REMEMBER THE NEW COMMANDMENT!

John 13:34

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

When I first reflected on this verse, I asked myself: when Jesus says “A NEW COMMANDMENT”, what exactly is new about it?

After all, the command to love is not new. It existed long before, as taught in the Torah:

Leviticus 19:18

“You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”

Loving one another was already a command. So why does Jesus call it “new”? The difference is in the example and depth of love:

“Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

The love Jesus commands is not generic love—it is modeled after His own love, not the conventional human love of the world.

What was Jesus’ love like?

It was perfect, complete, and unwavering.

John 13:1

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”

This “to the end” love is absolute. Jesus did not love only under certain circumstances; He loved His disciples fully, from the heart, regardless of what would happen.

• He loved even knowing that Judas would betray Him.
• He loved even knowing that Peter would deny Him.

He chose to love despite their failures, showing the radical, self-giving love of God. This is the new commandment: love to the fullest extent, without conditions.

Why is this new?

It is easy to love someone when they are kind, helpful, or pleasing to us. But what about when they hurt, betray, or ridicule us?

• Loving when it’s easy is natural;
• Loving when it costs us, when it requires forgiveness and sacrifice—that is the new, Christlike love.

Matthew 5:43-44

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

John 15:13

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

The essence of the new commandment is a love willing to sacrifice, forgive, and endure, extending even to those who are difficult or hostile.

Do we already have this commandment?

2 John 1:5

“And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.”

Yes, the command to love is timeless, but what makes it new is the standard of love set by Jesus Himself. It is a love that goes beyond the ordinary, human love.

May the Lord be with you. Shalom

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