Have you ever thought about how loving Jesus was? What about the fact that He left Heaven to come to Earth as a man and suffer and die for us? When He was asked what the greatest command was, He basically said “love”. We are to love Him and love others. Jesus’ command to “love one another” is world changing. He did not require it as a King might do, but instead He modeled it as a loving servant. He issued it as an entirely new covenant!
“Jesus didn’t anchor His new command to his divine right as King. He anchored it to His sacrificial love. Why should His disciples obey His command to love? Because He loved them first. He loved them best. They were to do unto others as Jesus had already done...and was about to do...unto them” (Stanley).
Comparing the new covenant that Jesus established to the old, we find out that the new covenant is founded on love. This is far less complicated than the old law but yet far more demanding. There are no loopholes in the love that Jesus requires from us.
Jesus was the ultimate loving servant. As citizens of His kingdom and followers of His new covenant, we must love. Loving fully is the most necessary, albeit most difficult command. Loving requires every bit of who we are. It requires being like Jesus.
“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. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)