TheNew Commandment is a term used inChristianity to describeJesus's commandment to"love one another" which, according to theBible, was given as part of the final instructions tohis disciples after theLast Supper had ended,[1] and afterJudas Iscariot had departed inJohn 13:30.[2][3][4]
Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.34 Anew commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. —John 13:33–35 (KJV; emphasis added)
This commandment appears thirteen times in twelve verses in theNew Testament.[4][5] Theologically, this commandment is interpreted as dual to theLove of Christ for his followers.[2] The commandment can also be seen as the last wish in theFarewell Discourse to the disciples.[6]
The statement of the new commandment by Jesus in John 13:34–35 was after theLast Supper, and after the departure ofJudas.[7] The commandment was prefaced in John 13:34 by Jesus telling his remaining disciples, as little children, that he will be with them for only a short time, then will leave them.[7]
In the commandment Jesus told the disciples: "Love one another; as I have loved you".[2][8]
Just after the commandment, and before theFarewell Discourse the first reference toPeter's Denials took place, where Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him three times before the cock crow.[7]
Two similar statements also appear in chapter 15 of the Gospel of John:[3]
TheJohannine writings include other, similar passages.[3][4]
Similarly, theSecond Epistle of John states:[4]
ThePauline Epistles also contain similar references.[4]
TheFirst Epistle of Peter has a similar statement:[4]
The "New Commandment" concerns the love for neighbor and is similar to the second part of theGreat Commandment, which comprises two commands: love for God and love for neighbor. The first part of the Great Commandment alludes toDeuteronomy 6:4–5, a section of the Torah which is recited at the beginning of the Jewish prayer known asShema Yisrael. The second part of the Great Commandment, which is similar to the "New Commandment", commands love for neighbor and is based onLeviticus 19:18.
According toScott Hahn, while theTorah commandedhuman love, Jesus commandsdivine love for one another that is modeled on his own acts ofcharity.[9]
The "New Commandment", theWycliffe Bible Commentary states, "was new in that the love was to be exercised toward others not because they belonged to the same nation, but because they belonged to Christ ... and the love of Christ which the disciples had seen ... would be a testimony to the world".[10]
One of thenovelties introduced by this commandment – perhaps justifying its designation asNew – is that Jesus "introduces himself as a standard for love".[11] The usual criterion had been "as you love yourself". However, the New Commandment goes beyond "as you love yourself" as found in theethic of reciprocity and states "as I have loved you", using theLove of Christ for his disciples as the new model.[11]
The First Epistle of John reflects the theme of love being animitation of Christ, with1 John 4:19 stating: "We love, because he first loved us."[12]
