JOHN 13:34 LOVE ONE ANOTHER

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Doug

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John 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.

13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

To love one another was not a new commandment as it could be found in the old testament as seen below in Leviticus:

Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD.


Jesus said it was a new commandment because it was now grounded in the way Jesus exemplified it to his disciples.

1 John 2:7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.


2:8 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.

John was speaking of loving the brethren in verse 7 above as not being a new commandment because it was a statute given Israel in the old covenant. At the same time John spoke of loving the brethren in verse 8 above as being a new commandment because it was given by Christ Jesus.

1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

The commandment to believe on the name of Jesus was preached by the twelve disciples and by Jesus himself. Israel had to believe only in the name of Jesus to have eternal life. Israel had to receive Jesus as the Son of God and their Messiah.

Deuteronomy 4:5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.

4:6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

In the coming Davidic earthly kingdom Israel will be a blessing to the Gentile nations that will enter into the kingdom along with them. Israel by loving one another will display to the nations the wisdom and nature of God.