What's Love Got to do With It?
Back in 1984 Tina Turner asked a question that we're going to look into. That year she released her hit song “What's Love Got to do With It?” In this song she tells us that love is nothing “but a second-hand emotion.” That's not at all true. Objects that are “second-hand” are things that have been used before & are of lesser value. The value of love is great. Love is at the very heart of Christian belief. Scriptures of God's supreme love are found throughout the Bible. He loves every one of us so much He paid for our salvation by sacrificing the life of His own Son Jesus Christ.
In the New Testament a word John frequently used that is translated as “love” is agape. Agape is the very nature of God. Agape is the word used by believers to describe the special unconditional love of God. The most well known verse in the Holy Bible, John 3:16, tells us that God “so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Christ so loved (agaped) the world that He gave His life. Agape love is the pure unconditional love God has for His Son & every believer in Christ. Several other verses about the love of the Lord are translated from this same word. Romans 5:8 reads, “But God shows his agape for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” John 13:34-35 reads, “A new commandment I give to you, that you agape one another: just as I have agaped, you also are to agape one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have agape for one another.” These are just a few of the verses that feature agape love.
Another word from which love is translated as love is the Greek word phileo. Phileo describes a special interest in something or someone. Phileo describes a deep affection shown to a friend or family member. To understand the difference in meanings of these words for love we could say that you will always agape love your spouse or children, but not always phileo them. Things will happen that cause you to like them less but you will always have a pure love in your heart for them regardless of the circumstances.
Jesus had a conversation with Peter that is another example of these two love-words. After Peter had denied Jesus 3 times Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him. In John 21 we see where Jesus went to Peter & said, “ do you love (agape) me more than these (referring to other disciples or fish)?” Peter responded, “Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love (phileo) you.” A second time Jesus asked, “do you love (agape) me?” Peter replied, “Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love (phileo) you.” Peter still wasn't getting the question Lord Jesus was asking him. They were talking about two different degrees of love. Jesus asked one last time, “do you love (agape) me?” It grieved Peter that Jesus had asked him the same thing three times. Peter told Christ again, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love (phileo) you.”
Phileo love is a strong friendship or adoration more than the pure Agape love of God.
The Bible is filled with stories of God's great, unconditional love. In the book of Matthew we see a story of God's love & commitment to His people. Jesus often told parables to teach principles of the Kingdom of God. In the 18th chapter of Matthew Jesus' disciples came to Him to ask a question. They asked Lord Jesus who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus told them that the greatest in God's kingdom are those who have childlike innocence & humility. He said, “Truly I tell you,”he said, “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.“
After He told them these qualities are required to be residents of God's kingdom He told another story that pointed out how God loves & values all people greatly. He asked His disciples what their opinion would be in a matter concerning sheep. Sheep are loyal animals to their shepherd. They recognize the voice or call of their shepherd & respond to them. In the Kingdom of Heaven, & this parable, our Lord is represented as the great shepherd & believers are His sheep. In Matthew 18:12 Jesus says, “What do you think? If someone has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go and search for the stray? “
He asked the disciples what their opinion was with this matter; how it appeared to them. He tells talks about a man who owns 100 sheep & while 99 are on the hillside 1 goes astray. The “hillside” in this verse refers to the mountains of Israel where there were pastures for sheep. The sheep were free to wander grazing from mountain to mountain & could do so safely. Our Shepherd will leave the ones He has safely grazing in His flock on the hillside so He can go out to the world to rescue every single soul that is lost. God loves every one of us so much He will leave everything to come after just one. God's love & devotion to His people is seen in this story.
In Luke Jesus told another story about love. In Luke 10:25 a scribe, came up to Jesus & asked, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered by asking him what he thinks he has to do. Jesus said, “What is written in the law?” The scribe was an expert in the law & he answered, “Love the Lord your God with all you heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Being all-knowing Jesus already knew what was in this man's heart. Jesus said, “You've answered correctly.” Having answered Jesus' question correctly the scribe wanted some clarification as to who classified as his neighbor. Some people are easy to show love to but others are nearly impossible to love. The scribe was hoping Jesus would justify his belief that some people, those of a lower social class, are not good enough to love.
That's what he was hoping for but Jesus turned the table on the man by telling him a story about two sets of people, Jews & a Samaritan, who hated each other & were “unlovable”. Jews considered Samaritans to be half-breeds who had intermarried with foreigners & who were guilty of false worship.
In this parable Jesus teaches about showing love through compassion. He told a story of a Jew who was going from Jerusalem to Jericho & got robbed. The robbers stripped him, beat him up, & left him for dead beside the road. While the man was lying beside the road a priest came by. The priest, a spiritual brother of the injured Jew, passed by him without offering to help. After the priest passed by him a Levite came & passed him on the other side. They probably kept on their journey without stopping because they were afraid the people who attacked this man would do the same to them.
The men who were of the same faith as him passed by. But then another stranger, a Samaritan, came along the road. Upon seeing the man in distress he had compassion for him. Keep in mind that he knew this Jew would have disdain for him & would not even associate with a Samaritan under normal circumstances; but he had compassion for him. The Samaritan bandaged his wounds, poured olive oil & wine on him, then put him on his own animal & took him to an inn to do more to take care of him. The next day he took money to the innkeeper & instructed him to continue to care for him. He told him that when he came back to the inn he would reimburse him for any extra expense.
After telling the scribe the story of this man who was injured & left for dead Jesus asked, “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The man thought about this story & told Jesus that the one who showed mercy to the poor man was the one who proved himself to be a neighbor. Jesus then told him to go & treat others the same way the Samaritan treated the injured man. Jesus' reply to “go & do the same” emphasized that Jews should love their Samaritan neighbors just like the good Samaritan in this story showed love for the Jew.
The greatest example of the love of God is found in Jesus Christ. Jesus came to bridge the gulf that sin created that spanned between God & man. He is the way for all to have access to God the Father & spend eternity in fellowship with Him. God sent Jesus into the world to show love to all.
The first instance of Jesus' love we are going to look at is found in the gospel of Mark. His disciples desired Him to set up a kingdom that would overcome the Roman empire. Jesus had a much larger plan & one that was not just for the Jewish people. Jesus' love for people compelled Him to preach the Kingdom of God & to show love to every person He came in contact with.
In the 6th chapter of Mark, Jesus' disciples gathered around Him to report what they had done. After hearing this report Lord Jesus told them to go to a remote place to get some rest. When they were on their way to this remote place thousands of people saw them leaving & knew who they were. These people ran by foot from towns all around & gathered to meet them. When Jesus & the disciples were on shore they saw the huge crowd who had already arrived there & were waiting on them. Jesus had compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He then taught them many things. When it was getting late Jesus' disciples came to Him & asked Him to send these people away to buy themselves something to eat. They hadn't eaten anything for days. Christ then told His men to feed them. They asked if they should go to town to buy food for them & Jesus asked how many loaves of bread they had. They told Jesus they only had 5 loaves of bread & 2 fish. Jesus instructed the people to break up into groups. When they were in groups Jesus looked to heaven to bless the bread. He then broke the loaves & gave bread to the disciples who went out to give it to the people. Those loaves of bread & 2 fish fed the multitude of people. He also gave the fish to the crowd. Because of His great love & compassion Jesus fed thousands of people.
The next example of love we will look into is how through His ministry & life Jesus provided the greatest example of the love of God in everything He did. In the last days of His life Jesus prayed for God to intercede for His disciples & protect them. He was about to leave this world but His disciples still had work to do & would be exposed to evil & hatred. They would likely be very harshly persecuted. His concern for them showed that Christ would not neglect the needs of His loved ones for His own sake. Despite knowing what His own future held in the crucifixion He showed great love to His people & prayed for their protection. After He prayed for His disciples Jesus prayed for you & me. In John 17:20-26 Jesus is praying for every child of God to have the same unity that exists between Him & God the Father. This will enable the dwelling of the Holy Spirit in their hearts to be united with God. The end result will be that the entire world will believe that God sent Jesus Christ to bring life eternal. Everyone will believe that Jesus is the true Messiah, was sent of God, & is no imposter. Given the price that was paid for the relationship between man & God to be restored the love that God showed would be overwhelming.
To fully grasp how high the price for our salvation was we should look at the final hours of the earthly life Jesus had. Crucifixion was a brutal way to die. In the 19th chapter of John we read about the horror Jesus suffered for our salvation. Pontius Pilate took Jesus, had Him flogged, & severely beaten. Soldiers flogged & beat Him so much He was too weak to carry the cross on His on. Then soldiers mocked Him by twisting together a crown of thorns & placed it on His head & clothed Him in a purple robe.
Pilate then brought Jesus out & presented Him to the Jewish priests & servants. Pilate asked what they wanted him to do with this man & they shouted demanding crucifixion. Pilate tried to release Jesus but the Jews told him that if he releases Him then he is not Caesar's friend. The Jews betrayed their own King & demanded His death. Jesus was on the cross & knew the work He came to earth to do was finished. In John 19:30 we read where Jesus said, “It is finished.” He then bowed His head & gave up his spirit. Jesus Christ was God the Father's only-begotten Son. God's love for man was, is, & always will be so great He chose for His perfect Son Jesus to suffer the consequences we deserve for our sin so that you & I can have eternal life & fellowship with Him forever. We parents don't like to imagine our children suffering at all & definitely not suffer to the point of death. But God loves us so much He chose for His Son to suffer this fate so we won't have to. Pure Love for man!
The most well-known verse is John 3:16 that says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” We could replace the word whosoever with our name & it would still be true. That's how much He loves us.
Miss Tina, you asked what's love got to do with it. When you know the meaning of love from the greatest love story ever told you will see that love has everything to do with it!!
Michael Brown – April 2020
