A New Commandment

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34)(1 John 2:7-8)(2 John 1:5)

If scholars are correct, John wrote his gospel near the end of the first century (~95 A.D.).  Writing 30-40 years after the other gospel accounts gave John a unique historical perspective.  When John wrote of Peter’s death (John 21:25), he recorded the event as a historical fact (Peter was executed around 67 A.D.) not a prophetic utterance.  By the end of the first century, the temple had been destroyed (70 A.D.), and the ruling Sadducees killed or dispersed from the land.  John makes no reference to the Sadducees, while they are mentioned 15 times in the other gospel accounts.  Absent the Sadducees, only “the Jews” and “Pharisees” remained to blame for the hatred that led to the crucifixion, the Jewish revolt, and the destruction of the temple. 

John refers to “the Jews” 62 times, while the phrase only occurs 15 times in the other three gospel accounts combined.  In the context of John’s gospel, the term “the Jews” primarily refers to the ruling class of individuals living in Jerusalem and Judea, i.e., the chief priests, Caiaphas, and Annas, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees.  Too often believers have read John’s words as a general condemnation of the entire race, forgetting that Jesus, the apostles and the original believers were all Jews.  Although the Pharisees also receive criticism, John records the acts of those faithful Pharisees who both approached Jesus with an open heart (John 3:1), and who became disciples that buried Jesus in accordance with the customs based on the commandments, (John 19:38-39).

Only in the gospel account of John (and his epistles) do we read of Jesus’ “new commandment” to “love one another” as “I have loved you”.  The “new commandment” is similar to the original commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18), but built on a better foundation.  The original commandment was limited to the degree an individual loved himself and often we do not love ourselves.  We are prone to the physical abuse of our bodies and treat with contempt the relationships God has given to support and encourage us.  The coming of Jesus brought an unalterable higher standard; a standard not compromised by the evil inclination and the general failings of the flesh.  Just as the Law was given as the ultimate standard because a man’s conscience could be corrupted, so also, Jesus established a standard of loving one another not limited by individual weakness.  Under the original commandment, a person would rarely be motivated to love in a sacrificial manner because such action is seemingly contrary to loving oneself.  Not so with the “new commandment” of Jesus.

“This is My commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13)

So why did God not originally give this commandment at Mount Sinai?  It had to wait until One could come and live the pattern and say the words, “just as I have loved you.”

 

Scott

 

Protecting the Image of God

 
The recent decision by the Supreme Court is very disheartening because it nationally sanctions a relationship that corrupts the image of the God.  Although we cannot control the decision of the Court, we can control our response and use this time as an opportunity to re-examine our own walk to ensure that we are living a life that honors God following the walk of Jesus.   After all, homosexuality is just one sin found among the extensive lists of transgressions contained in Leviticus 18:1-30 and First Corinthians 6:9-10.  If believers had been more faithful to our own marriages over the past century, loving our wives and honoring our spouses, then the door might never have opened to the Supreme Court.  In some ways, the Supreme Court is only reflecting a generation of people discouraged by the heartache and disappointment of divided homes and broken marriages.  Yet, the word of God remains true, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 
 
Sexual sins are especially grievous to God, “Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body,” (1 Cor 6:19).  While other sins are often transgressions against our fellow man, sexual sins, including homosexuality, can be seen as a direct attack on the very image of the Creator because, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created him,” (Gen 1:27).  Not man singularly, but the union of man and woman in marriage represents a restoration of the original Adam created in the image of God.  “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.  So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  What therefore God has joined together, let man separate,” (Matt 19:5-6). 
 
Since the union of man and woman becomes a picture of the Creator, any deviation from this pattern is seen as a perversion to the very image of God.  For this reason, the Bible goes to great length in describing numerous types of prohibited sexual relationships (see Leviticus 18:1-30), all referred to as “abominations.”  The distortion of God’s image is seen as the gravest type of sin in scripture, whether the distortion occurs in the form of prohibited sexual relationships, the killing of a human being who has been created in the image of God, or the worshiping of an idol, such as the golden calf, formed to represent God.  The prohibitions given by the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 address these concerns to protect the image of God.
 
Marriage is a great "mystery", a gift from above to teach mankind truth about the Creator.  The Hebrew word for “joined” (Gen 2:24)(Matt 19:5) is “dabaq”, the same word used in scripture for “holding fast” to the LORD God, (Duet 30:20)(Heb 3:14).  Not only does marriage provide us with a picture of God, it teaches us the relationship the Creator desires with His creation.

Have a blessed holiday - Scott