Tuesday, 27 June 2023

The Upper Room Discourse 14

Tweet

John 14:15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Sounds simple, doesn't it! Then why do we try to complicate it? What are Yeshua's commandments? Anything we read in His Testament is His commandment. Do they include the "Big 10?" You better believe it. "Oh," some might say, "I thought only the 2 commandments to love God and love each other were His commandments." Those are foundational, but not a replacement for all the others.

Yeshua's statement in John 14:15 has everything to do with His authority. Why should we obey Him? Because He is Lord and He has all authority. Matthew 28:18 And Yeshua came up to them and spoke to them, saying, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me." It's on the basis of that authority that we have the great commission, but it is also on the basis of that authority that we must obey Him. The title, "Lord," commands obedience, or we have to stop calling Him, "Lord."

We can SAY, "I love you," or we can SHOW, "I love you." Yeshua is saying, "If you want to show you love ME, and really mean it, you will keep My commandments." 1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God - that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

Think of it this way ... We are living in God's "house," where He has all authority. To receive His blessing and favor, we have to listen to what He says. And "listening" isn't done with the ears, but with the heart. We show that we have "heard" Him, when we obey Him. If we refuse His instruction, we might hear Him say, Matthew 7:23 Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness!'

Can we agree that God has all wisdom? Jacob 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, not hypocritical. The following verse speaks of the "fruit of righteousness." What is righteousness, but obedience to God's commandments? Jacob 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in shalom by those who make shalom.

The Torah promises the same thing. Hear the words of Moses ... Deuteronomy 4:40 You must keep His statutes and His mitzvot, which I am commanding you today, so that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and so that you may prolong your days in the land that Adonai your God is giving you for all time.

It seems to me that the Bible is written for morons. It says the same few things repeatedly so that even the simplest among us will be able to understand it. Let's not miss this. If we love God, we will do what He says.