John 13:31-35 Love One Another ES 8 Jul 12 2138
Let’s revisit the scene at the Last Supper, when Jesus had his last moments with His disciples - in John 13:31-35.
33 "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.
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."
The words of a dying man tell a lot – about what he is most concerned about, what is most important.
• Jesus would soon be arrested (right after this supper). “I will be with you only a little longer,” he said.
• This is the last opportunity He has to speak with His 11 disciples, in this quiet environment. What would He say in this final moment?
What would you say? It’s good to sometime to visualise yourself in such a situation and ask yourself, what would I say to my loved ones? What will be my final and last words?
• These will surely be important words, about things that matter most in life!
• What did Jesus say? He gave them a command – a command to love one another!
He was talking to the 11 disciples who have spent 3 years with Him – living, learning, teaching, chatting, travelling, and ministering together,
• They were the few handpicked and groomed to be his ‘successors’ in the work of God’s Kingdom. And this is what He has to say: (1) Love one another.
• There are many things that we may have neglected or forgotten, but do pay attention to these 3 words.
Frankly, I expected something deeper or greater – like the secret to a successful ministry, the strategy of world evangelisation, or the principles of church growth.
• Ironically, we have no record of Jesus teaching the disciples about techniques, strategies or leadership in the 4 Gospels.
• No ‘Four Basic Steps to Good Preaching’ or ‘How to Share the Gospel in 5 minute’.
• Instead, we have Jesus talking about HOW they should treat one another.
Reminds me of what Paul says in 1 Cor 13:2: “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.”
I believe the Holy Spirit will help them with the executions – we read in Acts - the Spirit was poured out upon the disciples, enabled them to preach the Gospel with boldness, thousands were saved and formed the church overnight, and they managed.
• I believe at different places, with different people, under different cultures, over different generations, the Holy Spirit will guide His church with the right approaches and ways of doing ministry.
• What was most important to Jesus is a matter of the heart - watch how we treat one another. We are called to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
This will be the foundation to a blessed life; the foundation to a happy marriage, a strong family, and a united church.
• Love one another – starting from within your family, starting from those closest to you.
Jesus did not stop there – He said, (2) love the same way you have been loved.
• And the disciples understood that. They knew the love of Jesus. They saw the love of Jesus. They experienced the love of Jesus. They received the love of Jesus.
• They are simply asked to share what they have received from Jesus. He did not ask for what they have not received. John says, “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
• God is not demanding from us what we cannot afford to give; He is asking us to share what we do have!
How did Jesus love them? He loved them unconditionally; His love was sincere and truthful.
• He loved them even when they failed to understand God’s will, said the wrong things, and did foolish things.
• The disciples understood what He meant, having been with Him for 3 years. They had been transformed by that love, and they are now asked to share it.
Jesus did not put it across as a good advice, but (3) a COMMAND.
• It was expressed in a serious tone, because this was important to Him.
• But why? Why was it so important that they love one another the way Jesus loved them?
Verse 35 He explained, (4) “so that the world will know that you are my disciples.”
• The world will not see and feel Jesus. No longer will the people see His compassion, His love, His kindness, His forgiveness…
• The world will see Him through you and me today. They will see and know His love through you and me.
Jesus CONNECTS our love and our witness, together.
• Our love for people will be the MESSAGE the world can see. It points to the One who loves us.
• Chip Ingram: “The greatest and most powerful apologetic in the entire world is not an argument out of a book, but the love Christians have for one another.”
• Love is a WITNESS. Jesus says, “Love, as I have loved you…”
In the light of what Jesus said, there are a few things we can do:
(1) Pray for a Touch of God’s Love
Rom 5:5 “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
• Pray for an outpouring of God’s love in your heart.
• Pray for encounters with God where we can experience His love in a fresh, new way.
(2) Count Yourself In
All disciples of Jesus Christ are commanded to love others, so that the world will know you are His disciples.
• Jesus expects this from His disciples. It is the definitive mark of His disciples.
• I cannot “let someone do it” - he’s sick, someone will visit him; she's hurting, hope someone can comfort her. We are all in this together.
• Paul puts it this way in 1 Cor 12:25-26 “… there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.”
We must not avoid this “professional caregivers” mindset (gotten so used to this in our society) – where we expect a few “professional” lovers like counsellors, social workers to do the job of loving the needy.
• We carried that into the church – we have selected few like pastors, small group leaders, or senior Christians – to take care of the people.
• Granted they are trained and given responsibilities, but to “love one another” is the call of every disciple of Jesus. It is the witness to the world that you are one.
• We are all in this together. There’s a calling on your life, to love someone with His love.
(3) Initiate and Make the First Move
A pastor was in the Middle East and had the chance to share about Jesus, and this was how he shared it:
By Erwin Raphael McManus in SOUL CRAVINGS – PREQUEL, pp. 28ff:
“I once met a girl named Kim, and I fell in love. I pursued her with my love and pursed her with my love until I felt my love had captured her heart. So I asked her to be my wife, and she said no.” I could feel their empathy, if not their pity.
“I was unrelenting and asked her again, pursuing her with my love, and I pursued her with my love until she said yes.” (There was huge relief throughout the entire room.)
“I did not send my brother, nor did I send a friend. For in issues of love, you must go yourself.
“This is the story of God: He pursues you with His love and pursues you with His love, and you have perhaps not said yes. And even if you reject His love, He pursues you ever still. It was not enough to send an angel or a prophet or any other, for in issues of love, you must go yourself. And so God has come.
“This is the story of Jesus, that God has walked among us and He pursues us with His love. He is very familiar with rejection but is undeterred. And He is here even now, still pursuing you with His love.”
The story of Jesus is not about who is right and who is wrong, what God’s name is and who his prophet is, but what exactly God’s motivation toward humanity is. If the message that God wants to get across to us is just about getting our beliefs right, then he didn’t need to come himself. If God’s entire intent was to clarify right from wrong, no personal visitation was necessary. If the ultimate end was simply to overwhelm us with the miraculous so that we would finally believe, then even God’s taking on flesh and blood and walking among us were far from necessary.
There is only one reason for God to come himself, because in issues of love, you just can’t have someone else stand in for you.
When it comes to love, it has to be face-to-face. There has to be contact. Love cannot exist where there is only distance. Love can survive distance, but only by the strength of what comes through intimacy.
There is no proxy in love. You cannot ask a friend to date a girl on your behalf.
• Some things you need to do it on your own, and loving people is one of them. You cannot ask someone to love on your behalf.
• You have to initiate, to make the move, the first move (in fact), if you are serious about loving someone. You cannot wait for things to happen.
• When you love, you must be the one showing up. You must be the one making the calls, doing the visits, writing the cards, taking the time, walking the extra mile…
Love one another. Let’s look out one another.
• The person who needs your love is here. They are all around you; you just need to train your eyes to see them.
• I believe every day, if you care to look around, you will notice people who needs your love and your help.
Don’t stay at the receiving end. Be a giver.
• When you give, God will bless you in return. The Lord says, “Give, and it will be given to you.” (Luke 6:38)
• When you share your love, God replenishes you with His love. Love someone and God will heal you from your own need of love.
Joe was a drunk, miraculously converted in a street outreach mission. Before his conversion he’d gained a reputation as a derelict and dirty fellow for whom there was no hope. But following his conversion to Christ, everything changed. Joe became the most caring person at the mission. He spent his days there, doing whatever needed to be done.
There was never anything he was asked to do that he considered beneath him. Whether it was cleaning up vomit left by some sick alcoholic, or scrubbing toilets after men had left them filthy, Joe did it all with a heart of gratitude. He could be counted on to feed any man who wandered in off the streets, dress and tuck him into bed, when he was too out-of-it to take care of himself.
One evening, after the mission director delivered his evangelistic message to the usual crowd of grim men with drooped heads, one of them looked up, came down to the altar and kneeled to pray, crying out for God to help him change. The repentant drunk kept shouting, “Oh God, make me like Joe! Make me like Joe! Make me like Joe!”
The director leaned over and said, “Son, wouldn’t it be better if you prayed ‘make me like Jesus?”
After thinking about it for a few moments, the man looked up with an inquisitive expression and asked, “Is He like Joe?”
He was so impressed by the life of Joe. He wanted that kind of a life.
• What a powerful way to live - when you live your life in such a way that you remind people of Christ.
• God’s love is unconditional. God’s love is real. Show that to the world. Share it.
PLAY VIDEOCLIP – AGAPE LOVE
