John 15:13

13. This verse and the next three are an expansion of καθὼς ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς. The standard of Christian love is the love of Christ for His disciples: that is the ideal to be aimed at. For τ. ψυχὴν αὐ. θῇ see on John 10:11. Needless difficulty has been made about ὑπὲρ τ. φίλωναὐ., as if it contradicted Romans 5:6-8. Christ here says that the greatest love that any one can shew towards his friends is to die for them. S. Paul says that such cases of self-sacrifice for good men occur; but they are very rare. Christ, however, surpassed them, for He died not only for His friends but for His enemies, not only for the good but for sinners. There is no contradiction. Nor is there any emphasis on ‘friends;’ as if to suffer for friends were higher than to suffer for strangers or enemies. The order of the Greek words throws the emphasis on ‘life:’ it is the unique character of the thing sacrificed that proves the love. Christ says ‘for His friends’ because He is addressing His friends.