John

Take-Aways

In the Great Commandment, Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves (see Take-Aways for Matt. 22:37-40). Here Jesus demands even more. We are to love others as Jesus loves us. Jesus’ love was shown through giving completely of himself. In Philippians, the Apostle Paul writes, “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:4-7). How do we show this form of love to the victims of climate change? The millions of people forced from their homes by natural disasters? The victims of genocides that have erupted when natural resources have become scarce, such as with the drying of Lake Chad in Darfur? For children dying from illnesses such as malaria, typhoid, and yellow fever? Do we have a responsibility to respond to climate change?

Calvin’s Commentary on John

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom35.iii.vi.html?scrBook=John&scrCh=13&scrV=30#iii.vi-p1.1

Love one another. In short, we see that it was the design of Christ, in this passage, to exhort his disciples to brotherly love, that they might never permit themselves to be withdrawn from the pursuit of it, or the doctrine of it to slip out of their minds. And how necessary this admonition was, we learn by daily experience; for, since it is difficult to maintain brotherly love, men lay it aside, and contrive, for themselves, new methods of worshipping God, and Satan suggests many things for the purpose of occupying their attention. Thus, by idle employments, they in vain attempt to mock God, but they deceive themselves.
That you love one another. Brotherly love is, indeed, extended to strangers, for we are all of the same flesh, and are all created after the image of God; but because the image of God shines more brightly in those who have been regenerated, it is proper that the bond of love, among the disciples of Christ, should be far more close. In God brotherly love seeks its cause, from him it has its root, and to him it is directed. Thus, in proportion as it perceives any man to be a child of God, it embraces him with the greater warmth and affection. Besides, the mutual exercise of love cannot exist but in those who are guided by the same Spirit. It is the highest degree of brotherly love, therefore, that is here described by Christ; but we ought to believe, on the other hand, that, as the goodness of God extends to the whole world, so we ought to love all, even those who hate us.

Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible

Jesus leaves a legacy with the disciples – a “new” commandment (13:34). It is not entirely “new,” the substance already being firmly present in Lev. 19:18! It is, however, framed very much in Johannine language, where, above all, such “love” (agape) is demonstrated by Jesus (11:3, 5, 36). The prior footwashing also points to the interpretation of “love” as an active engagement rather than a mere emotional response.

Although the [Fourth Gospel] is addressed primarily to encourage continuing belief in the disciples, they are reminded that their mutual love will also function as an important witness (13:35) to the world around. The disciples are the continuing presence of Jesus in the world (20:22), and as such they must fully reflect his way of being (p 1196).

New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary

The commandment of v. 34 builds on Jesus’ words to his disciples after the foot washing (13:15); his love for them has provided them with the model of how they are to relate to one another. In order to understand why this is a new commandment, it is important to look at how “commandment” (Green entole) is used elsewhere in the Gospel. At 10:18, Jesus’ decision to lay down his life is described as his enactment of God’s commandment; at 14:31 and 15:12, Jesus’ obedience to God’s commandment is the mark of Jesus’ love for God. For Jesus to keep God’s commandment is for Jesus to enact his love of God in words and works (cf. 12:49-50).

What is new, therefore, is not the commandment to love, because that commandment lies at the heart of the Torah (Lev 19:18, Deut 6:4; cf. Mark 12:28 and par.). Rather, what is new is that the commandment to love derives from the incarnation (see 3:16). The “new” turn in the commandment of 13:34 is that Jesus’ “own” are asked to enter into the love that marks the relationship of God and Jesus. Their participation in this relationship will be evidenced the same way that Jesus’ is: by acts of love that join the believer to God (cf. 14:15, 21, 23; 15:12). Keeping this commandment is the identifying mark of discipleship (v. 35), because it is the tangible sign of the disciples’ abiding in Jesus (15:10) (Vol. 9, pg 732-733).