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Galatians 6:2
Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

1 John 2:8-10
Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth…

1 John 3:14-18,23
We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth nothis brother abideth in death…

That ye love.

John 15:12,13,17
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you…

John 17:21
That they all may be one; as thou, Father,art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

Leviticus 19:18,34
Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: Iam the LORD…

Love one another:
This commandment is central to Christian ethics and community life. The Greek word for love used here is "agape," which denotes selfless, sacrificial love. This type of love is not based on emotions or feelings but is an act of will, reflecting God's love for humanity. In the cultural context of the time, where social hierarchies and divisions were prevalent, this command to love one another was radical, promoting unity and equality among believers. This love is to be the defining characteristic of Jesus' disciples, as further emphasized inJohn 13:35.

As I have loved you:
Jesus sets Himself as the ultimate example of love, pointing to His actions and teachings throughout His ministry. This phrase foreshadows His impending sacrifice on the cross, the ultimate demonstration of His love. The disciples had witnessed Jesus' love through His service, compassion, and forgiveness, providing them with a tangible model to emulate. This call to love as Jesus loved elevates the commandment to a divine standard, challenging believers to embody Christ-like love in their relationships.

So you also must love one another:
The repetition of the command to love one another reinforces its significance and necessity within the Christian community. This love is not optional but a mandate for all followers of Christ. It serves as a testament to their faith and a witness to the world, as seen in the early church's communal life inActs 2:42-47. The imperative "must" indicates the non-negotiable nature of this command, urging believers to actively pursue love in their interactions, thus fulfilling the law of Christ as described inGalatians 6:2.

• “A new commandment I give you” (John 13:34) signals that Jesus is speaking with divine authority, just as God spoke from Sinai.

• The command is “new” not because love was absent in the Law (seeLeviticus 19:18) but because it is grounded in the redeeming work of Christ and empowered by the new covenant promised inJeremiah 31:31-33 and fulfilled in His blood (Luke 22:20).

• By calling it new, Jesus sets the stage for a Spirit-empowered community (Ezekiel 36:26-27;John 14:16-17).

•1 John 2:7-8 confirms that what is “old” in Scripture becomes “new” in Christ, who embodies and perfects it.

• The core imperative is clear: “Love one another.” This is family language aimed first at believers (Galatians 6:10;1 Peter 1:22).

• Practical expressions include:

– Bearing with each other’s weaknesses (Romans 15:1-2).

– Meeting material needs (Acts 4:34-35;1 John 3:17).

– Encouraging toward holiness (Hebrews 10:24-25).

• Such love reflects the unity for which Jesus prayed inJohn 17:20-23 and identifies His disciples before a watching world (John 13:35).

• The measure of our love is Jesus’ own love: “As I have loved you.”

• He had just washed their feet (John 13:4-15), modeling humble service. Within hours He would lay down His life, fulfilling His words, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

• This standard is sacrificial, forgiving, and persevering (Romans 5:8;Ephesians 5:2).

•Philippians 2:5-8 calls believers to adopt His mindset—self-emptying for the good of others.

• The phrase “so you also must” makes the command non-negotiable. It is not optional spirituality but obedient discipleship (John 14:15;1 John 3:23).

• Love is to be continual and habitual—“must” carries ongoing force (Colossians 3:14;1 Thessalonians 4:9-10).

• Ways this is lived out:

– Reconciliation over division (Matthew 5:23-24).

– Speaking truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

– Praying for and blessing even when wronged (Luke 6:27-28).

• When believers obey, the world glimpses the reality of the gospel (John 13:35).

John 13:34 calls every disciple to a Christ-defined, Spirit-enabled love. Jesus issues a fresh mandate rooted in His sacrificial example, directing His followers to extend that same self-giving love to one another without exception or limitation. In doing so, we display the transforming power of the new covenant and bear unmistakable witness to the Savior who first loved us.

For the meaning of the word "commandment," comp. Note onJohn 10:18.

As I have loved you.--More exactly,Even as I loved you. (Comp. Note onJohn 13:1.) The punctuation of our version is to be maintained. It is not, as it has sometimes been read, "That ye love one another, as I have loved you . . ." The earlier clause gives the principle of the new commandment. The latter clause repeats this, and prefaces the repetition by words referring to His own acts of love, which should be an example for them. The word "as," or "even as," does not refer to the degree of His love, but to the fact; and the special instance of love then present to the mind was the feet-washing upon which the whole of this discourse has followed.

(2)The demand which this glorification would make on the mutual fidelity and affection of the disciples.Verse 34. -A new commandment I give unto you (with the purpose and scope)that ye love one another; even as (or,seeing that)I loved you, that ye (also)love one another. The interpretation of this verse largely depends on the meaning given to theκαθὼς, if, as many translate it, "even as I loved you;" or, "after the manner and type of my love to you;" then an amply sufficient explanation arises of thenovelty of theἐντολή. So new a type of love is given that, as the Greek expositors generally have urged, there is a deeper intensity in the love than can be found in the Mosaic principle, Love thy neighbor asthyself." In this commandment, which embraces the whole law, self-love is assumed, and is made the standard for the love of neighbor. Thisἐντολή, on the other hand, would be based on a new principle, and measured by a higher standard, and even mean more than love of self altogether. Christ's love to his disciples was self-abandoning, self-sacrificing love. This view of the passage is urged by Lucke, and really removes all necessity for the varied translations of theκαινή, such as "illustrious" (Hammond); "last" (Heumann); "one that is always new" (Olshausen); "renewed commandment," a "renewing commandment" (Augustine and Maldonatus); "the institution of the Eucharist" (Lange). But it is doubtful whether the ideal image of a perfect love constitutes the novelty, and whether the doubleἵνα and the transposition of the secondἵνα be found in the simple style of John. If, however,καθώς ἠγάπησα be taken as "seeing that," or "since I loved you" (seeJohn 17:2), Christ's love becomes not so much the manner or type, as the motive, ground, and principle of love to one another. As if he had said, "I have loved each of you unto death; in loving one another you are loving me, you are loving an object of my tender love. The desire of mere imitation, however strong, is not equal to the demand I make, while the bestowment of the 'new' principle of life arising from a response to my loveis." For the first interpretation speaks John's own use of the idea (1 John 3:16). There is a third interpretation, which makesκαθὼς ἠγάπησαὑμᾶς a sentence parallel with theδίδωμι. "Even as up to this moment, and up to my death, and to the uttermost, I have loved you, Igive," etc., "in order that ye may love one another, and, inspired by me, may imitate my love one towards another" (Westcott). This is an endeavor to combine both interpretations. Alford suggests that the "newness" of the commandment consists in its "unicity," its being the prime injunction of the new covenant, and the first-fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22;1 Corinthians 13.). Tholuck sees the expression of self-renouncing love - the love of the highest to the sinful, the love which is more blessed to give than to receive, the all-embracing love.

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