The Eleventh Commandment – Authority
As we open our Bibles to John 13, we find a passage that is pulsating with love. The chapter opens with the words, “Having loved his own where were in the world, he loved them unto the end” (Jn. 13:1). In the last verses of John 13, we find what we’ve discovered here this morning, the eleventh commandment. Jesus says in verse 34: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”
In truth, no study of the Ten Commandments would be complete without careful consideration of this commandment.
Simply put, Jesus wants us to love each other with a love like he displayed when he loved us. Jesus wants us to love each other like he loved us. This is the eleventh commandment!
Now there are several questions that confront us when we come to this text.
Perhaps the first thing we should ask is how is this commandment new? After all, 1400 years before Jesus shared these words, Leviticus 19:18 said “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” How is this new? It sounds kind of old. Hold that question. We’re going to try to find an answer for it as we study the passage.
In addition, we ought to ask, “Is it even possible for us in the flesh to fulfill this commandment?”
And our final question should be, “How is it possible to command someone to love someone else?” How’s it possible to command someone to love? I want to suggest that those who study the eleventh commandment come to three clear conclusions.
First, notice with me that the eleventh commandment presents an exhortation to love.
As we begin, I want you to take time right now — just pause for a moment — to think of a fellow believer, a fellow Christian who has really hurt you, a fellow Christian that you don’t like. Might be a former friend, might be somebody that you know in your church, might even be a pastor. Take your time. Their face comes to your mind. It’s a fellow professing believer that you really don’t want to spend time with because you really don’t like them.
Okay, with that in mind, we approach John 13:34. Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.”
The question is, how are you showing love to the person that God placed on your heart right now? The person you really don’t have a whole lot of time for. You see, when you place the exhortation to love in its context, you discover that Jesus is speaking very forcefully here. This is not a suggestion. He didn’t say, “Hey, I have a suggestion for you.” He didn’t say, “Why don’t you at least try loving one another for little while and see how it works?” He’s not saying here, “I really prefer that you love someone.” That’s not what he’s saying at all.
John 13:34 is the very last command that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to give to his disciples before he goes to the cross. These are important words. He says, “A new command I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, so love one another.”
Since this command is given by the Master, it has the same authority as the Ten Commandments. I call it affectionately the Eleventh Commandment. But it is indeed a commandment given by the same one whose loving fingers etched the Ten Commandments in stone on Mount Sinai. Now he’s speaking to us as he speaks through his disciples by the Spirit of God to us. So it is as authoritative as the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” or the commandments, “Thou shalt not Commit adultery … thou shalt not lie.” It has the same authority as the commandment, “Have no other gods before Me.” Equal to all those commandments is this commandment.
Our Lord Jesus is speaking forcefully when he says, “A new commandment I give to you.” And in John 14:15 he says, “Now if you love me, you’ll keep my commandments.” How are you doing? Do you still have the name of that person who hurt you? That one with whom you have a hard time getting along, the person that perhaps you hope you don’t pass by even when you exit the auditorium and go into the foyer?
Our first consideration in our study is the authority, the force of the eleventh commandment.
Dr. Charles Phelps is the pastor of Colonial Hills Baptist Church, Indianapolis, Indiana.