The Ten Commandments are ten laws on two stone tablets given by God to the nation of Israel through Moses. The religion of the Pharisees and Scribes focused mainly on the strict keeping of the Laws and thereby earning a reward from God.
One day the Pharisees asked Jesus what the most important commandment was. Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: Love your neighbor as you love yourself’” (Matt. 22:37 – 39). It was important for the Pharisees to hear that they must love God. Jesus said: “They love to stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them” (Matt. 6:5). Hence they didn’t pray because they loved the Lord, but so that they would be seen by the people. Jesus furthermore set the norm for loving others, namely as you would yourself. To the Pharisees it must have been very hard. They loved themselves very much and despised those who couldn’t keep the laws as strictly as they did.
Judas left Jesus to betray Him. Shortly thereafter, and before Jesus was arrested, He told his other disciples: “And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples” (Joh. 13:34 – 35). The criterion here is not “as you love yourself” but “as I (Jesus) love you”. Here He talks to his disciples, i.e. people who followed Him, had heard what He said, had seen what He did. They loved Him. They didn’t need a commandment ordering them to love Him. As I have loved you implies that you know the gospel. You know how Jesus loves you, how He paid for your sins. It would thus be impossible for you to obey this commandment and then regard it as down-payment on eternal life. You will obey this law because of your personal relationship with Jesus. If we accepted Jesus as our Redeemer we love Him. There can be no doubt about that. The new commandment is for people belonging to Jesus. They’ll obey the new commandment because they have already been saved and not in order to be saved. This instruction, Jesus’ new commandment, covers everything we should do if we ask in each situation: What does Jesus’ love demand of me? Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit. Paul writes: If the Spirit leads you, then you are not subject to the Law. (Gal. 5:18). The fruit of the Spirit is: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. (Gal. 5:22-23).
If we are Jesus’ followers, have given our hearts to Him, He wants us to have his heart so that we can look at people through his eyes. It is He who has empathy with people in need. It is He who said that what we do to others we do unto Him. He sympathises sincerely with us. On the cross He bore our sins. That is how much He loves us. He gives his new commandment: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another”. Thereby we also become his witnesses: “If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples”.
Lord, help us to love people as You love us.
Amen.