Loving Jesus in Others

As Jesus spent His last hours with His disciples before the cross, He gave them what He termed a “new commandment.” Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34-35). New in what way? The greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart, and the second is similar, to love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 28:38-39). 

A careful consideration of the words of Jesus reveal that this new commandment Jesus gave was new in several ways. 

• New in focus: love one another. This is more narrow than the broader focus of your neighbor. This places the focus on loving believers/disciples. 
• New in standard: as I have loved you. This is a higher standard than loving your neighbor as yourself. The standard is the love of Jesus.
• New in purpose: By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. The sign of true discipleship is loving one another—loving believers. 

This new commandment highlights a way to show our love for Jesus. Jesus lives in believers. Therefore, we have the opportunity to love Jesus in others. Those who boast great love for God and then mistreat believers are grossly deceived. For you cannot love Jesus without loving Jesus in others. 

Condescension of believers who are persuaded differently than you in matters not clearly defined in Scripture, shunning them, blacklisting them, treating them as second class citizens or worse—in the name of loving God—reveals deception. Creating a list of religious protocols that are actually not biblically delineated and then looking down on those who do things differently reveals deception. Focusing on a set of perceived religious rituals instead of, and to the neglect of, treating people rightly reveals deception. Yet these examples of lack of love for others in the name of loving God are commonly practiced. Some people are good at good things (and they may be very good things), but they allow the focus on things to eclipse the greater matter of people. 

Jesus clarified that the greatest sign of discipleship, a sign that evidences to the unsaved world who are the disciples of Jesus, is loving one another. This brings up a most fascinating point: protocol versus people. The greatest sign of discipleship is not whether you display a great version of ticking boxes of perceived spirituality. It’s loving and caring for people. Jesus cares far more about people than rituals. Religiosity can maintain strict rituals, yet be mean as a snake by mistreating people. Religiosity doesn’t have to equate to meanness toward others, but it can. When this is the case, it reveals counterfeit spirituality. When you are rightly related to the Spirit of Jesus, you love and care for Jesus in others. This reveals loving Jesus.

Yet, the only way we can love one another as Jesus loves us is to access Jesus in us. This is the Christ life. It’s the Spirit in us, filling us with the life of Jesus—the Spirit-filled life. As we, by faith, take the reality that Christ lives in us, we can then be a channel of His love for others. Amazing—Jesus in us, loving Jesus in others.