A New Commandment

Barbara and I are headed to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota early Monday morning for her four-month checkup. She is doing well and getting better by the day. Due to our travels Monday, I am posting Monday's Bble Insight today.

On the night Jesus was betrayed, as He shared in the Passover Celebration with His disciples, He began to prepare them for all that was about to take place. He spoke of His betrayal (John 13:21), pointing out that Judas Iscariot was the one who would betray Him (vs. 26-27), though the other disciples didn’t pick up on it (vs. 28-29).

After Judas left the upper room where they were gathered (v. 30), Jesus told His disciples that God would glorify Him immediately (vs. 31-32), referring to His death and resurrection. He was seeking to reassure them even before these things took place.

Jesus explained that where He was going they couldn’t follow for now (vs. 33, 36), but that He was going to “prepare a place for (them)” (John 14:2) and He would “come again” (v. 3) to take them there. Yet His disciples didn’t seem to understand. Peter even declared that He was ready to die for His Lord (John 13:37). But Jesus told him, “Not now.” He said to Peter, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times” (v. 38). The day was coming when Peter would lay down His life for Jesus, but not now.

It was in this context that Jesus declared, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (v. 34). What does that mean? Ultimately, as Peter experienced later, it could refer to laying down your life for the sake of another, namely Jesus.

Having repeated this same commandment in John 15:12, Jesus added, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (v. 13). But God does not always require this of us. So what does God require of those who love Jesus?

First, He demands obedience to the Word of God. Jesus continued, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:14). To be obedient to God’s Word; that is what Jesus requires of you. Follow His commands.

But what does that mean? What is involved with obedience to the Word of God? In John 15:16 Jesus explains: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” And in verse 17, He concluded, “These things I command you, that you love one another.”

Looking again at verse 16, Jesus also told His disciples to remain faithful to Him, to the Lord Jesus. He said, “go and bear fruit.” Tell others about Jesus. Pray for each other’s needs and the Father will give you what you ask. “Whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” Care for one another in every way possible. Whatever resources the Lord has given you, use them for the good of others. Be there for one another in every way you can.

Never let your friend down. Always be willing to lay down your life for your friend, if necessary. In whatever way possible, in whatever way the Lord leads, “love one another” (John 15:17). As Jesus added in John 13:35, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Amen.

The Second Commandment

In Leviticus 19, Moses lays out a series of moral and ceremonial laws for the people of Israel. They are commanded to live by the standards listed. Everything is encompassed by the opening words in verse 2, where God instructs Moses to tell them, “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” In verse 11, Moses begins to speak of how to treat others: “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.” In verse 13, he adds, “You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him.” Then in verse 17, he says, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart.”

That brings us to the context of what Jesus called the second commandment in Matthew 22:39. There a lawyer asked Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” (v. 36). Jesus responded, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (vs. 37-39). The “first and great commandment” was a quote from Deuteronomy 6:5. “The second” commandment was a quote from Leviticus 19:18.

While telling the people of Israel to “not hate your brother in your heart” (Lev. 19:17), he added, “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). When referring to this commandment, Jesus said that this was one of only two commandments that, if kept, would fulfill all the Law (v. 40). In Luke, where a lawyer recites these same two commandments in answer to the question of how to inherit eternal life, Jesus commends him for answering correctly and tells him, “Do this and you will live” (Luke 10:28).

Eternal life depends on the fulfillment of these two commandments. If you want to spend eternity in heaven and you want to live a truly full life now, you must first love the Lord Jesus with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Then you must love your neighbor as yourself. The first involves a change of heart, an inward change that comes through faith. This is salvation. The second involves a change in action, an outward change that is the result of that faith. This is proof of your salvation.

Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Such faith, believed and confessed, brings eternal life. When you place your faith in Jesus, when you believe in your heart that He died on the cross for your forgiveness and that He rose again from the dead, confess it! Let people know that you believe. Don’t hide your faith saying, “Oh, it’s a personal thing. It’s not something I talk about.”

Most importantly, let people see the change in you. When you trust in Jesus for your salvation, He changes you. Everything about you begins to change. Not only does what you believe change, but how you live your life changes. That is the power of the gospel.

That change involves how you treat others. You begin to truly love your neighbor. You begin to reach out to your neighbor. Jesus goes on to explain that your neighbor is anyone in need that you come in contact with. So you begin to help others with whatever need they have. That is how you love your neighbor, and that is the outward change in your life that results from your faith in Christ. It is that outward change that proves you are a child of God. Amen.

The Greatest Commandment

In Deuteronomy 6:5, Moses commanded the people of Israel saying, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” In that context, Moses instructed the people to let the words he commanded them, that is, the Word of God, “be in your heart” (v. 6).

If you truly love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength, God’s Word will dwell inside you. You will study it, learn it, memorize it, and live by it. Your life will be governed by God’s Word. Everything you do and say will be guided by God’s Word.

Moses went on to say, that if you truly love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength, you will “diligently” (v. 7a) teach God’s Word to your children and to all who will listen. He says that you are to talk of God’s Word “when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (v. 7b).

If you truly love the Lord, you will talk about Him and His Word wherever you are, any time of day. You will seek His guidance in all that you do. You will speak openly and freely of Jesus with everyone you meet.

Moses then added a command: if you truly love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength, you will “bind” God’s Word “as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (vs. 8-9).

The Jewish people would write the words of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 on a small parchment and bind it to their hand for a sign, or wear it as bands or frontlets between the eyes. They would also roll up a similar parchment and place it in a small cylinder of wood or metal which they would attach to the right side of every door in their house. This is called a mezuzah. The pious Jew would touch it every time he passed through those doors. This was their way of fulfilling the command to keep God’s Word ever before you.

As for us, though not commanded to follow such rigid steps, if you were to hang a portion of God’s Word on your walls as a reminder to always keep God’s Word before your eyes, this would be a praiseworthy act. God is pleased with any effort to know and remember His Word.

After all, that is what this command is about. God wants you to love Him dearly and to follow His Word closely. That means reading it and remembering it. That means ever keeping it before your eyes, so that you do not stray from His Word as you live your life from day to day.

A “lawyer” asked Jesus, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25), Jesus responded with a question: “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” (v. 26). His answer: “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself’” (v. 27). The lawyer quoted Moses in Deuteronomy 6:5. Jesus replied, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live” (v. 28).

When you truly love the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, you will prove that love by your actions. You will learn God’s Word and live by it every day. You will take steps to keep God’s Word ever before you. You will speak of God and His Word to your children and to all who will listen. You will not be ashamed to be called His child. Amen.

True Love

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we find that love is all around. As they say, “Love is in the air!” On television, nearly all the ads seem to zero in on love. Storefronts are either decorated with red and pink hearts, or their displays seem to say, “Come on in! Here you will find just what you need in order to show your love for someone.” Look around and listen. It seems as though everyone is talking about love. But what is true love?

The Apostle John wrote, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). “Propitiation” is a big word. In the Greek (the original language of the New Testament) it refers to the action of atonement. It has to do with the removal of guilt. Here, it refers to the removal of guilt by God’s own gracious act. By God’s own action, by His loving grace, the guilt of our sin is purged. That is true love.

God loves us so much that He sent “His only begotten Son” into the world to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin and bring us forgiveness, restoring us to our rightful place of fellowship with Him. When you accept God’s love and receive His Son into your life, you will not perish “but have everlasting life” (paraphrase of John 3:16). In this way you can experience the true love of God.

1 John 3:16 makes this quite clear: “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” Jesus laid down His life for us! That is true love.

We experience that love by faith in Christ. We show that faith by how we love the brethren. Are you prepared to give all for your brothers and sisters in Christ? This may or may not involve laying down your life for them, but it can. When we experience the true love of God, we will do all we can for one another.

1 John 4:9 says, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” That is the key here. When you receive Christ by faith, He fills you with His Spirit and you begin to live through Him. He guides you and gives you His wisdom. He watches over you and sees you through hard times. He begins to change you and make you more like Himself. In every way, follow Him daily by faith and live your life through Christ.

Do this and you will give all you have for your brothers and sisters in Christ. When this begins to take place, people will be drawn to Christ through your life. What they see in you is true love. Trust Christ and begin to experience His true love. Through Christ, love one another, and your life will never be the same again. Amen.