LOVING JESUS
Oct. 9, 2011
Sermon in a sentence: Jesus, I love You enough to obey Your command to treat others as I wish to be treated.
Scriptures: John 14:15,21-24; Matt. 22:34-40 (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18); Matt. 7:7-12; Luke 6:27-31; Rom. 13:8-10
John 14:15-24 (NASB) "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said* to Him, "Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?" 23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. 24 "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.
Matthew 22:34-40 (NASB) But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37 And He said to him, " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 "The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
Matthew 7:7-12 (NASB) Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 "Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 "Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets”.
Luke 6:27-31 (NASB) "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 "Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. 30 "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 31 “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you”.
Romans 13:8-10 (NASB) Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For this, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
John 14: On the last night Jesus spent with His disciples before His crucifixion, He had supper with them, and showed them how they should conduct themselves as servants to each other by washing their feet, as a common slave would have done. After Judas left to betray Him to the chief priests and Pharisees, Jesus taught an incredibly important lesson to the rest of His disciples.
- He spoke of the mystery of His oneness with the Father – the mighty God in Christ! (v. 9)
- He taught them the power of prayer: ‘I will do anything you ask’ (v. 14)
- Then He showed them the way to express their love to Him: “keep My commandments” (v.15).
- He identified Himself as the Helper, the Spirit of truth, the One who would not leave them as orphans – the Holy Spirit!
- He promised He would love those who keep His commandments and ‘disclose’ Himself to them, through His Spirit (v. 21).
These statements certainly beg the question: “What are His commandments? I’d certainly like to know them and do them if there are such benefits attached!”
They would not have had to go too far back in their memory banks to recall what Jesus had said to a lawyer one day who questioned Him about the commandments. In fact, he had asked Jesus, “Which is the great commandment in the Law”?
I’m sure many of you are quite familiar with His response: love God with everything in you, and love your neighbor as you love yourself (Mt. 22:37,39).
Jesus identified these commandments as the basis, the foundation of ALL other OT laws and prophecies. This was an incredibly powerful concept for them to understand, and even though we may have heard it countless times before, it’s also an incredible concept for us to grasp!
However, He made it even more succinct than these two foundation stones. Two or three years prior to this incident, Jesus had given another address to the crowds who gathered for what we often call “the sermon on the mount”. We are familiar with the beatitudes and Jesus’ clear, insightful interpretations of various OT laws. Then He made a most amazing statement, which most of them, and most of us, just pass by without much thought.
It’s not that they hadn’t heard what Jesus said and when I repeat it to you now, you’ll also say: “oh yeah, I already know that”.
Jesus summarized ALL of Christian living in this one sentence, and identified it as THE Law and the Prophets: “In everything…treat people the same way you want them to treat you” (Mt. 7:12)!
What is the point He was trying to make? To love Jesus is to keep His commandments and His commandment is to treat everybody you interact with in exactly the way you would wish to be treated.
That means everybody, everywhere, at all times.
So, I must be like the Samaritan who treated the wounded Jewish traveller in the way he would have wanted to be treated if he had been in the same position (Luke 10:30-37).
I must not put pressure on others to meet my needs. If I need help, I may ask, then graciously receive whatever help my family or friends may or may not be able to offer.
If someone asks me for help, I will do the best I can, according to my means, because that’s what I would like someone to do for me.
I will be the peacemaker, even when I have been wronged, because that is how I would want someone else to treat me.
Luke 6: 27-30:
- I will love my enemies. Why? Because I would like everyone to love me.
- I will do good to those who hate me. Why? Because I would like everyone to do good to me.
- I will bless those who curse me. Why? Because I would like everyone to bless me.
- I will pray for those who mistreat me. Why? Because I would like everyone to pray for me.
- I will turn the other cheek. Why? Because I would like everyone to display meekness toward me, even when I am in the wrong.
- If someone takes my coat, I will let him take my shirt also. Why? Because I would like to receive kindness even if I am a bully.
- I will give freely to others. Why? Because I would like everyone to give freely to me.
- If someone takes what is mine I will not demand it back. Why? Because I would not want anyone to chase me or nag me, even if I am a thief.
Not so easy, is it?! However, Jesus promised He would disclose Himself to us and come and live inside of us, help us, teach us and comfort us, if we will keep His commandment to treat everyone as we would like to be treated.
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