April 2 -- John 13:31-38

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” –John 13:34-35 (NIV)

After Judas left to betray Him, Jesus continued to prepare His disciples for His coming death and Resurrection. He had already told them to emulate Him in serving each other (washing each other’s feet). In this passage, He leaves them (and us) with this “new command”: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (v. 34). The Greek word translated as “new” is kainen, which doesn’t mean “new” as in “recent,” but rather “new in quality (innovation), fresh in development…not found exactly like this before” (see HELPS Word-studies #2537).

The command to love is not totally new. It’s found in the Old Testament, which tells us to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). Yet Jesus calls His command new because there is a fresh development to it, a new focus. We are still supposed to love our neighbor, but now we are to love each other with an even deeper love, and Jesus is our model. His self-sacrificial love is the standard by which we measure our love for our Christian brothers and sisters. We don’t just love each other as we love ourselves; we love each other as Christ has loved us.

Jesus told His disciples that when they love each other this way, the world would notice. Looking at the Christian community, the world would realize this self-sacrificial love is proof Jesus is real and that His people belong to Him because they are able to love this way.

Peter did not seem to pay much attention to this new command; instead, he could not get past Jesus’ statement that He was about to leave them. Peter did not want to be left behind. In his typical fashion, Peter impetuously insisted he would die for Jesus before he would be left behind. Jesus told Peter that, in actuality, he would deny Jesus three times before the rooster crowed.

In light of our weaknesses (even Peter denied Jesus when faced with death), Jesus’ command for us to love each other as He has loved us is a pretty tall order. The truth is, people are not always very lovable. Yet Jesus asks us to choose to love self-sacrificially, even when it’s hard—even when indifference or dislike seems easier. The key to keeping this command is to remember that we must remain rooted in Him (He reminds us of this in John 15). We cannot love well on our own, but if we continually remember Jesus’ love for us and seek to rely on Him in our relationships, then we truly can love each other well…and change the world in the process.

Talk to God today about the way you are loving Him and others. Ask Him to give you a clear vision of Jesus’ love for you and ask Him to help you internalize that love so that you can extend it to others. You might talk to Him about another believer in your life whom you find difficult to love. Ask Him how you might learn to show love in your interactions with this person.