Loved to the End — TDW Kids

Having Loved His Own

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On the night before the cross, the Bible tells us what was in Jesus' heart: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1).

His own. His own were the people who belonged to Him: Peter, John and the rest of the disciples. Everyone who trusts Jesus today is one of His own too.

Not ashamed. Jesus is glad to belong to His people. The Bible says “He is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Hebrews 2:11). Brethren means brothers and sisters.

To the end. That means all the way. Jesus' love did not run out when things got hard. It did not stop when His friends were slow to understand.

Love that serves. Right after John 13:1 tells us Jesus loved His own to the end, He got up and washed their feet. His love was not only a feeling. It showed up in what He did.

He knew them. Jesus knew His friends were weak and still slow to understand (13:7). He knew one of them would betray Him (13:11). Still, He loved them and served them.

Love that obeys. Later that night Jesus said, “But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here” (John 14:31). He loved His Father and He loved His own, so He walked toward the cross.

All the way to the cross. The next day Jesus gave His life on the cross for our sins. “Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us” (Ephesians 5:2). He had loved His own all the way to the end.

Love came first. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us” (1 John 4:10). Jesus did not wait for His friends to love Him well. He loved them first.

Not the end of the story. On the third day Jesus rose from the dead. He “rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4). His love is still at work today, because He is alive.

You are His own. If you have trusted Jesus, you belong to Him, and His love for you will not run out.

What to do. When you feel you have let Jesus down, remember that He loves His own to the end. Do not run from Him. Come back to Him, tell Him the truth and thank Him.

The night before the cross began with Jesus' love: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1).

Agapao. Loved appears twice in the verse. Both times the word is agapao (say: ah-gah-PAH-oh), the love that chooses the good of another and keeps giving. It is a love of the will, not only of feelings.

Idios. His own translates idios (say: ID-ee-os), what belongs to a person. The disciples were His in a personal way. Hebrews says “He is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Hebrews 2:11).

To the end. The phrase means both until the end and to the uttermost. Jesus loved them to the last hour of His life, and He loved them completely.

Loved with open eyes. Jesus knew who would betray Him (13:11), and He knew how little the rest understood (13:7). His love was not based on how well they would do. He loved them knowing everything.

Love that obeys (John 14:31). “But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.” His love for the Father and His love for His own led Him to the same place: the cross.

To the cross. “Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us” (Ephesians 5:2). The love that began the evening with a towel was carried through to the cross the next day, where He died for our sins.

Love first. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us” (1 John 4:10). That love was the starting point, not a reward. Then He “rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4), and His love goes on.

His own today. The love of John 13:1 is not only for the twelve. Everyone who receives Jesus becomes one of His own (John 1:12), loved with the same love that carried Him to the cross.

Love in action. The very next thing John records is the towel and the basin. Agapao love does not stay in the heart; it gets up from the table and serves.

For you. If you belong to Jesus, His love for you is not waiting to see how well you do this week. He has already loved you to the end. Let that send you back to Him every time you fail.

All Things into His Hands

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John 13:3 tells us what Jesus knew as He rose from the table: “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God.”

All things. The Bible says it another time: “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand” (John 3:35). Nothing is too big for Jesus, and nothing is outside His care.

From God. Jesus had come from God. He was the Son of God before He was ever born in Bethlehem. He came into the world to save us.

Going to God. Jesus had said it before: “I know where I came from and where I am going” (John 8:14). The night before the cross, He knew He was going back to His Father, and He was not afraid.

What He did with those hands. With all things in His hands, Jesus picked up a towel and a basin of water (13:4-5). The hands that hold everything washed His friends' feet.

Too important to care? Is Jesus too great to care about small things? No. The One who holds all things took care of the smallest need in the room. He cares about yours too.

My times. King David prayed, “My times are in Your hand” (Psalm 31:15). Every day of your life is held in Jesus' hands.

Hands on the cross. The next day His hands were nailed to a cross. He gave His life to take away our sins.

Risen and seated. On the third day Jesus rose. Then He went back to the Father, just as John 13:3 said. When He had by Himself purged our sins, He “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3).

Nothing outside His care. Because all things are in His hands, nothing that happens to you is outside His reach. Hard days still come, but none of them are out of His control.

Your cares. Since all things are in His hands, you can give Him your worries. “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

What to do. Tonight, tell Jesus one worry you have. Picture putting it into His hands, the hands that washed feet and hold all things, and thank Him for holding you.

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments” (John 13:3-4). What Jesus knew led straight to what He did.

All things (John 3:35). “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.” The Father's love and the Father's gift go together. All authority, all people and all of history rest in the Son's hand.

Came from God. Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem. He came from the Father into the world, taking on a human life to save us.

Going to God (John 8:14). “I know where I came from and where I am going.” Jesus said it to the Pharisees as He taught in the temple (John 8:13, 20); at the supper He acted on it. He was going back to the Father, and through Him we become children of God.

Authority that cares. In Jesus, power and care belong together. He holds all things, and He uses His hands for others: for His friends' feet that night, and for everyone who comes to Him today.

My times (Psalm 31:15). “My times are in Your hand.” The hands that hold all things also hold every day of a believer's life.

Seated (Hebrews 1:3). The next day those hands were nailed to a cross for our sins. Then, “when He had by Himself purged our sins,” He “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Jesus was going to God, but He finished the cleansing first, rose, and took His seat beside the Father.

No day out of His hands. If all things are in His hands, nothing that happens to you is outside His reach. That does not mean every day is easy; it means no day is out of His control, and no sorrow is wasted in His hands.

The same Lord. The One who holds all things, who held the towel, who died for our sins and who now sits at the Father's right hand is one Lord. Power, humility, sacrifice and victory meet in Him.

Your cares. “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Nothing you face is outside the hands that hold all things.

For you. When you feel small or forgotten, remember whose hands hold you. Then let His care for you set you free to care for others.

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