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John 13:30-37 (KJV)  He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.  [31]  Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.  [32]  If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.  [33]  Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.  [34]  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  [35]  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.  [36]  Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.  [37]  Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.

When I was in the military we often had to go out to the rifle range to “qualify” with our M16s. To those of you unfamiliar with this process it meant that we went and sat under an instructor for about 8 hours. Following training we went into the field, hung targets, then began by sighting in our weapons. I remember that we adjusted the front sights until we took center man every shot. If our sights were off we would never hit the target.

In the Old Testament God took Israel to the base of a mountain called Sinai. At the base of that mountain Israel waited until God instructed them in how He wanted them to live. The Israelite looked to the Law of Moses, adjusting their lives up or down to match that Law. The Law of God was a perfect and holy by which man was to live. But there was a problem with the Law.

That problem was US.
WE are sinners.
Our hearts are naturally corrupt.
WE in ourselves are unable to serve God.
And God wanted us to understand this.
This is why the Father sent Christ.

The Scripture says in:

Romans 8:1-5 (KJV)  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.  [2]  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.  [3]  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:  [4]  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.  [5]  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

The Law by itself could not fix us, but could show us that we need to be fixed. The Law of God is not null and void, dear friend. God sent Christ to condemn sin in the flesh. He sent Christ to die for our sins. He sent Christ to rise from the grace for our continued salvation. And Christ sent us His Spirit to live within us who are saved, enabling us to fulfill the righteousness of the law in our lives.

The Christian Live Is A Supernatural Way Of Life

We live for Christ, day by day, letting the Holy Spirit guide us through His Word to follow Him. Israel was given ten laws to live by, and these ten laws were expanded into, I am told, 613 Laws or Commandments. Jesus summarized these 613 Laws into two great Commandments:

Matthew 22:37-40 (KJV)  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 neighbor as thyself.  [40]  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Love is the nail that holds up the Ten Commandments on the wall of our lives. The commandments are to be interpreted through the lens of godly love.

The first Four commandments:

1. Love God first, put God first. (Exodus 20:3)
2. Do not make any other gods to love. (Exodus 20:4-5)
3. Love God with what you say about Him. (Exodus 20:7)
4. Take a day once a week to love God. (Exodus 20:8-11)

The next six commandments emphasize loving those around you:

5. Love and honor your parents. (Exodus 20:12)
6. Love life – do not murder (Exodus 20:13)
7. Love your own spouse (Exodus 20:14)
8. Lovingly respect your neighbor’s property (Exodus 20:15)
9. Love and respect your neighbor’s reputation (Exodus 20:16)
10. Love and respect what God has given to you (Exodus 20:17)

Do you think I take liberties with the text? I do not. The Apostle Paul heeding the Lord our Christ elaborated on the Law. He said:

Romans 13:8-13 (KJV)  Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.  [9]  For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  [10]  Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.  

Tonight we see an Eleventh Commandment that Christ gave. Jesus said:

A new commandment I give unto you

The word “NEW” is the Greek καινός kainós, (pronounced kahee-nos’) which means “recently made, fresh, new, unworn”. The word “COMMANDMENT” (ἐντολή entolḗ, (pronounced en-tol-ay’)) is the same one that Jesus used in other places for the Commandments of God (see Matthew 15:3,6; 19:17; 22:36, et al). On Mount Sinai God gave Israel Ten Commandments that emphasized love. Now Jesus as God Incarnate is giving an Eleventh Commandment.

To Whom Is The Command Given?

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another …

Jesus said “A new commandment I give unto YOU”. Who is the YOU that Jesus is giving this commandment to? Let us first see who it is NOT.

• It was NOT Judas Iscariot, nor to those who have the character of Judas Iscariot. Before Jesus gave the Eleventh Commandment He told His disciples:

John 13:21 (KJV) … Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

One of the disciples had been with Christ throughout His ministry, but the betrayer’s eyes were not on Christ. This individual looked like a disciple. This individual had the high calling of an Apostle. But this individual did not love Jesus, but money and the things of this world. This individual was the son of Simon the Leper, a prominent Pharisee. This was Judas Iscariot. He loved himself and not Christ. And because Judas loved himself rather than Christ he could not fulfill nor even hear this commandment. The Bible says that …

John 13:27 (KJV) … Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.

Where the Spirit of God is not, there is no love but the devil. Satan entered Judas’ heart, and Jesus sent him away before He gave this wonderful commandment.

• The Commandment was not given to the Scribes and Pharisees who rejected Christ. Jesus said:

John 13:33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.

Jesus said “as I SAID unto the Jews”, not “as I SAY unto the Jews”. The Jews were not with Jesus now, but were out plotting His death. The Scribes and Pharisees were people who professed to know the Lord, but only knew tradition and ritual. They didn’t love the Lord Jesus Christ nor His disciples, but constantly found fault. We are told in the Gospels:

Mark 7:2-3 And when {the Pharisees} saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. {3} For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.

The fault finders and so called sinless ones cannot receive the Eleventh Commandment. Those who receive this Commandment have a heart that loves Jesus. The Pharisees were – from the time of Isaiah – a people far from God. Jesus said:

Mark 7:6-9 … Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. {7} Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. {8} For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. {9} And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

To whom is this Eleventh Commandment? Hear Christ’s words:

John 13:33 LITTLE CHILDREN …

Jesus used the phrase “little children” to describe those who believed in Him.

Matthew 18:2-4 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, {3} And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. {4} Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

The whom is the Eleventh Commandment given? To the CONVERTED. To the person who stops following themselves and the world and COMES TO JESUS. The person that wants to be held by Jesus. The person that loves Jesus. On Sunday mornings I ask the little children to come forward so I can take a moment and share Christ with them. It is such a blessing to be able to do this. There is one little girl that will come up and try and crawl into my lap every Sunday – she is so precious. Her parents tell me that she is the main reason they come to Church, because each week this precious child wants to see the Pastor. Oh, how that fills my heart. If I, being evil (Matthew 7:11), have my heart filled with such a thing, can you imagine how it blesses Jesus? He wants us to come to Him. He wants us to crawl up in His lap. Jesus loves this. He loves those who, like little children, come unto Him.

A genuine Christian is a little child. I remember as a child falling and scraping my knee. When I did I didn’t try to doctor it myself. With tears streaming down my face I would run into the house calling out for momma, knowing that she would make it better. A Christian is someone with a boo boo that needs to be fixed. The whole world is in darkness, and the Bible tells us that …

John 3:19-20 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. {20} For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Lovers of darkness are not “little children”.
They will not come to Christ as “little children”.
Christ’s little children want the Savior’s Lap.

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

The commandment to love comes to “little children, because your sins are forgiven for His Name’s sake” (1 John 2:12).

The commandment to love is given to “little children who abide in Him, so that when He returns for us we will not be ashamed” (1 John 2:28).

If you have been loved of Him and saved of Him then this commandment is given unto you.

The Little Child Is To Love As Christ Loved

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

We are to love one another as Christ has loved us. This is a type of love that we cannot do in our own power. We are unable to love this way in our own power. You see the very illustration of this in our text.

Jesus told Peter:

John 13:36 (KJV) … Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.

Jesus had just told us as little children that we are to have a sacrificial love for one another. Peter heard this. But Jesus said “You can’t follow Me NOW”. Peter is the rough and tough fisherman. He quickly comes back:

John 13:37 (KJV)  Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.

I am sure that Peter meant what he said. “Love like You love, Lord. Absolutely! I will easily love sacrificially for You!”. But Jesus corrected Peter:

John 13:38 (KJV)  Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.

Dear friends, the love that Jesus commands cannot be done in your own power. The love that Christ commands us to do is SUPERNATURAL. God must enable us to do it. The Bible defines this Love in:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love suffereth long, and is kind; Love envieth not; Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, {5} Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; {6} Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; {7} Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. {8} Love never faileth …

As you and I surrender your lives He teaches us this Eleventh Commandment. It is the highest standard of God. We are to love as Christ loved.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 … Love envieth not; Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, {5} Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; {6} Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

The Spirit of God must be in it, or we cannot do it.

Why Is This Eleventh Commandment So Important?

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. {35} By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

The love of the world is based on selfishness and feeling. What sets Christ’s children apart from the present evil world is the unique love we have for one another. It is this type of love that holds us together. We are to PROVOKE one another to this type of sacrificial love.

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

It is sacrificial love that binds a Church together, and selfish love that tears it apart. The Church cannot operate on worldly love. The Church cannot help but win souls when it binds itself together under the Eleventh Commandment. I’ll end with the words of a stepbrother of Jesus named Jude. Jude wrote:

Jude 21-23 Keep yourselves in the love of God… making a difference: {23} And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire;

Here is how we make a difference. God must drive our love. May we all seek His face and obey the Eleventh Commandment! May God touch your hearts with His Word!