Jesus Loves Us to Keep His Commands

Sixth Sunday of Easter

May 25, 2014

John 14:15

Jesus Loves Us to Keep His Commands

In the name of Jesus.

I.

“If you love Me, you will keep My commands.” Jesus said that love for Him will naturally lead you to keep His commands. But you look down at your shoes and mutter, “I love Jesus, but I don't keep His commands. So what is He saying? Is He saying that He doesn't love me? Or is He saying that I don't have to keep His commands?”

Praise be to God! The answer is that He does love you because of His Father's love for you and that you will keep His commands because of the Son's love for you. We can dig into Jesus' words by unlocking a couple of key words.

First of all, keep. Jesus doesn't mean perfectly keeping ourselves perfect by perfectly carrying out His commands. This word means more precisely to keep watch over someone or something. In this case, you will keep careful watch over Jesus' commands.

And secondly, speaking of commands, just what commands is Jesus referring to? The first commands we think of are probably the commands of Mt. Sinai, often called the Ten Commandments. Have no other gods. Remember the Sabbath. Honor your parents. These are the commands of the Old Testament.

But Jesus gave us other commands, commands of the New Testament. These came from the hill where our Jesus died, Mt. Calvary. Through His triumph over Death with His own death on the cross, His commands mean what He says, “Baptize sinners. Eat My body. Drink My blood. Preach My resurrection that proclaims My death for you.”

II.

So this is the truth that Jesus is getting at, when He said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commands.” Take the if out of it because you do love Him; you are adopted children and you have a holy family through Jesus.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

He has made you a part of His family and now you love Him, just as He promised. He comes to rescue you every day when you hear the Old Testament commands of Mt. Sinai and you see a sinner who spends their time and money on false gods, ignores the rest that Jesus offers to us in His house through His Word, and dishonors the members of their family by losing our temper and with our reluctant obedience.

And daily He comes to you with His living Word of the New Testament that is found throughout all of Holy Scripture. And our New Testament, Jesus, forgives you, saying,

because I live, you will live also.

So these commands of Mt. Sinai push you to the commands of Mt. Calvary. And the promises of Mt. Calvary push us back to the promises of Mt. Sinai. And back and forth. And back and forth. Repent. Trust. Live. Every day. Every night. For the rest of our lives.

Jesus promised, “You love Me, so you will keep careful watch over My commands.” So every day we keep careful watch on the Living Man, Jesus Christ, and His living Word.

You keep careful watch on His Words by praying them. He gives you a mouth to pray aloud, whether alone or with others, the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, and the Lord's Prayer. He gives you hands and arms to pick up little babies and tickle their noses and to pick up your toys. He gives you ears to hear your mom and dad singing hymns next to you here at church and at home. He gives you eyes to watch the birds and bunnies run around your yard and ears to hear your brother give them silly names and a mouth to laugh at his comedic chops. All this and much more Jesus gives to you.

Jesus promised, “You love Me, so you will keep careful watch over My commands.” He truly does. The proof is His death and resurrection and your Baptism. And now you see, hear, and speak as Living People living under the Living Man.

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.