy
of the Lord Jesus; he rests in
his love to them, Zeph. iii. 17.
As there is a transport of joy in
heaven in the conversion of sinners,
so there is a remaining joy in the
perseverance of saints. Or, [2.]
That my joy, that is, your
joy in me, may remain. It is
the will of Christ that his
disciples should constantly and
continually rejoice in him, Phil.
iv. 4. The joy of the hypocrite is
but for a moment, but the joy of
those who abide in Christ's love is
a continual feast. The word of the
Lord enduring for ever, the joys
that flow from it, and are founded
on it, do so too.
(2.) That your joy might be full;
not only that you might be full of
joy, but that your joy in me and in
my love may rise higher and higher,
till it come to perfection, when you
enter into the joy of your Lord."
Note, [1.] Those and those only that
have Christ's joy remaining in them
have their joy full; worldly joys
are empty, soon surfeit but never
satisfy. It is only wisdom's joy
that will fill the soul, Ps. xxxvi.
8. [2.] The design of Christ in his
world is to fill the joy of
his people; see 1 John i. 4. This
and the other he hath said, that our
joy might be fuller and fuller, and
perfect at last.
3.
To evidence their love to him by keeping
his commandments: "If you keep my
commandments, you shall abide in my
love, v. 10. This will be an
evidence of the fidelity and constancy
of your love to me, and then you may be
sure of the continuance of my love to
you." Observe here, (1.) The promise "You
shall abide in my love as in a
dwelling place, at home in Christ's
love; as in a resting place, at ease in
Christ's love; as in a stronghold, safe
in it. You shall abide in my love,
you shall have grace and strength to
persevere in loving me." If the same
hand that first shed abroad the love of
Christ in our hearts did not keep us in
that love, we should not long abide in
it, but, through the love of the world,
should go out of love with Christ
himself. (2.) The condition of the
promise: If you keep my commandments.
The disciples were to keep Christ's
commandments, not only by a constant
conformity to them themselves, but by a
faithful delivery of them to others;
they were to keep them as trustees, in
whose hands that great depositum
was lodged, for they were to teach
all things that Christ had commanded,
Matt. xxviii. 20. This
commandment they must keep
without spot (1 Tim. vi. 14), and
thus they must show that they abide in
his love.
To
induce them to keep his commandments, he
urges, [1.] His own example: As I
have kept my Father's commandments, and
abide in his love. Christ submitted
to the law of mediation, and so
preserved the honour and comfort of it,
to teach us to submit to the laws of the
Mediator, for we cannot otherwise
preserve the honour and comfort of our
relation to him. [2.] The necessity of
it to their interest in him (v. 14):
"You are my friends if you do
whatsoever I command you and not
otherwise." Note, First, Those
only will be accounted Christ's faithful
friends that approve themselves his
obedient servants; for those that will
not have him to reign over them shall be
treated as his enemies. Idem velle et
idem nolle ea demum vera est amicitia—Friendship
involves a fellowship of aversions and
attachments.—Sallust. Secondly,
It is universal obedience to Christ that
is the only acceptable obedience; to
obey him in every thing that he commands
us, not excepting, much less
excepting against, any command.
IV.
Concerning the disciples' love one to
another, enjoined as an evidence of
their love to Christ, and a grateful return
for his love to them. We must keep his
commandments, and this is his commandment,
that we love one another, v. 12,
and again, v. 17. No one duty of
religion is more frequently inculcated, nor
more pathetically urged upon us, by our Lord
Jesus, than that of mutual love, and for
good reason. 1. It is here recommended by
Christ's pattern (v. 12): as I
have loved you. Christ's love to us
should direct and engage our love to each
other; in this manner, and from this motive,
we should love one another, as, and because,
Christ has loved us. He here specifies some
of the expressions of his love to them; he
called them friends, communicated his mind
to them, was ready to give them what they
asked. Go you and do likewise. 2. It
is required by his precept. He interposes
his authority, has made it one of the
statute-laws of his kingdom. Observe how
differently it is expressed in these two
verses, and both very emphatic. (1.) This
is my commandment (v. 12), as if
this were the most necessary of all the
commandments. As under the law the
prohibition of idolatry was the commandment
more insisted on than any other, foreseeing
the people's addictedness to that sin, so
Christ, foreseeing the addictedness of the
Christian church to uncharitableness, has
laid most stress upon this precept. (2.)
These things I command you, v. 17.
He speaks as if he were about to give them
many things in charge, and yet names this
only, that you love one another; not
only because this includes many duties, but
because it will have a good influence upon
all.
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