Phil Cox

John Chapters 13 - 15


(Bible quotations are from the NIV unless otherwise stated)

John Chapters 13 - 15
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A New Commandment

3rd July 2010

John 13v30-35
As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Jesus had told His disciples that Judas was about to betray Him. Then he told Judas "What you are about to do, do quickly" (verse 27). Judas left. The next thing we hear Jesus say is "Now is the Son of Man glorified".

Jesus's glory is His willingness to make sacrifices for His people. Unlike humans who want to seem powerful, Jesus takes no pleasure is ordering us about; He chooses to be our servant (verses 13-14, see also Mark 10v42-45). We see His divine character in this: Jesus chose to let Judas betray Him.

And (verse 35) He went on to say "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." This much more radical than Leviticus 19v18, "love your neighbour as yourself" (quoted by Jesus in e.g. Matthew 22v39). That taught us to love other people in the same way that we love ourselves. Jesus explained it in Luke 6v31, "Do to others as you would have them do to you". That command is so very difficult for us to keep but this new commandment is far more difficult. Jesus commands us to love each other as He loves us. How can we obey such a commandment? Who will claim that he does?

Jesus modelled this love for us when he washed His disciples' feet in verses 1-17. He did the most menial, unpleasant task, taking the role of a servant, to help others. Now He is glorified, choosing to go to the cross for others, to be tortured and killed, for you and me.

And he says "As I have loved you, so you must love one another". We are to lay down our lives for each other. It's possible that one day, this might mean literally giving our life to save the lives of others. But day by day, it means giving up my preferences for the sake of others who have different preferences, giving up my opinion of what we should do and how we should do it, for the sake of others who have different opinions. This is even harder.

Paul said "Honour one another above yourselves" (Romans 12v10) and if we truly have this attitude to one another, we will gladly yield our opinions and our preferences to those whom we honour more than we honour ourselves. But how do we achieve this level of humility and love? Since I'm not there yet, I can't really claim to know. But I am nearer than I used to be, and I'd like to offer you several partial answers:

  • At least make this your goal. We're not there, but we should certainly be aiming to get there.
  • Every day, take deliberate choices to yield your will to the will of others (Ephesians 5:21)
  • Get a vision of how people who live meek and humble lives glorify Jesus Christ. Jesus said "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
  • Pray that God will send His Holy Spirit into your heart, to help you see how wonderful other people are and how imperfect you are.
  • Ensure that every time you submit your will to someone else's, you're doing so as your own free choice, not because you've been bullied or manipulated into doing so.

Oh, I only quoted the second part of Leviticus 19:18. The whole verse is:

Leviticus 19:18
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD.