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THE NEW COMMANDMENT FROM OUR LORD – :31-38 September 2 & 3, 2017

TEXT: John 13:31-38 MEMORY VERSE: Colossians 3:12-15

THE PREFACE – verse 33. has said the same thing to the Jewish leaders earlier – 7:33-34. But what is the significance here? Jesus is about to depart from the world. The only example of this kind of love the world had ever known was about to be taken from it. Jesus was Himself love, for He is God and God is love (I :8). He was about to prove this by dying on the cross. This was followed by His resurrection and then His ascension into heaven. How was the world to see this kind of love demonstrated when He was about to be taken from them?

• THE ANSWER is that the world was to see this love in those who are Jesus’ disciples. The disciples are to love as He loved. It is as if Jesus said, “ going; therefore, you must be as I have been in this world.”

In this setting Jesus, who was about to be taken from them, points out that now it is precisely one another whom they must love.

• The vertical love for the exalted Christ must be expressed horizontally in their love for other Christians. In fact, the horizontal love, which can be seen by everyone, is proof of the vertical love for their Master.

NEW AND OLD THINGS. In Matthew 13, Jesus spoke of a teacher of the law being like an owner of a house, who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old (Matthew 13:52). Here, Jesus is like that as He gives a command that is both new and ancient.

If the commandment was an old one – recorded in the first five books of the , in what sense is it new? How can Jesus call it a “new commandment”? The answer is that Jesus raises it to a new level and gives it an entirely new significance. We can say that it is given a new object; it is to be exercised according to a new measure; it is made possible by a new power. Each of these are found in what Jesus said.

1. The command to love received a NEW OBJECT. The verse in Leviticus instructs the Jew to love his neighbor as himself. But the neighbor is Jewish as the first half of the verse makes clear, the sons of your people. But in Jesus’ command, the relationship is spiritual; the “neighbor” is any believer in Christ. 2. Not only does Jesus’ command have a new object, it also is to be exercised according to a NEW MEASURE. What was love before this? A vague feeling of good will? A need to free a relative who had become a slave? Probably and perhaps a bit more. BUT it was not that measure of love seen in what God did to rescue sinners. o We see this kind of love described in I Corinthians 13:4-8. Here is the love that Jesus brought, and it was a new thing in the world. 3. This command to love is also new in that it is made possible by a new power – the power of the . Here is the very life of our Lord Jesus in each believer. Oh, how much we need this! Without it we cannot even begin to love as Jesus loved because such love cannot be achieved by mere human strength. JESUS OUR EXAMPLE – verses 33-34. What does our obedience look like to this command to love each other? Jesus is the perfect example, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. Jesus’ love is the full measure of our love for each other.

This is a difficult topic. What helps me in this is to remember that Jesus is the perfect example of what this love looks like. Which brings me to I Corinthians 13 (the “love chapter”). So much of what Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in this chapter could be directly attributed to our Lord Jesus.

• God’s will is that we grow in the love, knowledge, and grace of our Lord Jesus. Let’s make this growth a priority in our lives.

CONCLUSION. LET US LOVE. Today, we should get more out of this command than the disciples did on the first occasion that Jesus spoke it. I think that not one of them fully understood what it meant (were they really listening?). We know this because of the discussion that follows verses 35-37.

This was shocking to the disciples and it filled them with dismay and crowded out what Jesus was saying about the new commandment – verses 33-38. Jesus barely finished speaking about the new commandment when Peter broke in, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus stops to answer Peter and before He can get back to the subject of the new commandment, Thomas jumps in – 14:1-6. Jesus answers Thomas’ question but does not go back to the subject of this new commandment.

We should notice Jesus’ patience with His disciples – and His patience with us. Regarding the New Commandment, the Lord brought us His instruction through the apostle John many years later. John wrote this down in I John.

THREE FINAL THOUGHTS plus a homework assignment: I :7-11, 3:11-18, 4:7-21, and 5:1-5. Notice the following when you get to I John 4:7-21:

1. We should love one another because that love is God’s nature. I John 4:7-8. John’s argument is that if we are truly God’s children, we will bear the characteristics of our Father. 2. John tells us that we should love because love led to God’s gift. I John 4:9-11. In these verses, John reminds us that we were spiritually dead before God sent His Son to die for us. But when Christ died for us, and when, by the work of the Holy Spirit, we were made alive spiritually, we were able to believe on Christ and recognize the in Christ, which stood behind the sacrifice. 3. Finally, we are told that we should love one another in that love is God’s present and continuing activity. God is not creating the world today; He has already done that. He is not sending Jesus to die; Jesus has already died, resurrected, and ascended. Okay then, what is God doing today in the lives of His people? Answer: He is working in us through love in order that those who do not know Him might see Him through His love working in us. I John 4:11-12 – AND THUS MEN SEE GOD THROUGH OUR LOVE.

God grant us that we may walk in this love for each other and truly be Your disciples. John 13:35