Love One Another / David Jeremiah

 

Love One Another By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35 In the first century, two rabbinic schools of thought held sway among Jewish scholars: the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai. Hillel and Shammai held what might today be called liberal and conservative views (respectively) on matters of the law and practice among Jews. The followers of the two rabbis were known by their adherence to the two teachers’ views. It was common for first-century rabbis to have followers (disciples) whom they taught and who promulgated their teachings.

Recommended Reading: 1 John 3: 14

Jesus was often referred to as Rabbi (or Teacher) by His disciples and followers (Mark 9:5; 11:21) as well as by others who observed His role as a teacher (John 3:2). Jesus expressed His followers’ responsibility to spread His teachings when He commissioned His disciples to teach others “to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). But more than any teaching, He told them there was a trait that would mark them as His disciples: “love for one another” (John 13:35). Love is the best way to reveal Christ to a loveless world. Through an unexpected act of love, show others Whom you follow. If we love God we’ll love His children. A. W. Tozer