A New Commandment - 5/7/2023

Jesus is at the Last Supper with His disciples. Judas has just left into the darkness to betray Jesus. As Judas closes the door, Jesus immediately acknowledges that the time has come for Him to be glorified. If not carefully read, it is easy to miss that these seven verses are about love. First, we are confronted with Jesus’ incredible love as He talks about His willingness to go to the cross for all of us. Then, as He explains to the disciples that they cannot go with Him, you can hear His affection as He clearly understands that these next few days will be rough for His closest friends. He goes on to command His disciples to love one another as He has loved them, and finally, this passage ends with Jesus sharing with Peter that he will deny Jesus three times before the rooster crows. Jesus not only warned Peter, but he restored Him at that moment as well. His love for Peter would not leave Peter without hope in that moment of failure. Jesus promised to be spiritually with us always, and He commanded us to love one another as He first loved us.