A New Command

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

A NEW COMMAND

John 13:33-38

33 "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. 34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."  36 Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."  37 Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." 38 Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

NIV

Jesus was of course speaking of the cross when he told them they could not come where he was going, for he surely was not speaking about heaven as they would indeed be able to go there. Yet they would follow him later as they all did meet death and followed him to heaven. Many of them met the similar type death that Jesus did, but they all followed him to heaven. There are two truths we should focus on within this conversation between Jesus and his disciples. First we should consider this new command he has given. We must love one another as he loved us. It seems many of us spend a great deal of effort to obey all the rules that are within the Bible, especially those which enumerate the things we are not to do as well as a limited list of the things we are supposed to do, but it would seem many of us simply ignore this new command. How on earth are we supposed to love one another even within our own church, when we don’t even know each other’s name? Sure we know a few, but there are so many we do not, and we have never even spoken to, so how are we supposed to love them as Jesus does? True, his disciples had spent three plus year together, traveling about the country side, they had celebrated Passover together more them just this once, they had been together with Jesus hearing his teachings, witnessing his miracles, learning to live with each other, getting to know each other. Certainly at evening meals they sat around and discussed the day, what they had seen Jesus do,  as well as they must have talked about each other’s lives, what they did before Jesus called them, how he called them and their thoughts about Jesus. So when he told them to love one another, it would seem natural to them as they knew each other well. Sure there may have been a few personality differences, a few social challenges perhaps, maybe even economic disparities among them, but they were to love one another. Have we been released from this command? So why then does it seem we have so much difficulty with this new command? Are we so invested in our own lives that we do not have the time nor the inclination to actually love one another as Jesus loves us? How well do we comply with the explanation of love as outlined in Corinthians thirteen? The second truth we should ponder is about how Peter so rashly declared his intention to lay down his life for Jesus, yet Jesus told him he would indeed actually deny him three times in the next few hours. Volumes could be learned from this, but the most outstanding truth is we should be careful about declaring our firm adherence to being a “Good Christian” verbally, but also in the inner most thoughts of our own mind. We should be careful not to think more highly of ourselves then we should. That not only applies in our comparison to others, but in our behaviors in light of the truths of scripture and especially this new command. Peter might have thought well enough that he was a great follower of Jesus, that he was so committed to Jesus he would die for him, but he failed, and yes we know he was filled with remorse afterwards and perhaps Peter learned more about himself in that experience than he ever knew. Yet we should learn from Peter here, that we too, no matter how committed we think we are, can fail Jesus as easily as Peter did. If we ever think we are better than Peter, that we would never do what he did, then we have a lot to learn about ourselves. We should watch out for that crow, especially when it comes to that new command.