“Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”. Those familiar words, from John 15:3, are fittingly wedded to Remembrance Sunday. After all, on this day we remember many who did indeed lay down their lives on the battlefield, at sea and in the air; they lay down their lives for friends at their side and for friends at home. It is the ultimate sacrifice. No-one can do more than give their life.
There are some who suggest that there is a sacrifice which is greater: to lay down one’s life for one’s enemies. But they miss the point. Jesus, who originally said these words, was with his friends and speaking to them. There was no greater love he could show them than to die for them. In any case, we are told elsewhere that, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us … when we were God’s enemies” (Romans 5:8, 10).
Jesus’ friends are the same today; we are those for whom he laid down his life. For us, his death was a Sacrifice, offered to God, to turn God’s wrath away from us by bearing it himself. His death was also a Substitution, where Christ substituted himself for us, putting himself where we deserve to be. Finally, his death was a Salvation. It achieved something. It actually saves every single person who puts their trust in him.