Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me … that 1) Jesus must love sinners in obedience to his Father’s command; 2) Jesus will be patient and merciful towards me because of the effect of the Holy Spirit upon him in Heaven; and 3) Jesus will love me because he is a good husband; so that by loving me more he is loving himself more.

Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. But when people struggle with their assurance Pastors must do better than to simply say, “Jesus loves you, this I know, for the Bible tells you so.”

What does the Bible actually say? And why should Jesus love me, a sinner?

Consider the following:

1. The command of the Father. The Father gave Jesus a perpetual command to love sinners (see Jn. 6:37-40; Jn. 10:15-18; 15:10). Jesus remains in the Father’s love by loving sinners. There can be no greater influence upon the Son to love us poor, miserable sinners than the command of the Father. Christ’s failure to love us would actually be a failure to love his Father.

2. The Work of the Spirit. Christ possessed the Spirit without measure (Jn. 3:34). He is the man of the Spirit, par excellence. Upon his entrance into heaven, Christ received a fresh outpouring of the Spirit to the greatest degree possible for any human (Acts 2:33; Ps. 45).