The New Commandment: Love One Another as Christ

Devotional

Day 1: When Glory Wears the Face of Suffering

Jesus redefined glory not as triumph but as surrender to God’s purpose, even in agony. Hours before the cross, He called His impending torture "glorification," binding divine honor to sacrificial love. This paradox upends worldly values—true glory emerges not from success but obedience. Like a soldier dreading battle yet resolved, Christ embraced suffering as the path to magnify the Father. His example calls us to trust God’s design in our darkest valleys. [42:55]

“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.” (John 13:31-32, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you resisted God’s work because suffering felt dishonorable? How might embracing hardship as Jesus did deepen your trust in His glory?

Day 2: Regret’s Dead End or Repentance’s Open Door

Judas and Peter both failed Jesus, but only one found restoration. Regret fixates on consequences; repentance turns to Christ’s mercy. Judas saw his sin as unforgivable and chose death. Peter wept, then ran toward grace. The difference wasn’t the failure but the response—self-destruction versus surrender. True repentance clings to the promise: no sin is too great for the cross. [34:36]

“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10, ESV)

Reflection: When you fail, do you isolate in shame or run to Jesus? What step will you take today to turn regret into repentance?

Day 3: Love’s Calloused Hands and Bent Knees

The new commandment—"love as I loved"—was demonstrated with a towel and basin. Jesus washed traitors’ feet, modeling love that serves the undeserving. This love isn’t sentimental but sacrificial, prioritizing others’ needs over comfort. It disrupts our self-focused routines, asking: Will we kneel for those who’ve hurt us? Will our love cost something? [24:44]

“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” (John 13:14-15, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your life needs “feet washing” love—practical, humble, and undeserved? What excuses keep you from acting?

Day 4: The Dangerous Myth of Self-Sufficient Faith

Judas’ tragic end reveals the lie that we can fix our sin alone. He preferred suicide over seeking forgiveness, assuming his guilt exceeded grace. Yet Peter’s restoration proves no failure is beyond Christ’s reach. Our culture praises independence, but the gospel demands dependence—admitting we need the Savior and His people. [35:47]

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28, ESV)

Reflection: Where are you trying to “solve” your sin alone? How can you vulnerably seek Christ and His church this week?

Day 5: Childlike Faith in a Grown-Up World

Jesus called battle-hardened disciples “little children,” highlighting their dependence. Aging often breeds cynicism, but faith thrives on childlike trust—not ignorance, but humble reliance. Like a toddler reaching upward, we’re called to daily surrender, believing our Father’s arms never tire. True maturity isn’t self-sufficiency but knowing we’re forever His. [59:23]

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4, ESV)

Reflection: What “adult” burdens (pride, control, distrust) do you need to lay down to receive God’s care like a child?

Sermon Summary

Jesus in John 13 speaks glory right into the mouth of darkness. Once Judas goes out and it is night, Jesus says, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” The cross then stands as the strange place where shame becomes splendor and obedience becomes glory. The paradox refuses human instincts that equate glory with public victory only. God the Father glorifies the Son on the cross and in the resurrection, and the Son glorifies the Father by a willing descent into suffering. The chief end of man, then, does not shrink to churchy successes. It stretches to “everything,” even trials, so that God is honored in every obedience.

“Little children” is the name Jesus gives to his disciples on the eve of Good Friday. The word carries tenderness and authority together. Childlikeness, not childishness, fits the presence of God. Without a small heart, a disciple will not enter the kingdom. The aging body, the thickening burdens, and the jaded mind do not excuse the loss of a child’s humility before majesty.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.” Newness does not come from the idea of love as such. Scripture already commanded love for God and neighbor. The newness comes from a new identity, a new model, and a new measure. First, identity. From this point, the mark of belonging to Jesus is not ethnicity, tribe, class, or scale. “By this all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Love, not size or fame, becomes the uniform of the saints. Second, model. The life is no longer arranged around self. It is one another, not self as center. The cross unmasks the gospel of self-care as too small a gospel. Third, measure. “Just as I have loved you.” The basin and towel interpret the command. Love goes low. Love does what no one wants to do. Love washes feet.

Judas stands as a sober mirror. Regret is not repentance. He throws the silver away but keeps himself as lord of his fate and dies by his own hand. Peter fails too, yet later turns, weeps, and is restored. The difference is not the size of the fall but the direction of the heart. Jesus does not offer a suggestion. He gives a command. A disciple does not negotiate with a command. A disciple obeys in childlike trust so that the Father receives glory.

Key Takeaways

1. Glory shines through suffering’s paradox Suffering does not cancel glory; it becomes the theater where obedience displays God’s worth. The cross shows that humiliation in faith can be heaven’s honor on earth. When trials are received under the Father’s hand, the life becomes transparent to his splendor. This is why Jesus names the cross as glory. [42:55]
2. Repentance differs from mere regret Judas felt anguish but kept himself on the throne and chose death. Repentance surrenders, returns, and receives mercy that God freely gives to the contrite. The issue is not how loud the sorrow is, but whether the heart turns home. Life stands or falls on that turn. [34:36]
3. Love marks disciples as true family Jesus forges a new identity where love, not tribe or scale, is the badge. The watching world is meant to recognize Christ’s people by mutual care more than by buildings, brands, or numbers. If love is absent, knowledge of God is absent. God is love, and his children resemble him. [70:57]
4. Jesus models love by lowly service “As I have loved you” points to the basin, towel, and cross. The pattern is not sentiment but sacrifice, not talk but touch. Love moves toward dirty places and does the task no one volunteers to do. The Lord stoops, so his disciples cannot stand on pride. [84:44]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[26:21] - Holiday welcome and music
[32:27] - Judas, others, and responsibility
[34:36] - Regret versus repentance
[39:29] - Last Supper framing
[42:55] - Glory revealed through suffering
[55:24] - Chief end and joy in God
[59:23] - Little children and childlikeness
[67:13] - A new commandment
[70:57] - Love as Christian identity
[76:19] - One another, not self
[83:40] - As I have loved you
[87:06] - A command, not an option
[89:43] - Closing prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
John 13:34-35 (ESV)
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

1 John 4:7-12 (ESV)
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Matthew 18:3 (ESV)
“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Observation Questions

In John 13:34, Jesus calls His command to love one another “new.” How does this differ from the Old Testament commands to love God and neighbor (Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18)?
What specific actions did Jesus use to model love for His disciples in John 13 (e.g., washing feet)? How does this connect to His statement about glory in suffering? [42:55]
According to 1 John 4:12, how is God’s love “made complete” in believers?

Interpretation Questions

Why does Jesus emphasize that love for one another is the defining mark of His disciples (John 13:35)? How might this challenge cultural or religious identities (e.g., ethnicity, achievements)? [10:57]
Judas regretted his actions but did not repent, while Peter failed yet was restored. What distinguishes regret from repentance, and why does this matter for our relationship with God? [34:36]
Jesus calls His followers “little children” (John 13:33). How does childlikeness differ from childishness, and why is humility essential for receiving God’s kingdom (Matthew 18:3)? [59:23]

Application Questions

The sermon highlights that love is a “command, not an option” [27:06]. In what relationships or situations do you find it hardest to obey this command? What practical step could you take this week to love someone sacrificially?
Reflect on a time when suffering or humiliation became an opportunity to glorify God. How might this perspective change how you approach current trials? [42:55]
The world often measures success by visibility, numbers, or influence. How can you shift your focus to prioritize “love as the uniform” of your identity in daily interactions? [10:57]
Judas tried to solve his guilt through self-punishment instead of repentance. Where do you tend to rely on your own efforts to “fix” failure rather than turning to Christ’s mercy?
Jesus modeled love through lowly service (e.g., washing feet). What is one “unseen” act of service you can do for someone this week to reflect His love? [24:44]
Childlikeness requires humility before God’s majesty. What habits or attitudes in your life might be hindering a posture of dependence and trust in Him?

Sermon Clips

36s

“I want to remind you as I close. It's not a suggestion. It's also not an option. And I think that for vast majority of us, we missed it. We think there is an option. We think that it's something that is up to me because I'm a consumer of faith. I decide. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I want to remind you that when you say you have decided to follow Jesus as we have sung just now, you are saying that you no longer exist. You know? You are saying that Jesus is lord.”

39s

“He is the king. He is the master. I am following him. He is the general in my army. I'm a soldier. And he turn around and tell you, I give you this command. Are you going to look at him and say, I don't feel like it. I don't think so. I don't feel it. Wait until I figure it out, then I follow. The answer must be no. May we have childlike humility before him, Recognize his commandment and obey and live a life that will continue to demonstrate god's love, not just in our own family, but for anybody who encounter us in our life so that they will give glory to the father in heaven. Let us pray.”

36s

“So we are not much better than Judas in that sense too because Jesus died for us. However, there is difference, of course, between Judas and Peter, between Judas and the rest of us. The bible tells us that after Judas betrayed Jesus, he regretted, and then he gave back the 30 pieces of silver or rather he threw it to the on the ground because the religious Jewish leaders refused to take the money, and then he went to hang himself. The difference between Judas and and us is that Judas had deep regret. However, regret is not the same as repentance.”

37s

“In history, here comes a group of people who no longer identify themselves as whether they are Jews or Gentiles. So in the bible, you see, right, in Christ, there is neither Jews or Gentile or Greek or whatever, male or female because that's the identification for the longest time. That you are either a Jew or you're Gentile, you're a male or you're a female, you are Samaritan by grouping no longer is the case. That Christians are to be identified by love, and that's new. Never happened before. Until today, it is still something that is quite odd and quite rare, actually.”

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Reformed Evangelical Church Singapore This sermon · AI assistant

How does repentance differ from regret?

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What marks Christian identity according to Jesus?

The New Commandment: Love One Another as Christ

Devotional

Day 1: When Glory Wears the Face of Suffering

Day 2: Regret’s Dead End or Repentance’s Open Door

Day 3: Love’s Calloused Hands and Bent Knees

Day 4: The Dangerous Myth of Self-Sufficient Faith

Day 5: Childlike Faith in a Grown-Up World

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

The New Commandment: Love One Another as Christ

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