John 14:28 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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John 14:28

Comments

The problem seen here is that the disciples loved him but not entirely. We speak about the person and work of Christ. The Christian loves not only his person but his work, his cause. Now the disciples had only got as far as loving his person. They loved him and they did not want him to go, and so he says to them, ‘If you really loved me, if you wholly loved me, you would see I am going to do my work and I am suffering and dying for sinners to save millions and millions of people. I will succeed and rise from the dead and go to my Father. If you loved my work as well as me, you would rejoice in that. You would say he is going to Calvary to make an atonement for all the redeemed and then to ascend back into his glory with the Father in eternity. You would not be sad.’ While I am here I am under humiliation; I am here to go to Calvary; I am here to subordinate myself to the Father; I am here to take the position of a mere man and to live a life of obedience to the Father as though I were inferior to him. But when I return to him, I will return to my glory. I will be equal then with the Father. He does not say this but it is the meaning. I will be equal then with the Father as I was before. ‘Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you.’ This is not his second coming, but his coming through the Spirit and they are going to be his representatives. But they did not identify yet with his work, or understand it, or see their participation in it. Love for Christ identifies.

Application

Now, there are many people who only half love Christ because they are not saved. I was speaking to a lady once and she did not really know about Calvary and she did not know about the death of Christ for sinners. She thought Christ died to set an example of passive behaviour and toleration. She did not know about his atoning death. She did not know about the need to be converted. But she worshipped every week, and went to a church where these things were not preached. But she said to me, I love Christ. And I believed her. She was not saved but she loved Christ. She loved an ideal. She kind of loved his person. He was a wonderful man. She did not love his work, his cause.

Even Christians sometimes can fall into only half loving him. You love Christ but your love is running cold so you do not identify with his cause. What did he die for? To save souls, not just yours but others also. But you are not interested in soul winning. You do not come to the Gospel Service and support it in prayer and seek to bring others. You say, well I know the gospel so I do not need to come. You love him but you only half love him because you have stopped loving his cause, his mission, his work.

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John 14:28 Commentary and Bible Study