INTRODUCTION:
A. How do children describe love? Motivational speaker Laden Lashkari wrote an article
in which he reported the responses of children ages 4-8 to this question. Here are
a few of their responses.
1. Rebecca, age 8 - "When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and
paint her toenails anymore. So, my grandfather does it for her all the time, even
when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
2. Billy, age 4 – “When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
3. Danny, age 7 - “Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she
takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
4. Emily, age 8 - “Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of
kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are
like that. They look gross when they kiss."
5. Bobby, age 7 – “Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop
opening presents and listen."
6. Nikka, age 6 – “If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend
who you hate."
B. How do you define the word “love?”
1. “An intense feeling of great affection.”
2. “A great interest or pleasure in something.”
3. In tennis (and other sports) a score of zero.”
4. One of the great psychiatrists said, “To be able to give and receive love is man’s
greatest need.”
5. In the movie, “Love Story” one of the characters said, “Love means ‘never having
to say you’re sorry.’”
6. An old country boy was asked to define love. He said, “Love is a funny sort of
thing. It’s almost like a lizard. It curls up round your heart and jumps into your
gizzard.”
C. Obviously there are many definitions of love. In keeping with the theme of this series
We want to ask, “What does Jesus say about love?”
1. Our English word “love” is mentioned 66 times in the four gospels (39 times in
John alone).
2. Jesus spoke about God’s love for us. In John 3:16 He told Nicodemus, “For God
so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in
Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
3. Jesus spoke of the Father’s love for the Son.
a. In John 3:35 He said, “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into
things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than
these, so that you will marvel.”
c. In John 10:17 Jesus said, “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay
down My life so that I may take it again.”
4. There are several references to the love Jesus had for His followers.
a. In John 11:5 John wrote that Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
b. When the crowd saw Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus they said, “See how
He loved him” (John 11:36).
b. In John 13:1 the text says that Jesus, “Having loved His own, loved them unto
the end.” This means that He loved them to the uttermost.
c. In the next verse John referred to himself as the “disciple whom Jesus loved”
(John 13:2).
d. John 15:9 states, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide
in My love.”
D. The commands to love God and love others occupy three important roles in the
teaching of Jesus.
I. THE GREATEST COMMAND
A. Suppose you could ask Jesus any question. What would it be?
1. In Matthew 22 a Jewish religious leader had such an opportunity. In his
commentary on the Gospels, William Barclay said that Jewish leaders used two
methods to explain a Biblical passage.
a. To expound on it through commentary.
b. To reduce it to as few words as possible.
2. In Matthew 22:34-40 we read, “But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had
silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a
lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great
commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is
the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love
your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole
Law and the Prophets.”
B. Jesus began His answer by quoting the Jewish “Shemah” (a word meaning “to hear”
or “to understand.” After acknowledging the oneness of God Jesus said, “Love the
Lord with all of your heart, soul and mind.” What was He saying?
1. Heart – the seat of your emotions and feelings. Paul wrote in Romans 10:9-10,
“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person
believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting
in salvation.”
2. Soul – from the word, “Psuche’” meaning “life.”
3. Mind – intellect. God does not want our faith to be “blind faith.” He wants us to be
informed. He wants us to examine evidence and draw conclusions.
C. Jesus’ statement of the greatest command provides a foundation for everything He
says about loving God.
1. John 14:15, “If you love Me you will keep my commandments.”
2. John 14:21 states, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one
who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love
him and will disclose Myself to him.”
3. John 14:23 -24 states, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father
will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who has
My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves
Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
D. Our family lived in middle Tennessee for six years. During our stay we became
good friends with a woman named Elverna Griner (better known as “Pete”). Pete
was a Tennessee Volunteer fan. She had been a season ticket holder for over
thirty years. Each year she took Tami and me for a “football weekend.” It was usually
in November. We sat on hard benches in a crowded stadium. No one ever spoke to
us. Some could be rude and obnoxious. The games lasted three hours. Sometimes
it would rain. We loved it!! Isn’t it time we stop blaming the church for our misplaced
priorities and lack of l love?
II. THE LAST COMMAND
A. Do you realize that the last command Jesus gave His disciples before His death,
burial and resurrection was the command to love one another. In John 13:34-35 He
said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have
loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are
my disciples, that you love one another.”
B. Do you realize that you cannot love God without loving people?
1. Go back to Matthew 22:39, “The second is like it, ‘You shall love
your neighbor as yourself.”
2. Jesus was connecting these two items with an inseparable link.
a. Listen to 1 John 4:20-21, “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother,
he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot
love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him,
that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”
b. One fellow wrote, “To love the whole world for me is no chore, my only problem
is the guy next door!”
C. Recently I was watching a documentary associated with the 19th anniversary of the
terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. This particular program focused on United
Flight 93 which was hijacked by four members of al-quid a and crashed in southwest
Pennsylvania. There are several recorded phone conversations between those who
were on board and their loved ones. They were all saying, “I love you.” How often
do we tell each other in the church “I love you?” My experience is that we do not do
so very often.
.
III. THE MOST DIFFICULT COMMAND
A. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You
shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your
Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good,
and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who
love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the
same? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do
not even the Gentiles do the same” (Matthew 5:43-47).
B. Do you understand why I say this is the most difficult command?
1. Jesus acknowledged that it is not difficult to love people we like. It is not difficult
to love those who love us, who agree with us, who think and act like us.
2. It becomes difficult to love someone who is different and even more difficult to
love someone opposed to us.
C. General Robert E. Lee was once asked to give his opinion of a fellow general who
had spoken very harshly and critically about him. It would have been easy to Lee
to retaliate but instead he gave a good recommendation. One of his aides said,
“Aren’t you aware of the bad things he has said about you?” Lee answered, “I
understood the question to be my opinion of the general. Not the general’s opinion
of me.”
D. On another occasion an aid of President Lincoln chastised him for befriending his
enemies. “You should destroy your enemies, not befriend them.” Lincoln
responded, “Am I not destroying my enemy when I make him a friend.”
CONCLUSION:
A. I have spoken many times on the subject of love throughout my years of preaching.
However, I do not believe I have ever spoken during a more critical time than right
now. Never have we needed greater love for God, for one another and for those who
are opposed to us than we do right now. Isn’t it time to listen to what Jesus said about
love?
B. Do you love God? Will you submit your life to Him? Will you love others as Christ has
loved you? Come to Jesus today through faith, repentance and baptism. Live for Him
all of your life, and eternal life will be yours.
A. How do children describe love? Motivational speaker Laden Lashkari wrote an article
in which he reported the responses of children ages 4-8 to this question. Here are
a few of their responses.
1. Rebecca, age 8 - "When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and
paint her toenails anymore. So, my grandfather does it for her all the time, even
when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
2. Billy, age 4 – “When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
3. Danny, age 7 - “Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she
takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
4. Emily, age 8 - “Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of
kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are
like that. They look gross when they kiss."
5. Bobby, age 7 – “Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop
opening presents and listen."
6. Nikka, age 6 – “If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend
who you hate."
B. How do you define the word “love?”
1. “An intense feeling of great affection.”
2. “A great interest or pleasure in something.”
3. In tennis (and other sports) a score of zero.”
4. One of the great psychiatrists said, “To be able to give and receive love is man’s
greatest need.”
5. In the movie, “Love Story” one of the characters said, “Love means ‘never having
to say you’re sorry.’”
6. An old country boy was asked to define love. He said, “Love is a funny sort of
thing. It’s almost like a lizard. It curls up round your heart and jumps into your
gizzard.”
C. Obviously there are many definitions of love. In keeping with the theme of this series
We want to ask, “What does Jesus say about love?”
1. Our English word “love” is mentioned 66 times in the four gospels (39 times in
John alone).
2. Jesus spoke about God’s love for us. In John 3:16 He told Nicodemus, “For God
so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in
Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
3. Jesus spoke of the Father’s love for the Son.
a. In John 3:35 He said, “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into
things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than
these, so that you will marvel.”
c. In John 10:17 Jesus said, “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay
down My life so that I may take it again.”
4. There are several references to the love Jesus had for His followers.
a. In John 11:5 John wrote that Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
b. When the crowd saw Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus they said, “See how
He loved him” (John 11:36).
b. In John 13:1 the text says that Jesus, “Having loved His own, loved them unto
the end.” This means that He loved them to the uttermost.
c. In the next verse John referred to himself as the “disciple whom Jesus loved”
(John 13:2).
d. John 15:9 states, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide
in My love.”
D. The commands to love God and love others occupy three important roles in the
teaching of Jesus.
I. THE GREATEST COMMAND
A. Suppose you could ask Jesus any question. What would it be?
1. In Matthew 22 a Jewish religious leader had such an opportunity. In his
commentary on the Gospels, William Barclay said that Jewish leaders used two
methods to explain a Biblical passage.
a. To expound on it through commentary.
b. To reduce it to as few words as possible.
2. In Matthew 22:34-40 we read, “But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had
silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a
lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great
commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is
the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love
your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole
Law and the Prophets.”
B. Jesus began His answer by quoting the Jewish “Shemah” (a word meaning “to hear”
or “to understand.” After acknowledging the oneness of God Jesus said, “Love the
Lord with all of your heart, soul and mind.” What was He saying?
1. Heart – the seat of your emotions and feelings. Paul wrote in Romans 10:9-10,
“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person
believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting
in salvation.”
2. Soul – from the word, “Psuche’” meaning “life.”
3. Mind – intellect. God does not want our faith to be “blind faith.” He wants us to be
informed. He wants us to examine evidence and draw conclusions.
C. Jesus’ statement of the greatest command provides a foundation for everything He
says about loving God.
1. John 14:15, “If you love Me you will keep my commandments.”
2. John 14:21 states, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one
who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love
him and will disclose Myself to him.”
3. John 14:23 -24 states, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father
will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who has
My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves
Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
D. Our family lived in middle Tennessee for six years. During our stay we became
good friends with a woman named Elverna Griner (better known as “Pete”). Pete
was a Tennessee Volunteer fan. She had been a season ticket holder for over
thirty years. Each year she took Tami and me for a “football weekend.” It was usually
in November. We sat on hard benches in a crowded stadium. No one ever spoke to
us. Some could be rude and obnoxious. The games lasted three hours. Sometimes
it would rain. We loved it!! Isn’t it time we stop blaming the church for our misplaced
priorities and lack of l love?
A. Do you realize that the last command Jesus gave His disciples before His death,
burial and resurrection was the command to love one another. In John 13:34-35 He
said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have
loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are
my disciples, that you love one another.”
B. Do you realize that you cannot love God without loving people?
1. Go back to Matthew 22:39, “The second is like it, ‘You shall love
your neighbor as yourself.”
2. Jesus was connecting these two items with an inseparable link.
a. Listen to 1 John 4:20-21, “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother,
he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot
love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him,
that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”
b. One fellow wrote, “To love the whole world for me is no chore, my only problem
is the guy next door!”
C. Recently I was watching a documentary associated with the 19th anniversary of the
terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. This particular program focused on United
Flight 93 which was hijacked by four members of al-quid a and crashed in southwest
Pennsylvania. There are several recorded phone conversations between those who
were on board and their loved ones. They were all saying, “I love you.” How often
do we tell each other in the church “I love you?” My experience is that we do not do
so very often.
.
A. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You
shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your
Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good,
and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who
love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the
same? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do
not even the Gentiles do the same” (Matthew 5:43-47).
B. Do you understand why I say this is the most difficult command?
1. Jesus acknowledged that it is not difficult to love people we like. It is not difficult
to love those who love us, who agree with us, who think and act like us.
2. It becomes difficult to love someone who is different and even more difficult to
love someone opposed to us.
C. General Robert E. Lee was once asked to give his opinion of a fellow general who
had spoken very harshly and critically about him. It would have been easy to Lee
to retaliate but instead he gave a good recommendation. One of his aides said,
“Aren’t you aware of the bad things he has said about you?” Lee answered, “I
understood the question to be my opinion of the general. Not the general’s opinion
of me.”
D. On another occasion an aid of President Lincoln chastised him for befriending his
enemies. “You should destroy your enemies, not befriend them.” Lincoln
responded, “Am I not destroying my enemy when I make him a friend.”
A. I have spoken many times on the subject of love throughout my years of preaching.
However, I do not believe I have ever spoken during a more critical time than right
now. Never have we needed greater love for God, for one another and for those who
are opposed to us than we do right now. Isn’t it time to listen to what Jesus said about
love?
B. Do you love God? Will you submit your life to Him? Will you love others as Christ has
loved you? Come to Jesus today through faith, repentance and baptism. Live for Him
all of your life, and eternal life will be yours.
