Following with Love

Have you been on a road trip or driven interstate heading out from Sydney?

One of the things I look forward to when I go on a road trip is the big things I get to visit.

If I'm heading up to Queensland, there is the big bananas at Coffs Harbour.

If I'm heading down south to Canberra or Melbourne, there's a big merino in Melbourne.

Hitting those landmarks means I'm around halfway to where I'm planning to go to.

Today, I feel like hitting one of those big things in the life of disciples.

We have only a few more weeks before we finish the launch of our Finish 25 Vision Series.

We reiterate what Steve, our senior minister, said this morning and also at the beginning of the launch of our Vision Series.

This is, follow 25 is like a roadmap for what we want to get to by 2025,

our journey into a new stage of life and mission together.

The journey for us, collectively, as a church, and for us as individuals,

to get to a point where we can identify much growth as disciples of Christ, a Christian.

Through our connection in this church as we follow our crucified, resurrected, and exalted Lord Jesus.

If you identify yourself as a Christian, a follower of Christ, you are on this journey already.

It's time to leave the big banana or the big merino and keep going with the journey.

If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, we would love you to join us

to find out what it means for you to be on this adventure.

If you have been following our preaching series, we have learned that God has given us his word,

which is the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and the church to assist us in our journey of living our whole-of-life discipleship,

living a life following Jesus.

We have also looked at how to follow Jesus in our holiness and finance over the last two weeks.

If you have missed any of these preachings, you can find them in our website,

st.paul's.org.au, or our St. Paul's app.

And you will find today's outline in our app as well.

I will look at the big landmark and ultimate goal of Disciples Review today and next week.

They are signposted by the final words of Jesus in the John's and Matthew's Gospel, respectively.

Starting from chapter 13 to chapter 19 of John's Gospel,

it recorded the final words of Jesus' life before he was crucified.

And then the final two chapters show us Jesus' resurrection and exaltation.

At the beginning of John 13, John says,

it was just before the Passover festival.

Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.

Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

And as done in verse 33, it keeps saying,

Jesus says,

God is most commonly labeled as love,

and we should not be surprised that love is the hallmark of those who follow him.

However, are you surprised that Jesus has made love one another as a new command that we must obey today?

If it is love,

if we are under obligation or a command to do so.

I have four questions I want to answer today from our passage from John 13.

What does Jesus mean by love?

What is new about this command?

How are we to respond to this command?

And what difference are you going to make?

We need to ask the question,

what does Jesus mean by love in our current day and age?

Because we live in an age that focuses on individualistic value.

Love can mean many different things,

and if we are not careful,

we may be importing a definition from elsewhere

that is not the Christian love that Jesus is talking about.

As you read through John's Gospel and the whole Bible,

you will become clear of what Jesus means by love

and how he expressed his love for his own.

That is why we encourage everyone to spend time with God

as part of their daily and weekly life,

to aim for four or more quality devotional time a week with God.

One important thing for us to take notice from today's passage is

the very fact that love is commanded

means to focus us on loving action

rather than on feeling of love.

When Jesus commands his disciples to love,

we are not being commanded primarily to feel something,

but to do something,

to show love by loving action.

We see from early parts of chapter 13,

when Jesus saw love,

he does so by washing the disciples' feet.

His action may not mean much to you

if you do not see it in the eyes of those living in the first century,

living around Jesus.

They wore sandals, no shoes or socks.

They walked on unsealed dirt road without curbs and gutter

to drain away all the runoff.

They shared a road with animals

and whatever they left behind as they go.

Can you imagine what the disciples' feet looked like

after a day of walking?

Food washing at the time of Jesus

was a task generally reserved for the lowest of the manual servant.

Some Jews even insist that Jewish slaves

should not be required to wash others' feet.

The job was reserved for foreign workers or women or kids.

No Jewish man would wash the feet of another man.

But Jesus,

bent right down,

kneeled before his disciples,

washed their feet,

including the feet of the one that could betray him.

And he cleaned it,

dried them up with a towel wrapped around him.

foot washing is an act of humble,

self-sacrifice, sacrificial service

that points to the cross

where Jesus ultimately

showed his disciples how he loved them to the end.

In both of these examples,

foot washing and the cross,

Jesus does something.

He acts.

When he commands his followers to love one another,

it is a command to act,

to show love by loving action,

not focus on the feeling of love,

but focusing on what action

to demonstrate Christian love to one another.

Jesus said,

love one another is a new command

that he gave them from that point.

But what is new about this command?

What is highlighted

in what Jesus said,

follow the sentence,

it highlights the newness of this command.

If we go back to verse 34,

Jesus said,

a new command I give you,

love one another

as I have loved you,

so you must love one another.

The faith,

as I have loved you,

set a new standard

how we should love one another.

The measure of love for one another

is no longer like the song by Hathaway in 1993.

What is love?

Baby, don't hurt me.

Baby, don't hurt me no more.

The measure of love is no longer defined

by reframing from hurting each other.

It's no longer measured

by loving others

as you would love yourself.

The new standard of love

is demonstrated by Jesus

washing the disciples' feet

and laying down his life

for us sinners on the cross.

The one who is in very nature,

God,

made himself nothing

by taking the very nature

of a servant.

He humbled himself

by becoming obedient to death,

even death on the cross.

The standard of love set by Jesus

is extraordinary and unique.

How Jesus fulfilled the command to love

is unprecedented.

One scholar says,

No one has ever loved as he loved.

He gave himself to death

not for the righteous or the good,

but for the sinful,

for the disobedient.

He gave himself up to death

for his friends,

not for his friends,

but for those who love him,

but for those who denied

and forsook him,

for his enemies,

for those who hated him.

Apostle Paul,

in his letter to the Romans,

also illustrated the rarity

and uniqueness of Jesus' action

in chapter 5, verse 6 to 8.

You see,

at just the right time,

when we were still powerless,

Christ died for the ungodly.

Very rarely will anyone die

for a righteous person.

Though for a good person,

someone might possibly dare to die,

but God demonstrated his own love for us in this.

While we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

Jesus repeated the love command

in chapter 15 of John's gospel

in verse 12 to 14.

Jesus said,

My command is this,

love each other as I have loved you.

Greater love is no one than this,

to lay down one's life for one's friends.

You are my friends

if you do what I command.

He is ready to lay down his life for his friends,

knowing full well that within a short time,

they will desert him and deny him.

What is new about the command

is a new standard

that Jesus has set for us

and for his followers.

The standard is so high.

So how are we to respond

and fulfill this command?

Bible scholar Don Carson says,

This new command is simple enough

for a toddler to memorize

and appreciate,

profound enough

that the most mature believers

are repeatedly embarrassed

at how poorly they comprehend it

and put it into practice.

At this moment,

thinking about what Jesus has done

to wash the disciples' feet

and die for us on the cross,

some of you may feel embarrassed.

Maybe you're still enjoying

too much fun

at the Big Banana

or the Big Marino

and have not got back

in your car

to keep on with the journey.

Maybe it's a sense of guilt,

worrying about what others

will think of you

if they find out

how immature you are

or how your spiritual life

is going.

You are not alone.

In the whole Bible,

the person that knows

what it means

to embarrass himself

in front of Jesus

will be Peter.

After hearing Jesus' command

to love one another

as he has loved them,

this is Peter's reply

in verse 36 of chapter 13.

Simon Peter asked him,

Lord, where are you going?

Jesus replied,

where I am going

you cannot follow now,

but you will follow later.

Peter asked,

Lord, why can't I follow you now?

I will lay down my life for you.

Then Jesus answered,

will you really lay down

your life for me?

Very truly I tell you,

before the rooster crows,

you will disown me three times.

Peter self-confidently

proclaimed that

he will lay down

his life for Jesus,

was met with Jesus

repeating his word

as a question,

will you really lay down

your life for me?

After all,

who is laying down

his life for whom?

Peter's response

highlights one of the common

human nature

and weaknesses,

especially when it comes

to love.

We often quit to speak

and make promises

but fail to deliver.

And there's another

deeper issue

illustrated by his response,

but translated differently

in modern day Christian,

the issue of pride

and independence.

instead of responding

with a determination

in the affirmative,

we often respond

to God's command

in the negative.

When we are asked

to consider

to be a leader

or disciple

to help others

to love and serve God,

we are very quick

to say no,

very quick

to come up

with reasons

why we are not suitable

to fulfill

God's command.

Jesus said

in chapter 14

of John

verse 15 to 17,

if you love me,

keep my commands

and I will ask

the Father

and he will give you

another advocate

to help you

and be with you

forever,

the spirit of truth.

And then in chapter 15

when he repeated

this command,

he says again,

you did not

choose me

but I chose you

and appointed you

so that you might

go and bear fruit,

fruit that will last

and so that

whatever you ask

in my name,

the Father

will give you.

We are to respond

to Jesus' command

by the empowerment

of God,

the Holy Spirit,

the advocate

that sent to us

at the request

of Jesus

to be our helper.

If you intend

to be fruitful

in living for God,

whatever you ask

in Jesus' name,

the Father

will give you.

What is impossible

with man

is possible

with God.

Our relationship

with God

has a direct

correlation

to how well

we follow

and fulfill

God's commands

and that is one

reason why

we have set

our objective

to identify

much growth

in our relationship

and knowledge

of God.

the high standard

set by God

is meant

to drive us

in a closer

relationship

with him.

Independent

from God,

it will be

impossible

to fulfill

God's command

to love one another

as Jesus

has loved us.

Away from God,

we can do

nothing.

But on the contrary,

as disciples

remain in Jesus,

keeping close

to him,

praying for help

and strength,

we experience

the power

of the

indwelling spirit.

Because of this

and only

because of this

we can love.

With the spirit's

help,

we have the power

to change

and know

what it means

to love

the Jesus way.

Jesus commands

his followers

to love one another

as he has loved us.

And love

is a big thing

in Christianity.

It's by our love

for one another

that everyone

will know

that we are

Jesus' disciples.

We are primarily

talking about

the interaction

between Christian

brothers and

sisters here.

John's gospel

reports Jesus

giving his love

command in the

final week

before his

crucifixion,

resurrection,

and exaltation.

We saw how

Peter

respond to

Jesus'

prediction

of his imminent

departure.

The other

three gospels,

Matthew 20,

Mark 10,

and Luke 22,

reported how

the other

disciples

responded

to Jesus'

departure

and what

Jesus said

to them.

All

these three

gospels

reported

that

instead

of loving

and serving

one another,

the disciples

argued

and fought

for the top

position

and disputed

about

who is

the greatest

among them.

And Jesus

replied to

the argument

in Mark 10,

Mark 10:42

verse 42,

you know

those who

are regarded

as rulers

of the

Gentiles

lord it

over them

and their

high officials

exercise

authority

over them,

not so

with you.

Instead,

whoever wants

to become

great among

you must

be your

servant

and whoever

wants to

be first

must be

slave of

all.

For even

the Son

of Man

did not

come to

be served

but to

serve

and to

give his

life

as a

ransom

for many.

I've been

talking about

Jesus'

commands to

love one

another.

Why do I

concur

by addressing

the issue

of exercising

authority

and lording

over others?

I'm putting

myself on

notice

because our

attitude

and handling

of authority

are strong

determinants

of whether

love is

lived out

in Jesus'

way.

and whether

we will

get to

our

destination

of

intentionally

discipling

each other

to treasure

Jesus in

all of

life.

At

church,

at home,

and while

I had my

own office

before,

I would

become

aggressive

in my

language or

tone

to control

others or

manipulate

them to

agree with

my points

or do

things my

way.

or project

my

disappointment

or even

sometimes

say it

out loud

to them.

My

sense of

entitlement

and use

of authority

come out

at the

worst when

I need

things to

be done.

I want

to be

served

and I

want things

to be

done.

I

completely

ignore the

fact that

Jesus gave

his life

to ransom

me and

those I

am speaking

to.

And he

is in

control of

our life,

not me.

And that's

why I

need to

bring us

back to

that point.

As we

love

others,

we need

to be

careful in

how we

exercise our

authority.

Jesus has

given his

life to

restore all

wrong we

have done

against God

and each

other.

And we

can be

sure of

that by

looking at

Peter's

life.

At the

end of

John's

Gospel,

in

chapter

21,

Jesus

gave

Peter

three

occasions

to

declare

his

love

for

him,

one

for

each

time

he

disowned

him.

Peter

can let

his

failure

determine

who

he

is

or

accept

the

grace

that

Jesus

Christ

gave

him

and

make

a

change.

After

his

restoration,

in the

end,

Peter

responds

to the

command

that

Jesus

gave

him.

A

very

simple

two-word

command

in

verse

19

of

chapter

21.

Jesus

said

this

to indicate

the count

of death

by which

Peter

would glorify

God.

Then he

said to

him,

follow

me.

Jesus

responded to

this

two-word

command

by Jesus

to follow

him,

and he

did follow

Jesus

to his

death

in Rome

about

30 years

after

Jesus'

crucifixion.

In

Peter's

letter to

the

churches,

he

identified

himself

as a

weakness

of

Christ's

sufferings,

drawing

attention

to his

life's

biggest

failing,

to

magnify

the

big

love

that

he

experienced

from

Jesus.

And

Jesus'

love for

him

enabled

him

to

shepherd

and

take

care

of

those

that

God

entrust

to

him

after

his

big

failure.

In

1 Peter

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5

1-7,

he

is speaking

to the

old

and the

young,

to those

leading

and those

being led.

To the

elders

among you,

I appeal

as a

fellow elder

and a

witness of

Christ's

suffering,

who also

will share

in the

glory to

be revealed.

Be

shepherds

of God's

fog that

is under

your care,

watching over

them not

because you

must,

but because

you are

willing,

as God

wants you

to be,

not pursuing

dishonest

gain,

but eager

to serve,

not

lulling it

over those

entrusted

to you,

but being

examples to

the fog.

And when

the cheap

shepherd

appears,

you will

receive the

crown of

glory that

will never

fade away.

In the

same way,

you who

are younger,

submit yourself

to your

elders.

All of

you,

clothe

yourself with

humanity

towards one

and other

because God

opposes

the proud

but shows

favor to

the humble.

Humble

yourself

therefore

under God's

mighty hand

that he

might lift

you up

in due

time.

Cast all

your anxiety

on him

because he

cares for

you.

Let's

follow Jesus

and love.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

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Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.