Here are the completed notes from the Sunday AM Service February 21, 2016:
Scripture: John 13:34, 35
Vs. 34 – A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another;
as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Vs. 35 – By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one to another.
Who is Jesus speaking to? His 11 disciples (Judas has left-vs. 31)
What is the occasion of this passage?
- After celebrating the Passover meal (vs.2)
- Jesus has washed the disciple’s feet (vs.3-17)
- Jesus announced that one of them would betray Him (vs. 18-27)
- Judas left to betray Jesus (vs. 27-31)
- Dispute or rivalry among the disciples over who would be greatest (See Luke 22:24)
- Jesus just spoke about going away (vs.33)
- Jesus gives His disciples a new commandment (vs. 34, 35)
- Vs. 34 – A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
- Vs. 35 – By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
This command in one sense was not new:
-Leviticus 19:18 – Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Jesus affirmed this in Matthew 22:36-40
- Vs. 36 – Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
- Vs. 37 – Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
- Vs. 38 – This is the first and great commandment.
- Vs. 39 – And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- Vs. 40 – On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
“Neighbor” – Whoever is beside you at the moment (Darrell Painter)
Love others!
But this really is a new commandment – Notice how they are to love, “As I have loved you”
- Jesus here raised the standard
- He took how we are to love to a whole new level
Again, who is Jesus speaking to? His 11 disciples
Vs. 34 – A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
How did Jesus love His Disciples?
Consider the word Love –
- Sacrificial – giving of ourselves
- Unconditional – He loved the church as it was
- Purposefully – Love depends on the one who chooses to love
- Not based on attractiveness, merit or the response of the one loved
God’s Word gives a detailed description of this love in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a (ESV)
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”
Description Broken Down:
- Patient
- Kind
- Envies not
- Does not brag
- Not arrogant
- Never rude
- Does not want its own way
- Not irritated or angered in personal offence
- Devoted to truth
- Protects, believes, hopes and endures
- Lasting and has permanence
Consider how Jesus loved these disciples and how that translates to how we should love one another as a church
Jesus loved His Disciples by:
1. Spending time with them
Mark 3:14 – And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach
The Local Church:
- Believers are not to forsake assembling together – Hebrews 10:25
- Invest their lives in one another
2. Telling them the truth
Jesus said to Pilate – For this cause came I unto the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth (John 18:37).
The Local Church:
Believers are to speak the truth in love – Ephesians 4:15
3. Pointing them to the Father
- Priority relationship
- Love relationship – John 14:31
- Glorifying objective – John 12:28; John 17:1, 4
The Local Church:
Pointing others to God is foundational in everything we do
4. Modeling authentic godliness before them (Example)
- John 13:13-17
The Local Church:
Overflow of our relationship with Christ and growth in Christlikeness
5. Correction
- Peter rebuked by Jesus – Matthew 16:21-23
- James and John rebuked by Jesus – Luke 9:51-56
The Local Church:
Believers are to correct one another in humility – Galatians 6:1
6. Prayer
John 17:11-19; Luke 22:32
The Local Church:
Believers are to pray for one another – James 5:16; 1 Timothy 2:1
7. Patience and Support
- They lacked spiritual understanding – Matthew 15:16, 17; 16:9
- They lacked humility – Matthew 20:20-28; Luke 9:46
- They lacked faith – Matthew 8:26, 16:8
- They lacked commitment – Mark 14:50
The Local Church:
Overlook the faults of others – Proverbs 19:11
8. Commitment
John 13:1 – Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
The Local Church:
Commitment of church membership
- Commitment up front – you bind yourself to a group of Christians
- Through baptism a person is making a public, upfront commitment to follow Christ – Church membership attaches that general commitment to follow Christ to a specific group of people
- Authentic church community is bound up in something people don’t realize: Church membership
9. Moving them toward their mission
- The disciples witnessed firsthand how Jesus ministered to people
- He commissioned them to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth – Acts 1:8
The Local Church:
- Pastors are given to equip believers for the work of the ministry –Ephesians 4:11
- Believers are to exercise their spiritual gifts through the church –1 Peter 4:10, 11
- And also work together to fulfill the great commission – Matthew 28:19, 20
10. Sacrifice
Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour
The Local Church:
- Move outside our comfort zones for one another
- Forgive one another
- Giving of your time, resources, gifts and abilities for the furtherance of the ministry of this local church
Consider the Disciples Previous Occupations:
- Fishermen
- Tax Collector
- Zealot (Resisted Roman aggression, freedom fighters, extremists, refused to pay taxes to Rome)
Vs. 35 – By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another
Believer’s I.D. Badge as an authentic Christ follower