What’s Fresh about Love?
John 13:31-38 When therefore he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately. "Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You shall seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, I now say to you also, ’Where I am going, you cannot come.’
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?"
Jesus answered, "Where I go, you cannot follow now; but you shall follow later."
Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You."
Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a cock shall not crow, until you deny Me three times.
A new commandment I give you…
It seems that there are two words in the New Testament that are translated ‘new.’ They are kainos and neos. Neos means new as in young or in brand new. Kainos means new as in fresh. There are times when these are used interchangeably.
Col. 3:10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him (Neos)
Eph 4: 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. (Kainos)
When Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” Do you want to guess which word he uses? Not neos as in brand new, but kainos as in fresh. There is nothing new about the command to love. God has commanded us to love one another from the beginning. But there is a freshness in Jesus command that renews what it means to love each other. Jesus uses the word love 3 times in this one sentence. And he says it again in the next. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
So what’s fresh about love here?
Jesus makes it fresh in at least four ways: authority, context, intensity and purpose. First in authority: It is no longer a command of the law. It is a command of the Savior. Jesus speaks this command to his disciples, refreshing and refilling it with his presence and his purposes. This command comes to us not from the heavens nor from Mount Sinai, but from the lips of the God’s Son in the flesh as he demonstrates what it means. The authority of Jesus Christ is absolute and supreme. Anything Jesus commands is absolute in authority because Jesus is universal King and Lord. Yet he chose to give us this command in this setting and accompanied with humble service.
And that leads immediately to number two, context: It is one thing to get a command from God as creator of the universe and holy deliverer of Israel. It is quite another to hear it from God when he just finished washing your feet and eating with you. Think about the context of this command with me. They are at a meal, Jesus has washed their feet and called their attention to his position and to his example. What a humble setting to make this command. This is not unusual for Jesus at all. Remember the woman caught in adultery. The leaders, trying to trap Jesus say, “Moses commanded us to stone her, what do you say?” Jesus demonstrated his authority and his gracious love. His words to the woman were, “Neither do I condemn you.” His command? “Go, and sin no more.”
Jesus very life supplies a context where his command to love is fresh and reviving.
The greatest leader is not one who knows what to do and commands others to do it. The greatest leader is one that knows what to do and does it and commands others to follow. Jesus makes love fresh in context by loving us and calling us to follow his example.
Third, this command of love is fresh in intensity. The Old covenant said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The new covenant in Jesus Christ says, “Love as I have loved you.” Lets think about Jesus love for a moment. How does Jesus love you? Remember Romans 5:6-10 … For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. …God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. …For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Listen here! Jesus loves you! His love for you is boundless! Paul says this is why he prayed for the Ephesians 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Can you love like that? Not unless you’ve been loved like that! We’ve got to receive it before we can give it. You can’t give what you haven’t got. God pours his love out into your hearts! Not so we can keep it to ourselves! No! but so you and I can pour it out on each other. We are funnels, not containers. Cracked vessels that leak God’s love where ever we go. You heard about the water pot that the man carried down to the well every day to get his water in, didn’t you? He would fill up the pot and walk back to the house. The only problem was that the pot leaked. By the time he got home there was only half a pot of water left. The pot was so sad. One day the pot asked the man to please forgive him because he was cracked and always leaked half the water out by the time they got home. The man smiled and said, “You don’t understand.” Then the man took the pot out to look at the trail down to the well and asked, “What do you see along the path?” The pot said, “I see flowers and vegetables growing.” “That’s right,” said the man. “Every day when I go to get water I fill you up and on the way home you water my garden path so that it grows. Because you are cracked and always lose half your water along the way I have a beautiful garden to enjoy.”
Jesus works through us as marred vessels today. Let his love fill your heart and let it flow out to others. There is a freshness to loving Jesus’ way.
Finally, love is fresh in purpose. Jesus said, Others will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. This is the basic sign of discipleship. It is the hallmark of the Christian faith. Nothing is greater. Nothing is more important. Nothing is more urgent. Nothing is more challenging. Love fulfills the law of God. Now, tell me what can be more central and crucial to our faith than that?
