Likewise, the Bible declares God’s love for the world when it says, " For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16, NASB). Today we commemorate and celebrate the life and legacy of the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who made the supreme sacrifice so that the oppressed would experience justice. Therefore, I would like to make three observations from our chosen text as I parallel a portion of Jesus Christ’s life and death with that of Dr. King’s.
My first observation deals with The SACRIFICE of love that is evident in John 15:12-13. The context for John 15:12-17 is the upper room discourse (John 13-17) that featured the last supper. In John 15:12, Jesus gives an imperative (command) for His disciples to love one another just as He has loved them. Moreover, He declares that there is no greater love than that of a person choosing to give up their life for a friend (v.13). Jesus gave His life for the world. Likewise, Dr. King gave his life to address the many social injustices endured by those oppressed and disenfranchised from realizing true justice.
The writer then moves from the sacrifice of love to the RELATIONSHIP of love, John 15:14, 15. Jesus changes the relationship of His disciples. He no longer calls them bondservants, but friends. Jesus conditioned this new status on their willingness to obey His command to "Love one another" as cited in verse 12. This would result in the benefit of them receiving intimate revelation from Him as provided by the Father. Similarly, a major change of status would take place in the lives of the oppressed and disenfranchised in America and the world, a struggle that would include many people groups who would stand and in some cases give up their lives along with Dr. King in the civil rights struggle for social justice. For example, Mrs. Viola Gregg Liuzzo, a homemaker and mother from Detroit, suffered martyrdom as she drove marchers back to Selma from Montgomery. Likewise, on April 4, 1968, an assassin’s bullet wound end the life of Dr. King. Subsequently, we are the benefactors of the sacrificial deaths of Dr. King and our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us not squander the provision of "so great a salvation" from sin as provided by Christ (Hebrews 2:3a) nor the social justice gains won for us through the personal sacrifices of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and others.
The apostle John now turns from the relationship of love to the final observation--the CHOICE of love, John 15:16-17. The disciples did not choose Jesus, but He chose them. Jesus’ selection of them is purposeful, not haphazard. He gave them authority to operate on heaven’s behalf (v.16a). Their responsibility was to bear fruit (v.16b), and to pull off this goal would require them to love one another. The word for love here is the Greek word Agapa? (ag-ap-ah’-o), which carries the idea of an intentional love or a firm conviction of the will to love. Therefore, to exercise true love is a choice of will. Even when someone is not behaving lovingly, we must choose to operate in love towards him or her. Jesus did it (Romans 5:8), Dr. King and other civil rights martyr’s did it, and we must continue to genuinely do it too (1 John 4:7-13). I close with this thought, what sacrifices are you willing to make that would make someone else’s life the better? Think about it!