John 13:34
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
Just before Jesus is betrayed and arrested, He gathers His disciples for a final meal. He's been teaching them and preparing them for His departure, explaining that His imminent suffering will actually bring glory to God. As He prepares to leave them physically, Jesus institutes a new defining characteristic for His followers.
Jesus is preparing to leave his disciples, having just finished the Passover meal and instituted the Lord's Supper. After Judas has left to betray him, Jesus speaks to the remaining eleven, comforting them about his impending departure and reassuring them that his suffering will bring glory to God and Himself. He then gives them a final, crucial instruction for their life together as his followers once he is gone.
Jesus declares He's giving a 'new' commandment. But didn't God already command love? What makes this so revolutionary?
Jesus introduces a profound shift with the word 'new' (kainēn). While love for neighbor was certainly part of the Old Testament Law (Leviticus 19:18), Jesus elevates it to a new level.
A Higher Standard
This isn't just about following rules; it's about a transformed inner life flowing from Christ's own love. The 'newness' isn't that love itself is a novel concept, but rather:
Jesus states, 'By this all men will know...' Know what? What is the ultimate identifier of a true Christ-follower?
Jesus isn't just giving His disciples a nice suggestion; He's giving them a diagnostic tool for the world to see who they truly are. The outward expression of their love for one another is to be the undeniable banner of their discipleship.
More Than Just Nice Feelings
This love isn't merely a warm, fuzzy sentiment. It's an active, sacrificial commitment that visibly sets believers apart.
Understand the original words
entolē · Greek Noun
A divine directive or mandate that carries the authority of God. In this context, it is 'new' because it is defined by the unique, sacrificial pattern of Christ’s love rather than the old standards of self-preservation.
agapaō · Greek Verb
A sacrificial, self-giving love (agape) that seeks the highest good of the other, patterned specifically after the way Christ loved the Church—sacrificially, unconditionally, and redemptively.
This commandment, though echoing Old Testament law, is 'new' because it is grounded in the unique, self-sacrificial love Christ demonstrated, which the Holy Spirit empowers believers to emulate, becoming the defining mark of their identity.
c. 30 AD— this verse
The Last Supper
Jesus shares his final meal with his disciples, the night before his crucifixion, giving them his final teachings and commands.
c. 30 AD
Jesus' Crucifixion
Jesus is arrested, tried, and crucified, fulfilling his sacrificial mission and demonstrating the ultimate act of love.
c. 30 AD
Jesus' Resurrection
Jesus is raised from the dead, validating his claims and inaugurating the new life he offers to believers.
c. 30-33 AD
Early Church Growth
The Holy Spirit empowers the disciples, leading to the rapid spread of the Gospel and the formation of early Christian communities.
c. 50-65 AD
This passage directly echoes the sentiment of John 13:34, emphasizing that genuine love originates from God and is the hallmark of His children, further illustrating the 'new' aspect of Christ's command through its divine source.
Leviticus 19:18This Old Testament verse provides the foundational command to 'love your neighbor as yourself,' highlighting how Jesus' new commandment builds upon and intensifies this existing principle, as explained in the commentaries.
Galatians 5:13This verse shows how the command to love one another is to be expressed through service, aligning with the idea that Christ's love for us compels us to love and serve others, as indicated by the 'just as I have loved you' phrase.
1 John 3:16This passage directly connects love with self-sacrifice, mirroring Jesus' own example of laying down His life and reinforcing the profound standard of love that He gave as His new commandment.
Romans 13:10This verse states that 'love does no wrong to a neighbor,' and that 'love is the fulfilling of the law,' showing how the command to love is central to the Christian life and fulfills all other commands, a concept amplified by Jesus' 'new' commandment.
vincentJohn 13:34: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."
New (καινὴν)See on Matthew 26:29.Commandment (ἐντολὴν)The word for a single commandment or injunction, but used also for the whole body of the moral precepts of Christianity. See 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Peter 2:21; 2 Peter 3:2. See also on James 2:8. This new commandment embodies the essential principle of the whole law. Compare also 1 John 3:23. Some interpreters instead…
calvinJohn 13:30-35: "He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night."
- When, therefore, he had received the sop, he went immediately out; and it was night. 31. When, therefore, he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and will immediately glorify him. 33. Little children, but a little while am I yet with you. You shall seek me, and as I said to the Jews,…
Just before Jesus is betrayed and arrested, He gathers His disciples for a final meal. He's been teaching them and preparing them for His departure, explaining that His imminent suffering will actually bring glory to God. As He prepares to leave them physically, Jesus institutes a new defining characteristic for His followers.
Jesus is preparing to leave his disciples, having just finished the Passover meal and instituted the Lord's Supper. After Judas has left to betray him, Jesus speaks to the remaining eleven, comforting them about his impending departure and reassuring them that his suffering will bring glory to God and Himself. He then gives them a final, crucial instruction for their life together as his followers once he is gone.
Jesus is preparing to leave his disciples, having just finished the Passover meal and instituted the Lord's Supper. After Judas has left to betray him, Jesus speaks to the remaining eleven, comforting them about his impending departure and reassuring them that his suffering will bring glory to God and Himself. He then gives them a final, crucial instruction for their life together as his followers once he is gone.
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Ask a follow-up
Ask Sola things like:
Live chat about John 13:34 is available in the Sola app.
Pauline Epistles
Apostle Paul writes letters to various churches, frequently emphasizing brotherly love as a core tenet of Christian life and identity.
c. 90-100 AD
Johannine Epistles
John writes his epistles, further developing the theme of love within the Christian community, linking it directly to God's love for us and Christ's example.
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." — Just before Jesus is betrayed and arrested, He gathers His disciples for a final meal. He's been teaching them and preparing them for His departure, explaining that His imminent suffering will actual…
