SCRIPTURES: 
Old Testament 
Exodus 34:6, Deuteronomy 7:9, Deuteronomy 11:1, Deuteronomy 13, Deuteronomy 22, 1 Samuel 18:1-3, 1 Samuel 20:11-17, Malachi 2:13-14, 1 Kings 5:1 
New Testament 
Matthew 10:32-37, Matthew 11:11, Matthew 22:37-40, Luke 1:15, John 5:35, John 14:15, John 14:21, 1 Peter 3:7, 1 John 5:3

Tim Miller

Covenant

<ol>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ol>
<li>John’s greatness in God’s eyes</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord (Lk. 1:15, HCSB)
11 “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. (Mt. 11:11a, NLT)
<ol start="0">
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ol start="2">
<li>The two greatest commandments</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on (“depend on” [ESV, HCSB]; “are based on” [NLT]) these two commandments.” (Mt. 22:37-40)
<ol start="0">
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ol start="3">
<li>Being “great in the sight of the Lord” by definition involves these two commandments being at the center of one’s life, and therefore they must have been evident in John’s life in some pretty powerful ways for the Lord to say the things He says about Him; faithful adherence to these two commandments shone brightly through John’s life</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
35 John was a burning and shining lamp, and for a time you were willing to enjoy his light. (Jn. 5:35, HCSB)
<ol start="0">
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ol start="4">
<li>What does it actually mean to “love God”? Sometimes we throw terms around so casually and hear them used so often, that we don’t stop to ask if what we mean is the same thing as what the Scriptures mean by them. For example, the statement, “Yeah, he really loves the Lord”—what do we mean when we say something like this? Does our understanding of “loving God” and “loving neighbor” match that of the Scriptures?</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>

POINT

<ol>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ol>
<li>In the Scriptures, the concept of “love” is grounded in a covenant relationship; in the Bible, covenants are very solemn occasions
<ol>
<li>Definition of covenant: “ בְּרִית (bĕrit) covenant (ASV and RSV); between nations: a treaty, alliance of friendship; between individuals: a pledge or agreement; with obligation between a monarch and subjects: a constitution; between God and man: a covenant accompanied by signs, sacrifices, and a solemn oath that sealed the relationship with promises of blessing for keeping the covenant and curses for breaking it.”</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>Six main components of ancient covenants: 1. Preamble; 2. Historical prologue; 3. Stipulations; 4. Document clause; 5. Witnesses; 6. Blessings and Curses (oath/solemn promise very serious)</li>
<li>Different kinds of covenants: between individuals, various groups, nations; of course, marriage a very important covenant; put into effect through oaths (abusing an oath=primary meaning of taking God’s name in vain/misusing his name)</li>
<li>Loyalty central to Biblical love</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
“Careful studies of the Hebrew word, ḥesed… demonstrate that it connotes long-term, reliable loyalty of one member of a covenant relationship to another”
34:6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love (Heb ḥěsěḏ) and faithfulness (Ex. 34:6, NET)
“Thus the treaty relation also provides the source for the principal biblical concept of the love man owes to God, a love consisting of fidelity and obedience….To love is to set one’s sincere affections on the covenant Lord and to give this affection its expression in loyal service.”
<ol start="0">
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ol start="5">
<li>Loyalty expressed through obedience to the stipulations of the covenant</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
1 “You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always… 13 “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul…22 For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him (Dt. 11:1, 13, 22, ESV)
9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations (Dt. 7:9, ESV)
<ol start="0">
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ol start="6">
<li>Covenant renewals/confirmations help keep loyalty strong (e.g. in marriage, or when one king dies and is replaced by his son); in some cases may be needed to re-establish the covenant relationship all together, if a violation is serious enough (e.g. golden calf event)</li>
<li>Some Biblical examples</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
1 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram always loved David (“Hiram had always been an ally of David” [NET]). (1 Ki. 5:1, ESV)
1 When David had finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan committed himself to David, and loved him as much as he loved himself.  2 Saul kept David with him from that day on and did not let him return to his father’s house. 3 Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as much as himself. (1 Sm. 18:1-3, HCSB)
<ul>
<li>11 He answered David, “Come on, let’s go out to the field.” So both of them went out to the field. 12 “By the Lord, the God of Israel, I will sound out my father by this time tomorrow or the next day. If I find out that he is favorable toward you, will I not send for you and tell you?  13 If my father intends to bring evil on you, may God punish Jonathan and do so severely if I do not tell you and send you away so you may go in peace. May the Lord be with you,  just as He was with my father. 14 If I continue to live, treat me with the Lord’s faithful love (“extend to me the loyalty of the LORD” [NET]; “please keep your sacred promise and be loyal to me” [TEV]; Heb ḥěsěḏ), but if I die, 15 don’t ever withdraw your faithful love (“your loyalty” [NET]; “the same kind of loyalty” [TEV]) from my household—not even when the Lord cuts off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”  16 Then Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord hold David’s enemies accountable.” 17 Jonathan once again (covenant renewal/strengthening/confirmation/reassurance) swore to David in his love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself. (1 Sm. 20:11-17, HCSB)</li>
</ul>
13 And this second thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth (“the LORD witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young” [NLT]), to whom you have been faithless (“you have broken faith” [NIV]; “you have acted treacherously against her” [HCSB]; “you have broken your promised to her” [NLT], though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. (Mal. 2:13-14, ESV)
<ul>
<li>7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers (“so that your prayers will not be ignored” [BHT]; “Then nothing will stand in the way of your prayers” [CEV]). (1 Pt. 3:7, NIV)</li>
</ul>
<ol start="0">
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ol start="8">
<li>A non-Biblical example from the Ancient Near East (El-Amarna tablets)</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
“[EA53] 40–44 My lord, just as I love the king, m[y] lord, so too the king of Nuḫašše, the king of Nii, the king of Zinzar, and the king of Tunanab; all of these kings are my lord’s servants.”

LOVE WITHIN A COVENANTAL CONTEXT

<ol>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ol>
<li>Love as loyalty (rather than love simply as happy feelings, enjoyment, liking, etc.) brings clarity to many NT passages</li>
<li>Jesus (examples)</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell (statement of allegiance). 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. 34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Mt. 10:28-38, NIV)
<ul>
<li>32 “All this in mind, if a person openly acknowledges his allegiance to me in the presence of men, I likewise will openly acknowledge him as my own in the presence of my Father in the heavens. 33 If someone disowns me in the presence of men, however, I also will disown him in the presence of my Father in the heavens….37 If someone’s loyalty to father or mother is greater than his loyalty to me, he is not worthy of me. A person is not worthy of me, likewise, if his loyalty to son or daughter is greater than his loyalty to me. (Mt. 10:32-33, 37 BHT)</li>
</ul>
15“If you love me, keep my commandments….21The person who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I, too, will love him and reveal myself to him.” (Jn. 14:15, 21, ISV)
<ul>
<li>3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome (1 Jn. 5:3, NIV)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>3 Loving God means keeping his commandments…(1 Jn. 5:3a, NLT)</li>
</ul>
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven (Jesus’ “love language”). 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Mt. 7:21-23, NIV)
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that….35 But love your enemies (loyalty and commitment to them as the most-highly-valued class of creation, in which we all share—“image bearers”—and to God’s plan and original intention for the human race), do good to them (Mt. 6:44—“and pray for those who persecute you”), and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Lk. 6:32-33, NIV)
<ol start="0">
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ol start="3">
<li>Apostles (examples)</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed (Gk. summorphos) to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Rom. 8:28, ESV)
<ul>
<li>10that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings (requiring endurance; cf. Rm. 5), being conformed (summorphizō) to His death; 11in order that I may attain to (“experience” [ISV, NLT]; “share in” [BHT]) the resurrection from the dead (when things are “worked out” once and for all for those who were loyal). (Ph. 3:10, NASB)</li>
</ul>
22 If anyone does not love the Lord, a curse be on him (Gk. anathema; “separated from God—lost forever!” [NCV]). Marana tha that is, Lord, come! (1 Cor. 16:22, HCSB)
<ul>
<li>22 If someone is not loyal to the Lord, let him be cursed and set apart for utter destruction. Marana tha—our Lord, come! (1 Cor. 16:22, BHT)</li>
</ul>
12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him (“to those who remain loyal to him” [BHT]). (Jm. 1:12, NIV)
<ul>
<li>“Love in its distinctive biblical understanding…is always relational and often implies faithfulness and loyalty. So in this context it refers more to a sense of loyalty toward God.”</li>
</ul>
C. End of the Age
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10 he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.” 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. (Rev. 14:9-12, NIV)
<ol>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ol>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>The time of greatest testing will require the greatest amount of love: With all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Jesus is using the current, relatively less-intense trials to strengthen us in true love (Biblically defined) before the arrival of greater difficulty.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>

NT STRESS ON LOYALTY

<ol>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ol>
<li>John loves the Lord with all of his heart, mind, soul, and strength</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered him a prophet. 6 On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for them and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10 and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12 John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. 13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. (Mt. 14:3-13a, NIV)

THE GREATNESS OF JOHN THE BAPTIZER’S LOVE

A People Prepared

Church

In this introduction to the series A People Prepared, we look at Jesus’ zeal for a pure Bride, as...

Jesus’ Zeal for a Pure Bride

In this session we examine some of the formative elements in John the Baptizer’s life, asking the...

Becoming Strong in Spirit

Christ/Cross

When prophesying about John the Baptizer, Zechariah, John’s father, declared that John in...

God’s Day, God’s Summons

Full Gospel

In this session, we examine and discuss the various features and components that make up any...

What Makes Up a Kingdom

Jake Paurus

Instagram

Forerunners in the Wilderness Teaching

Creation

In this session, we will examine the various elements that make up the “Kingdom of Creation.”...

Kingdom of Creation

In this session, we will examine the various elements that make up the “Kingdom of Eden.” What...

Kingdom of Eden Part 1

Curse

In this first of two sessions on the Kingdom of Darkness, we will examine some of the various...

Kingdom of Darkness Part 1

In this session we will continue examining the Kingdom of Darkness, focusing especially on Genesis...

Kingdom of Darkness Part 2

Kingdom of Darkness Part 3

In this week’s Emmaus Road Gathering, we will resume our discussion of the OT background and...

Kingdom of Israel

When John the Baptist and Jesus proclaimed that the “Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mt. 3:2, 4:14),...

Kingdom Promised

In this teaching, we step back into the New Testament and examine John the Baptist’s declaration...

The Kingdom of Heaven Is at Hand

In Matthew 11, John the Baptizer sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus,
“Are you the one who was...

Kingdom Coming

When the angel Gabriel met with Zechariah and foretold John the Baptizer’s birth, he said that...

Delighting in the Tenth Commandment

How is “love for God” defined according to the Scriptures? In this week’s Emmaus Road...

Love As Loyalty

In this week’s Emmaus Road Gathering, we will wrap up our series on the life, message, and...

Wisdom Vindicated

God’s Day, God’s Summons Q&A/Discussion

What Makes Up a Kingdom Q&A/Discussion

Kingdom of Eden Part 2 / Q&A

How is “love for God” defined according to the Scriptures? In this week’s Emmaus Road Gathering, we will examine another one of the factors that made John the Baptizer “great in the sight of the Lord” (Lk. 1:15): Wholehearted loyalty to the one true God. We invite you to join us as we ask God to help us follow John’s example of remaining fully loyal to the Lord no matter what difficulties may befall us.