“IF YOU LOVE ME……” (John 14:15)
6th Sunday of Easter
St. George’s Anglican Church, East Ivanhoe
8 am and 10 am 21st May, 2017.
Readings: Acts 17:22-31
Ps.66:7-19
1 Peter 3:8-22
John 14:15-21
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!
INTRODUCTION
Some of us may remember a popular song, many moons ago, of which the first line in each of the four stanzas of the song is: “If you loved me half as much as I love you….” (written by Hank Williams)
Today’s Gospel reading commences with Jesus saying: “If you love me,” (John 14:15)
Do we love God “half as much as He loves us?”
When we were children, because we loved our parents we obeyed them.
Let us reflect on Jesus’ statement……
“IF YOU LOVE ME…..”(John 14:15)
It is in this same sense that we love our Lord and obey His commands because He has demonstrated His love for you and I and everyone in the world through His death on the Cross to set us free from our sin and guilt. Our Lord said: ”No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)
St. John wrote in his epistle, “We love (God) because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
“Love is what we see in the Cross.” (“Reflections”, Volume 3, p.523, Leon Morris)
Hopefully, our parents demonstrated their love for us – to us and we, therefore, loved them in return.
God demonstrated His love first for us, through Jesus on the Cross, and we love Him in return.
In the Gospel passage before us today, Jesus said: “and those who love Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love them and reveal Myself to them.” (John 14:21)
God’s very nature, His very essence, is LOVE! William Barclay says in explanation of this passage of Scripture: “Fellowship with God and the revelation of God are dependent on love; and love is dependent on obedience. The more we obey God, the more we understand Him; and the person who walks in His way inevitably walks with Him.” (The Gospel of John, The Daily Bible Study, p. 169, William Barclay)
As children, when we obeyed our parents, we felt a unity with them; there was a bond of love through our obedience to them. It is similar to this when we obey God and obey Jesus’ Commandments, we walk in unity with our Lord and there is a tangible sense that our Lord is with us – “He abides with us.”
Jesus, the Son of God challenges us, “Do we love Him?”
Let us reflect on:
“JESUS’ COMMANDMENTS.”
“If you love Me…” said Jesus. “You will keep my commandments.” Jesus says later in the Gospel passage appointed for today: “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love Me.” (John 14:21)
Well we might ask: “What are Jesus’ Commandments, remind me of them, so that I can keep them?”
You might recall that in many situations, e.g., in the armed Services, a “command” has to be abided by without question.
In the Gospel according to St. Mark, in response to the question asked by a scribe: “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered: ’The first is this, ‘Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.” Then the Scribe said to Him, “You are right. Teacher; you have truly said that ‘He is one, and besides Him there is no other’; and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ – this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that He answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:28-34)
Jesus’ “New Commandment” is stated a little later on in this Gospel according to St. John, when He says: “This is My Commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
“If you love Me you will keep My commandments…” Jesus said. (John 14:15)
“The principle observance of commandments through the motive of love is a revolutionary advance over the Jewish approach to the Mosaic Law.” (New Bible Commentary, Third Edition, p.958)
In a nutshell, Jesus’ commandments are to love God with all our heart, mind, strength and our neighbor as we love our self and Jesus’ “new commandment,” is: “Love one another a I have loved you.”
In the beautiful little book, “Mister God This Is Anna”, the little girl, Anna, wisely encapsulates Jesus’ commandments, when she says, “And God said, love Me, love them, and love it, and don’t forget to love yourself.” (Mister God, This Is Anna,” p.31+32, Fynn)
Jesus said: “If you love Me you will keep my commandments.”
“Loving Christ and keeping His commandments are inseparable. Moreover Christ’s love for us is the basis of His self revelation to us.” (New Bible Commentary, Third Edition, p.959)
Jesus said: “If you love Me you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) Jesus is challenging us, personally, to move forward in our faith and trust in Him and to let go and love Him with a passion, and love one another, obeying His commandments with joy and freedom?
Let us reflect on:
THE ADVOCATE
So, if we love our Lord, we will keep His commandments. Jesus makes a further promise to us, saying: “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor Knows Him. You know Him, because He abides with you, and He will be in you.” (John 14:17)
At our Anglican Confirmation Service, when the Bishop lays hands on the Candidates heads, the prayer is prayed that we will receive the Holy Spirit to strengthen us for our walk of faith as Christians.
“The Advocate” is another name for the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity, our Triune God whom we worship. Jesus’ promise is that those who love Him and who obey His commandments will receive the “Advocate” – the “Spirit of truth.” The “Advocate” is God, Himself, in the form of the Holy Spirit, Who will come to us to help us. He is the Spirit of Truth and will guide us into all truth and understanding about God and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
In explaining the work of the Holy Spirit, the New Bible Commentary says: “This is the first of five important statements regarding the Holy Spirit in these Discourses. The Greek word translated ‘parakletos’ includes the idea of one called in to help, but is not to be restricted to a legal advocate. The more general idea of counseling better expresses the meaning. The Counselor’s help is not intermittent, but continuous.” (New Bible commentary, Third Edition, p.959)
In the following chapter of this Gospel, 16, Jesus says: “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13) What “truth” are we humans seeking in the sense of our soul’s longing? We are seeking the “truth” about God, to know God? Jesus said in last week’s Gospel, ”I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” (John 14:6)
CONCLUSION
Jesus said: “If you love Me you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, because He abides with you, and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17)
In the last chapter of this Gospel according to St John, in one of Jesus’ resurrection appearances, after Jesus and the disciples with Him had finished breakfast, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love Me.” (John 21:15f)
Today’s appointed Gospel reading commences with Jesus saying to us all: “If you love Me you will keep My commandments….” (John 14: 15f)
The Son of God challenges us all in His words to us in the Gospel today to: love Him and God our heavenly Father with all our hearts, minds and strength and to love our neighbor as we would love ourselves. The New Commandment being: “Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
As the Son of God, Jesus, challenged Peter three times, so Jesus challenges us regarding our love for Him. “Do we love Him, first and foremost in our lives?”
The Lord be with you!`