Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series) by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2013-11-03T16:00:00+00:00

LOVE, LOVE COMMAND

The love command appears in different forms in the canonical Gospels, and close study highlights their nuances. But among the Gospels, John offers a unique and detailed engagement with this topic, which is best understood in relation to the Johannine letters and community.

The Love Command of Jesus in the Canonical Gospels

The Theology of God’s Love in Johannine Literature

1. The Love Command of Jesus in the Canonical Gospels.

The canonical Gospels agree that the love command embodies the central motive of Jesus’ ethics. The same Gospels, however, show different literary designs as well as distinctive features both in terms of substance and detail.

1.1. Similarities and Differences of the Love Command in the Canonical Gospels. The Synoptic tradition positions the love command in a public argument initiated by enquiries from outsiders. Within the framework of the Jerusalem conflict, the corresponding teachings follow in Matthew 22:34-40 and Mark 12:28-34 in response to the request of the Sadducees, which addresses the question of postmortem existence. In this way, the double commandment of love is the peak of the debates and conversations that Jesus had just before his arrest in *Jerusalem. By contrast, the Lukan account of the love command, in Luke 10:25-28, comes in a comparatively early stage of the story, subsequent to the beatitude spoken to Jesus’ *disciples (Lk 10:23-24), in which a teacher of law tries to question the authority of Jesus.

The Johannine composition of the love command is found in a completely different narrative context. On one hand, in John 13:34 Jesus acts without the initiative of a third party. He is not required to comment on the importance and relevance of individual Torah commandments but confidently gives his own, new *commandment. This narrative detail impressively highlights the supremacy and *authority of Jesus. On the other hand, in the Johannine version the love command is directed only to the disciples; in contrast to the Synoptic tradition, no outsider hears the commandment of mutual love.

The most significant differences occur within the justifications of the love command. Matthew 22:36 and Mark 12:28 thematize the question concerning the first or highest commandment, while Luke 10:25 thematizes the question concerning the conditions that must be fulfilled to obtain eternal life. The interlacing of the commandments of love of God and neighbor, which can be found as separate instructions in the Jewish legislative tradition (Lev 19:17-18; Deut 6:5), follows in partially different form in the Synoptic tradition. In contrast, neither in John 13:34-35 nor elsewhere in John is the love command justified with reference to Scripture. The love command is rather the new commandment given by Jesus. This issue can be understood as a consequence of the Johannine hermeneutics of the Scriptures. The Holy Scriptures of Judaism testify to Jesus (Jn 5:39), who interprets the will of God as it is recognizable in them (Jn 1:17). It is the authority not of the Jewish Scriptures but rather of Jesus that justifies the love command.

A further difference in the composition of the Synoptic and the Johannine versions of the love command is reflected in the measure used for ethical behavior.

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