Love One Another John 13

‘“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another”’ (John 13:34-35, NASB). One of the key words in the writings of John is love. Singer Dionne Warwick recorded a song that expressed human need for love. “What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s too little of.” Singer Tina Turner asked the question, “What’s love got to do with it?” In his writings, which include the Gospel of John and the three epistles attributed to him, love is something that Jesus commands His disciples to do for each other in particular to all people generally. Love is the attribute of God that moves God to act on our behalf. ‘“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life”’ (John 3:16, NASB). This article is about Jesus’ commandment to His disciples to love one another. We want to address three things in this commandment. Why is it a new commandment? What example of love are the disciples supposed to follow? What is the purpose of this new commandment? Why does Jesus tell His disciples that He is giving them a new commandment? Is this the first time that Jesus has commanded people to love? We know from the Scriptures that the command to love is as old as the nation Israel. God commanded the people to love God (Deut. 6:5) and to love their neighbor as themselves (Lev. 19:18). In a conversation with one of the Pharisees Jesus says that the command to love God is the greatest commandment (Matt. 22:37) and the command to love neighbor as oneself is the second greatest commandment (v. 39). Jesus went on to say, ‘“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets”’ (v. 40, NASB). So, the command to love is not new, yet Jesus tells His disciples that He is giving them a new commandment. Let us examine what Jesus is saying to His disciples. In the Old Testament the people are commanded to love God and neighbor. This means that they are to be completely devoted to God. Their lives are to bring glory to God. Their devotion to God acts as a testimony of God’s love for them and God’s use of His power to provide, protect, and plan for His people. The aim of this testimony is to draw the peoples of the surrounding nations toward God. In John 13 Jesus is addressing the competitive relationships among His disciples. James and John the sons of Zebedee wanted to sit next to Jesus in His kingdom (Mark 10:35-37). They argued among themselves as to who would be the greatest in the kingdom (Luke 22:24). In our text today, Jesus makes the most of an opportunity to tell the disciples that it is important that they love one another. What is going on? John 13:1 tells us that Jesus and His disciples are preparing for the Feast of the Passover. Jesus knows that His earthly ministry is nearing its completion, and He will soon return to the Father. With this knowledge in mind Jesus washes the disciple’s feet as a means of showing them His love for them. He wants them to know that they are not to be competitive; instead they are to serve one another (Mark 10:42-45; Luke 10:25-27). Jesus is about to go back to the Father, and He is about to give them instructions to carry on His ministry until he comes again. Jesus knows that He is sending His disciples into a hostile world. The world will reject the gospel, and the world will seek to destroy them. They must be united together so that they will be able to carry out their mission. Competition will divide them, but love will unite them. Jesus says that He is giving them a new commandment to emphasize that they will need each other. Thus, the command is new because it is a particular love that they are to have for each other. Jesus knows that they cannot expect everyone to be concerned about their welfare, so they must depend on each other. Here are two questions for discussion. Why do Christians look for unbelievers to take sides with them? Why do we put our relationships with unbelievers on equal footing as that of our fellow believers? Do the disciples have an example of this love? Yes. Jesus tells them they are to love one another as he has loved them. First, Jesus gives them an example when He washes their feet. He is teacher and master but instead of using His status to demand service He serves them. You might ask: Why is this so important? Jesus took on the form of a servant to save His people by dying on the cross. Later, in His prayer Jesus prays to the Father on behalf of His disciples. ‘“I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom you have given Me; for they are yours”’ (John 17:9, NASB). ‘“While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be filled”’ (v. 12). It is true that God loved the world and gave His Son Jesus as a sacrifice for sin, but He is not here praying for those who are in the world. What is the purpose of this new commandment? Jesus answers the question when He says, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (13:35). The purpose of this new commandment is to demonstrate to the world that God loves those who believe in Jesus in a unique way. They show that they are His disciples because they show that they have learned His ways. They have taken on His nature. As they take the Gospel into the world they demonstrate their willingness to trust God for their journey. They do not seek to be accepted by the world as a whole. Instead, they take the Gospel into the world so that people will hear of God’s love for them, and His desire to save them from their sins and give to them eternal life. Jesus commands His disciples to love one another. As stated above their love for one another is unique to the community of believers. This does not mean that the people of God are not supposed to love all people. Just as God loved the world and sought to be reconciled to all through the death of Jesus Christ we too are to love the unsaved and tell them of God’s love, grace, and mercy demonstrated most clearly in the atoning death of His Son. Just as Jesus had compassion on all people Christians too are to show compassion to all people. Finally, love which comes from the Greek word agapao is not natural to human beings. Love is a term that describes the nature of God. Thus, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to His disciples so that they too might participate in God’s nature. John writes these words: “beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 7-8, NASB). God’s people must love one another if they expect to bring non believers into the kingdom of God.