Sermon for Saturday
A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. John 13:34
Before telling the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus confirmed that one of the most important elements of the law was to love our neighbour. To do so was a major part of fulfilling God’s requirements. It is clear that loving others is a part of the old commandment. So what is new about the new commandment to love one another? The difference lies in the standard of reference. The old commandment required us to love our neighbour as we love ourselves. The new commandment requires us to love our neighbour as Christ loves us. What a difference!
It’s hard enough (actually, it’s impossible) to keep the old commandment of loving my neighbour as myself. Are my neighbour’s problems as much of a concern to me as my own problems are? Am I as deeply interested in his happiness as I am in my own? Is my heart broken when he loses a loved one, or do I rejoice over his accomplishments and blessings? Whether in little things or great, I am constrained by the old commandment to care as much about my neighbour as I do about myself. Who among us can say we have even made a good effort to keep this commandment? Oh, someone says, we don’t need to keep that law anymore, because we are under grace. OK, but grace has brought us to a law that is more encompassing than the old commandment.
If the old commandment made my neighbour’s welfare equal to my own, the new commandment gives his welfare precedence over mine. Remember, the new commandment is based on Christ’s love for us. His love is sacrificial. He gave His life for the sheep because He loved the sheep. Paul could put it so beautifully in Galatians 2:20: the Son of God Who loved me and gave Himself for me. If we had trouble meeting the old commandment standard, how can we possibly meet the standard of the new commandment? Jesus Himself gives us the clue.
When Jesus said ‘as I have loved you’, he was not just setting a standard, he was giving us a pattern to follow. That is why it is critical for us to read and know the Gospels, so we can get to know the pattern we are to follow. To know how Jesus responded in each situation He encountered is to know how we are to respond. Following Him means to love those He would love, help those He would help, care for those He would care for, treat everyone with the great compassion that led Him to be our Lamb.
No, we will not be able to follow the pattern perfectly. But to the extent that we try we are keeping the new commandment. – Jim MacIntosh