A New Commandment

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Imagine being called to the highest honor in the land. There really is no parallel is modern society, but imagine if you were called to study under the premier, unparalleled leader in a given field…what an honor that would be. Maybe perhaps you get a phone call from Dr. Henry Brem. Most of you are like, “Umm…okay?” But, he holds the Harvey Cushing Chair of Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. Or, Dr. Peter Black, who holds a similar position at Harvard Medical School. And they said, “Come work under me and I’ll teach you everything I know and I have full confidence you can do everything I can do…and then some.”

Would you jump at the opportunity?

Why do I mention this? Because I think it frames the discussion we get to have this morning…about Jesus…and about His followers…and about the context we find ourselves in. We’re getting dropped into the center of the gospel, and most of the Passion Week is already over. What do we know?

Jesus has called 12 disciples to follow Him.

Jesus graduated 11 from His academy. By the way, if Jesus doesn’t score 100% on this, what makes us think we will?!

And now, He’s in Jerusalem…He just celebrated the Passover, and He’s giving His disciples a farewell address.

So, turn with me to John 13:31.

Read.

Pray.

Explore

What does it mean to be a disciple?

Historical rabbi/disciple relationship.

“Before I go…” context for this teaching…namely, go and do as I have done.

A New Commandment

The cross and God’s glory.

First, the “foot washing” context.

Then, Jesus' glorification is closely tied to His obedience and death. He had reached the end of His ministry. HE had both taught and modeled His upcoming death. This brought the unique holiness of both the Father and the Son into view.

This verse speaks of the death of Christ as the glory of God, Jesus’ absolute surrender to the will of God to redeem the people of God. In turn, God will ultimately glorify the Son as Jesus is resurrected and raised to the right hand of the Father, restored to the position He had before His incarnation.

What theological insight John brings to the table. The glory of God is explicitly displayed in the cross of Christ as the love of is God is proclaimed to the world. This is a significant expression of the fact that God is Himself love, and the expression of His love puts His holiness on display.

If we are disciples of Jesus, and His utter obedience to the point of death brings glory to God and puts His greatness on display, we must do the same. As a matter of fact, He’s just stated that explicitly (John 13:15 “For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”), and He’ll state it in another way in just a moment. It’s the sending…marching orders of the rabbi…go and be like me.

Jesus then breaks some news that’s probably gut-wrenching. John 13:33 “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’”

Imagine the shock to the disciples’ ears when Jesus tells them they will not be able to find Him because where He is going they cannot come. This could further explain Jesus’ compassionate address to the disciples when He calls them little children. But, it sets the stage for point number two:

The cross and our love.

This command is new, not in the chronological sense, but in terms of quality and priority (kainos vs. neos), much like the new heaven and earth in Revelation.

The new dynamic to Christ's command is the example of love HE set before us. We are to love as HE has loved. The love of Christ was manifested in selflessness and service. But, going even further, Jesus both taught and modeled love for our enemies. Remember that I once was a traitor to the Kingdom of God, and it was in my ignorant rebellion that Christ died for one. This is why Paul accurately says to have the mind in us that was in Christ as we seek to prefer others over self (Phil.2:3-11). Further, this new love does not consider whether or not the loved one is worthy. Rather, it freely gives of itself in obedience to his Lord. Jesus’ love was sacrificial. But, when’s the last time we loved to the point that it hurt? How often do we love only for what we get in return? Is that love like Christ? Loving like Christ means we will be inclusive, indiscriminate, and universal in our expression of love. Who does not bear the image of God? Who is unworthy of the love of God? If the answer to these questions is “no one,” then it is a reminder that no one is unworthy of our love as well. So, how do we express this love? First, consider what we’ve been taught:

Love your enemy and pray for them.

Love your neighbor as yourself. For some practical principles to do this, consider: 1.) Earnestly desire the greater good for all. Pause, and ask, what’s going to be the best for everyone in this situation? 2.) Seek to do good toward others whenever and however possible. How can I serve others in a way that I would want to be loved? 3.) Forgive. 4.) Bear with one another’s faults. 5.) Build others up when they’ve stumbled.

Why is love important? It’s the true disciple test. And, if we’re called to be disciples (we are…that’s the call of THE GOSPEL), then we are to spend time with our Jesus, be like Jesus in our character, and do like Jesus in our interactions with others. He says if we do this, the world we know we follow Christ. Consider this sobering thought: the world is essentially given permission to judge the believer and the validity of their faith based on the love they have for one another. This is why Francis Schaeffer called love the “final apologetic.” What is the first thing that the world thinks of when they think of Jesus followers? Tertullian, writing in the third century, noted that pagans saw the early Christians as people loved “one another!” and were “…ready to die for one another!” Robert Mounce says, “If contemporary Christianity is weak and ineffectual, it is not because of opposition from outside but because we who call ourselves ‘Christians’ have forgotten the mandate to love one another even as Jesus loved His own.”

Love is the smoking gun, if you will. Weigh your life, your thoughts, your actions, your reactions. What do they reflect? Is it a life that is self-centered and demanding of others. Everyone else better get in line with your world order? Or, is it a life that serves? When’s the last time you entertained lepers? When’s the last time you comforted a prostitute? When’s the last time we forgave until it hurts? How quick we are to celebrate the addict’s recovery, but are we willing to get our hands dirty to get him there? And, I’m not offering this a condemnation to anyone. Where would the world be without the love that has come from the church? We’re not a perfect system, for sure, and we have to constantly be on guard. What I’m asking is for my own…and your own personal introspection. What am I doing? How am I loving? Am I like Jesus in this world? Because that’s what I’ve been called to be.

Finally…

The cross and our comfort

There is unity in the family of faith, which is ultimately established by the death and resurrection of Jesus. But, the gospel also meant separation between Jesus and His disciples…where He was going, they couldn’t go…they couldn’t die His death…they couldn’t be raised to the Father’s side as He would be.

Jesus gives the call to love just after He says He is going “where” His disciples “cannot come.” His first offer of consolation comes in the call to love one another. We will certainly be tempted to search for comfort in the arms of the world, but the deep and abiding relationship Christians have through the unifying power of the gospel should stand above any comfort the world extends. This is the command of the kingdom, the ethic of life under the Lordship of Jesus: love. It particularly bears it's self out in relation to other members of the kingdom.

We just finished an entire series on the persecution the church will face at the hands of Babylon. Where will we go? This rugged Americanism that says, “Just pull yourself up by the bootstraps,” that’s not what the disciple’s life is about. It centers on love. We need each other.