23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
Amazing – the disciples are clueless as to which one of them would be the culprit – even to the point of questioning themselves! Who would be the one that would betray their Lord? Talk about showing love towards your enemies – Jesus certainly fleshes out that commandment perfectly! Knowing full well Judas would be the turncoat; Jesus treats him no differently than the rest – a good lesson for us to glean from. Once Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, His response is as follows:
36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matt 22:35-40 (NIV)
Agape love – supernatural love – a love consistently possible only through the power of the Holy Spirit that indwells every believer. What exactly is the definition of this type of love? According to the New Testament Lexical Aids of the Hebrew – Greek Key Word Study Bible we are given the following definition:
“To love, esteem, cherish, favor, honor, respect, accept, prize, relish; to be devoted to. Agape is a love rooted in the mind and will of the subject and means to value, esteem, prize, and treat as precious; to be devoted to. Such love entails the treatment of things with value or respect, and consequently, action which is done for the benefit of that object. Theologically, it represents God’s action in sending His only Son to die for the world. God placed such value upon mankind, showed such estimation of him, that though he deserved nothing but rejection and wrath, God sacrificed His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, for man’s salvation. This was done for man’s good and solely because God, the subject, accorded him this wholly undeserved value.”
I reiterate - this love is consistently possible only through the power of the Holy Spirit. Yet, as believers, this is exactly the type of love we are called to demonstrate. The apostle John tells us:
23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. 1 John 3:23-24 (NIV)
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:7-12 (NIV)
How exactly is this fleshed out in a life? We are to despise the sin yet love the sinner – “accorded him this wholly undeserved value” – that, I might add, was accorded to us by God. We are much too concerned about our “rights” when indeed, we are to be emptying ourselves of such as that. Our attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus, as Paul tells us:
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! Phil 2:6-8 (NIV)
Keeping our conscience clear before God and man, we are to search the motives of our hearts behind our actions towards others. Love should be the motivation for our thoughts and our words and our deeds. The driving force in all that we do. Paul tells us in Romans:
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:8-10 (NIV)
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. 1 Cor 13:4-8 (NIV)