John 15:12-17 – “Jesus Returns to the New Commandment; Love One Another”
(Matt Koerber)
John 15:12-17 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
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In this section, Jesus has been talking a lot about this commandment. After washing the disciples feet he told them to “do likewise” and summarized his teaching in a new commandment; “love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34.) Jesus then returned to that theme in the first part of the Farewell Discourse, when he reminded his followers that after his departure they should keep his commandments (John 14:15,21.) In this section, Jesus returns to this New Commandment and calls us, again, to love one another. This commandment was not new in sense that it had never before been discussed before. In fact, Jesus had said that “loving your neighbor as yourself” was the second great emphasis of the Mosaic Law (Matt 22:39.) However, Jesus gives this command a place of priority in his ethical teaching. For this reason, theologians sometimes call this the “Great Commandment.”*
Why is it so “great”?
- When the church loves one another, we reflect the character and ministry of Jesus. “Love one another as I have loved you.” (v.12b)
- Jesus loved by laying his life down for his friends (v.13.) According to Jesus, there is “no greater love” than that. This shows us that love seeks the good of others even when it is costly and sacrificial.
- In sharing his purposes with us, Jesus invites us into his inner counsel. Because he has shared his purposes, we are regarded as “friends” not “servants” (v.15.)
- In summary, Jesus wants us to know his purposes. At the moment John 15 was written, the purpose of Jesus was to demonstrate his love for his friends by laying his life down for them. At our current moment in history, the purpose of Jesus is to have his followers bear fruit in loving one another. This is why we were “chosen” to begin with (v.16.)
- Jesus is so committed to this purpose that he attaches an extravagant prayer promise to loving one another: “Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you” (v.16b.) It occurs to me that we should all spend more time praying for ways to love the people around us, particularly in the church. We should expect to see these prayers rapidly answered in powerful ways.
- Finally, Jesus reiterates that these are things that he “commands” (v.17.) Love is not an optional extra, like frosting we may choose to add to an already sweet dessert. Love is the substance of what Jesus wants from us. Love is not the icing… but the cake.
Prayer Focus: Fundraising for New Building
We have been seeking to pray regularly for new building project. I don’t want this to be seem self-serving, as if the main goal of our prayer is merely to raise money for ourselves. I recognize that a Capital Campaign runs the risk of turning our attention inward. But, I am far more afraid that we could run forward in this project without praying enough about it. If that was the case, we would surely be attempting to do it in our own strength, and the results could be catastrophic. We could fail in a cloud of infighting, or succeed in a storm of manipulation. The prayer focus for today was that our congregation would rightly value God’s Kingdom work and that our future giving would reflect that. As we think about the topics covered in this devotional, I think we can add to that prayer that our giving reflect love for one another. This love will need to be sacrificial, but it is a means to extending the ministry of our congregation to more people. We are moving forward with this building project because we desire to continue our ministry in the University and Medical Community. These people include others in our community, those we have not yet met, and even those who have not yet been born. In other words, the best motive for all of this is “love.”
* The term “Great Commandment” reflects the similarity to the “Great Commission” at the end of Matthew’s Gospel. It also reflects the language used to question Jesus in Matthew 22:34-40. He is asked which commandment is the most important and he responds by saying that loving God is “great and first”, but that loving your neighbor is second. In context we could read this as the second great commandment.