January 27 - New Commandment

January 27 – New Commandment

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (John 13:34)

John is a perfect example of the transformative power of Jesus’ love.  His original meeting with Jesus occurred with his brother, James as they were mending their nets (Matthew 4:21; Mark 1:19).  In Luke 5:10, he is mentioned as being a partner with Simon in the fishermen.

However, the imagery of John in the Gospels is one of ambition (Mark 10:35-45) and surprisingly – violence (Luke 9:51-56).  Jesus called John and James the Sons of Thunder (Mark 3:17) and had to deal with his intolerance in Mark 9:39-40 when John stopped someone from doing miracles in Jesus’ name.

So, how does the man that is portrayed as ambitious, violent and intolerant become the man that taught so much about love?  The only answer is that Jesus Christ transforms personalities when in His presence.

John is active in the book of Acts, but never says anything and is always found with Peter.  He is there when the lame man is healed (Acts 3:1-10), he was imprisoned with Peter (Acts 4:1-22), he went to Samaria with Peter (Acts 8:14), but never speaks.  Paul calls him a pillar of the church in Galatians 2:9 and that is the last we hear of him from outside sources.

This man is completely and totally transformed.  Jesus took the power that was behind his ambition and violence and molded it into power that would be used to teach love.  John’s letters are filled with love and though the Revelation seems to be filled with all of the awfulness of the end of the world, it is also filled with presence of Jesus and His love for His children.

John is one of those amazing examples of how Jesus can transform a person’s behavior from the inside out.  John’s basic personality remained the same, but the application of that was molded into a loving expression of the life of Jesus to the world.