Sermons on John 13:34
The various sermons below interpret John 13:34 by emphasizing the transformative power of Christ's love, focusing on the Greek word "agape" to describe a self-giving, unconditional love. They highlight the newness of Jesus' commandment, with one sermon discussing the Greek word "kainos" to suggest a fresh application of love among the disciples. The sermons collectively underscore the active nature of love, using analogies like Jesus washing the disciples' feet and a train engine to illustrate love as an ongoing, selfless action. They also emphasize the context of Jesus' glorification through His crucifixion, portraying it as the ultimate display of God's character and reputation, which believers are called to reflect through self-giving love that brings forgiveness and restoration.
While the sermons share common themes, they also present distinct perspectives. One sermon focuses on love as a defining characteristic of Christian discipleship, emphasizing the necessity of the Holy Spirit's empowerment to achieve this standard. Another sermon frames love as the irreducible minimum that fulfills all other commandments, highlighting its sacrificial and unconditional nature. A different sermon challenges the notion of love as a passive feeling, presenting it as an active, ongoing commitment that requires deliberate effort. Lastly, one sermon contrasts worldly glory with true glory found in self-sacrificial love, emphasizing that our capacity to love others is rooted in Christ's love for us and the experience of His forgiveness.
John 13:34 Interpretation:
Embracing the Transformative Power of Christ's Love (JBC Jeffersonton Baptist Church) interprets John 13:34 by emphasizing the newness of the commandment to love one another as Jesus loved. The sermon highlights the Greek word "agape," describing it as a self-giving love that is unconditional and not dependent on the recipient's actions. The pastor uses the analogy of Jesus washing the disciples' feet to illustrate the depth of this love, emphasizing that it is a love that serves others even when they are unlovable.
Transformative Power of Christlike Love (Family Life Church) offers a unique perspective by discussing the Greek word "kainos," meaning "fresh" or "new in quality," to explain the newness of Jesus' commandment. The sermon suggests that Jesus was refreshing the old commandment with a new application, focusing on the love among the disciples themselves. The pastor uses the analogy of a love letter to illustrate the depth and commitment required in this love.
Active Love: Building Stronger Marriages Through Action (Arrows Church) interprets John 13:34 by focusing on the grammatical structure of the commandment, emphasizing that "love" is a present active verb, meaning it requires ongoing action. The sermon uses the analogy of a train, where love is the engine that propels the relationship forward, to illustrate the necessity of active love in sustaining relationships.
Living Out Christ's Command: Love as He Loved (Hyland Heights Baptist Church) interprets John 13:34 by emphasizing the context of Jesus' command to love one another as He loved us. The sermon highlights the significance of Jesus' glorification through His crucifixion, which is seen as the ultimate display of God's character and reputation. The sermon uses the Hebrew word "kabod" (glory) to explain that glory in the Bible is about God's character and reputation impacting others, contrasting it with worldly glory focused on personal success. The sermon suggests that Jesus' command to love is about self-giving love that brings forgiveness and restoration, reflecting God's character.
Prioritizing Love in Parenting Over Material Possessions (Andy Stanley) interprets John 13:34 as a foundational principle for parenting. The sermon emphasizes that Jesus' command to love others as He loved us is not just a general directive but a specific guide for parenting. The sermon suggests that the way forward for parents is embedded in this command, even though its implications for parenting are not immediately apparent. The sermon uses the analogy of "love handles" to describe how the Apostle Paul provides practical applications of Jesus' command, particularly in 1 Corinthians 13, which outlines what the "Jesus brand of love" looks like in practice.
John 13:34 Theological Themes:
Embracing the Transformative Power of Christ's Love (JBC Jeffersonton Baptist Church) presents the theme of love as a defining characteristic of Christian discipleship. The sermon emphasizes that love is not just an emotion but a willful action empowered by the Holy Spirit, highlighting the impossibility of achieving this standard of love without divine assistance.
Transformative Power of Christlike Love (Family Life Church) introduces the theme of love as a commandment that encapsulates all other commandments. The sermon suggests that love is the irreducible minimum by which all other commandments are fulfilled, emphasizing the sacrificial and unconditional nature of Christlike love.
Active Love: Building Stronger Marriages Through Action (Arrows Church) explores the theme of love as an active, ongoing commitment. The sermon challenges the notion of love as a passive feeling, instead presenting it as a deliberate action that requires effort and intention.
Living Out Christ's Command: Love as He Loved (Hyland Heights Baptist Church) presents the theme that true glory is found in self-sacrificial love, as demonstrated by Jesus. This love is not about personal success or recognition but about reflecting God's character and reputation. The sermon emphasizes that our capacity to love others is rooted in Christ's love for us, and that experiencing Christ's forgiveness enables us to extend forgiveness and love to others.
Prioritizing Love in Parenting Over Material Possessions (Andy Stanley) presents the theme that love, as commanded by Jesus, is not self-seeking and is not easily angered. The sermon highlights the Greek term for "angered," which is a cooking term meaning "stirred up," to illustrate that love does not easily get stirred up or provoked. This theme is applied to parenting, suggesting that parents should not be easily angered by their children's actions but should instead recognize that their anger often stems from their own unmet desires or expectations.
John 13:34 Historical and Contextual Insights:
Embracing the Transformative Power of Christ's Love (JBC Jeffersonton Baptist Church) provides historical context by explaining the significance of the Upper Room Discourse as Jesus' farewell speech to his disciples. The sermon highlights the cultural practice of foot washing as a demonstration of humility and service, contrasting it with the disciples' expectations of greatness.
Transformative Power of Christlike Love (Family Life Church) offers historical insights into the cultural understanding of love during Jesus' time, explaining how the commandment to love one another was a radical departure from the self-centeredness that characterized human relationships after the Fall.
Living Out Christ's Command: Love as He Loved (Hyland Heights Baptist Church) provides historical context by explaining that the term "glory" in the Bible, particularly in the context of Jesus' crucifixion, is about God's character and reputation impacting the world. The sermon contrasts this with the cultural understanding of glory as personal success or fame, highlighting the biblical perspective of glory as self-giving love.
John 13:34 Cross-References in the Bible:
Embracing the Transformative Power of Christ's Love (JBC Jeffersonton Baptist Church) references several Bible passages to support the command to love one another, including Romans 13:8, Luke 6:35, John 15:12-13, 1 Peter 1:22, Proverbs 10:12, Colossians 3:14, Romans 12:10, Leviticus 19:18, 1 John 3:18, and Proverbs 17:17. These passages are used to illustrate the consistency of the command to love throughout both the Old and New Testaments.
Transformative Power of Christlike Love (Family Life Church) references Leviticus 19:18 to show that the command to love one's neighbor is not new in content but new in application. The sermon also references Romans 5:8 to emphasize the sacrificial nature of Christ's love.
Living Out Christ's Command: Love as He Loved (Hyland Heights Baptist Church) references several passages to support the interpretation of John 13:34. John 7:39, John 12:26, John 12:23, and John 17:1 are used to illustrate the theme of glorification in Jesus' impending death. Philippians 2:5-11 is cited to show that Jesus' path to glory came through self-sacrifice, and 1 John 4:19 is mentioned to emphasize that our ability to love comes from Christ's love for us.
Prioritizing Love in Parenting Over Material Possessions (Andy Stanley) references 1 Corinthians 13 to expand on the meaning of John 13:34. The sermon explains that Paul's description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 provides practical applications for how to love others as Jesus loved us. The sermon specifically highlights aspects of love such as patience, kindness, and not being self-seeking, and applies these to parenting, suggesting that these qualities should guide how parents interact with their children.
John 13:34 Christian References outside the Bible:
Embracing the Transformative Power of Christ's Love (JBC Jeffersonton Baptist Church) references John MacArthur, who explains that the glory of God is demonstrated at the cross through His power, justice, holiness, faithfulness, and love. The sermon also cites Charles Spurgeon, who describes the love commanded by Christ as a love that arises from a new union in Christ, distinct from natural human love.
Transformative Power of Christlike Love (Family Life Church) references John MacArthur, who describes John 13-17 as Jesus' legacy or last will and testament. The sermon also mentions John Stott, who emphasizes the importance of exhibiting God's love in our relationships with others.
Living Out Christ's Command: Love as He Loved (Hyland Heights Baptist Church) references a book by Tyler Staten, which states that spiritual maturity is about being without secrets, not without sin. This reference is used to emphasize the importance of confession and experiencing Christ's forgiveness as a means to love others as Christ loved us.
Prioritizing Love in Parenting Over Material Possessions (Andy Stanley) references a child psychologist who emphasizes the importance of parents discussing the emotional side of life with their children. The psychologist is quoted as saying that it is scarier for a child to have a parent who is struggling and doesn't talk about it than for a parent who does discuss it. This reference is used to support the idea that love involves open communication and emotional honesty, which aligns with the command to love others as Jesus loved us.
John 13:34 Illustrations from Secular Sources:
Transformative Power of Christlike Love (Family Life Church) uses the example of a song by Jackie DeShannon, "What the World Needs Now Is Love," to illustrate the world's longing for love. The sermon also references a story about the longest love letter ever written and the world's longest kiss to highlight the superficial ways in which love is often expressed in contemporary culture.
Living Out Christ's Command: Love as He Loved (Hyland Heights Baptist Church) uses the example of Olympic athletes seeking glory to contrast worldly glory with biblical glory. The sermon explains that while athletes chase personal success and recognition, biblical glory is about reflecting God's character and reputation through self-giving love.
Prioritizing Love in Parenting Over Material Possessions (Andy Stanley) uses the analogy of stirring natural peanut butter to illustrate the concept of being "stirred up" or provoked. The sermon describes how stirring the peanut butter brings the peanuts from the bottom to the top, similar to how certain situations can bring underlying emotions to the surface. This analogy is used to explain that children's actions do not create new emotions in parents but rather reveal what is already present, emphasizing the need for parents to manage their own emotions in accordance with the command to love.