Jesus’ fifth instruction was “keep my commandments,” which He states in one form or another four times over the course of ten verses. While it may seem obvious on the surface that this is a call to obedience, we must acknowledge that there may be more to this instruction than meets the eye, primarily because of how Jesus connected it with love. In this lesson, we will consider what Jesus’ “keep my commandments” instruction really entails and why it was so important to Him that He mentioned it four times.
John 14:15-24 (ESV)
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.
Lesson Resources:
David Lipe. John 13-21. Truth for Today Commentary. Searcy, AR: Resource Publications, 2019.