A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
What does John 13:34 mean?
Christ had been glorified in many miracles he wrought, yet he speaks of his being glorified now in his sufferings, as if that were more than all his other glories in his humbled state.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside John 13:31-35 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on John 13:34
A new commandment - This command he gave them as he was about to leave them, to be a badge of discipleship, by which they might be known as his friends and followers, and by which they might be distinguished from all others. It is called new, not because there was no command before which required people to love their fellow-man, for one great precept of the law was that they should love their neighbor as themselves Leviticus 19:18 ; but it was new because it had never before been made that by which any class or body of people had been known and distinguished. The Jew was known by his external rites, by his uniqueness of dress, etc.
Key words
- a new commandment
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a new commandment. (m) R. Isaac Chizzuk Emuna, l. 2. c. 54. p. 444.
- commandment
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A new commandment I give unto you,.
Context in John 13
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John 13 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as farewell discourse. John presents Jesus in contemplative, symbolic, and theological richness as the Word, Lamb, Light, Bread, Shepherd, Resurrection, Way, Vine, and Son. Read this chapter with the wider themes of incarnation, life, and light in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
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A guided collection of passages on God’s love, neighbor-love, steadfast covenant love, and the shape of love in Christian life.
Passages on trusting God, receiving Christ, persevering without sight, and the relation between faith and lived obedience.
Passages on the nature of truth, honesty, deception, the word of God as truth, and Jesus' claim to be the truth.
Who quoted John 13:34?
Find out who used John 13:34 in their speeches and writings. Which famous people quoted John 13:34?
Woodrow Wilson used John 13:34 in Address to the Interdenominational Meeting at Aeolian Hall in New York City.
APP: Address to the Interdenominational Meeting at Aeolian Hall in New York City »
Donald J. Trump (2nd Term) used John 13:34 in Remarks on Lighting the National Christmas Tree.
Quotes found on Wikiquote (match for «love one another»):
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