So, if following Jesus brings us joy (see previous article), what are the commands or commandments of Jesus that we need to follow, in order to remain in His love? Are these the 600+ rules that the Pharisees focused on? Are they the instructions from the Sermon on the Mount? Are they a list that we find in a church’s doctrinal statements?
Get ready for it…
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
John 15:12-13 NIV
While all of Jesus’ commandments are meant to be obeyed (that’s what “commandment” means, after all), He gives a very specific one here. Or, maybe He summarizes many – or all – of His commands in a single statement.
He tells His disciples to “Love each other…” (or “love one another…” in the NASB). More than that, they are to love each other as He has loved them.
What did that look like? Remember that, at the time when Jesus was speaking these words to His disciples, the book of 1 Corinthians hadn’t been written yet, so the disciples didn’t have Paul’s poetic definition of love from chapter 13 in that letter. Instead, Jesus gave the disciples an even better explanation of how they should love one another: by having modeled for them what that kind of love looks like, through His love demonstrated for them. We know that He would show another example of this love within a day or two of the events recorded in this chapter, when He gave up His life for their salvation. All of this shows us what it means to love someone else.
It’s been said before, but sometimes sacrificing our life for a cause seems easier than living our life for the same purpose. Taking a bullet for someone is a one-time decision, but loving someone else means having to continue doing so every day, both through times when loving them is easy, and through times when loving them is painful.
Jesus did both: He loved His disciples day in and day out. He loved them (and us) enough to make the right choice as He resisted the temptation to sin year after year. And, He loved His Father and the world so much that He gave His life for the salvation of humankind.
For those, including myself, who call ourselves “Christians”, this may be one of the most challenging – but also one of the most fundamental – ways in which we are called to be like Christ. There are fellow members of the body of Christ who are easy to show love to, but there are also others who we find challenging to love. Regardless of our preferences, though, a sacrificial, family love is appropriate throughout the church – the body that takes direction from Jesus Christ.
I think that some people imagine following God’s instructions as obeying a taskmaster: someone who is forcing others to do what He wants, like human masters who can be selfish, unfeeling, and cruel. However, Jesus is clear as He speaks to His disciples in John 15 that He’s not imposing obedience on His disciples as slaves, but rather providing wise direction to them as friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.
John 15:14-17 NIV
When we say, “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk”, we’re not saying that the clear-headed friend is a tyrant, stopping their inebriated friend from having fun or taking away their freedom. No, we understand that friendship in this case means helping those we care about to avoid things that will cause permanent harm to them and to others.
Jesus shared with His disciples what God the Father shared with Him. He selected the disciples, and gave them a great purpose. With this came great power for the disciples to receive from the Father what they ask.
But, the command here isn’t just for them to go and preach, or for each of them to make a great name for himself. It is – again – to love each other.
History and tradition tell us about the lives of the disciples and what they accomplished, but they were not meant to be individual solo preachers to the world. While they did spread the good news, Jesus commanded them to love each other. They were still part of the same body, and not “lone wolves”.
May we love each other, not as unwilling subjects, but as friends of Jesus.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for January 28, 2024
References:
- The Lookout, January 28, 2024, © 2024 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – John, by Beauford H. Bryant and Mark S. Krause. © 1998 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 