Verse 12: ‘My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you’. Verse 17: ‘This is my command: Love each other’.
One of the funniest comedies ever to find it’s way onto our tv screens, arguably, has to be Fawlty Towers. It starred John Cleese as the Torquay hotel owner Basil Fawlty, and Prunella Scales as his domineering wife Sybil. Incredibly there were only ever two series, of six episodes ever made, one of the most famous of which has to be the episode where the germans come to stay and everyone is under strict instructions, ‘not to mention the war’….
Show clip
‘Orders, orders must be obeyed at all times’ – says Basil. It’s a tentative link I know – but Jesus said ‘My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you’. Orders must be obeyed at all times. We are used to obeying orders aren’t we. We live in a country that is full of rules and regulations and laws, which are increasing day on day, and we are expected, as good citizens to obey the laws of the land.
Speeding Ticket
Did you hear about the man who was driving down the road when he got pulled over by a policeman. The driver asked "Is there a problem Officer?" The policeman says, "Sir, you were speeding. Can I see your licence please?"
The driver responds, "I’d give it to you but I don’t have one." - "You don’t have one?" "No, I lost it four times for drink driving." The policeman is shocked. "I see. Well can I see your vehicle registration papers please?"
"I’m sorry, I can’t do that." The policeman says, "Why not?" "I stole this car." The officer says, "Stole it?" The man says, "Yes, and I killed the owner." "You what!?" "Yea, she’s in the boot if you want to see."
The Officer looks at the man and slowly backs away to his car and calls for back up. Within minutes, five police cars show up, and the driver is surrounded by armed policemen. A senior officer slowly approaches the car.
"Sir, could you step out of your vehicle please!" The man steps out of his vehicle. "Is there a problem officer?" "My officer told me that you have stolen this car and murdered the owner." "Murdered the owner?"The officer responds, "Yes, could you please open the trunk of your car please?" The man opens the boot, revealing nothing but an emptiness.
The officer says, "Is this your car sir?" The man says "Yes," and hands over the registration papers. The officer, understandably, is quite stunned. "My officer claims that you do not have a driving licence." The man digs in his pocket revealing a wallet and hands it to the officer. The officer opens the wallet and examines the licence. He looks quite puzzled. "Thank you sir, my officer told me that you didn’t have a licence, stole this car, and murdered the owner."
And the driver said, "I bet you the liar told you I was speeding, too!"
We live in a land of rules and regulations and laws and we all know that we are expected to obey them. To live in obedience to them. Now I’ve got no problem with that. I am an ex military man, spent a lot of years following orders, following the rules, being obedient to what I was told. Now I know not everybody operates that way.
When I first went to Bible college – the principle told us that that every morning at 8.30, there was morning prayers in the chapel, and we were all expected to be present even if you didn’t have any lectures on that day. Well, ok, I’m an ex military man, you’re the principle, you’re the boss, you say jump – I say how high! So every morning, 8.30 I turned up – the others didn’t. And I used to get so annoyed – not because they didn’t turn up, but because they were breaking the rules and nothing happened to them. They were blatantly being disobedient and getting away with it.
Some people live their lives like that – but the rules and regulations and laws of the land are there for our own good and for the good of our society. They help us to live alongside each other and in harmony with each other. Could you imagine the chaos and pandemonium and carnage there would be on our roads if there were no laws - or if people just totally ignored them. ‘Orders must be obeyed at all times’.
10 Commandments
And it’s the same in our Christian life. God has given us rules and regulations that we are expected to keep, that we are expected to obey. They’re called the 10 Commandments. They’re not called the 10 suggestions, or the 10 things you really should try if you want a better life. They are the 10 Commandments – they are the 10 rules and regulations and laws of how to live the life that God expects us to live. And he expects us to be obedient! He expects us to obey. You know someone once asked Dr. Cho (pastor of largest church in the world – over 1 million.) What is the key to your great success? His reply was very simple “I pray and I obey”.
Living in obedience is part of the Christian life. We know that, we accept that. And I’m sure that we all do our utmost to keep God’s laws to the best of our ability. We try hard not to lie, we make every effort not to steal, we work really hard at things like not committing murder. You know like that rich man who came to Jesus and said, ‘good teacher, what must I do to be saved’ and Jesus said ‘You know the commandments: Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honour your father and mother’. And the rich young man said, ‘all these I have kept since I was a boy’. Maybe we could all come before Jesus this morning and say the same thing, ‘all these we have kept since I was a boy (or girl)’.
Because we work hard at being obedient to the laws, to the rules, to the commandments that God gives us.
A new commandment
But then along comes Jesus and in John 13:34 he says ‘a new command I give you: Love one another’. And then again in our reading today John 15 verse 12: ‘My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you’. Verse 17: ‘This is my command: Love each other’.
This isn’t a suggestion, this isn’t a hope, this isn’t a little bit of good advice – ‘this is my command: Love one another.’ How does that work? It is easy to see how you can obey a command not to lie, or steal or commit murder – but how can you command somebody to love somebody. How does that work? How is that possible? How can we ever hope to live in obedience to such a law? After all can we control who we like or dislike? Who we love or don’t love?
1. This is not an option
But Jesus is serious. It is not an option! 1 John 4:21 says, “And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
Life is full of choices. We choose where we live, we choose where we work, we choose what car to drive, where to go on holiday. What friends to hang around with. What time we get up, what time we go to bed. What clothes we wear, what food we eat, what tv we watch.
Too often in our world, we view almost everything as optional—an either/or situation. But there are some things in life that are not optional. And if you choose to be a follower of Jesus Christ then loving each other, loving your brother and sister in christ, loving the other members of this fellowship is not an option. It’s a commandment.
You can’t say ‘well, I’ll love him, and I’ll love her, and I’ll love them, but I’m having nothing to do with him, and I can’t stand her, and that’s one group of people I ain’t having anything to do with.’ That simply isn’t our choice to make. If they’re in the fellowship, if they’re in the body, if they’re fellow believers in Christ – then the command, the command is to love them, without difference, without favouritism, without special treatment.
Love is the distinguishing mark of the child of God. It is also the distinguishing mark of the church of God! 1John 4:8 says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” You can’t say you know God and that you have faith in God, and that you have a relationship with God, and yet refuse to love others. The love that you demonstrate in your life is a sign of how much you really know him—and know him by experience. 1John 4:12 says, “No one has ever seen God; but if we love another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
You know Love can’t be replaced by a good preaching ability or a singing ability or a music ability, or the ability to have great faith. Love for others can’t be substituted with money. A church can survive without a huge budget but it can’t survive without love. It might keep its doors open but the spiritual life will be gone. Because as the Apostle Paul says, without love we are nothing but a clanging cymbol.
2. We love because He first loved us!
This is not option – it is a command. Jesus Commands us to love one another – why? 1 John 4:19 says ‘we love because he first loved us’. It’s as simple as that – God expects us to love because he first loved us. He first poured His love into our hearts and into our lives and he expects that same love to flow out into the lives of those around us.
The two seas
In Palestine there are two seas.
One is the Sea of Galilee. Actually, it’s not really a sea, it’s a fresh water lake about thirteen miles long and seven miles wide. At its deepest point the lake is only 150 feet deep. It is Israel’s largest fresh water lake and it is absolutely picturesque. It is home to 24 varieties of fish, the vegetation is lush, and many animals make their nests on the banks around. The historian Josephus wrote that it was "wonderful in its characteristics and in its beauty. Thanks to the rich soil, there is not a plant that does not flourish, and the inhabitants grow everything: the air is so temperate that it suits the most diverse species." The rabbis said of it, "Although God has created seven seas, yet He has chosen this one as His special delight." It really is a remarkable, beautiful place.
The other sea in Palestine is the Dead Sea. This sea is a much different story. At 1,400 feet below sea level, its shores are the lowest dry land on earth. Its water is about ten times saltier than any normal sea. In fact, the water of the Dead Sea is 35% salt. This of course means that nothing can live in the Dead Sea. They say that microscopic bacteria live in it, but no fish, no animals, and no plant material. That’s why it is called the Dead Sea.
Now this is the interesting part - both of these seas are fed by the River Jordan. The Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee and then through the Sea of Galilee, it continues south and flows into the Dead Sea. The same water, and yet one lake teams with life and the other is dead.
And here’s why. The Dead Sea is so far below sea level that it has no outlet streams. The water flows in, but it does not flow out. They say, 7 million tons of water evaporate from the Dead Sea every day, but the minerals remain, causing the salt content to be super concentrated.
But the Sea of Galilee takes water from the Jordan, and then it gives water. The water simply passes through. And as a result, the Sea of Galilee teams with life and beauty. The Dead Sea, on the other hand, only takes water. It gives nothing back, and as a result it sustains no life.
Can you see connection. The River Jordan is the river of God’s love and he expects his people to be like the Sea of Galilee. Taking in the love of God and allowing that love to pass through us and out of us into those around. And when that happens we become people who are beautiful, and luscious, and vibrant, and fruitful.
But if we take Gods love, if we allow him to pour his love into our lives, if all we do is take of his love but never give of his love – if we just keep his love to ourselves - then we become like the dead sea – barren, bitter, and lifeless.
Jesus said – ‘This is my command: That you love one another’
3. How do we love each other?
But how do we do that? How do we take this love that God is pouring into our hearts and direct it outwards - through us – and into the lives of other people? John 15:12 gives us the answer. “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
As I have loved you… and how does he love us?
By His initiative – ‘We love because he first loved us!” 1John 4:19
He didn’t sit back and wait till it was convenient to love us. He didn’t wait until we were good enough or nice enough to love us. He didn’t wait until we loved him first. God took the inititiave, he made the decision – ‘no matter what you do, no matter where you go, no matter how you behave or treat me or mistreat me – I am going to love you’.
God came near to us. From creation to the cross and through the resurrection—God is always taking the initiative…to love us and care for us and lead us. When we didn’t deserve to be loved…he loved us.
And we have to take the initiative. We don’t wait until a person gives us a reason to love them, we love them anyway. Christian love is not a manufactured feeling. It is learning to treat each other the same way that God treats us. Love is a matter of the will, not of emotions.
We must choose to love, we must determine to love, “I will put him/her first. I will be kind to her/him. I will be patient with them no matter what they do or say or how they behave.” We take the initiative.
By his actions
Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He willingly laid down his life for us. John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
John 13:1 says, “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” He soon after taught them about servanthood and washed their feet.
Everything that Jesus said and did was out of love for other people. He had no selfish motive, no self agenda. Through love he lived a life of service to others even to washing their feet, even to dying on a cross. Out of love for other people Jesus lived a life that was selfless, a life that was serving, a life that was sacrificial.
Conclusion
And Jesus says, ‘My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you’. (v12)
Let me ask you – Are you like the Sea of Galilee or more like the Dead Sea? How are you sharing God’s love within this congregation? Are you aware of those who are lonely? Those who are in need? Those who need a hug, or a card or a phone call. What is the old saying? “Blood is thicker than water.” And as the church we are joined together through the blood of Jesus. Look around – this is your family, these are your brothers and sisters in Christ, and we must never gossip about our family. We must not complain about our family. We must not put them down or mistreat them in any way. We must be sensitive to their pains, fears, disappointments to their needs. We need to love them, we need to love each as God has loved us.
‘My command (my rule, my obligation, my regulation, my order) is this: Love each other as I have loved you’
