Jesus made a very troubling statement to the Jews, He said, “Did not Moses give you the law, yet NONE OF YOU keeps the law? WHY DO YOU SEEK TO KILL ME?” (John 7:19) They were mad at Jesus because He healed the man on the Sabbath, who had not walked for 38 years, “…are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath?” (John 7:23) “…they were seeking to SEIZE HIM; and no man laid his hand on Him, because HIS HOUR HAD NOT YET COME.” (John 7:30)
When would His “hour” come? “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that HIS HOUR HAD COME (it was time for Jesus to suffer and die!) that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” (John 13:1) When Jesus reclined with His disciples in the upper room to prepare them for His departure, He knew this was THE HOUR. As He began His magnificent, high-priestly prayer that night, He prayed, “Father, THE HOUR HAS COME; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you” (John 17:1).
A reference to Jesus’s charge to His disciples is made, in that upper room, after washing their feet, (John 13:1-20) He says “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.” (John 13:34) John had more to say about this, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to LAY DOWN OUR LIVES FOR THE BRETHREN.” (1 John 3:15-16) Then this profound statement was made, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who DOES NOT LOVE DOES NOT KNOW GOD, for GOD IS LOVE. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we 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 (opheilō: to be bound) TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER.” (1 John 4:7-11)
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham