The New Commandment

Love in Action: The New Commandment

Bible Passage: John 13:34-35

Summary: In John 13:34-35, Jesus gives His disciples a new commandment to love one another as He has loved them, emphasizing that this love is the defining mark of His followers.

Application: This sermon can encourage Christians to reflect on their relationships and the practical ways they express love to others, especially in a world that often prioritizes self-interest. It highlights the transformative power of Christ-like love in overcoming division and strife.

Teaching: The teaching emphasizes that love, modeled after Christ’s sacrificial love, should be the foundation of Christian community and the witness to the world. It challenges the audience to embody this commandment in their daily interactions.

How this passage could point to Christ: This passage points to Jesus as the fulfillment of the law through love. It illustrates how His life exemplified self-giving love, which not only redeems humanity but also instructs His followers in how to live out the commandment to love.

Big Idea: To truly follow Christ means to live out His command to love one another, demonstrating that our love is a reflection of His love for us, which serves as a powerful witness to the world.

Recommended Study: As you prepare this sermon, consider exploring the implications of the Greek terms for love used in this passage, especially how agape love differs from other forms like philia and eros. You might also want to examine how this commandment contrasts with cultural understandings of love, which you can investigate further in your Logos library to find relevant commentaries or articles on John 13. Additionally, look for insights on how the early church practiced this command and its effects on community formation.

What is the new commandment that Jesus gives to His disciples in John 13:34-35?

1. Receiving the Command

John 13:34

Maybe consider how Jesus begins with the call to love like He does—a love that is self-sacrificial and unconditional. By focusing on His invitation to love, we unlock the potential to transform relationships, communities, and even our personal anxieties. This new commandment provides a blueprint for authentic Christian living. You could highlight how embracing this love can challenge societal norms that focus on self-interest. This segment invites deep introspection about how we love others day-to-day, and how closely it resembles Christ's self-giving love.

What is the new commandment that Jesus gives to His disciples in John 13:34-35?

How does Jesus' command to love one another challenge the way we often think about love in our daily lives?

What does it mean to embody Christ's love in our daily interactions with others?

How does the sermon suggest we can practically express love to others in a self-interested world?

What are some specific characteristics of Christ's love as mentioned in the sermon?

How can understanding the Greek terms for love help us apply Jesus’ commandment in our relationships?

In what ways does the sermon encourage us to reflect on our personal relationships?

According to the sermon, how does love act as an identifying mark of true followers of Christ?

What implications does the love commandment have for community formation in the early church?

Christians, you are to love one another, not because of the gain which you get from one another, but rather because of the good you can do to one another Christ’s “New Commandment”, Volume 51, Sermon #2936 - John 13:34, 35

Charles Spurgeon

Love is all we have, the only way that each can help the other.

Euripides

When Christians do grow in their love for each other, for no other reason than because they are loved by Jesus Christ and love him in return, that growing love is an infallible sign of grace in their lives.

D. A. Carson

Love of God is the root, love of our neighbor the fruit of the Tree of Life. Neither can exist without the other, but the one is cause and the other effect.

William Temple (bishop)

7331 We do not live under a law of the jungle, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. We have a new law: Love one another as I have loved you.

John Powell

Once one begins to understand the incredible price paid for sin and the magnitude of personal sin, he will understand the love of God and demonstrate it himself (John 13:31–35)

Daniel L. Akin

7340 When you come to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Lord and Savior, he gives you a supernatural love that allows you to love your enemy whom you normally would not love.

Billy Graham

2. Revealing Our Identity

John 13:35

You could illustrate how the world recognizes true followers of Christ by their love for one another. This point underscores that love is not just a personal virtue but a community's identifying mark. In a world full of division, this Christ-like love becomes our most compelling apologetic. Encourage the audience to think about practical ways their actions can reflect Christ's love, serving as beacons of hope and transformation in their spheres of life. Emphasize that this love is evangelistic, attracting others to the truth of the Gospel.