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John 13-15

1. Why does Jesus say that He is giving His disciples a new command when He commands them to love one another? (John 13:34)

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another (John 13:34).

How is this a new command? Isn't there an Old Testament command similar to this, namely, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18; cited in Mt 19:19; 22:39; Lk 10:27)? This is very similar to the language in John's first epistle:

Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining (1 John 2:7-8).

In the epistle John seems to acknowledge that the commandment is old but that there is a new element to it. What is this new element, which may also inform our understanding of "new" in John 13:34 and vice versa?

I believe the uniquess of the Lord's command versus the previous command to love one's neighbor is this: The command to love one's neighbor was based on a principle of equality. As you love yourself, so love others. However, with Christ, the command to love others is elevated so that one's love for others exceeds one's love for self. Instead of simply a mutually affirming love that recognizes each person's worth before their common Creator, Jesus taught and demonstrated a sacrificial kind of love, where the person loved is esteemed higher than the one loving. 

Thus, the newness of the command is expressed in Jesus' words, "as I have loved you" (John 13:34). It is found in the love "which is true in Him and in you (i.e. believers in Christ)" (1 John 2:8). Jesus taught, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends" (John 15:13). This is the very love that He demonstrated as He gave His life to bring about salvation for those who would believe in Him. 

Therefore, Christians are called to love each other in this way. But the difficulty in doing this is seen in Peter, who even after declaring this kind of love for Christ, a self-sacrificing love (John 13:37), would be the first to deny Him three times (John 13:38). Yet, it is this very self-sacrificing kind of love that mirrors the love of Christ. This is also why Jesus said that when people saw the disciples love each other in this way, they would know that they were His disciples:

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:35).

This might be the kind of love that a husband gives to his wife or a father to his child or that people might give to a great cause, like soldiers for the cause of liberty. But Jesus calls His disciples to show this same self-effacing, self-sacrificing love to fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, that is, to show this greatest kind of love known to man within the Christian community.