Jesus Said That by This the World Would Know We Were His Disciples by Michael L. Brown for Ask Dr Brown
When God sent Moses to the children of Israel in the book of Exodus, He gave him miraculous signs to perform so that the people would believe that God truly sent him. In the same way, when Elijah the prophet spoke to his unbelieving nation, he called down fire from heaven to prove that God had really spoken through him. Yet Jesus said to His disciples that it was by our love one for another, not by our miracles, that the world would know that we were His disciples. Isn’t that striking?
To be sure, signs, wonders, and miracles were and are important. When they are performed in Jesus’ name, they point to the fact that He has risen from the dead. They demonstrate that He is still alive and working in power. They vindicate the message we are preaching. (For a wonderful, contemporary story from Nepal, see here.)
But those miracles, in and of themselves, do not demonstrate that we are the disciples of Jesus. Instead, it is our love for one another that demonstrates this. Why is that so?
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Simply stated, it’s because God can work miracles through anyone. Supernatural gifts can work through us whenever God desires, even if our own lives are not right with Him. But to have real love one for another speaks of a changed life. It speaks of having been with Jesus.
As Matthew Henry explained, “Brotherly love is the badge of Christ’s disciples. By this he knows them, by this they may know themselves (1 Jn. 2:14), and by this others may know them. This is the livery of his family, the distinguishing character of his disciples; this he would have them noted for, as that wherein they excelled all others—their loving one another. This was what their Master was famous for; all that ever heard of him have heard of his love, his great love; and therefore, if you see any people more affectionate one to another than what is common, say, ‘Certainly these are the followers of Christ, they have been with Jesus.’”
