A "Fresh" Command - aka It's Not New
Worth Remembering
John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
In every relationship, there seems to be one person convinced expiration dates on things like salt and bottled water are sacrosanct and rational. Then, there’s another staring at nutrients before them insisting, “It’s still good!” I am the latter, and I’m in good company.
During Holy Week conversations like these become especially relevant. Maundy Thursday draws its name from the Latin word “mandatum” meaning mandate or command. On the night of the Last Supper Jesus uttered the command we find in John 13:34. As we read the words today, there is just one problem. As skeptics gleefully point out, the commandment isn’t new.
Matthew 5:43-44“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Luke 6:27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
Luke 10:25-27 One day an expert in the law stood up to test Him. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26“What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?” 27He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Mark 12:29-31 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[e] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[f] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[g] There is no commandment greater than these.”
Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The Sermon on the Mount, the command to love your enemies, the encounter with the rich young ruler, and the Greatest Command all came before the Last Supper. Galatians 5 tell us love is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Because we see the Holy Spirit first pour out during the construction of the tabernacle, it’s reasonable to assume the Holy Spirit had been calling God’s children to love one another for thousands of years before the incarnation.
In addition, we can’t ignore the fact that when Jesus gave the command at the Last Supper, he was pointing across centuries and languages to the center of the moral law, Leviticus 19, which says, Love your neighbor as yourself. If scripture is infallible, how could a call to love be considered a “new” commandment?
Let’s look at the word for new used in the text. Kainos is bigger than “new”. Think of it as the opposite of old, dated, tired, worn out, or antiquated. It’s fresh. It’s not stale. It’s good as new.
In the hours, before the crucifixion, when Jesus knew a shaking was coming, the Lord pointed His disciples to the greatest command, to the center of the moral law. He pointed them to love. Knowing life was about to get scary and He would not be there, Jesus told those He loved, “This isn’t tired, outdated, or worn out.” “It’s a fresh command.” “Love still matters.” So, when you feel stuck between the cross and the empty tomb, remember to love one another. It’s still good, and fresh, and nourishing, and that’s Worth Remembering.
Wonderfully encouraging piece. His mercies are re(new)ed every morning.
Love this