Jn 13:4-5, 12-15
John 13:34-35
[34]A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
[35]By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
I warmly welcome you all again to this fellowship. During my job my boss had told me to go with one more employee who had joined that day only to check whether the address he had given is correct or wrong, as we were going, he asked my name I told him my name then he asked about my religion, I said I believe in Jesus, then he had shown the mark of a cross on the down ending part of his thumb, then he was telling me that he was also a Christian because he had loved a girl of other religion he had to change his name and religion. Immediately that poked my mind, what are the marks of God's children.
Is it wearing a cross in our neck, wearing all the time white shirt, kurta, makes us Christians or because our parents wrote our religion Christian in the Birth Certificate column that makes us Christians. What makes us or shows as a Christian? Let's study and find out the answer.
If I ask you a question what is the second most important topic of the New Testament.
New Testament, is all about Love.
In the King James Version, love is mentioned 310 times, 131 times in the Old Testament and 179 times in the New Testament.
In the New American Standard Version, love is mentioned 348 times — 133 times in the Old Testament and 215 times in the New Testament. In the New International Version, it is mentioned 551 times — 319 times in the Old Testament and 232 times in the New Testament. There are 538 instances of the word "love" in the New Revised Standard Version, 317 in the Old Testament and 221 in the New Testament.
The word "love" appears 57 times in the Gospel of John, more often than in the other three gospels combined. Additionally, it appears 46 times in the First Epistle of John.
Even apostle Paul speaks so much of love. Entire 1 Cor. 13 is dedicated to love I Corinthians 13:1-3
[1]Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
[2]And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
[3]And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
the conclusion is best of them all. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13:13
And in Rom. 13: 10 Love does not harm neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.
That is the importance given to the character of love.
Now with our verse and chapter let's study first mark of a Christian
1) Love one another John 13:34-35
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.”
By this, by loving one another all will know that you are my disciples. If you love Christ then you love each other if you don't love then you are not his disciples. That love needs to follow the pattern of Jesus loving to his disciples. If Jesus, Paul, John, James and Peter asked us to love one another. There's one thing they all agreed to is to love one another. If this is so important topic in the Bible then why do we fail to love, to understand this let us go to the commandment itself. So we crack it down like formula to solve the problem of not loving each other.
Matthew 22:39-40
[39]And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’
[40]On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
You know so many times, I feel like just close the Bible and close my sermon itself because it speaks so clearly that I am scared whether by explaining through some scholars or some commentaries I will take out the true and plain meaning of the scripture.
By practising these two commandments you follow the complete Old and New Testament.
Now, let us study carefully about the second commandment, Love your neighbour as yourself.
a) Learn to love yourself
It is obvious and apparent that until and unless you love yourself, you cannot love others. We have to learn to love ourselves. The person who cannot love himself he cannot love others also. Jesus is telling to people who love themselves love others also the same. If you don't love yourself, obviously it's not going to be easy to love others also.
There was one brother who used to come to our fellowship from a quite distance place. It was a rainy season and after the service, he was ready to go back, he took his bike key, put on the goggles and he was about to leave then he saw through the window that it's too dark maybe he may not be able to drive the bike in the rain. Then I saw from the window it was not as dark as he was afraid of. Again he saw through the window he said to me to see again, I said, I saw it, you remove your glass then you see. When he had removed his glass and saw that it won't be raining. That is a lesson for us to learn. What colour of the glass you wear is the same reflected externally. You have to remove that glass of negativity, hardness, hate, unforgiveness, pride, etc.
Just because someone cheated you that doesn't mean all human race is the same. If one girl cheats you doesn't mean all the girls are the same. If one man cheats that doesn't mean every man is the same. Come out of your bad feelings, low esteem, God loves you to start loving yourself. When you love yourself it becomes easier to love others.
b) Our love towards ourselves and to neighbour should be equal.
When we think ourselves very great or higher then others we think others are inferior, unimportant. Never think yourself high, and importantly never think yourself low either.
Romans 12:3
[3]For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly, as God has dealt with each one a measure of faith.
Let us not think about ourselves so high that we start to demean everyone. Let us think ourselves equal to everyone since we all are part of the same body. All are equal.
These are the three characteristics that are keeping us away from loving each other.
The second characteristic of a genuine Christian is Humbleness
2) Humbleness
John 13:3-5,12-15
[3]Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He had come from God and was going to God,
[4]rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.
[5]After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
[12]So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?
[13]You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.
[14]If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
[15]I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.
The best act of humility, it is not an incident to practice once in a year, but to practice in each day of our life. In my sermon of Christmas message, I had preached that how Jesus' life from birth to ministry from ministry to death the life was simple.
If we call him our God, that's great, absolutely great. But here is the problem for us, what Jesus said is you call me Lord and Master, that's nice, that is what I am if being your Lord and Master if I can wash your feet, then you should be in the eagerness of washing one another's feet. This is the God we serve. He's Loving, in fact, John's Epistle says God is love. And secondly, Mind of Jesus Christ is humility.
Philippians 2:5
[5]Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
Jesus humbled himself and became normal human being ready to die even the death on the cross
There was a man who came to attend the church, and when he saw a man cleaning the church, this man got down with very pride thrown the key at him and said to park his car not in a polite manner, the man who was cleaning didn't say anything he parked and went to give the key, that man didn't even say thank you to him, After the church when they were going back this man saw his dream car was driven by someone, the owner of the car was the same man who was cleaning, next day when he had gone for the interview of his dream job in his dream company to his surprise he saw the same man again, again he was ashamed of himself, he was not selected for his job. His boss rejected him saying if you cannot humble yourself in the presence of God you cannot humble yourself in my company also.
Love and Humbleness are the two any times are the marks of a genuine Christian.
How do you know you are humble?
- You put others first
- You do things that others are not doing
Like picking up a chocolate cover in the church, washing of the basin not even someone noticing
- You do things before you are even reminded
- You are grateful all the time, rich or poor just say Thank you
- More importantly, you respect each and everyone
- You don't do things for public appreciations
- You do not get insulted as you do not expect respect and do not put yourself first.
