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John 13:34-35
Love as the Mark of Discipleship
John 13:34-35
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
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Why it is worth knowing
- The command is “new” not in content but in standard: “as I have loved you”
- The love of Jesus is the model and measure, not human instinct
- This love is the primary identifier of a Christian community
- “Everyone will know”: love is the public evidence of following Christ
Where it sits: John 13:33-35
Little children, I will be with you a little while longer. You will seek me, and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you can’t come,’ so now I tell you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Hear the passage it sits in, sung word for word, on BibleDo's John page.
Background
Jesus gives this command on the night of his arrest, after washing the disciples’ feet and after Judas has left to betray him. He is about to demonstrate the ultimate measure of love: laying down his life. The word “new” (Greek: kaine) means new in quality, not just new in time. Love for neighbor was commanded in Leviticus 19; what is new is the standard: “as I have loved you.” This raises the bar infinitely: sacrificial, unconditional, enemy-including love. Tertullian reported that pagans would observe the early church and say, “Look how they love one another.”