²⁴ “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

Word of Christ versus the word of the Father? Which is which? If Jesus Christ is God, then is not the word of the Father the same thing as the word of the Son? The Christian concept of the Trinity contains within it mysteries and seeming anomalies, though when correctly understood are not contradictions. We have already pointed out that the one true God exists in three persons. This is not three Gods, but one God. Yet, the Bible presents God as Father who is distinct in some way from God the Son. And both are distinct in some way from God the Holy Spirit. Yet, the Bible presents all three as not just equal to God, but all three are in fact God.

Here we find one of the distinctions between God the Father and God the Son. There is the Father’s word and there is the Son’s word (implied in this verse). The Father has “sent” the Son in a fashion that is uniquely one-way, that is, the Son did not send the Father. Theologians call this the eternal procession of Jesus from the Father. Furthermore, theologians talk about the Holy Spirit eternally processing from the Father and the Son.

We take this verse to mean that Jesus is not giving new teaching on this subject, but that God (the Father) had made this idea known long before Jesus was born and carried on His earthly ministry. From the beginning Jesus had quoted the OT Scriptures (God’s word), e.g. during the wilderness temptation where Jesus quoted OT passages to the devil, rather than using His own words (Matt 4:1-11).

This is similar to wording Paul uses when speaking to the issue of marriage, “But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband …” (1 Cor 7:10). In other words, he is relying on the teachings of Jesus in making His point (see Matt 5:32, 19:6). Yet, a few verses later he says, “But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her”(1 Cor 7:12), emphasizing that this is new revelation. The latter is no less inspired then the former, but just clarifies the source of revelation.

So the Lord in our passage for today is clarifying that what He is teaching is no new revelation, but has been the truth all along, as revealed in the OT. The point would stand on the authority of Jesus alone, but the reduplication and the divine emphasis add up to stressing this truth in the strongest possible way.

Lord, I want to be obedient to Your Word because I love You. Thank You for making it absolutely clear that I can’t win Your love, but only respond to it.