The Mold!

TheMold!

John 15:12 AMP

[12] “This is My commandment, that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you.

The crowd had been actively involved in the events of the life of Jesus, as He drew near the cross. The triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem had happened, and many of the people were both amazed and appalled at the events of the week. We also find some people who had come to kill Him, even as some were celebrating the miracles of Lazarus, and also witnessing Mary anointing the feet of Jesus with expensive perfume, and wiping His feet with her hair. Hindsight is wonderful, but at the time, it would have been defined as 'mob mentalilty' or the 'foolishness of the crowd'. Indeed, not too many people understood what was going on right in front of them, and many missed the time of their visitation, mostly due to ignorance and familiarity with the human version of Jesus. Many are still in that place today, unable to see beyond His 'humanity and 'weakness', but this verse is a reminder of who Jesus is, and what is at stake.

The crowd had made all the noise and had now disappeared. At different times in His earthly ministry, He spoke to the crowd,  asking that anyone who would dare stand out should come to Him. As we know, there is no identity in the crowd. It is easy to hide behind the vast multitude, taking no position on anything. At the end of the day, the crowd will always go back to the usual, the expected and the comfortable. However, Jesus calls all who would be His to dare to stand out. God calls all who will come to Him to a life of total submission, surrender and service. Jesus was left with only His disciples, and bible records show that He taught His disciples over the next 5 chapters in John, He taught them, poured out His heart to them, and prayed for them. One of the life issues He covered was love, and even though they must have heard about it several times, this was a new day and a call to a new life. 

Jesus took the opportunity to lay down the new standard as a commandment. As it has always been said, God does not force Himself on anyone, and He will not go against the exercise of my freewill. You can call God a benevolent dictator who lays down the law as non-negotiable standards, and also supplies the grace I need to align with the standards. Another dimension to the commands is that, unlike the world, He provides us with a mold, a template we can copy. He does not just tell us what He demands; He shows us what it looks like, so we can be very sure if we are on the right path. Just a few chapters away from the one above, the Teacher and Lord had washed the feet of the disciples, and mandated them to do the same for one another. You cannot have a heart like Jesus and not love the way He does. Do I really have Him? God's time of favour is here.