“HAVING loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.” (John 13:11Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. (John 13:1)) His own are the objects of His love. Of all such His own words stand,” Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you” (ch. 15:16). His own are His by purchase. Of all such it is written, “Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price.” (1 Cor. 6:19, 2019What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians 6:19‑20).) His own are His jewels, gathered out from every country and tongue and nation. Some are rich, many are poor―numbers are children, but the strong and the aged are also among them. His own are the personal possession of Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, and are His by choice and by purchase.
In the world is where they are to be found, as in the earth describes the locality where the jewel lies. No one questions the blissful condition, or the security of His own who are in paradise with Him, but His own who are in the world comes to the heart as that which precisely suits it. In the world is temptation, trial, sorrow, bitterness, yes, and oftentimes, doubting of heart, fighting’s and fears, yet in the world is this most delightful portion of His own―the personal love of Jesus.
And such look back and recall His love in the past. “Having loved His own which were in the world,” is so true for every sheep and lamb of the Shepherd’s flock. How many a gracious experience has each received, how many a mercy, how many a token of His faithfulness! but all the favors of the past shall only be a fresh occasion, for the heart to exclaim as dwelling upon the heart of Jesus.
He loved them unto the end. What continuance, what faithfulness is here. He, Jesus Himself, unwavering, unvarying, day by day in life or death, loved them unto the end. He will be nearest where most needed. In our deepest helplessness He shall be moss present. Yes, perhaps when His presence is least realized. We do not always know how near He is. The dark hour casts its shadow over the soul, but the dark hour is but the herald of the morn of the cheer of His countenance. When heart and flesh fail, and all our weakness and weariness are sorely felt He loves just the same, for He loves,
Unto, the end! But what is this? The las; night of the journey when the tent is pitched! Surely He will be there then. Should the outward man decay so distressingly that mind and memory both fail―then all the more need for His solicitude, and where He is most needed there will He surely be. Is it the hour of temptation and the enemy’s power? Jesus will be near then, though, maybe, unseen. Unto the end! Is it the hour when the spirit leaves the tent, and is led upwards to paradise? How close will He be there then. Unto the end! Is it the day when the dust shall arise and leave this earth, and spirit, soul, and body shall be re-united to be glorified forever? If this be the end of all that is of the world, and the beginning of the entrance into the fullness of eternal bliss and glory, He shall be near indeed.
His own heart is the measure of His own love. His own are the objects of His love. And where His own are described as the objects of His love, is in the world. As to the continuance of His love, it has no break whatever. Unto the end! Unto the end! such are the words of comfort of the Holy Spirit addressed to us concerning Him.