TOGETHER IN LOVE

Man’s concept of love is often shallow and fleeting. Just think of the flippant expressions of “I love you” we commonly hear. There exists, however, a profound and enduring kind of love. Jesus Christ demonstrated the highest example of love the world has ever known through His life and sacrifice. As Christians, we are called to emulate the love of Christ.

Man’s concept of love is often shallow and fleeting. Just think of the flippant expressions of “I love you” we commonly hear. There exists, however, a profound and enduring kind of love. Jesus Christ demonstrated the highest example of love the world has ever known through His life and sacrifice. As Christians, we are called to emulate the love of Christ.

Perhaps you have experienced a relationship that was short-lived. You realized later that the relationship was based on a superficial kind of love. The truth is emotional love wears off.

Emotional love may be fleeting, but a Christ-like love lasts forever.

In the first twelve chapters of John’s Gospel, the author covers Jesus’ earthly ministry. The next seven chapters focus on Jesus’ final twenty-four hours on the earth. Jesus knew that His death was imminent. He would soon have to undergo terrible torture and bear the wrath of God for men’s sins.

Despite the agony that lay before him, Jesus was still interested in investing in His disciples. He gathered them to an upper room, and in His final instructions, gave them a new commandment to love one another.

Luke 22:10–12 KJV 1900

10 And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. 11 And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? 12 And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.

Three events were about to take place in this upper room:

Three Events

The Passover Feast

The disciples gathered to celebrate the passover, an annual memorial of God’s deliverance of Israel from their slavery in Egypt. When God judged Egypt with the death of the firstborn, He commanded the Israelites to kill a perfect lamb and smear its blood on their doors

The passover signified the power of Jesus’ blood to save us from the death of sin.

The Washing of the Disciples’ Feet

Following the passover feast, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet (John 13:4-10). His demonstration of humility and love established Him as the model of servant leadership.

The Institution of the Last Supper

Finally, Jesus institutes the last supper with the bread and cup (Luke 22:19–20), which represented His body and blood. This ordinance was meant to remind believers of Christ and His work on Calvary.

1. THE CLAIIM of Christ

Notice in verses 31–33 of our text that as the time of His death draws near, Jesus proclaims that He, the Messianic Son of man, is now glorified.

His Death

Jesus’ glorification would begin with His death on the cross.

In verse 33 of our text, Jesus tells his disciples, “Yet a little while I am with you.” After being with His disciples all the while and performing many miracles with them, it was time for Jesus to go to the cross of Calvary.

Warren Wiersbe said, “From the human perspective, the death of Christ was a dastardly deed involving unspeakable suffering and humiliation, but from the divine perspective, it was the revelation of the glory of God.” During this moment of Christ on the cross, the whole world would see that there was a Messiah who came to shed His blood for the sins of men so that they all might be saved. Jesus has offered Himself as the covering for the sins of the world. 1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Is it not amazing that even today, two thousand years after the death of Christ, the cross for us still serves as a symbol of glorious victory, not defeat? When we see an empty cross, we are reminded

that we are on the winning side because Christ has risen and is in Heaven! His Death Slide 1B

His Deity

When Christ speaks of His glorification, He is referring to His deity or identity. He is declaring that the world will see Him as He is—the true Son of God. The Bible is clear that Jesus Christ is eternal in nature, but He took on the form of man.

John 1:12 KJV 1900

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

John 1:14 KJV 1900

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Jesus is the eternal Word. But in Bethlehem’s manger, deity became wrapped in humanity. God took on human flesh that He might die on the cross. Bear in mind that from the manger to the cross, Jesus never ceased being God. In Romans 1:4, we read that Jesus declares His glory in being God. Romans 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

The American statesman, Daniel Webster, was invited to dinner with some distinguished literary men in Boston. During the dinner the conversation turned to Christianity, and Webster clearly stated his belief in the deity of Christ and his dependence upon the atonement. One man said to him, “Mr. Webster, can you comprehend how Christ could be both God and man?” Mr. Webster promptly replied, “No, sir, I cannot comprehend it. If I could comprehend Him, He would be no greater than myself. I feel that I need a super-human Saviour.”

We may not understand the deity of Christ, but we are surely grateful that God became man, dwelt among us, and went to Calvary. It is only because Christ was both God and man that His blood covers the sins of the world.

Only God could be so loving as to die on a cross and so powerful as to rise again from the grave. Not only was Christ God who became man, but He also glorified the Father.

Verse 32 tells us that God was glorified in and through Christ. Christ’s work on the cross, obedience to God’s will, and display of God’s nature brought great glory to the Father. John 17:1, 4 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

Every step Jesus took was with the desire to glorify God. What about you? Are you living your life to the glory of God or to the glory of self?

We will not obey Christ’s command to love one another if we are living for our own glory. We must be living for the glory of God.

1. The CLAIM of Christ

2. The COMMAND to the Church

As the time for His death on the cross drew near, Jesus had some final words for His disciples.

The Command to Love

Discussion Jesus told His disciples to love one another. Who are the “one another” people in your life to whom you should show love? Before parting with His disciples, Jesus tells them in verse 34, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another.”

The word commandment is an authoritative prescription. It is an injunction that Jesus was giving the church. We need to realize that loving one another is not an option—it is imperative. If we are not loving each other in a Christ-like way, we are disobeying a direct order.

Jesus wants us to follow His example of how to love.

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Not only does Jesus want us to love others the way He did, but He also wants us to have the right motivation for loving.

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:

What is our love toward others? Is it just a performance? Or is it something we do simply to check off our list? We ought to love others because the love of Christ flows through us

Galatians 2:20 KJV 1900

20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

That is the only right motivation for loving.

Galatians 5:13–14 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

The liberty mentioned in this passage is distinct from the world’s concept of freedom, which often promotes selfish interests. Instead, our God-given liberty is the freedom to serve one another and demonstrate the love of Christ. When God commands us to love one another, He also shows us how to do it.

The COMMAND

The PATTERN

In verse 34, Jesus told His disciples to love one another “as I have loved you.” The disciples were commanded to love others with the same standard and kind of love that Jesus had for them.

Remember that Jesus commanded the disciples to love one another after He had washed their feet. He was about to die on the cross for the world. Here was Jesus Christ, hours before giving His life as a sacrifice for our sins, washing the feet of His disciples. This is love.

A. Carson said, “The disciple of Jesus will stand out in the world because of the divine quality of His love.” How are we to love others the way Jesus loved us?

• SACRIFICE

Jesus demonstrated His love for us by giving His own life. In turn, we are to love sacrificially by giving ourselves to others. Discussion What are specific ways we can “lay down our lives for the brethren” as instructed in 1 John 3:16? What would showing sacrificial love look like for you this week?

1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

A NARRATIVE POEM BY ROSE THORPE WRITTEN 1867

A young lady named Bessie was madly in love with a young cavalier named Basil Underwood. They were engaged and soon to be married. A sentence of death was passed upon young Basil, convicted of spying. The execution was to be carried out at the setting of the sun when the curfew bell tolled.

Under the rule of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England during the seventeenth century, a soldier was sentenced to death for his crimes. The soldier was to be executed at the ringing of the evening curfew bell. When the time came, however, the bell did not sound. The soldier’s fiancé had climbed the bell tower and wrapped her body on the great clapper of the bell to prevent it from striking when the ropes were pulled. When she was brought before Cromwell to explain her actions, the weeping fiancé showed him her bloodied hands, arms, and skull.

Moved by her actions, Cromwell pardoned the soldier and said, “Your lover shall live because of your sacrifice. Curfew shall not ring tonight!”

1 Similarly, we were doomed to die at the sound of the judgment bell because of our sins, but Christ took our place and died on the cross. He delivered us from death that we might have a home in Heaven. That is how much Christ loves us! When we examine our lives, do we see sacrificial love? In our families, do we only love our children when they are obedient? What about our love toward our spouses? Christ commands husbands to love their wives “even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25).

• RIGHTEOUS

We need to bear in mind that while God’s love is sacrificial, it is also righteous. It does not permit us to sin.

When the woman caught in adultery was brought before Jesus, He forgave her but told her to stop sinning. John 8:10–11 10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. God, in His infinite wisdom, can love a sinner without condoning his sin. Similarly, as a church, we must embrace sinners but not their sins.

• CONTINUAL

In addition to being sacrificial and righteous, God’s love is also constant. Isn’t it wonderful that God’s love is not a part-time or on-and-off feeling, but a full-time commitment?

Romans 8:38–39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We may have different backgrounds or pasts, but God loves us all the same and will never stop loving us. His constant love for us should motivate us to love others continuously.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

In our flesh, loving others may seem like a difficult task. We might even balk at it. But God has commanded us to love one another.

The good thing is that God’s commands come with His enablement. He has given us the Holy Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit is love. When we are yielded to the Holy Spirit, we find that we are able to love one another as commanded.

3. The Identification of Love

Something amazing happens when we live out God’s command to love one another.

Verse 35 of our text tells us that the people around us begin to identify us as Christ’s disciples when they see the love we show one to another. We know we are following God’s commandment when love for others is evident in our lives.

A Testimony

We develop our testimony based on the way we act. What kind of testimony do you have? Would those around you identify you as a Christian? God wants people to know that we are different from the world because we know Him. If you know Christ as your personal Saviour and are following His example of love, you will develop an outward testimony that reflects Christ. As the following passages show, a believer in Christ will take the lead in helping others when he sees a need.

1 John 3:17–18 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

James 2:15–16 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

When we love God, we can love anyone regardless of the kind of person they are. This is simply because God loves everyone. None of us are deserving of God’s love, yet He extended it to us.

One author said, “When you love people who are like you, that’s ordinary. When you love people who are unlike you, that’s extraordinary. When you love people who dislike you, that’s revolutionary.”3

The love we have for one another is an outward testimony to others that we are followers of Christ.

A Testimony

An Ownership

Christ tells us in verse 35 that when we love one another, the world will know that we are His disciples—that we belong to Him. Discussion Who is a mature Christian you look up to? In what ways do you see Christlike, sacrificial love in his or her life?

We can tell if someone is a fan of a certain music group or sports team by the way they express their love for it. They talk about their favorite team often or don the team jersey to show their affiliation.

Similarly, the world will see that we belong to Christ through our love for one another. If we truly love the Lord, we would want to love others too and show that we are followers of Christ.

Mark 12:29–31 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Conclusion

Suggestion Encourage your group to think of ways they can demonstrate love, especially to unbelievers. Ask them to suggest specific things they can do for someone this week that will reflect their love for Christ.

What sets Christians apart from the world? Love. And specifically our love for each other. God’s command for us to love one another is to show the world the love of Christ in us. When we love God, our natural desire is to obey His commandments.

Jesus Christ first showed us the perfect example of love by dying for our sins. He then instructs us to follow in His footsteps by loving one another sacrificially, righteously, and constantly. Our demonstration of love identifies us as His disciples and points the world toward God. Perhaps you do not yet know Christ as your Saviour. God wants you to know that He loves you and sent His Son to die for you. You too can be part of the family of God if you receive Christ as your Saviour today.

1 John 4:9–10 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

If you are saved, the people around you should see Christ in you through your love.