The Friend of Sinners
Good morning Immanuel! Jesus is the friend of sinners who lays His life down for His friends.
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
From the groaning of His soul in the garden of Gethsemane to the agonizing cries on the cross, the more Jesus suffered, the more His love for us became evident.
Jesus says, "Greater love has no one than this..." which implies that there are degrees of love. I may love my friends by inconveniencing my schedule for them. I may love my friends by losing material possessions for them. A greater expression of love would be to risk my reputation or life for them. But there is no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends.
At every level, Jesus loved His friends. From heaven, He came down. This is love! He took the form of a servant. This is love! He was obedient to the Father, living the life we should have lived. This is love! But the greatest expression of His love was that He would lay His life down for us! This is the kind of friendship Jesus offers—
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— (Eph. 2:4-5)
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1)
If Christ is for us, who can be against us?