31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 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. 34 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. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Jesus’s disciples had been with him for almost 3 years
They had walked with him, talked with him, seen him do miracles…these had been good days
Now, Jesus is about to tell them something that would change their lives
So, to get them ready for what he was about to tell them, Jesus uses a term filled with care and overflowing with tenderness:
“My little children”
The message was a shocker: I’m going away, and you can’t come with me
But, Jesus was not telling them that they could not come to Heaven with Him; he was telling them they could not come to the cross with Him
Only Jesus could go to the cross and pay the penalty for sin on mankind
After the cross, Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection and ascension back to Heaven…after all that, the dynamics of the relationship between Jesus and his disciples would change
No longer would the disciples be able to follow him physically
And that’s not the only thing that would change: their relationship with one another was about to undergo a radical overhaul
They were to love one another
With Jesus’s departure, they are now being brought into a new community that would be defined by love
This new community would be a community that would become the church
A genuine church is a community of believers in Jesus Christ who love Him and love one another
Jesus in essence was telling them: I’m going to the cross, you can’t come there, but here’s what I want you to do: I want you to love one another
Jesus said, “a new commandment I give you, that you should love one another”
But it wasn’t really a “new” commandment that Jesus was giving them: actually, it was given years and years before that as part of the Mosaic Law, God’s Law
Lev 19:18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
So, Jesus wasn’t telling them anything new and I’m not telling you anything new: the message from Jesus is still the same, love one another
As a Christian, it is a very primary commandment
Love is what identifies us
If someone were to ask you, what are the characteristics of a Christian, the first thing that should roll off our tongues is that we love one another
Ro 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other…
What does it mean to love one another?
First, how does Jesus love?
- Jesus loves unconditionally:
He didn’t look at a person and decide whether or not to love them based on their background or current circumstances…what family they belonged to or anything else
He loved unconditionally. We should say amen to that because you and I wouldn’t be saved today if Jesus put conditions on who he loved
- Jesus loved sacrificially.
Romans 5:8 said he showed his love for us in that while we were yet sinners he loved us
Jesus loved with forgiveness:
Eph 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you
- Jesus loved eternally
Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Second: how then can the believer in Christ love as Christ loved?
Jesus said, “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another”
We have been given the Holy Spirit to help us
If we live in obedience to the Holy Spirit of God, and obey the Word of God, we can love like Christ does
Jesus taught us to show that unconditional, sacrificial, forgiving love to fellow believers, but it doesn’t stop there.
He also taught us to show the love of Christ to friends, to family members, to coworkers, etc.
Jesus even told us to love our enemies: Matthew 5:44 Jesus said to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you
In giving the command to love one another, Jesus did something the world had never seen before—He created a group, the church that would be identified by one thing: love.
There are many groups in the world today, and they identify themselves in any number of ways: by skin color, by uniform, by shared interest, by where they went to school, etc.
The ways people categorize themselves are endless.
But the church is unique.
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
For the first and only time in history, Jesus created a group whose identifying factor is love.
Skin color doesn’t matter. Native language doesn’t matter. There are no rules about diet.
Followers of Christ are identified by their love for each other.[1]
But there is something we need to understand about this commandment to love; we are not to pick and choose whom we will love
In James 2:8, James taught that if we show partiality in whom we love, that it is a sin.
We can’t just love people who are just like us…
“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
Jesus taught us to love our fellow believers in Christ: love one another
Jesus taught us to love people who are outside of the church
He taught us to love like he loved: unconditionally, sacrificially, with forgiveness
How do we size up this morning?
When someone new walks in to our church, can they feel the love that we have for each other and feel accepted and loved in our church
That someone has looked for love and acceptance in the world and they haven’t found it…
Could they come to First Baptist and find it?
Consider that question…think about it
Could someone walk in and feel love immediately and feel like there are friends here who will love me and care for me
Can someone new come in and be acclimated to this church…or is this a closed-door church?
Can they feel like we love and care for them?
Jesus told us to love one another…love Him and love people
Is that happening for us?
[1] https://www.gotquestions.org/love-one-another.html