Loving Like Jesus

John 13 (2) A New Commandment

- Read John 13:34-35

- Pray

In Exodus 20 we read:

20 And God spake all these words, saying,

2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

13 Thou shalt not kill.

14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

15 Thou shalt not steal.

16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

Thousand’s of years before, Moses, leading God’s people out of bondage in Egypt, and toward freedom in their promised land, goes up on top of Mount Sinai, and there receives 10 laws, engraved by the finger of God in stone. The first 4 laws, refer to man’s relationship with God.

+ No God’s before our’s

+ No idols

+ Don’t take God’s name in vain

+ Remember the Sabbath

The second group, 6 laws, deal with man’s relationship with man.

+ Honor your father and mother

+ Don’t murder

+ Don’t commit adultery

+ Don’t steal

+ Don’t lie

+ Don’t covet.

For more than 1,300 years, from the time of Moses to the birth of Christ, mankind has lived with those 10 laws, and from them come most of the other laws man has today. Moses is recognized as so significant a law-giver because of those 10 commandments that as you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the  top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view  ... it is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments!

As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have 2 stone tablets on them, with the Roman numerals 1-10 representing the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door. It is the Law of Moses. As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see on the wall, right above where the Supreme Court judges sit, a display of the Ten Commandments!

10 Commandments, and yet Jesus sees the need to give us a new commandment.

Not only that, but it isn’t even a commandment relating to His Father. It is a commandment relating to how man interacts with man.

In the original 10, God only gave us 4 commandments dealing with how we relate to Him, and 6 dealing with how we relate to one another. Now, after 1,300 years, He adds another commandment and it is another one dealing with how we relate to each other.

How I treat other people is very important to God. Let me say that again, “How I treat other people is very important to God.”

Say that with me, “How I treat other people is very important to God.”

Turn to someone near you and tell them, “How I treat other people is very important to God.”

Love one another as I have loved you.

As we think of this command this morning, I would like to address it 4 ways. First, who are we to love as Christ loved us? Second, what does it mean to love one another as Christ loved us. Third, why do we love each other as Christ loved us; and forth, how do we love each other as Christ loved us.