No greater love

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

NO GREATER LOVE

Matt 27:47-53

47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah." 48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him." 50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52 The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

NIV

Several things are going on here which we might consider. The most important of all is the fact Jesus was not killed, so to speak, but he gave up his spirit. We will deal with that in due time. First let us consider when Jesus called out what was interpreted as “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” They said he was calling Elijah. It was the belief that Elijah would come before the Messiah. From earlier in this gospel we have already seen that John the Baptist was the Elijah that was to come before the Messiah.

Matt 11:11-15

11 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15 He who has ears, let him hear.

NIV

There are more places this is stated for us, but let us simply be sure the reason they said he was calling for Elijah was to taunt him even more, that if Elijah was to come before the Messiah and he was calling Elijah then he could not be the Messiah. It was just another way for them to discredit him. It was not good enough they got him crucified, they had to insult him as well. As we have already noted people today are still insulting Jesus and we need to make every effort not to insult him in our lives. Now let us take a look at the fact Jesus gave up his spirit. Yes, he was on the cross and as we know that is a horrific form of death. The arms outstretched and in most cases the person is not able to lift themselves up by their feet to relieve the tension on their ability to breath. The pressure on the diaphragm is intense and basically a person dies of suffocation. Their death can be hurried along by breaking their legs which then gives them no opportunity for relief. Although Matthew does not record the fact they did not break the legs of Jesus, other accounts give us that detail.

John 19:31-33

Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.

NIV

This is very important in that Jesus gave up his spirit, he was not killed by men.

John 15:9-17

9 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

NIV

This demonstrates just how much Jesus loves us. He laid down his life for us. It was not taken from him, he laid it down. Everything Jesus said and did was for a teaching moment for his creation. The fact that he gave up his spirit to the Father should give us that insight how we too should give up our spirit to the Father. This is not that we should stop living in the sense Jesus did at that moment, but metaphorically we submit our spirit to God. We submit to his will, his desires for us, or his plan for our lives. We have to understand we should not be making any decisions without considering God’s design for our lives. Everything Jesus said and did was for the glory of God. This is how we should be living as well. There is also the point that if Jesus loved us so much to lay his life down for us, he was also telling us to love one another in this same manner. That is to say we should put others before ourselves. We should focus on the needs of others rather on our own needs. It could get a little goofy here in that as we focus on the needs of others, they are focusing on our needs. So then everyone’s needs get met. But we should not be putting them first so they will put us first. This might best be illustrated by how some would say marriage is a 50, 50 partnership. But that should not be that way. It should be a 100,100 partnership, both giving everything to the other. This would eliminate any hurt feelings, any envy or jealously, bitterness or unforgiveness. This would also apply to our daily lives in the world, as well as in the Community of faith. It is not about what we get out of church, but what we give to the church. We should not go to church to be served, but to serve. This is also how we should approach our professions, careers or jobs. It is not about how much our employer does for us, but how much do we do for our employer. There is no greater love then to give up our own desires, our life for our friends. Christ died to self for us, should we do any less?