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Mat 28:18-20 ESV And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (19) Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus has now given his Church its marching orders, of course it is just a beginning of the Church, but they are committed to delivering the good news to all who will hear. Jesus gave the disciples many instructions, or, commandments while he was with them on the earth. He taught them many things and gave them many instructions during his 3 years of preaching and teaching. The use of Commanded is the Greek word entellomai which is a verb and can mean, “commandments, enjoin or charge.” Important in our context is that this was the teaching of Jesus as he walked with these men and women during his time of work in the world.

Jesus is now going back to his rightful place as God and he has given his last instruction to his disciples, who will soon begin ministry themselves. They will begin in Jerusalem and gradually spread the word throughout the known world. Thomas got all the way to India, and the Church there traces its existence back to Thomas. There is even some evidence that Paul got to Spain before he was tried and sentenced to death in Rome. The question now before us is: What did Jesus command/teach?

One of his greatest teachings is, Love one another as I have loved you.
Joh 13:34-35 NKJV “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. (35) By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

What does that mean for you and I today? I believe that it means just what it says, Love one another sacrificially just as Jesus loves us. We must remember that He gave His life to pay for our sins, all of our sins, past, present and future. Just because you have confessed Jesus Christ as Lord, does not mean you will not sin. You may not want to, you may think what you are doing is OK, but, sin is sin no matter what we think. Hold your life up to the mirror of Jesus Christ, can you say you live a sinless life since you were saved? Can you say that you love your fellow Christians the same way Christ has loved you? Life is hard, and we are finite beings, we are not perfect, and when God sees you and me, he sees the blood of Christ, and the imputed righteousness that comes from the death of Jesus.
You see, Jesus lived a perfect life, a sinless life, so that he could be the unblemished lamb sacrificed once for all sin. He died to give us a way to be reconciled to God, his life and death, for our crimes against God. So, do you love your fellow Christians? How about the guy down the street who belongs to another church, do you love him or her?

There is a corollary to this love one another commandment. You see, the law is no longer over those who belong to Christ, however, the law still exists and we are supposed to be living a life that makes us blameless. Christ also gave us another Love commandment and that is in 2 parts.
1. Love the Lord your God with every fiber of your being. Luke 10:27 as well as Matthew ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND,’ in Matthew 22 we find the entirety of the Love commandment.
2. Mat 22:37-40 NKJV Jesus said to him, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ (38) This is the first and great commandment. (39) And the second is like it: ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ (40) On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

So Jesus says we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. How would you like to be treated? That is how you should treat your neighbor, that is how God has treated each of us, God loved us so much that he died for us. That is what we are taught, that is sacrificial love. Give all of yourself to God and then give to your neighbor as if that neighbor was yourself.

This is the commandment that Jesus taught the people of his day, and his disciples, and by extension you and I today. Of course that presupposes that you are a believer in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, if you are not, I hope this will help you understand that true followers of Jesus Christ are not out to destroy anyone, but rather we are looking for more folks to become followers of Jesus Christ. More folks who will learn of His love for them, and how to become followers of this God, who loves and wants us to forsake sin and become new persons.

Join me on this expedition if you will, let us learn together the truth about Jesus and the way God has for us to live our lives. Let us know what you think about this, and how your life has been affected by learning about Jesus Christ and His commandments to His followers.

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