Preached by Gregory W. Lee
23 July 2006
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to John 13
34. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
35. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
-- When Missy started her new job in the factory, she was determined to let her light shine for the Lord -- but as soon as she met her work partner, Louise -- she knew it wasn't going to be easy
-- Louise was rude, crude, defensive and hateful in every way possible -- she ridiculed everything that Missy did -- when Missy tried to befriend her and tell her about Jesus, she was rejected -- Louise said, "I tried that -- it didn't work"
-- but Missy kept trying -- she kept asking God for help -- but all she was met with was hardness
-- after a really bad day with Louise, Missy opened her Bible and cried out to God -- her eyes fell on the passage that we opened with -- Missy complained, "But I don't even like her!"
-- one day, Louise came up while Missy was on a break and sat down next to her and said, "You're the only person who cares" -- then she poured out her story of heartache and trouble -- Missy put her arms around her and they became friends
-- Louise attended church with Missy -- and eventually opened her heart to Jesus and became a Christian -- all because someone cared -- all because someone loved her first
-- this morning we are looking at a passage that is the basis for Maundy Thursday -- the Thursday of Holy Week that we celebrate in our churches -- as I'm sure you remember, this was the last night that Jesus was with His disciples -- He had ridden into Jersusalem on Palm Sunday to the praise of the crowd -- and now He had gathered with His disciples in the upper room to share in the Passover Meal and to be with them one last time
-- it was on this night that Jesus washed the feet of His disciples -- it was on this night that Jesus was betrayed and turned over to the High Priest -- and it was on this night that Jesus poured out His heart to the disciples, sharing with them His last words of instruction before He was carried to the cross
-- in this passage, Jesus tells His disciples that He is giving them a new command -- and that is where we get the term "Maundy Thursday" -- it comes from the Latin "Dies Mandati" -- "The Day of the Commandment" -- referring to Jesus' commandment for us to love one another as He loved us
-- let's spend a few moments in these verses this morning and see what Jesus is telling us today through His word
II. What about the change?
-- look back at verse 34a -- "A new command I give you" -- stop right there and let's think about that for a moment
-- Jesus says that this is a "new" command -- but, if you think about it, this was not really a new command -- Jesus had said these words before -- when the teacher of the law asked Him what the greatest commandment was, Jesus replied in Matthew 22:37-40: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
-- so this wasn't really a new commandment -- in fact, it goes back all the way to Lev 19:18 -- it tells us in there to "Love your neighbor as yourself" -- that's the Golden Rule -- and every single one of His disciples had grown up knowing the Torah -- knowing the teachings in these first five books of the Bible -- and they had already heard this coming from the lips of Jesus -- so how can this be a "new" commandment?
-- the word "new" has several definitions, all that apply here -- it can mean something that has never existed before and is now being made or introduced -- it can mean something that is just now being discovered for the first time or something that was not previously used or owned
-- another definition for "new" says that the word means something that is seen, experienced, or acquired recently or now for the first time -- and I think this is the definition that Jesus had in mind when He used this word in this passage
-- this was a "new" commandment -- not because they had never heard it -- but because they had never applied it -- they had never put it into practice in their life -- they knew the words of the commandment -- but they had never fulfilled it in their lives
-- Jesus was telling them that now they were to go out and actually do what it said -- to see it in their lives -- to experience it in their relationships with others -- to make it a part of themselves and to let others see it through their lives and their words and their actions
-- in other words, when Jesus used the word "new" here, He meant that it was time for a change -- now to give the disciples a little credit here, it wasn't their fault that they couldn't apply this commandment in their life up till now -- they just couldn't -- there is no way they could love another person as themselves using only the flesh
-- but, Jesus was about to make it possible -- He was about to send the Holy Spirit to fill them and through His power, the disciples would be able to acquire and experience and make this commandment new in their lives -- for the first time, they would be able to love as Jesus had loved -- to truly love their neighbor as themselves
-- Jesus says this is a command -- but it really is more than that -- it is a change -- a change of heart -- a change in life -- when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior and the Holy Spirit comes in, then we are a new creation -- there should be a change in who we are and what we do -- Paul tells us that our "old man" -- our flesh -- our old ways and our old lives -- are replaced with a "new" man -- a spiritual man -- a man indwelt with the Holy Spirit who is capable of loving as Jesus loved
-- as Christians, we are called to fulfill this commandment -- we are expected to fulfill this commandment -- because we are more than just men and women -- we are the sons and daughters of the King -- filled with His very presence and His power -- and, as a result, the love should just flow out of the change in our lives
-- in one of his songs called, "The Change," Steven Curtis Chapman sings that he has all the outward signs of being a Christian -- he's got the t-shirt -- he's got the WWJD bracelet -- he's got a cross necklace and keychain -- he's got Bible magnets on his refrigerator -- he's got a welcome mat to bless you as you enter his home -- he's got a Jesus bumper sticker and the outline of a fish on his car -- but, he said that none of that matters unless there is a change -- unless there is grace and forgiveness and a life that is showing the change that Jesus makes -- the love that Jesus gives
-- Jesus is telling us in this passage that we have to do more than just know the right words or wear the right clothes or go to the right church -- we have to be changed through the power of His word -- we have to be changed through the power of the blood -- we have to be changed through the power of His grace and mercy -- and we prove this change when we live out this commandment in our lives
III. What about the love?
-- look back at verse 34 again
34. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
35. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
-- so Jesus is telling us to love one another as He love us -- what does this mean? -- I think we all realize that the word "love" doesn't always mean "love" -- we use that term for a lot of different things -- I can say I love the Georgia Bulldogs or I can say I love my wife -- but they don't mean the same thing -- or at least, they better not -- I can say I love steak -- or I love my job -- but that doesn't mean the same thing as telling our children that we love them
-- there are different meanings for the word "love" in English based on the context of how the word is used -- that's one reason why our language is so difficult for others to pick up -- it can be confusing -- but in other languages, they have more than one word for love to express the different kinds of love
-- in the Greek language that the New Testament was written in, there are actually four different words that we translate as "love" in our Bibles -- and it's important to know which word the passage is using in order to fully understand what the passage is saying
-- these four words are:
1) Philia -- like Philadelphia -- this means friendship -- brotherly love -- if you were Greek, you might tell your best friend, "I philia you" meaning "I love you as a brother"
2) Storge -- this means natural affection -- love that you are just born with -- like that felt by parents for their children -- mothers naturally feel love and affection for their children -- this is storge love
3) Eros -- this is passionate love -- romantic love -- this is the love of a husband for his wife and a wife for her husband
4) Agape -- this is the highest form of love -- this is unconditional love -- this is the sacrificial love that Christ had for us -- that God has for us -- regardless of what you do -- regardless of who you are -- I love you and I will give my life for you -- agape
-- and that is the term that Jesus uses in this passage -- when He says, "Love one another," He isn't saying, "Love one another as a brother or sister" -- He isn't saying, "Have a natural affection for another person" -- He isn't saying "Love each other in a romantic way" -- no, He's saying "Agape one another -- love one another sacrificially -- unconditionally -- just as I loved you" -- and that's a pretty tall order -- in fact, that's impossible, unless you have the love of God in your own heart -- but that's what He's commanding us to do in this passage
-- now, notice that He doesn't tell us that we have to like the other person -- we simply have to love them -- there's a vast difference between the two -- love and like are not the same -- it's kind of like happiness and joy
-- happiness is based on external things -- on whether your environment -- your relationships -- are good -- joy comes from the heart and is based on the promises of God
-- love and like are just like that -- like is based on external things -- whether I like you or not depends on how I am feeling that day and what kind of mood I am in and what kind of mood you are in and what you have done -- but love comes from within -- love comes from a heart touched by the grace of God -- love flows out of you so that you can love someone you don't like
-- adoption classes -- "can you parent a child you don't love?" -- no -- you can parent a child you don't like -- there are times we don't like our family or our friends or our coworkers or our bosses -- parents of prodigals -- may not like them or like what they are doing at the time, but we are supposed to still love them
-- even if you don't have a prodigal child or live with someone who you don't really like at the moment because they are rebelling against your love, you might appreciate this little saying about true love
-- "if you love something, set it free -- if it comes back, it was and always will be yours -- it if never returns, it was never yours to begin with -- if it just sits in your living room, messes up your stuff, eats your food, uses your telephone, takes your money, and never behaves as if you actually set it free in the first place, you either married it or gave birth to it" -- how many of you can say "Amen" to that?
-- regardless of whether we like them or not, they're still our family and we are called to love them -- and Jesus tells us the same holds true for everyone that we meet -- Christian or not Christian -- likeable or not likeable -- we are to love them as He loved us
-- you know, God doesn't always like us, but He does always love us -- when we sin against God -- when we go out and do things our way that aren't good for us and turn from God -- I'm sure He doesn't like us or what we are doing -- but the Bible tells us that He always loves us -- He will never leave us or forsake us -- His love never ends -- it never fails
-- what is Christ telling us here in this passage? -- He is saying that every thought, every response, every act of good will, must be filtered through love or it means nothing -- we don't have to like them -- but we must agape them
-- look at what the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
1. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
-- without love -- without letting that agape, unconditional love direct our thoughts and our actions and our lives -- without letting that agape, unconditional love guide us through our relationships here on earth -- then we are nothing and we do nothing
-- and, when people see this agape love flowing through us -- then, they will know that there is something different about us -- our world today is not characterized by love
-- true agape love is a rare treasure in our land, capable only through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit working within you -- and when someone sees this agape love in action, they know they are seeing something different -- when someone sees this agape love in action, they are drawn to it -- and when someone sees this agape love in action, they are drawn to Christ -- who is love -- and that is the whole point
-- the only things we do that have eternal significance are those things done through agape love
IV. What about you?
-- I read a story from Jimmy Brown about the time he played "I Spy" with his son, Jacob
-- they were in a store and waiting for his wife to finish shopping so they started playing -- when it was Jacob's turn, he said, "I Spy something that is red" -- "that is over there" [point] -- "that is on the door" -- "that has white around it" -- "that has the word 'Exit' on it"
-- His father said, "Is it that 'Exit' sign?" -- Jacob exclaimed, "Yes, that's it" like his father had craced some difficult code with his brilliant deductive skills
-- He told him, "Son, you shared and shared and shared until it was obvious what it was -- I didn't have to guess hard to figure it out"
-- isn't that just what God expects from you and me? -- isn't that what Jesus is calling us to do in this passage?
-- not to play childhood games, but to share and share and love and love until it's obvious to everyone around us that we are the disciples of Christ
-- wouldn't it be great for those around us to be able to say of you and me, "I Spy...someone who cares. I Spy....someone who loves"
-- I'm going to close now with this great quote from Anne Meskey -- "Love is the bumper sticker of our faith"
-- as you leave here today, may others know you as a disciple of Christ -- not because you have the Jesus bumper sticker on your car -- not because you have the outline of a fish -- but because you have love
-- let us pray
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