What Does it Mean to Teach Others to Love?

The Great Commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…And the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself.” It is part of the teachings of Jesus. Keep that in mind, because part of the Great Commission says, “…teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”

Matthew’s good news is about God sending Jesus to teach us how to live a holy, righteous life. Then at the end of his good news, Jesus says to teach his followers to obey everything that he has taught or commanded us. So, part of the work of the church is to teach others to love God and to love neighbor.

In Matthew’s good news, we know Jesus to be “God with us,” or God’s love in human form. So, when Jesus says, to love God and love neighbor, he is saying that we love God by loving one another. We are loving God by becoming God’s love in human ways.

Let’s look specifically at these words of the Great Commission, “…teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”

Read Matthew 28:16-20

¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ Jesus came near and spoke to them, “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”

Reflect on Matthew 28:16-20

Followers of Jesus are people who learn the way of Jesus and begin to live that way. Being a follower of Jesus is more than knowing what Jesus taught. It is becoming the kind of person who lives what Jesus taught.

This part of the Great Commission, “…teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” is about forming people who look more and more like Jesus in the way they love, serve, forgive, give, lead, and relate to others.

So, teaching them means more than giving information. The word teaching carries the idea of helping people learn, understand, practice, and grow. Being a follower of Jesus is a lifelong process of being formed by Jesus. It is knowing and living the difference between knowing what Jesus taught and learning to live what Jesus taught.

The word “everything” means the whole way of Jesus. Jesus doesn’t tell his followers to select the teachings they found most comfortable. He said, “everything that I have commanded you.”

That includes what he taught about: loving God and loving your neighbor, forgiving others, loving your enemies, caring for the vulnerable, practicing humility, telling the truth, serving rather than seeking power, showing mercy, giving generously, praying, trusting God, treating others as we want to be treated.

In other words, Jesus is forming a way of life, not simply transmitting a list of beliefs.

The word “obey” is about putting faith into practice. Jesus doesn’t say, “Teach them everything I commanded you so they can know it.” He says to teach them to obey it. To put it into practice.

For example, when Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” he is not saying discuss it and decide who is worthy. He is saying, “This is what it means to live the life that God has given you to live. This is what it means to be my follower, my disciple.”

The question to ask is: “What would it look like for me to live and love like Jesus?”

So, part of the Great Commission is learning the way of Jesus, going into the world to live that way, and teaching others to do the same.

Respond

When Jesus says, “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you,” he is describing something much deeper than giving out information.

You can know what Jesus said about forgiveness without forgiving. You can know what Jesus said about loving your neighbor without loving your neighbor. You can know what Jesus said about serving others without serving anyone. You can know what Jesus said about loving your enemies without ever praying for someone who has hurt you. Loving God and loving neighbor become reality when the teachings of Jesus move from our heads into our living.

The Difference Between Knowing and Doing

Maybe you can think of it this way. Billy had taken swimming lessons at the community swimming pool. He could explain everything his instructor had taught him. He knew how to float, kick, and move his arms. He could even explain what to do if he got tired.

One afternoon, the father asked, “Are you ready to swim across the pool?”

Billy hesitated before saying, “I know how. I just don’t know if I can.”

His father walked into the water and said, “Come on. I’ll be right here. Go for it.”

Billy stepped into the water. His father held his hand while he began to swim. At first, he was nervous and he stopped several times. With his father’s encouragement, he would try again.

Eventually, something happened. Billy stopped thinking about the instructions and started swimming. After Billy swam across the pool several times, he began to enjoy himself. Swimming became something natural for him to do.

At the end of the day, Billy’s father asked him, “What did you learn today?”

Billy smiled and said, “I learned how to do what you taught me.”

Think about it. There is a difference between knowing and doing.

Formed in the Way of Jesus

I want you to notice something significant about Billy’s story. His father didn’t stand at the side of the pool and yell instructions. He got into the water with Billy.

The purpose of Christian teaching is not simply to fill our minds with the words of Jesus, but to form our lives according to the way of Jesus. Always remembering that you are not alone in your teaching or your living.

So, what would it look like for you to model the way of Jesus for the people around you? What will you do today to live what you have learned? What will you do today to help the people around you to learn the way of Jesus?

“…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”

Return

Give thanks for the people you encountered today. In what ways did you live out God’s love for you and your neighbor? How did you work for the good of the people around you? How did you let people love you? With whom do you need to celebrate God’s love and the ways you have been able to love God and love your neighbor? What will you do differently tomorrow?