“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” John 15:9-10
Last week we saw that King David’s dying words to his son Solomon were that Solomon must prove himself to be a man once David is dead and he takes over the throne. It is by obeying the commands of God that he will achieve this. Men prove themselves to be real men by obeying the commandments of God. In today’s text Jesus tells us that obeying the commandments is also how we prove our love for God. Real men love Jesus.
If you’re like me when I hear that slogan, “Real men love Jesus,” it rubs me the wrong way. As true as it is, somehow it communicates to me a soft, wimpy, overly emotional response to hearing the name Jesus. It doesn’t seem very manly at all. Part of the issue is that in our over-feminized culture we associate love with more feminine virtues like nurturing, gentleness, and sensitivity. We think that in order to love Jesus we have to become like women. This is perhaps one reason why so many men are not interested in church.
But love in the Bible is much more. In the Old Testament the main way God describes His love for His people is the Hebrew word “hesed.” The word hesed includes deep emotional attachment and affection which is what we normally associate with the word love. But the primary meaning is actually covenantal faithfulness and deep, steadfast loyalty. This is the kind of devotion a loyal knight has for his King, or perhaps a soldier who loves his country.
At the Last Supper Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:5) He spoke this to a group of men, His disciples. This is not some hippy love-in with everyone singing evangelical love songs. Jesus is preparing them for war. These are Jesus’ last words to His disciples before His death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven when the disciples will carry on Jesus’ ministry being empowered by the Holy Spirit. When Jesus is gone the disciples must prove themselves to be men, prove their covenantal loyalty to Jesus, by obeying His commandments no matter what the consequences like Phinehas, like John the Baptist, like the whole host of the great cloud of witnesses, and like Jesus Himself. Hesed, is manly love.
His mercy endures forever!
Pastor Flynn