A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another.A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
10 sermons cite this verse
this brief passage as the basis for the message I'm calling agape authentic love join me in your bibles as i read john 13 john 13 verses 31 to 38 i'm reading today from the new living translation verse 31 as soon as judas left the room jesus said the time has come for the son of man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will give his own glory to the Son, and he will do so at once. Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can't come, for I am going. So now I am giving you a new commandment. Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. Simon Peter asked, Lord, where are you going? …
… is from God. We got to find our footing, find our foundation in the love of Jesus. Watch here, John 13, verse 34. It says, a new command I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you. So you must love one another. By this, everybody will know, whether you're at West Adams, South Bay, or Highland Park, everybody will know that you are my disciple if you love one another. So the way that someone knows that you're in a relationship with Jesus is not your bio on Instagram. It's not your political party. it is not your Christianese the way that people know that you follow God is by your love the one thing I've learned about love is I never give away what I do not have in fact I want to preach a message today write down the title it's called mirror mirror on the wall mirror mirror on the wall you ever you ever think you're doing pretty good with your outfit and then you go look in the mirror and you're like, okay, wait a second here. Okay, this mirror's broken. I do not weigh that much. Why do I look tired in this mirror? I don't feel tired. This mirror is saying that I got bags under my eye. This mirror is saying that my face is wearing what I ate last night. I hate this mirror. …
… but loving is telling the truth in love. And Jesus said it very, very plainly in John 13, verses 34 and 35. He said, a new command I give to you. Let's all say it together. What's the command? He said, love one another. Now, how do you do that? He said, as I have loved you, so you must love one another. And he says, by this, by love, not just by your theology or your worship style or how smart you are, but by love, by this. Everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. A new command I give to you above all else. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. According to Jesus, love isn't optional. Love is the evidence. It's a reflection. We love as we've been loved, and that shows that we belong to God. And when we read the gospels, one thing becomes unmistakably clear, that Jesus was drawn to a lot of the people that the religious leaders actually avoided. …
… of how the world will know that we follow Jesus. Jesus said in John 13, verse 34, He said, a new command I give to you. All of our churches, let's say it together. What's the command? The command is to? Love one another. A new command I give to you. Love one another. Jesus says, as I have loved you. How many of you have experienced the unconditional love of God in your life? As I have loved you, in that same love that you don't deserve, in the same love that you could never ever earn. You must love one another. in the same way that we've been loved by him. He calls us to love one another. By this, by that love. Everyone will know that you're my disciples. if you love one another. I've got to say it, and I don't mean to poke, but I've got to poke. It doesn't say we're going to be known by our politics. It doesn't say that. It does not say that. It doesn't say we're going to be known for being right. It says we're known for how we love. And yes, you can be passionate about what matters to you. Please do. And you can be loving. …
… so I tell you now where I am going, you cannot come. Imagine, we've been everywhere with you. And now he's just like, hey, you can't come with me anymore. A new command I give you, love one another as I have loved you so you must love one another this is another sermon in of itself but it kind of preaches itself by this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another amen but here we go instead of just looking at the red letters I'm really grateful for this right here Simon Peter asked him Lord where are you going? What is it? Let's talk grammar. Let's go back. What is that? Tough question. It is actually a question. So I gave you the answer. How awesome is this? Simon Peter had a question. He's heard so much from Jesus. He's been told so much by Jesus. He's getting some final instructions and it did not all make sense. And sometimes you can read the gospels. I don't know about you and I can look at the disciples. I'm like, are you kidding me? Like, come on, fellas. Like, surely you can figure this out by now, but it's actually not that way for me. I look at them and I'm like, instead of disgusted or surprised, I'm actually encouraged. They're people just like we're people. …
… So at the last supper, Jesus told his disciples, I give you a new commandment that you love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. That's John 13, 34 and 35. He's describing what he hopes for the church. The church is not a building. It's a people. It's a community of people. You see, he had that himself. He needed those 12 disciples. And not only those 12 disciples, before his death, he had 72 people who are following him and being a part of his ministry. And so, you know, if Jesus needed to have people around him, how much more true is it of us who claim to be his followers? That we need community. We need people. So he's not describing, again, a building. He's describing people. But in the process of that and in creating churches like what Jesus is describing, part of what we know is we have some role to play in that. …
… John 13 says this. It says, A new command I give you, love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. Jesus is going away in this passage, and he's talking to his disciples, and he's saying, Take care of one another. Show hospitality to one another. Serve one another. I'm going to be gone, and I want to make sure that the world that does not know me can see me through your relationships. So we serve one another, and we're hospitable to one another because Christ is coming back, and he's looking for a beautiful bride. And he wants his church to be filled with relationships that are flourishing and healthy and committed to serving one another. Lastly, number five is steadfastness. What a boring but awesome word, you know? Steadfast means it's unwavering. I love this. It's dutifully firm and strong. And if you're single out there, maybe you're looking for sexy Steve, but don't rule out Steadfast Stan, you know? …
… And toward the end of the thirteenth chapter, in verse 34, He says, new commandment I give you, that you love one another. Even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." What was the way in which He had just loved them? By washing their feet. That's what He's referring to. Even as I have loved you, you love one another. And then He says, "'By this all men will know that you're My disciples, if you have love for one another.'" And what He means by that is the definition of love is humble service to someone else, selfless sacrifice for someone else. Over in John 15, on that same occasion, verse 13, Jesus said, "'Greater love has no one than this, that one lays down his life for his friends.'" So it starts out, love washes someone's feet, and then love gives up its own life. Peter calls it ectinase love, stretched love. It stretches as far as it needs to to embrace its object. …
… and abide in his love these things I've spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. so God says, okay, here's what I want from you. I want you to abide in me. And he says, and you will abide in me if you obey my commands. And then he says, and here's my command, that you love one another as I have loved you. So if God had it his way, he says here's my commandment you want to abide in me here's my commandment i want you to love one another just as i've loved you so if we're serious let's let's just say this was a church here i mean i know it's a building of a church but like we because i don't believe a building is a church um read my book Okay, so if we were a church seriously wanting to please him, God says, here's my command. …
… But then he says, what is my command? Verse 12, this is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Okay, why do we do everything we do as churches and try to get to know each other and really pour into each other's lives? Because it's commanded. He goes, look, you can abide in my love, just obey my commands. And he goes, what's my command? Here's my command. Love one another as I have loved you. Remember earlier he says, even as the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now I want you to do that to one another. I want you to love each other as much as I love you. I know we come here and it's not like we don't love each other, you know, or have some sort of feeling for each other. But what God wants is he wants this miracle to take place where I so accept the love of God that I am just beaming and I'm overflowing and it becomes natural For me to see you and go, OK, there's John and it is natural to love him. …