The Greatest Love of All!
Matthew 26th Chapter
47 And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.
48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.
49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.
50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.
As the world continues to “market love” through the “holiday” known as Valentine’s Day, I want us to stop for a moment and meditate on the love God has for us. It is easy to denote His love as unconditional because Hebrews 13:5 tells us, “He [God] will never leave us nor forsake us.” In other words, no matter what we do to Him, He will always be there for us. Now, as evidence of being God, Jesus had this same type of love, which we see in this week’s text.
In the 50th verse, Jesus, after being betrayed, says to Judas, “Friend, wherefore art thou come?”— Can I reiterate that? He called Judas, the same Judas who also kept the treasury and stole from it (John 12:6), “Friend.” Why? Because, remember, Jesus is God, and as God, He has to keep His word: “I’ll never leave you or forsake you.” Even though Judas had forsaken Him, betrayed Him, and stolen from Him, God (Jesus) stayed true to His promise by still calling him “Friend.”
During the Valentine’s Day season, this very promise is something each Christian should revisit, for in its clarity, it speaks volumes to say, “Jesus loves me unconditionally, and He will never stop loving me.” It is the promise that reminds us we are not alone, even though we are single. It reminds us, we are loved, even when our spouse is not that loving. He will love us all the way through life and straight into eternity with Him. He will still love us after the clubbing, doing drugs, having affairs, stealing from our jobs, and even stealing from Him. Through anything and everything, He still calls us “friend.”
John 15:13 tells us, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Who is this man that would make the greatest sacrifice any man could make?… He is Jesus, The Greatest Love of All! He died just to spend an eternity with us. He died to pay the ultimate price for our sin, so we wouldn’t have to. He died to give us abundant life and the completed covenant of God. No one could have or would have done what He did for us. And He did it all because He loves us just that much.
If you would like to have the Greatest Love of All, Jesus Christ, as your Savior, then pray the following prayer:
God, I thank you for loving me enough to send Jesus to die for my sins. I believe that His death was for me, so I accept Him as my Savior right now. I thank you Jesus for being my Savior and loving me enough to die for me. Today, I welcome you into my life to be my Lord and my Savior. And this day, I acknowledge you as my Friend.
