A New Commandment
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Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Introduction
Introduction
Context - The betrayal of Judas - The Lord’s reference to the disciples as “little children”
The Lord is speaking to his disciples after Judas had betrayed him. Christ is alone with his disciples and refers to them as “little children”. All men are not children of God. All men are created by God, but a special distinction is given to those who are believers, those who have been redeemed. It’s important for us to consider this because the way the Lord is addressing his disciples is the way the Lord is addressing us.
“little children”
And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
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:
Paul uses similar terminology:
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
John as well:
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.
And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
With this in mind we can begin to understand the important message the Lord has for his followers. The Old Testament Law required a man to love his neighbor but this love was a different kind of love, a love without bounds, a love without end, a love without measure, a love displayed and personified like never before.
Transition
Transition
A preacher once asked a class, “What do you do with the commandments in the Bible?” A little old lady raised her hand and answered, “I underline them in blue.”
Okay, but then what do you do with them? Underlining all the commandments in blue may help you spot them as you read your Bible. But the point of the commands in the Bible is that we obey them, not just underline them in blue.
If we all were to rate ourselves on a scale of 1-10 on how well we obey the biblical command to love others, probably most of us would put down a 7 or 8. Maybe a few would dare to score a 9. A 10? Hey, no one’s perfect! But I have a hunch that most of us think, “You know, I’m a basically loving person, but I sure wish my mate (or kids or roommate) would be more loving.”
It is important for us to remember that Jesus is giving us a command not a suggestion. It is not merely a good idea that we get our eyes off of ourselves and love our fellow Christian brothers and sisters it is a command from the Lord. The focus and the theme of the command is love, so it would be important for us to consider this love in greater detail.
We are going to look at:
1. The impulse of this love
2. The impact of this love
3. The Imperative of this love
First let’s notice ....
I. The Impulse of this Love (vs 34)
I. The Impulse of this Love (vs 34)
(The driving motivation)
“as I have loved you”
How had Jesus loved them?
That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
A. He loved them sacrificially
A. He loved them sacrificially
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
B. He loved them indiscriminately
B. He loved them indiscriminately
Note how different the disciples were - Peter was impulsive, Thomas was doubting etc....
Simon the Zealot - He chose Simon the Zealot.Zealots were a radical political group that used intrigue, violence, force, and deception to try to achieve its goal of liberating Palestine from Roman rule. They refused to pay taxes and they attacked and murdered government officials, especially the hated tax collectors.
Matthew the Tax Collector- The tax-collectors had sold their souls to Rome. They milked the Jewish people of their money in order to line their own pockets. You could not have put two men of more diverse backgrounds into the same group if you had tried! These are the men that Jesus is telling to love one another!
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
What makes this difficult for us?
The height of self centered nature is the inability to love anyone who is not like us!
Quote: There are two ways of being united -- one is by being frozen together, and the other is by being melted together. What Christians need is to be united in brotherly love, and then they may expect to have power.
Moody's Anecdotes, p. 53.
B. He loved them unconditionally
B. He loved them unconditionally
Immediately following this command to love as Christ had loved, the Lord tells Peter that he would deny him.
Peter does indeed deny the Lord - but he uses him on the day of Pentecost to preach in a powerful way!
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Illustration: In his book. Lee: The Last Years, Charles Bracelen Flood reports that after the Civil War, Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky lady who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her house. There she bitterly cried that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Federal artillery fire. She looked to Lee for a word condemning the North or at least sympathizing with her loss. After a brief silence, Lee said, "Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it." It is better to forgive the injustices of the past than to allow them to remain, let bitterness take root and poison the rest of our life. Michael Williams.
Application: If the Lord can forgive Peter than we can forgive our brethren
The Impulse of His love ..... now notice
II. The Impact of this Love (vs 35)
II. The Impact of this Love (vs 35)
(The desired result)
“by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples”
Do you think it is important for men to know that we are disciples of Christ?
And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
The early church was a distinct picture of love toward one another that impacted the world
In Acts 2:44 as the church was in its infancy they sold their possessions to care for one another
They bound together to get the work of the gospel done
Soul winning and outreach is important but so is loving one another!
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
The Impulse of this love.... the impact of this love and finally .....
III. The Imperative of this Love (vs 35)
III. The Imperative of this Love (vs 35)
(The demanding conjunction)
“if ye have love one to another”
“If” is an interesting word. In the English language it is known as a conjunction. In other words, it is a connector of phrases or ideas. In the passage before us the Bible says “if” because God never forces his will on any of us, he commands and we have the choice to obey.
This Love we are describing is not some manufactured emotion, it is simply meaningful obedience
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
What can we do this week to show love to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ?
Do you know someone who is hurting?
Do you know someone who is struggling?
Conclusion
Conclusion
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
1. The impulse of this love - Christ’s example is our driving motivation
2. The impact of this love - That the world may know is our desired result
3. The Imperative of this love - The choice we make reminds us of the demanding conjunction