New Love
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:34-35
The word new can mean brand-new—something never seen or heard of before. Or it can mean something familiar that suddenly takes on new meaning or importance. This second meaning applies to Jesus’ words in John 13:34.
On the eve of His arrest, Jesus gave His disciples a “new commandment”—that they should love one another. This wasn’t a brand-new commandment. Leviticus 19:18 had established that Jews were to love their neighbors as they loved themselves (to which Jesus had added the requirement to love their enemies—Matthew 5:43-48). So what was new about Jesus’ new commandment? It was that they were to love each other as He had loved them. This standard would take on a whole new meaning for them as they saw Jesus give up His life sacrificially. This, Jesus told them later during their meal, is the greatest kind of love (John 15:12-13).
 
Jesus introduced a new kind of love—sacrificial love. He expected His followers, including us, to love as He loved: sacrificially for the sake of others.
 
True love is always costly.
Billy Graham
Turning Point Ministries​
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:34-35
The word new can mean brand-new—something never seen or heard of before. Or it can mean something familiar that suddenly takes on new meaning or importance. This second meaning applies to Jesus’ words in John 13:34.
On the eve of His arrest, Jesus gave His disciples a “new commandment”—that they should love one another. This wasn’t a brand-new commandment. Leviticus 19:18 had established that Jews were to love their neighbors as they loved themselves (to which Jesus had added the requirement to love their enemies—Matthew 5:43-48). So what was new about Jesus’ new commandment? It was that they were to love each other as He had loved them. This standard would take on a whole new meaning for them as they saw Jesus give up His life sacrificially. This, Jesus told them later during their meal, is the greatest kind of love (John 15:12-13).
 
Jesus introduced a new kind of love—sacrificial love. He expected His followers, including us, to love as He loved: sacrificially for the sake of others.
 
True love is always costly.
Billy Graham
Turning Point Ministries​
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