The New Commandment

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. John 13:34

Jesus and His disciples are sitting around a table celebrating the exodus of God’s people from Egypt. It is a story of deliverance, of God’s great faithfulness, and the blood sacrifice of the lamb that saves. Passover is a teaching moment like no other, and Jesus earnestly desired to eat the Passover meal with His disciples before He suffered (Luke 22:15). John uniquely records in his gospel much of the conversation that took place around the table. Jesus is pouring out words of comfort, assurance, and advice on this last night when he is betrayed and taken.

At one point in His teaching, Jesus prefaces His instruction with an attention grabber—This is a brand new commandment! If I had been chatting with others around the table, and going through the rituals so familiar—these disciples had celebrated Passover every year of their entire lives so they knew about the ceremony in every detail—but Jesus stopped them as He did many times at this Passover, and told them to “Listen up!” I am listening closely too. What new commandment does Jesus have for us?

Love one another…..uh, Jesus, that’s not new, is it? I’ve read Leviticus 19—“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;” even, love the stranger as thyself (vv. 19, 34). The disciples sitting around the table would have memorized the book of Leviticus, so they knew it was already in the to-do list. I am a little confused by this “new commandment” that is as old as Moses.

Obviously Jesus didn’t make a mistake. His commandment was indeed new. So as I went to the Lord in prayer, I asked Him to show me how Jesus’ commandment to love was new and different from Moses’ commandment to love.

The essence of the newness is found in His qualifier, “as I have loved you.” Without a Savior, our love is always hinged on the laws and judgments of Leviticus. Love rises out of duty. It is virtue and goodness limited by the resolve of a heart darkened by sin and depravity. It meets with exhaustion. It is overcome by the supreme desire to be right.

Jesus’ commandment flows from His great love for me, and it is a whole new way of loving. He has put my sins behind His back, and remembers them no more. He calls me His friend. He delights in me. He is my Father. He is my shield and protection. He is ever present so I am never alone. He is the way, the truth, and the life, personally, in my life. I am forgiven, favored, and blessed. In short, I am loved. I am gracious because of grace. I am merciful because I have obtained mercy. I love by demonstrating to others that Christ lives in me, and He is the hope for all mankind.

The context of the chapter reveals how this “new commandment” to love plays out. John 13 begins with Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. Jesus is demonstrating unmerited love—His great grace that I have found as fully as the disciples present that day. But the one whose heart is full of bitterness, envy, and of satan himself, cannot receive the truth and comfort Jesus has to give. So after Jesus has completed His act of faithful love, He sends Judas away to carry out his betrayal in the darkness. And after Judas is gone, He speaks only to those who will carry out His new commandment. He gives the most glorious instruction, and the patient answering of questions, and the calming of fears, and the greatest prayer that Jesus ever recorded (John 17) begins.

Likewise, the love that Christ commands us to give is only fully experienced in the mystery of His body. We express the love of Christ to all through our doing. But there is a fellowship, a sweet connection, a brotherhood, that comes from a firsthand experience of the love of Christ, and the Presence of the Spirit within. In the secret place, we receive from our loving Savior, the instruction, the comfort, the great mercy He has reserved for those who love Him in faithfulness. He prays for us to be kept in His love. And it is out of this place of communion that the new commandment is carried out. It is new indeed.

About thegriefexperience

I have recently published a book for grieving people called Comfort and Joy available at my website, thegriefexperience.com. I received my Doctor of Education degree from the University of Louisville, and also hold a Master of Science degree and a Physician Assistant degree. I lived as a short term missionary in Swaziland, South Africa, prior to my life as a grief coach and author. My story is about the fact that I am an expert in grief, learning through the goodness of God to navigate a life of sudden turns and repeated trauma that brought grief and loss. I have learned about grief as an unwilling student in a life shaken by sudden death, suicide, and devastating illness. I have been widowed three times, and have raised five children in the midst of earthquake life changes. I have counseled, written and taught classes on The Grief Experience because it is what I have learned well. No amount of education or theory prepares you for multiple experiences of death and loss. But I have found healing in Jesus Christ who is the only One who has conquered death. What He has done for me, He will do for you. Visit my blog at TheGriefExperience.Wordpress.com.

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