One thing we learn from cars is that new is almost always better. A few years ago, a car show reviewed a couple of famous supercars from the 1980s. Those cars were the stuff of dreams as their posters decorated many a teen’s rooms. But some 40 years later, their lap times aren’t any better than current hot hatchbacks. Those cars are still legends, but newer cars are just that much better. We encounter something similar in our next section of John’s Gospel.
“As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will give his own glory to the Son, and he will do so at once. Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:31–35, NLT)
So, there are several points in Jesus’ statement. The first is that Jesus knew what was coming next, and He wanted to prepare His disciples. Jesus’ declaration that “you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going” is something we’ll unwrap next week as the disciples question Jesus about it. Jesus’ third point, however, is our focus for today – “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
In another verse, Jesus explained why this new command is better. “Jesus replied, ” ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37–40, NLT) The new doesn’t remove the old but gives us a more powerful path to follow.
The word “new” in this verse of John’s Gospel has the idea of something that has not appeared before with a suggestion of being better than what came before. So Jesus wasn’t simply adding a commandment; he was giving His disciples a better commandment. The previous commandments leaned negative and subtractive – “thou shall not!” The new commandment leans positive and encompassing – “thou shall!” Or, to put it another way, if you do truly love one another, you will succeed at following the “shall not” commands – and so much more.
The result of loving one another is that the world sees Christ in us. Want to impact the world for Christ? Start with loving one another. Desire to preach the Gospel? Start with loving one another. Praying for success? Start with loving one another. Desiring the power of Christ? Start with loving one another. Seeking to build the church and the kingdom? Start with loving one another. Striving to overcome sin? Start with loving one another. Get the picture?
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