1 Thessalonians 3:6

Order of Service

• Hymn — All Creatures of Our God and King (#248)
• Call to Worship — James 1:17-18
• Hymn — All Creatures of Our God and King (#248)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Sin
• Assurance of Pardon — Jeremiah 31:33-34
• Hymn of the Month — Sing Aloud to God Our Strength (Psalm 81b)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — John 13:1-38
• Sermon
• Hymn — Now Blessed Be Jehovah God (#564)
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: The New Commandment to Love One Another

Scripture: John 13:33-34

I. What the New Commandment Is Not

A. The command to love is not new to the New Testament — it is clearly taught in the Old Testament

1. Leviticus 19:18 — "Love your neighbor as yourself"
2. Matthew 22:36-40 — Jesus quotes this as the second greatest commandment, on which all the law and prophets hang B. The command to love is not merely an expansion of the scope of neighbor love
3. Some argue Jesus is broadening Old Testament law to include enemies and outsiders (Good Samaritan, love your enemies)
4. But Leviticus 19:33-34 already commands love for the foreign sojourner — the Mosaic law was never exclusively tribal

II. What Makes the Commandment New

A. The newness lies in the words "as I have loved you"

1. Jesus is the personification of love — his life among the disciples is the standard and the model
2. The context of John 13:1-17 provides the immediate illustration: Jesus washing the disciples' feet B. The foot-washing scene reveals the nature of Christ's love
3. Disciples arrived with dusty feet; no servant was provided; none of the disciples — not even Judas — volunteered
4. Jesus rose, removed his outer garment, wrapped a towel around himself, and stooped to wash and dry each disciple's feet
5. Peter's protest reveals how startling this act was — this was the Messiah, the transfigured Son of God, stooping as a slave
6. Jesus's response: unless Peter has a part in this humiliation and washing, he has no part in Christ's redemptive work C. The foot-washing points forward to the cross
7. The next morning Jesus would bear the curse in his body on the tree — Mark 10:45
8. His humility and servitude are the full measure of his love for his people D. The commandment is new because no man has ever loved as this man loved — and on the basis of that revelation, Christ calls his people to love one another in the same way

III. How We Are to Obey This Hard Commandment

A. Never forget who calls us to love

1. It is Christ, whose love cost him everything — his glory, his comfort, his life
2. His voice calls us to love as he has loved; we cannot turn a deaf ear to it B. Walk in newness of life through union with Christ
3. Romans 6:4 — buried with Christ in baptism, raised to walk in newness of life
4. We are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness — Romans 6:18
5. Loving one another is an essential manifestation of that new righteousness C. Rely on the grace provided by the Holy Spirit
6. At Pentecost Christ poured out his Spirit on his church to indwell believers and conform them to his image
7. Romans 8:9, 11 — the Spirit who raised Christ dwells in believers and gives life to their mortal bodies D. Look to the promise of divine blessing for obedience
8. John 13:17 — "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them"
9. Luke 12:37 — at the last day, the Master will gird himself and serve those servants found faithful
10. The great wonder: at the wedding feast of the Lamb, Christ will once more stoop to serve his people