Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter (Cycle C)
Based onJn 13:31-33a,
34-35 (Gospel), Ac 14:21-27 (First Reading) and Rv 21:1-5a(Second
Reading)
From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the
Desert”
NEW
COMMANDMENT
The Gospel narrative for today is taken from Jn
13:31-33a, 34-35.
Verse 31 saysWhen they
had gone Jesus said: “Nowohas the Son of Man been glorified,
and in him God has been glorified. Footnote
osays“Om. ‘If God has been
glorified in him.’”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Jn 21:19 - In
these words he indicated what kind of deathdby which Peter would
give glory to God. After this he said, ‘Follow me’. Footnote d says “Martyrdom.”
2. Mt
8:20 - Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes
and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Manh has nowhere
to lay his head.’ Footnote hsays “With the exception of Ac 7:56, Rv 1:13; 14:14; this title appears only
in the gospels. There is no doubt that
Jesus used it of himself, and indeed preferred it to others. At times he uses
it to express his lowly state, 8:20; 11:19; 20:28, especially the humiliation
of the Passion, 17:22, etc. At others times it is used to proclaim the
definitive triumph of his resurrection, 17:9, of his return in glory, 24:30; of
his coming in judgment, 25:31. That this title, Aramaic in flavor, could bring
together these seemingly opposed
qualities is clear from the following considerations. The phrase originally
meant ‘man’, Ezk. 2:1+, and by reason of its unusual and indirect form it
underlined the lowliness of man’s state. But the title suggested glory, too. It
was used in Dn 7:13+, and later in the Jewish apocalyptic Book of Enoch, to
indicate the transcendent figure, heavenly in origin, who was to receive from
God’s hand the eschatological kingdom (the kingdom ‘at the end of times’). In
this way therefore the title both veiled and hinted at (cf. Mk. 1:34+; Mt.
13:13+) the sort of Messiah Jesus was. Moreover, the explicit avowal in the
presence of the Sanhedrin, 26:64+, should have removed all ambiguity.”
Verse 32 says:If God is
glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him
at once.
The parallel text is
Jn 1:14, which says: The word was made flesh, m he lived
among us, n and we saw his glory,o the glory that is his
as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.Footnote msays
“Theflesh’ is man considered as a frail
and mortal being, cf. 3:6, 17:2, Gn 6:3, Ps. 56:4, Is 40:6,see Rm 7:5+.’; Footnote
nsays
“Lit. ‘pitched his tent among us’.
The incarnation of the Word makes God personally and visibly present to
mankind; it is no longer a presence unseen and awe-inspiring as in the Tent and
Temple of the old regime, Ex. 25:8+; Cf. Nb. 35:34, nor merely the presence of
divine wisdom enshrined in Israel’s Mosaic Law, Si. 4:7-22; Ba. 3:36-4:4”;
and Footnoteosays“The ‘glory’
is the manifestation of God’s presence, Ex. 24:16+. No one could see its
brilliance and live, Ex 33:20+, but the human nature of the word now screens this glory as the cloud once
did. Yet at times it pierces the veil,
as the transfiguration, for instances, cf. Lk. 9:32, 35 (alluded to in Jn
1:14?) and when Jesus works miracles –‘signs’ that God is active in him, 2:11+,
11:40;cf. Ex. 14:24-27 and 15:7, 16:7f.
The resurrection will reveal the glory fully, cf. Jn 17:5+.”
Verse 33 says My children, I
shall not be with you much longer.
Parallel texts are
1.
Jn 16:10 - …about who is right: proved by my going to the
Father and your seeing me no morec. Footnote csays“The Spirit will demonstrate the right of
Jesus to the title ‘Son of God’, cf. 10:33; 19:7. The ‘passing’ of Jesus to the
Father will prove that he is God’s Son, 13:1; 20:17, because it shows that
heaven is his true home, 6:62.”
2. Jn
8:21 - Jesus answered.
‘One work I did, and you are all surprised by it.’
3. Jn
1:1 -
Verse 34 and 35 say:I give you a new commandment:t love one another; just as I
have loved you, you also must love one another.By this loveyou have for one
another everyone will know that you are my disciples. Footnote t says“The reference to Christ’s departure, v. 33, (which leads up to the
prophecy of Peter’s denial, vv. 36-38) makes this command, vv. 34-35, a solemn
legacy from Christ. Though enunciated n the Mosaic Law, this precept of love is
‘new’ because sets the standard so high by telling his followers to love one
another as he himself loved them, and because love is to be the distinguishing
mark of the ‘new’ era which the death of Jesus inaugurates and proclaims to the
world.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Jn 13:15 - If I, then, the Lord and Master, have
washed your feet, you should wash one each other’s feetk (v.14).I
have given you an example to follow, so that you may copy I have done for you. Footnote k says“i.e. serve one another lovingly and humbly.”
2.
1 Jn 2:8 - He is the sacrifice that takes our
sins away, and not only yours, but the whole world’s.
3.
Jn 15:12,17 - This is my commandment: love one
another as I have loved you.
4.
Lv 19:18 - You must not exact vengeance, normust
you bear a grudge against the children of your own people. You must love your
neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.
5.
Mt 19:19 - Honor your father and mother, and:
you must love your neighbor as yourself.
6.
Mt 22:39 - The second resembles it: “you must love your neighbor as yourself.
7.
Lk 10:26 - He said to him, ‘What is written in
the Law? What do you read there?’
8.
Ac 4:32 - The whole group of believers was
united, heart and soul; no one claimed for his own use anything that he had, as
everything they owned was held in common.
The First Reading is taken from Ac 14:21-27.
Verses 21 and 22 say: Having proclaimed the Good News in that town and made a considerable
number of disciples, they went back through Lystra and Iconium to Antioch.They
put fresh heart into the disciples,m
encouraging them to persevere in the faith. ‘We all have to experience
many hardships’ they said ‘before we
enter the kingdom of God.’Footnote msays “Paul uses a similar metaphor, 1 Co 16:9; 2 Cor 2:12; Col 4:3.”
Parallel
texts are:
1.
Ac 15:32,41 - Judas and Silas, being themselves prophets, spoke for a long time,
encouraging and strengthening the brothers (v. 32). He traveled through Syria
and Cilicia, consolidating the churches (v. 41).bbFootnote bb says“Western text adds ‘passing on them the
injunction of the elders’, cf. 16:4.”
2. Ac
18:23 -…where he spent a short time before he continued his journey through the
Galatian country and then through Phrygia, encouraging all the followers.
3. Ac
11:23 - There he could see for himself
God had given grace, and this pleased him, and he urgedi them all to remain faithful to the Lordj
with heartfelt devotion….
4. Ac
13:43 - When the meeting broke up, many
Jews and devout convertsaa joined Paul and Barnabasbb and
urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God has given them.ccFootnoteaa says ‘converts’. Or ‘proselytes’, here in the wide
sense, is equivalent to those who fear God or ‘those who worshipped God’, cf.
10:2+”; Footnote bb says“Add ‘considering it fitting to accept
baptism’.”; and Footnote ccsays“Add West. ‘And in this way, the word of God
spread through the whole town.’”
5. Mt
10:22-You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who
stands to the end will be saved.
6.
Mt 24:13 - But the one who perseveres to the end
will be saved.
7. Rm
5:3-4 - But that is not all we can boast about; we can boast about our
suffering. These sufferings bring patience, as we know (v. 3), and patience
brings perseverance, and perseverance brings hope (v. 4).
8. 2
Th1:4f -And among the churches of God we can take pride in you for your
constancy and faith under all the persecutions and troubles you have to bear
(v. 4). It shows that God’s judgment is just, and the purpose of it is that you
may be found worthy of the kingdom of God; it is for the sake of this that you
are suffering now (v. 5).
9. 2
Tm 2:12 - If we hold firm, then we shall reign with him. If we disown him, then
he will disown us.
10. 2
Tm 3:12 - You are well aware, then, that anybody all who tries to live in
devotion to Christ is certain to be attacked;
11.
You will need endurance to do the God’s will and
gain what he has promised.
Verse 23 says: In
each of these churches, they appointed eldersn and, with prayer and
fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.Footnote
nsays “The elders, cf. 11:30+,
are here chosen by the apostles, not by the community; so also Tt 1:5.”
Parallel text is Ac 13:2-3 that says: One day, while they were offering worshipb
to the Lord and keeping a fast, the Holy Spirit said, “I want Barnabas and Saul
set apart for the work to which I have called them” (v 2). So it was that after fasting and prayer
they laid their hands on theme and sent them off (v. 3). Footnote bsays“The use of the term for Christian prayer in
common puts this on a level with the sacrificial worship of the Old Law, cf. Rm
1:9+”; and Footnote csays“It
seems, to judge by 14:26 (cf. 15:40), that by this act the Community commends
to God’s grace the missionaries chosen , v. 2 and sent, v. 4, by the Holy
Spirit. The significance of the rite is not, therefore, exactly the same that
of 6:6 by which the Seven receive their commission from the apostles. Cf. 1 Tm
4:14+”.
Verses 24, 25, 26 and 27 say: They
passed through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.Then after proclaiming the wordo
at Perga they went down to Attalia. And from there they sailed for Antioch,
where they had originally been commended to the grace of God for the work they
had now completed.On their arrival, they assembled the church and gave an
account of all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of
faithp to the pagans. Footnoteo says “Add ‘of the Lord’ or ‘of God’”; and Footnote p says“Paul uses a similar metaphor, 1 Co 16:9; 2
Co 2:12; Col 4:3.”
Parallel texts for verse 27 are:
1.
Ac 14:3- Accordingly Paul
and Barnabas stayed on for some time, preaching fearlessly for the Lord, and
the Lord supported all they said about his gift of grace, allowing signs and
wonders to be performed by them.
2.
Ac 15:4,12 - When they arrived in Jerusalem they
were welcomed by the church, and by the apostles and the elders, and gave an
account of all that God had done with them.
3.
Ac 21:19 - After greeting them, gave a detailed
account of all that God had done among the pagans through his ministry.
The Second Reading for this Sunday is Rv 21:1-5a.
Verse 1 says: Then I saw a new
heaven and a new earth,b the first heaven and the first earth had
disappeared, now there was no longer sea.c Footnoteb says “In Is 51:16; 65:17; 66:12, the phrase is merely a symbol of new
messianic age. St Paul, following the lead of Jesus, cf, Mt 19:28, is more
realistic: the whole of creation will one day be freed from the whole of
dominance of corruption, renewed and transformed by the glory of God, Rm 8:19; and Footnote csays“The sea symbolizes evil because it was the
home of the dragon, cf, Jb 7:12+; it will vanish as it did at Exodus, but this
time for ever, before the triumphant advance of the new Israel, cf. Is 51:9-10;
Ps 74:13,14; Jb 26:12-13; Is 27:1.”
Parallel
texts are:
1.
Is 65:17 - For now I create new heavens and a
new earth; and the past will not be remembered, and will come no more to
men’s mind.
2.
2 P 3:13 - What we are waiting for it what he
promised: the new heavens and new earth, the place where righteousness will be
at home.
3.
Jb 7:12 - Am I the Sea, or the Wild Sea Beast, gthat
you should keep me under watch and guard?
Verse 2 says:
I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of the
heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husbandd. Footnoted
says“The new and joyful wedding of
Jerusalem and her God has taken place, cf. Is 65:18; 61:10; 62:4-6; the Exodus
ideal has at last been achieved, cf. Ho 2:16+.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Rm 8:19-23 - For whole creation is eagerly
waiting for God to reveal his sonsk
(v. 19). For it was not for any fault on the part of creation still retains the
hope (v 20) of being freed, like us, from it slavery to decadence, to enjoy the
same freedom and glory as the children of God (v. 21). From beginning till now
the entire creation, as we know it, has been groaning in one great act of
giving birth (v. 22); and not only creation, but all of us who possess the
first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait form for our
bodies to be set free (v. 23). Footnote k says“Lit. ‘ waiting for the revelation of the sons of God’. The material
world, created for man, shares his destiny. It was cursed for man’s sin, Gen.
3:17, and is therefore now deformed: impotent and decadent, vv. 19-22. But like
man’s body, destined to be glorified, it too is to be redeemed, vv. 21-23; it
will share the glorious liberty of the children of God, v. 21. For the Greek
philosopher matter was evil and the spirit must be delivered from it;
Christianity regards matter as itself enslaved and to be set free. In other
texts also salvation is extended to creatures (especially angels) other than
men, cf. Col. 1:20; Ep. 1:10; 2 P. 3:13; Rv. 21:1-5.”
2. Rv
19:7-8 - …let us be glad and joyful and
give praise to God, because this is the time for the marriage of the Lamb.a
His bride is ready, and she has been able to dress herself in dazzling white
linen,b because her linen is made of the good deeds of the saints.
Footnote a says “The wedding
of the Lamb symbolizes the beginning of the heavenly kingdom described in 21:9f.
See Ho 1:2+ and Ep 5:22-23+”; and Footnoteb says“Symbol of victorious purity, a gift from
God.”
Verses 3 and 4 say: The I heard a loud voice call from the throne, “You see this city? He
God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they will be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God-with-them.e He
will wipe away all tears from their eyes: there will be no more death and no
more mourning, or sadness. The world of the past has gone.” Footnote e
says “The color symbolizes victory.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Is 8:8 - It inundates Judah, flow over, pour
outFlooding it up to the neck, and its wings will be spread over the whole
breadth of your country, O Immanuel.
2.
Is 25:8…he will destroy Death forever.The Lord
Yahweh will wipe awaythe tears from every cheek;he will away his people shame
everywhere on earth; for Yahweh had said so.
Verse 5a says: Then the One sitting on the throne spoke: “Now I am making the whole
creation new” he said.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Is 35:10-For those Yahweh has ransomed shall
return. They will come to Zion shouting for joy, everlasting joy on their
faces; joy and gladness will go with them, and sorrow and lament be ended.
2. 2
Cor 5:17 - And for anyone who is in
Christ, there is a new creation;f the old creation has gone, and now
the new one is here.gFootnotef
says ‘God who created all things through Christ, cf. Jn 1;3, has restored his
work, deformed by sin, by re-creating it in Christ, Col 1:15-20+. The central
figure of this ‘new creation’, here and Ga 6:15- which extends to the whole
universe, Col 1:19+; cf. 2 P 3:13; Rv 21:1 – is the ‘new man’ created in
Christ, EP 2:15+, to lead a new life, Rm 6:4, of virtue and holiness, Ep 2:10;
4;24+; Col 3:10+. Cf. the ‘new birth’ of baptism, Rm 6:4+’; and Footnote
g
says‘Var. ‘all is new’.
3. Dn
8:26 - This explanation of the vision of
the mornings and the evenings is true. but you must keep the vision secret, for
there are still many days to go’.y Footnotey says ‘Unlike the two prophecies of Ezk 12:21-28
which are fulfilled almost immediately, Daniel’s visions are to be realized
only after a period the duration of which is not made clear, cf. 12:4,9-13.’
The article “The New Commandment” from
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
“The New Commandment of Jesus to "love one another" is part
of the final instructions given to his disciples after the Last Supper had
"ended", and after Judas Iscariot had departed in John 13:30.
“My
children, I shall not be with you much longer. I give you a new commandment:
love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another. By
this love you have for one another everyone will know that you are my disciples
(John 13:33-35).”
“This commandment appears thirteen times in
twelve verses in the New Testament. Theologically, this commandment is
interpreted as dual to the Love of Christ for his followers. The commandment
can also be seen as the last wish in the Farewell Discourse to the disciples.
Gospel of John. The commandment was prefaced in John 13:33 by
Jesus telling his remaining disciples, as little children, that he will be with
them for only a short time, then will leave them.
Two similar statements also appear in chapter 15 of the Gospel of John:
1. John 15:12 - This is my commandment, that you
love one another, even as I have loved you.
2. John 15:17 - These things I command you,
that you may love one another.
Other New Testament references:
A. Johannine writings - The Johannine writings
include other, similar passages.
1. First Epistle of John:
a. 1 John 3:11 - For this is the message which
you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another
b. 1 John 3:23 - And this is his commandment,
that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one
another, even as he gave us commandment.
c. 1 John 4:7 - let us love one another: for
love is of God;
d. 1 John 4:12 - No man hath beheld God at any
time: if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in
us.
2. Second Epistle of John states:
a. 2 John 5 - not as though I wrote to you a
new commandment, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one
another.
B. Pauline letters - The Pauline Epistles also
contain similar references.
a. Romans 13:8: Owe no man anything, save to
love one another: for he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law.
b. 1 Thessalonians 4:9: ... for ye yourselves
are taught of God to love one another.
c. Ga 5:14 - since
the whole Law is summarized in a single command: Love your neighbor as
yourself.
C. The First Epistle of Peter has a similar
statement:
1 Peter 1:22 - ... for you yourselves are taught of God to
love one another.
“The "New Commandment", the
Wycliffe Bible Commentary states, "was new in that the love was to be
exercised toward others not because they belonged to the same nation, but
because they belonged to Christ...and the love of Christ which the disciples
had seen...would be a testimony to the world".
“One of the novelties introduced by this
commandment – perhaps justifying its designation as New – is that Jesus
"introduces himself as a standard for love". The usual criterion had
been "as you love yourself". However, the New Commandment goes beyond
"as you love yourself" as found in the ethic of reciprocity and
states "as I have loved you", using the Love of Christ for his
disciples as the new model.
The First Epistle of John reflects the theme
of love being an imitation of Christ, with 1 John 4:19 stating: "We love,
because he first loved us.”
The Article “Why a ‘New’ Commandment?” by Jack Mahoney SJ from http://www.thinkingfaith.org says:
“After examining how Jesus understood and talked about the Ten
Commandments, Jack Mahoney turns his attention to the ‘new’ commandment that
Jesus gave to his disciples, which we find in John’s Gospel. What was new about
what Jesus was asking with his instruction to ‘love one another ... as I have
loved you’?
“Of several explanations proposed for the
strange structure, Raymond Brown adopts the comparatively simple one of
postulating that it was edited twice by the evangelist and then reworked by
another person in the Johannine community. One result is that sometimes two
versions of the same unit are printed side by side in slightly different
settings aimed at meeting different situations, a practice of doubling passages
rather than preferring one with which we are familiar in the Pentateuch. Brown
notes that ‘what is said in the Last Discourse in xiv 1-31 is largely said all
over again in xvi 4-33’. And Perkins suggests that the discourse material
‘appears to have been expanded during the editing of the Gospel, and may well
represent different situations in the later history of the Johannine
community’.
“Perkins observes that ‘the commandment fits
awkwardly into this position, since what follows deals with the theme of Jesus’
departure’. But the location of the commandment appears deliberate here. The
context of Jesus’s forthcoming departure seems to be the reason why he is here
giving his apostles the command. The implication is not that their love for
each other should be as great as that of Jesus for them all (i.e., to the measure
with which I have loved you), but that, for this new situation when their Lord
will have left them, it is appropriate that he gives them a new commandment:
just as he has loved them while with them, likewise they are henceforth to
stand in for Jesus in their love and care for one another. One of the purposes
for which the Gospel of John seems to have been was written was to attempt to
resolve painful divisions which existed within the Johannine community (as we
see in the First Letter of John). The evangelist therefore may have Jesus here
exhorting all his future disciples to mediate his continuing love to one
another after he has gone, and so maintain the unity he will pray for
earnestly.
“This is the only passage in John’s Gospel
(Jn 13:33-36) in which Jesus actually calls this the ‘new’ commandment that he
is giving the apostles. In the second passage where Jesus commands his
disciples to love one another ‘as I have loved you’ (Jn 15:12-17), he does not
refer to this as a ‘new’ commandment. The later context is not the forthcoming
departure of Jesus, but his giving his life for his disciples, and offering
them this as an example of how completely they are to devote themselves to one
another in the future (Jn 15:12-17): ‘This is my commandment, that you love one
another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down
one’s life for one’s friends…. I am giving you these commands so that you may
love one another.’
“Why call it ‘new’? Various reasons are
proposed to explain why Jesus issued a ‘new’ commandment to his followers. The
simplest but least plausible reason is that he was just adding to the number of
the Ten Commandments given to Israel by God through Moses. A more attractive,
but still unlikely, reason was that in exhorting them to love one another he
was doing little more than repeating the ‘Great Commandment’ that they love
others as themselves, which we saw him propose in reply to the question about a
priority among the Ten Commandments. However, the new commandment is not just
that Jesus’s disciples are to love one another, but that they are to do so ‘as
I have loved you’. This seems to be a major new qualification to Jesus’s moral
teaching. It appears that the norm and the supreme example of Christian loving
is to be the love which Jesus himself showed to, and for, his followers; and
historically this will be expanded into the powerful spiritualities of the
imitation of Christ and of the following of Christ. Perkins, therefore,
explains that ‘this commandment is “new” because it is grounded not in the love
commands of the Jewish tradition (e.g. Lev 19:19; 1QS 1:9-11) but in the
self-offering of Jesus’.
“This ‘new’ commandment, however, is
sometimes considered to be surprisingly exclusive, and seems to differ from the
Great Commandment in enjoining the disciples just to love each other, rather
than to love all their neighbors. However, it is worth bearing in mind that
Jesus’s Last Supper discourse in John’s Gospel sometimes looks forward to the
coming passion and death of Jesus, and at other times it seems to look back
from after the Resurrection to Jesus’s having completed his task, so that, as
C. H. Dodd once explained, ‘in a real sense it is the risen and glorified
Christ who speaks’.[6] This perhaps enables us to understand why the
commandment to ‘love one another’ seems almost exclusive, as one to be observed
only among the disciples, in contrast to the Great Commandment which enjoins
that one should love of all one’s neighbors without exception. In this
discourse, it is as if the risen Christ is addressing the community for which
John was writing his gospel, and is instructing it on how to handle its
problems and issues. Just as in any society, repeated legislation forbidding a
particular piece of behavior indicates the prevalence of such behavior in that
society. John in his gospel and his letters (as their author or their source)
writes so repeatedly of the need for mutual love and unity among the disciples
of Jesus, that it seems likely that these virtues were notably lacking in
John’s Church, and that the Last Supper discourse is a plea from their risen
Lord to remedy this sad situation.
“Finally, a very attractive interpretation
links the ‘new’ commandment with the new covenant. As Raymond Brown observes,
the evangelist shows that in speaking of love as the new commandment, ‘he is
thinking of this Last Supper scene in covenant terms’.
“Jesus is thus the divinely appointed mediator, and indeed author, of
the new covenant (Heb 12:24), and just as the Sinai covenant mediated through
Moses contained the Ten Commandments as an integral part of God’s will, so here
also the new covenant requires a new commandment as its basic law. The other
contracting party, the new people of God, are now to love one another as Jesus
has loved them. ‘The model of the disciples’ love is Jesus’ supreme act of
love, his laying down his life’.[9] This will be definitively enacted when the
departed Jesus sends his Spirit to form the new covenant community, Christ’s
Church. Then from the love that they show each other they will be recognizably
distinct, and ‘everyone will know that you are my disciples’, as Jesus foretold
(Jn 13:35).”
The article Christ's New Commandment from http://www.ucg.org
says:
“Does
this new commandment supersede the Ten Commandments and replace all other
biblical laws? Jesus clearly answered this fundamental question when He said,
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets"
(Matthew:5:17).
“Yet many people who believe in Christ as their Savior also believe
this new commandment frees them from any obligation to obey God's laws.
“They misunderstand what Jesus said and
meant. The Holy Scriptures, in the Old and New Testaments, teach that we should
love each other (Leviticus:19:18). Jesus did not introduce love as a new
principle. That was already in the Bible and a fundamental part of God's
instruction to ancient Israel.
“What, then, was new in Christ's "new commandment"? Notice
His wording. He said we are to "love one another; as I have loved you
..."
“What
was new was His own example of love! The whole world has, in Jesus, a perfect
model of the love of God in Christ's perfect example of loving obedience.
Christ loved us so much that He sacrificed His own life for us. He Himself
explained: "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life
for his friends" (John:15:13).”
