It was His last night with His disciples.  Jesus told them what He wanted them to do so that everyone would know they were His followers.  Surely, they so believed in Him that they would do anything for Him.   They had heard Him teach like no one else.  They had seen His miracles.  They had been out on demon-casting and healing missions for Him.  Surely, they would gladly go on record as His followers.  

Jesus gave them a new commandment and told them this is how everyone would know they were His disciples.  Here’s His words, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34—35, NASB95).  In a few hours their commitment to follow Him would be significantly tested, and in the next few days, weeks, and years, their courage would be tested to the maximum.  But Jesus said it would be their love for one another, not their martyrdom, that He wanted to testify that they were His followers.

I was struck by these words. Why would Jesus make love for each other a defining characteristic of His followers? I suspect it is because it would be difficult, costly, and unnatural. It isn’t natural to love, let alone to even like some people, at least for some of us. There are these annoying things some people do, those cantankerous personalities, and irritable traits, that just make it hard to even tolerate some people. And every church has its sprinkling of difficult people.  

Since Jesus said, “as I have loved you,” we can be sure the disciples would understand Jesus to be speaking of an unselfishness. Soon they would understand that it was also a sacrificial and costly love that Jesus was talking about. After all, He would go to the cross to make the substitutionary payment of His own life, so that the justice of God would be met for the forgiveness of our sins! To say loving others like this is difficult, is an understatement!

The early church began with people of differing races, and nationalities, and religious backgrounds, and social classes, all coming together around the words, the sacrifice, and risen presence of Jesus.  The power of unity in such diversity had to make an incredible statement to the outsider looking in. How could the outsider explain it? Only that these people follow a man named Jesus, who they claim rose from the dead. Would that not make anyone want to know more?

Does Jesus expect the church today to exhibit this kind of love? I think so.  Does the church?  I think not always so, unfortunately. I also believe that if the church did, more would be interested in hearing its message.  Does this mean compromise Biblical truths? Not if we love like Jesus. Maybe as Christ-followers we need to grow more in our love for Christ, so that we can better love like Christ?

— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Dan Krahenbuhl is pastor of Monroe Bible Church.