#21 Top 40 New Testament Passages: The New Commandment (John 13:34-35)
"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus is mysterious. He is the Only Begotten sent by the heavenly Father. He has insight and foreknowledge that confounds both his disciples and the religious leadership of his day. Jesus speaks in riddles. It is a literary tool used by John to give the feeling that the hearers and readers of his account are receiving special revelation. Jesus is uncovering mysteries from the spiritual world for us to see. One example is the timing of the things God has planned for Jesus's earthly ministry.
When Jesus was approached by Greek speaking Jews, He realized that word of him had spread into the wider world beyond Palestine. (John 12:20) When his disciples told him the Greeks wanted to speak to him, Jesus said,
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” (John 12:23-28)
This incident is important in understanding what is happening during that last supper with Jesus and his disciples. He knows he is going to die. John's gospel almost seems to contradict the other gospel accounts. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prays that he not suffer and die. Jesus sweats drops of blood, a physical malady caused by great anxiety. (Luke 22:44) He asks God to "remove this cup from me." (Mark 14:36) But in John 12:27 Jesus, while he acknowledges his emotionally troubled soul, He faces the cross with courage. He is the obedient Son of God. He will see his mission of salvation through to the bitter end!
Andrew Lloyd Weber captures the emotion in the song Gethsemane in the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. Jesus prays/sings:
God, Thy will is hard,
but You hold every card!
I will drink your cup of poison
Nail me to your cross and break me
Bleed me, beat me, kill me
Take me now, before I change my mind!
It is in light of this drama that Jesus meets with his disciples one last time. With the cross looming over him, with terrible suffering and death soon to fall upon him, Jesus gathers his chosen friends to impart to them hope and a new commandment.
He first washes their feet, something that servants do. They were astounded at this humble act. Peter didn't even want to let Jesus wash his feet. In Simon Peter's mind Jesus was above such a lowly task. But Jesus set us an example to follow, that we are to humbly serve each other.
Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:4-8)
They share in their final meal. Jesus reveals Judas as his betrayer and bids him to get on with what he had planned. Judas took the sacramental bread and wine from Jesus, consumed it (John is showing us that even Judas received pardon from our Lord). Then Judas went out into the dark of night to do the dirty deed.
Once Judas had left Jesus gave his disciples a new command to love one another. He proclaims that he has been glorified and will further be glorified by His Father in heaven. Judas' betrayal, and the forgiveness that will come as a result of his betrayal, is the beginning of Christ's glory. Christ will be glorified in his sacrifice upon the cross. The cross will become a symbol that will draw all people to Jesus. (John 12:32-33) For in the cross God is destroying the enslaving power of sin in humanity. And in the resurrection of Jesus, God is destroying death. It is a glory Jesus knew before time began (John 17:5) It is resurrection glory, something mysterious and life-changing that Christ will share with His disciples. (John 17:22)
The heavenly glory of Christ will be experienced by the disciples in the unity and love of their fellowship. If the Christian community shows unity in the love of Christ, then it will be a convincing sign to the world that Jesus truly came to us from God. (John 17:23) Our unity in Christian love is a sign that Jesus truly is the savior of the world, that He is the divine Son of God and Messiah.
And so Jesus gives His church the new commandment to love one another. I often include the new commandment when speaking of Christian morality. Love is the law. It is the one rule that guides our lives as followers of Jesus. We are called to love God with all that we are and all we possess. We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. This implies we must love ourselves. We cannot love ourselves until we know the love of God shown us in the cross of Christ, for only then we can love ourselves in full knowledge of our forgiven sinfulness. Those who love much have been forgiven much! (Luke 7:47) And the new command is for members of the body of Christ to have loving regard for one another. How Christians love each other is a witness to the truth about Jesus.
Unfortunately we fail to love as Christ has loved us. We bicker and create division in the church. Rather than practice the hard work that forgiveness sometimes requires, we take the easy way out and wound the body of Christ, rather than heal it. If there ever was a time for the body of Christ to shine with heaven's glory, it is now. Our world is in turmoil during the health crisis caused by the Coronavirus. We need to unite, heal our divisions, and serve our neighbors in the love and humility of Jesus. We have a great opportunity to shine the light of love.
After Jesus was raised from the dead, Simon Peter got tried of hanging around Jerusalem. He and some of the other disciples went back home to Galilee. Peter decided to go back to what he had known before Jesus, that is fishing. Our temptation in this frightening and uncomfortable time is to do the same. Rather than rise in ministry, we want comfortable activities to endure the quarantine. Turn to the telephone and reach out in loving concern. Post to social networks hopeful encouragement. Let your light shine. Love one another so that the world will know that you are disciples of Jesus.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus is mysterious. He is the Only Begotten sent by the heavenly Father. He has insight and foreknowledge that confounds both his disciples and the religious leadership of his day. Jesus speaks in riddles. It is a literary tool used by John to give the feeling that the hearers and readers of his account are receiving special revelation. Jesus is uncovering mysteries from the spiritual world for us to see. One example is the timing of the things God has planned for Jesus's earthly ministry.
When Jesus was approached by Greek speaking Jews, He realized that word of him had spread into the wider world beyond Palestine. (John 12:20) When his disciples told him the Greeks wanted to speak to him, Jesus said,
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” (John 12:23-28)
This incident is important in understanding what is happening during that last supper with Jesus and his disciples. He knows he is going to die. John's gospel almost seems to contradict the other gospel accounts. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prays that he not suffer and die. Jesus sweats drops of blood, a physical malady caused by great anxiety. (Luke 22:44) He asks God to "remove this cup from me." (Mark 14:36) But in John 12:27 Jesus, while he acknowledges his emotionally troubled soul, He faces the cross with courage. He is the obedient Son of God. He will see his mission of salvation through to the bitter end!
Andrew Lloyd Weber captures the emotion in the song Gethsemane in the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. Jesus prays/sings:
God, Thy will is hard,
but You hold every card!
I will drink your cup of poison
Nail me to your cross and break me
Bleed me, beat me, kill me
Take me now, before I change my mind!
It is in light of this drama that Jesus meets with his disciples one last time. With the cross looming over him, with terrible suffering and death soon to fall upon him, Jesus gathers his chosen friends to impart to them hope and a new commandment.
 |
| Jesus Washed the Feet of His Disciples |
Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:4-8)
They share in their final meal. Jesus reveals Judas as his betrayer and bids him to get on with what he had planned. Judas took the sacramental bread and wine from Jesus, consumed it (John is showing us that even Judas received pardon from our Lord). Then Judas went out into the dark of night to do the dirty deed.
Once Judas had left Jesus gave his disciples a new command to love one another. He proclaims that he has been glorified and will further be glorified by His Father in heaven. Judas' betrayal, and the forgiveness that will come as a result of his betrayal, is the beginning of Christ's glory. Christ will be glorified in his sacrifice upon the cross. The cross will become a symbol that will draw all people to Jesus. (John 12:32-33) For in the cross God is destroying the enslaving power of sin in humanity. And in the resurrection of Jesus, God is destroying death. It is a glory Jesus knew before time began (John 17:5) It is resurrection glory, something mysterious and life-changing that Christ will share with His disciples. (John 17:22)
The heavenly glory of Christ will be experienced by the disciples in the unity and love of their fellowship. If the Christian community shows unity in the love of Christ, then it will be a convincing sign to the world that Jesus truly came to us from God. (John 17:23) Our unity in Christian love is a sign that Jesus truly is the savior of the world, that He is the divine Son of God and Messiah.
And so Jesus gives His church the new commandment to love one another. I often include the new commandment when speaking of Christian morality. Love is the law. It is the one rule that guides our lives as followers of Jesus. We are called to love God with all that we are and all we possess. We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. This implies we must love ourselves. We cannot love ourselves until we know the love of God shown us in the cross of Christ, for only then we can love ourselves in full knowledge of our forgiven sinfulness. Those who love much have been forgiven much! (Luke 7:47) And the new command is for members of the body of Christ to have loving regard for one another. How Christians love each other is a witness to the truth about Jesus.
Unfortunately we fail to love as Christ has loved us. We bicker and create division in the church. Rather than practice the hard work that forgiveness sometimes requires, we take the easy way out and wound the body of Christ, rather than heal it. If there ever was a time for the body of Christ to shine with heaven's glory, it is now. Our world is in turmoil during the health crisis caused by the Coronavirus. We need to unite, heal our divisions, and serve our neighbors in the love and humility of Jesus. We have a great opportunity to shine the light of love.
After Jesus was raised from the dead, Simon Peter got tried of hanging around Jerusalem. He and some of the other disciples went back home to Galilee. Peter decided to go back to what he had known before Jesus, that is fishing. Our temptation in this frightening and uncomfortable time is to do the same. Rather than rise in ministry, we want comfortable activities to endure the quarantine. Turn to the telephone and reach out in loving concern. Post to social networks hopeful encouragement. Let your light shine. Love one another so that the world will know that you are disciples of Jesus.
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