John 13:34-35; 14:21-24; 15:12-17

"Salita al Calvario" ("The Climb to Calvary"), By Giacomo Jaquerio, 1430.

This week in our L3 journals we have had readings in John 13, 14, 15, and the beginning of chapter 16. In this section of the Gospel of John, we see Jesus repeatedly emphasizing one characteristic of true believers above all others: love. Jesus tells His disciples that love is the new commandment; love is the proof that they are His followers; love for Him is the motive for keeping His commandments; and the greatest love is demonstrated by self-sacrifice.

Love Is The New Commandment

In John 13:34, Jesus tells His disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another (ESV).” This new commandment of love supersedes all the commands that were given before. Jesus says elsewhere that, by loving God completely and loving our neighbor as ourselves, we would be fulfilling all the rest of the commandments in Scripture (Mt. 22:36-40). Here we also see Jesus giving us the standard of the type of love: His own love for us. We are to love each other the way He loved us. John echoes this thought in 1 John 4:10-11, where he writes, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” Jesus’ sacrificial death to rescue us is the example and the standard of our love for one another.

Love Is The Proof

Immediately following this, Jesus says that our love for one another will be the way that people will know that we are His followers (John 13:35). Our love is the proof that we are His disciples. Again, in 1 John, we can see this thought echoed: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love (1 John 4:7-8).” Love for others is the defining characteristic of our transformation in Christ from being born again in Him.

Love Is The Motive

In our world, there are numerous motives one can have for doing anything. There are many reasons we can give ourselves for obedience to God’s commands. Jesus gives us the only one that is valid: love (John 14:21, 23). We are to obey His commandments, not from fear or in a quest for approval, but because of love. When we truly love Him, we will do what He calls us to do. When we truly love Him, we will love others as well. Love is our motive.

No Greater Love

Jesus says in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Love, taken to its ultimate and deepest level, is demonstrated by self-sacrifice. When we are willing to give our lives for others, whether in living or in dying, we demonstrate the greatest form of love. Jesus’ love is our example, demonstrated in the most amazing wayat the cross of Calvary.

The Bottom Line

May our love, for our Savior and for others, be the command we live by. May our love be the proof of our relationship with Christ. May love be the motive for all we do in this life. May we all lay down our lives for one another in the name of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

In the Son,

Bill Horn
FBC Worship Arts Pastor