New Commandment
TheNew Commandmentis a term used inChristianityto describeJesus'scommandment to"love one another"which, according to theBible,was given as part of the final instructions tohis disciplesafter theLast Supperhad ended,[1]and afterJudas Iscariothad departed inJohn 13:30.[2][3][4]
Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.34Anew commandmentI give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.35By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. —John 13:33–35(KJV;emphasis added)
This commandment appears thirteen times in twelve verses in theNew Testament.[4][5]Theologically, this commandment is interpreted as dual to theLove of Christfor his followers.[2]The commandment can also be seen as the last wish in theFarewell Discourseto the disciples.[6]
Gospel of John
[edit]The statement of the new commandment by Jesus in John 13:34–35 was after theLast Supper,and after the departure ofJudas.[7]The commandment was prefaced in John 13:34 by Jesus telling his remaining disciples, as little children, that he will be with them for only a short time, then will leave them.[7]
In the commandment Jesus told the disciples: "Love one another; as I have loved you".[2][8]
Just after the commandment, and before theFarewell Discoursethe first reference toPeter's Denialstook place, where Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him three times before the cock crow.[7]
Two similar statements also appear in chapter 15 of the Gospel of John:[3]
- John 15:12:This is my commandment, that ye love one another, even as I have loved you.
- John 15:17:These things I command you, that ye may love one another.
Other New Testament references
[edit]Johannine writings
[edit]TheJohannine writingsinclude other, similar passages.[3][4]
- 1 John 3:11:For this is the message which ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another
- 1 John 3:23:And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he gave us commandment.
- 1 John 4:7:let us love one another: for love is of God;
- 1 John 4:12:No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
Similarly, theSecond Epistle of Johnstates:[4]
- 2 John 5:not as though I wrote to thee a new commandment, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
Pauline letters
[edit]ThePauline Epistlesalso contain similar references.[4]
- Romans 13:8:Owe no man anything, save to love one another: for he thatloveth his neighborhath fulfilled the law.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:9:... for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
1 Peter
[edit]TheFirst Epistle of Peterhas a similar statement:[4]
- 1 Peter 1:22:...to love brotherly without feigning, love one another with a pure heart fervently.
Interpretations
[edit]The "New Commandment" concerns the love for neighbor and is similar to the second part of theGreat Commandment,which comprises two commands: love for God and love for neighbor. The first part of the Great Commandment alludes toDeuteronomy 6:4-5,a section of the Torah which is recited at the beginning of the Jewish prayer known asShema Yisrael.The second part of the Great Commandment, which is similar to the "New Commandment", commands love for neighbor and is based onLeviticus 19:18.
According toScott Hahn,while theTorahcommandedhuman love,Jesus commandsdivine lovefor one another that is modeled on his own acts ofcharity.[9]
The "New Commandment", theWycliffe Bible Commentarystates, "was new in that the love was to be exercised toward others not because they belonged to the same nation, but because they belonged to Christ... and the love of Christ which the disciples had seen... would be a testimony to the world".[10]
One of thenoveltiesintroduced by this commandment – perhaps justifying its designation asNew– is that Jesus "introduces himself as a standard for love".[11]The usual criterion had been "as you love yourself". However, the New Commandment goes beyond "as you love yourself" as found in theethic of reciprocityand states "as I have loved you", using theLove of Christfor his disciples as the new model.[11]
The First Epistle of John reflects the theme of love being animitation of Christ,with1 John 4:19stating: "We love, because he first loved us.".[12]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^John 13:2"And supper being ended,..."
- ^abcThe Gospel of John(1998) by Francis J. Moloney and Daniel J. Harrington.ISBN0-8146-5806-7.Page 425.
- ^abcYarbrough, Robert W. (2008).1, 2, and 3 John.Baker Academic. p. 100.ISBN978-0801026874.RetrievedJuly 5,2012.
- ^abcdefWiersbe, Warren W. (1992).The Bible Exposition Commentary.David C Cook. p. 487.ISBN1564760316.RetrievedJuly 5,2012.
- ^ John.13:34;15:12;15:17
- ^Imitating Jesusby Richard A. Burridge 2007ISBN0802844588page 301
- ^abcEncountering John: The Gospel in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspectiveby Andreas J. Kostenberger 2002ISBN0801026032pages 149–151
- ^The Gospel of John(1994) by Frederick Bruce.ISBN0-8028-0883-2.Page 294.
- ^Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament
- ^Pfeiffer, Charles F.; Harrison, Everett F., eds. (1971).The Wycliffe Bible Commentary.New York: Iversen-Norman Associates. p. 341.LCCN72183345.
- ^ab"Homily of Cardinal Martins, Antequera, Spain".The Vatican.2007-05-06.Retrieved2008-08-26.
- ^The People's New Testament Commentaryby M. Eugene Boring and Fred B. Craddock 2010ISBN0664235921page 335
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