He Loved Them to the End

Leonardo da Vinci famously portrayed the Last Supper. At West Point, I was part of a group that reenacted this iconic scene. It was a sobering key event during Holy Week, preceding Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection. During that final meal with His followers, Jesus demonstrated His immense love for them through His actions and message.

​Meditation
John 13:1—Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
 
Jesus's statement that He loved His own to the end is profoundly moving. Consider that He knew Judas was about to betray Him, Peter would deny knowing Him three times, and all of them would flee when He was arrested. He understood that He would horrifically suffer, taking on the sins of mankind as our Redeemer. Yet, armed with this knowledge, He got up from the table, removed His robe, grabbed a towel, tied it around His waist, poured water into a basin, and washed 24 dirty feet. He gave them a lesson on serving each other. Then, according to John’s gospel, Jesus shared an extended message with them about His Father, preparing an eternal home for them, the coming Holy Spirit and His role, the gift of peace, an illustration of the vine and branches, a message about love, predicted persecution and sorrow turned to joy, and a heartfelt prayer for Himself, them, and all future believers. 

Jesus’ message in John 13-17 that night provides us with all we need to know to navigate life. Loving them to the end of His ministry on earth, He shared heartfelt words that resonate with us today. Tonight, a longtime friend from Oregon texted me and asked if I would reach out to her husband, who is hurting and considering taking his life.  I contacted Ralph*, and thankfully, he responded. Ralph expressed his hopelessness, stating that this was his life's darkest and loneliest time. He confirmed when I asked if he felt a hole in his heart. By God’s grace, I was able to explain the reason for that hole and the solution for filling it. I also mentioned to Ralph that God purposefully brought us together to coach our sons in basketball when they were in elementary school.

Life is hopeless without a way to clean up our messes, a Savior to redeem us, and a future with God to look forward to. It is richly meaningful to share the Savior’s love with a friend who is more ready than ever to hear the gospel message.  Please pray with me that Ralph will give his heart to Jesus and not take his life and head to hell, where he thinks he belongs. 
            
​As we celebrate a risen Savior this week, let’s pray that the Holy Spirit leads us to those who are struggling, seeking hope, and desiring a meaningful life. Why? So we can introduce them to the resurrected Lord, who will love them to an endless ending. 
 
Inspiration
The Gospel offers a man life.  Never offer men a thimbleful of Gospel.  Do not offer them merely joy, or merely peace, or merely rest, or merely safety; tell them how Christ came to give men a more abundant life than they have, a life abundant in love, and therefore abundant in salvation for themselves, and large in enterprise for the alleviation and redemption of the world.—Henry Drummond in The Greatest Thing  In The World
 
©2025 Daniel York  ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  To receive these devotionals, go to www.firstcause.org and click the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed, subject to the inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)
 
 *Not his real name.