May 27, 2026
Pentecost - Part 2
John 14:23-24
05/27/2026
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.'' (ESV)
On the night Jesus was betrayed, He told His disciples:
``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. 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.''
Certainly we think of keeping God's Word as obeying His
commandments, but there is much more meaning in this statement.
Those who truly love Christ Jesus, who trust in Him for salvation
from sin, death, and the power of the devil, take His teaching
seriously. They read, mark, learn, and ponder that which He
said.
Keeping the words of our Savior means to protect them, to
guard them from shame and falsehood, to preserve them intact.
Keeping the words of our Savior means to trust them, to
acknowledge they are the truth which brings us eternal life.
There is much more to the word of God than the Ten
Commandments or the other civil and ceremonial laws of the Old
Testament. The goal of the Bible is not our moral behavior, but,
as Saint John wrote, ``but these are written so that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by
believing you may have life in his name.''[1]
May our Lord grant us faith to hear and treasure His Word so
that we may trust in Him alone. Amen.
____________________
1. John 20:31 (ESV)