May 30, 2007

 

Chapter 13, verses 33-35- Jesus now begins to prepare His disciple for His departure from earth after the Passion/Ascension.  It shows the concerns that He has for the trauma they will experience in the wake of such suffering by Him.

“little children”- affectionate term- “You will seek me…where I am going, you cannot come..”- this is likely referring to His ascending to Heaven at the Father’s right hand.  The caution issued earlier to the lost is now given to His disciples.

  “a new commandment I give to you”- the grace-life of the NT believer is not without moral obligations, built upon the highest level of faithful service.

“new” is used in contrast with “old” = the body of binding laws of Israel which are replaced in NT church-

   Rom.6:14 “you are not under law..”    10:4- “Christ is the end of the law..”

  II Cor.3:11 “passing away” of old commandments

  Gal.2:19 “I thru the law, died to the law that I might live to God”

  3:13-“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law.”

  3:24-25- “the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ….after faith came, we are

      no longer under a tutor (law).”

  4:9-10- “after you have known God….how is it you turn again to weak and

   beggarly elements [law]….you observe days....months..seasons..years?”

  5:1-2- “Stand fast…in the liberty…..do not be entangled again with a yoke of

   bondage [law]”

  “that you love one another”-purpose clause explaining the intent of the

“new commandment”.  Love becomes the supreme expression of relationship

as built on grace (Eph.5:2; Phil.2:4; Col.3:13-14).  The principles of I Cor.13:4-8 provide the standard to judge whether the professed “love” is genuine or not.

“as I have loved you, so you also love one another”- the behavior of love is dictated by the behavior of Jesus toward us.  Love flows out of qualities of

character (produced by the Holy Spirit- Gal.5:22-23)—it is more behavioral

than circumstantial; more volitional than emotional.

  Jesus exhibited love by His actions—  selfless -5:19, 6:38, 8:29,

  focused on righteousness-5:30, 7:24, 8:7, 46; sacrificial- 10:11,14, 12:24, 47

  consistent- 13:1, 15:9, 17:23         resisting evil- 4:22-23, 5:38, 7:19,23

  patient & tender- 1:47, 4:14, 6:20, 8:10-11, 11:33, 35-36

Throughout the gospels, Jesus is depicted as caring & concerned, but also

committed to achieve righteousness in the will of God.

  Our love is to imitate His love (13:15) in behavior; not the confines of some

Middle Eastern or Jewish pattern, but the moral and social principles of

seeking justice and righteousness for all.

 “by this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”- it has been frequently said that the badge or sign of Christian

discipleship is just this love.  Frequently, this love is characterized by obedience

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or submission to the word of God—14:15, 21, 23; 15:10.  In his epistle, John would again focus on this- I John 3:11, 14. 16, 18; 4:11, 20-21; 5:3; II John 5-6;

   However, in the distorted world of religious liberalism, vs.35 is often quoted to

oppose those who speak out for Christian doctrine; the claim is “love” is more primary and important than doctrine- yet note 8:31 where “abiding in the word” is the criteria for discipleship.  To pit doctrine against love is a false  dichotomy, however.  Love for Christ leads to love for the word of God as truth; ultimately, truth is liberating (8:32).   Minimizing or detracting from doctrine does not necessarily mean that it is replaced by “love” for others.

  We should observe that love for one another is a forceful and powerful expression of our love for Christ and becomes witness to the authenticity of

Christ as Savior.  Our transformed lives, given in daily sacrifice for others, expresses such love to others and must not be underestimated.  May God give us a transforming love that supports our words—may He cause our “walk” to “talk”.