After Judas left, Jesus continued to teach his disciples.
Click here for an online Bible John 13:31-38
Jesus told his disciples that it was time for his glorification. They didn’t understand that he was talking about his death. He told them that he was going somewhere and they couldn’t follow. Peter said that he would follow Jesus even to the point of death. Jesus said that Peter would disown him three times that night.
Jesus also put the finishing touch on his teaching about love. He demonstrated his love for them by washing their feet. He told them to follow his example. Then he made it a command that they love one another as he loved them. He said that people would know that they were his disciples by how they loved one another.
There are two challenges here. The first challenge is, how will we follow Jesus? Will we give up when the going gets rough? Will we take risks? Will we fare better than Peter? If Peter was doomed to failure, how could we hope to do any better? The difference is that this incident was prior to the giving of the Holy Spirit. We are filled with the Holy Spirit who empowers us to do what Jesus has called us to do.
The second challenge is about how we love one another. Jesus said the evidence of being his disciple is our love. Sometimes it’s hard to love each other. We are sinful fallen people, so our ability to love is somewhat compromised. Also, it is hard to love other sinful fallen people. The answer is the same as the first challenge. The solution to be able to love is the Holy Spirit. We can only love as Jesus loves when guided by the Holy Spirit.
So, how do we follow Jesus and love like Jesus? We must cultivate our relationship with God. We must be growing as disciples. It takes discipline. Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Is Jesus direction here of loving others MORE than ourselves a "new" commandment or further clarification of "Love your neighbor as yourself". Either way, it gets to the depth of our "heart" condition as were all of Jesus' teachings.
Peter foretold failure is also our own foretelling failure when we try to occomplish things on our own power and not with God's guidance or support. I need this lesson pounded into my head regularly.
Larry. I don't know much about pouncing, but I do believe your sincere efforts to do the will of God are not in vain. Your every attempt to do the best you can should reveal where God and others are working in your life more accurately. We should seek to find where God is working and let the Holy Spirit reveal it to us. I think we get pounded when we continue to be non responsive to the Holy Spirit. -=Love ej
ps: i started not to mention anything about your question because you said either way... and it seemed to me that you really did not care about the truth that may be there... any way... what I see is Jesus continues to challenge us and our beliefs further. earlier to the disciples and other people he may have said love your neighbor as yourself in response to the eye for an eye law given by Moses. He was simply saying that the law does not require that you take your brother's eye, but actually limits you from taking anything more than what he took from you. Now, He challenges the Jews by showing that we are all in debt to one another some way or another to one degree or another. so it be better to love them in the hopes to balance your debt to the one who did you wrong to begin with, but not only to the one who did you wrong -- to him that is in need as well. We can never balance the scales of wrongdoings to one another, the best hope is to love each other as we love ourselves. Now, later and alone with the disciples He says to them to love others more than you love yourself, in so doing all men will know that you are My disciples. This is to further bring them down while in the world, but to bring them up in Christ and that Glory of Christ may continue to shine in us. I think he says this later, another reason i wanted to keep silent. any way b\I hope you are blessed by this and may God continue to add to you faith, knowledge, hope and other blessings.
Post a Comment