The greatest commandment is love
God gave the Israelites the Law – the Law is the five books of Moses which are full of laws, statutes, commandments, etc. There are ceremonial laws, religious laws, moral laws, etc. The laws in the book of Moses are so many. Therefore, it is not farfetched for someone to seek out the most important of them all. One day, a Pharisee came to Jesus and tested Him about which law is the greatest. Jesus affirmatively answered that love – love for God and the neighbor – is the greatest commandment.
34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Mt 22:34-40)
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment (Mr 12:30).
And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. (Mr 12:31)
Love your enemies
Love – love for God and love for your neighbor – is the greatest commandment – so did Jesus teach. However, oftentimes, we find it difficult to love some people such as our enemies. Humans as we are, we would like to love those who love us and hate those who hate us; hence we find it difficult to love our enemies. However, Jesus emphatically taught us to love our enemies. Jesus said:
But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. (Lu 6:35)
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; ….. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? (Mt 5:43,44,46)
27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, …. 32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. (Lu 6:27,32)
The religious elites
Religious hypocrisy was widespread in Jesus’ day. Jesus saw the likes of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, etc. These religious sects were held by many to be of higher sanctity. However, in reality, they were full of hypocrisy and falsehood and whatever they did was a pretense. These religious elites did not love the Lord, rather, they loved to put up certain habits to seek the glory and the recognition of men. Jesus made a sermon of what these religious elites love to do. He said:
They love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues: (Mt 23:6, Mr 12:39, Lu 20:46)
They like to walk around in long robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces: (Mr 12:38, Lu 11:43, Lu 20:46)
The religious hypocrites
Religious hypocrites are people who do their religious acts to show off but not to glorify God. Jesus did not want His disciples to be like that. When Jesus was teaching His disciples about prayer, He explained to them what religious hypocrites love to do; He said,
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. (Mt 6:5)
Iniquity will adversely affect the love of believers
At that time Jesus was on the Mt. of Olives surrounded by His disciples. Then He began to foretell what would take place before the end of the world. He said that there would be wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, persecution, false prophets and iniquity would abound. And the abundance of iniquity shall adversely affect the love of some believers; that is, because of the abundance of iniquity, the love of many believers in Christ will grow cold. Jesus said,
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. (Mt 24:12)
Why the Father loves the Son
According to Jesus Himself, one of the reasons why the Father loves Him dearly is that He is willing and ready to lay down His life for the salvation of mankind. Jesus, the Son of God, willingly offered to die on the cross for man to be saved. It was not as though He was forced by the Father and the Spirit to offer Himself, making His death sacrificial. And for such a sacrificial act, the Father loves Him. He said,
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. (John 10:17)
Jesus commands us to love
While Jesus and His disciple were reclining at the table during the last supper, knowing that His time was near, Jesus said a lot of things to His disciples passionately. Among the things He said, He gave them a command that, as His disciples, they should love one another. Jesus said:
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (John 13:34)
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. (John 15:12)
These things I command you, that ye love one another. (John 15:17)
Love is a proofing tool
Who is your father? There are two fathers in this world, God and Satan. Which of them is your father? God is love. If that is the case, then every person who claims to be a child of God should have a heart of love. For this reason, love has become a proofing tool to identify the children of God. If you come across a person who claims to be a child of God but he is living in the sin of hatred, disregard for others, racism, etc., he is no child of God at all for such sinful habits are contrary to love. Children of God shall prove themselves as such through the unconditional love they show to others. Jesus said,
Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. (John 8:42)
Love proves who the disciples of Jesus are
It is easy for any churchgoer to profess that he is a Christian or a follower of Jesus. And for some Christians, there is nothing in the way they speak or conduct themselves that suggests that they are of Christ. But according to Jesus Himself, the world shall know that we are disciples of Jesus through the love we show to others.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:35)
How to show love to Jesus
By the time I was born, Jesus had long died, resurrected, and ascended to heaven. Yet it is required of me, as a believer, to show love to Jesus. How? Jesus taught the earliest believers how they can do that; that is, believers can show love to Jesus through obedience to His command.
If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15)
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. (John 14:21)
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14:23)
Jesus confesses His love for His disciples
Jesus is loved, especially, by God the Father and the Spirit. And He also shows love to all. At some point, Jesus knew His days were near to die and was pouring out His heart to His disciples. As He was talking, He confessed His love for His disciples. If you carefully analyze His statement, Jesus meant to say that He loves His disciples with an intensity equivalent to that of the love the Father has for Him. Jesus said:
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. (John 15:9)
Jesus’ death is a sign of His love
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)
Love is a very important thing in our social life. Some people take love to the extra mile. If someone can love you to the point of dying for you then their love is real and great. Jesus loved humanity and was going to die for humanity. His statement in John 15:13 meant that His death was a sign of how dearly He loves us.
The meaning of Jesus’ death is love
Jesus had been talking about His death since the early days of His ministry. During the last supper, Jesus knew so well that His days were near to die. But He was not afraid at all, He was willing to face it boldly for it pleases the Father that He should die so that man would be saved. Hence, He told His disciples, “Arise, let us go hence (to the Garden of Gethsemane)”. The fact that Jesus willingly and readily offered Himself to go through suffering and death all to please the Father and to save mankind makes His death a sign of His love for the Father. Because of His sacrificial death which would make the will of God for man come to pass, people would know that He loved the Father. Jesus said:
But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence (John 14:31).
Jesus prayed for God’s love for His disciples
Earlier on, Jesus had taught His disciples to love – to show that unconditional love that God shows to mankind. After the last supper, when Jesus saw that His time to die was near, as He was pouring His heart out to His disciples, He prayed fervently for them. One of the things Jesus asked for His disciples was the love of God so that they too would love in the same way that God loves. Jesus said in a prayer:
And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26)
Remaining in God’s love
While teaching His disciples at the last supper table, Jesus told His disciples that for them to abide in His love, they have to habitually obey the word of God. Hence, the more your obedience, the more you remain in Jesus’ love. Jesus said:
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. (John 15:10)
The world loves its own
God is love and love is of God. All those who are of the family of God have no other option but to love. And the people of God are to express love just like how God expresses His love. That is to say, they are to love both good people and bad people, and they are to love both their loved ones and their enemies. However, the world – i.e. unbelievers and sinners – do not express their love like that. The world only loves its own. It would never love the believers or the people of God. It will continue to hate the people of God to the end just as it hated Jesus. Jesus said:
If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. (John 15:19)