Love One Another, Even As I Have Loved You
Scripture Passage: John 13:31-38 (NASB)
31 Therefore when he had 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 glorify Him immediately. 33 Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.” 37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.
SUMMARY
Judas has just left to betray Jesus. Jesus lets the disciples know that He will only be with them a little while longer. He gives a new commandment at this time and asks the disciples to “love one another even as I have loved you” (v. 34). Peter then asks Jesus where He is going and that he would lay down his life for Him. However, Jesus’ response comes in the form of a question, and He tells Peter that he will not do as he said but he would actually do the opposite and deny even knowing Jesus.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
The fact that Jesus could talk about love, even after He knew one of His own disciples had gone to betray Him, shows his strong character and that He prioritized love over revenge or self preservation. He could have taken this moment to ask the disciples to hide Him or to talk badly about what Judas was going to do. Instead, He tells them to love each other so that they could still experience and see Jesus’ love through each other even when Jesus was no longer physically present.
True Love is lasting and eternal; it is the kind of love that Jesus showed us. During the time in quarantine, I have been so busy doing so much to make sure my body won’t get sick, my family is safe and that our business will suffer as little as possible. However, even in the moment right before He was crucified, Jesus did not do anything to benefit Himself or to avoid the pain He was going to endure on the cross. He knew that pain and death does not last forever, but Love does, and He wanted to pass this along to His disciples. It makes me think about whether I have been doing things out of self preservation rather than loving people enough. Serving and loving others is what really matters and this is what God calls us to do, even as we know that hardships are coming up ahead.
APPLICATION
Even in this passage, Jesus knew that Peter would later betray Him, but He still followed the Father’s plan although it didn’t benefit Him immediately. Instead of following my own agenda throughout the day, I will spend time in prayer and reading the Bible in the morning to see what God’s will for me is. I will remember how much God loves me and wants to spend time with me, although I have failed Him many times. I cannot solve all the problems that arise or save myself by planning things perfectly. I will show love to my family and friends in spontaneous ways, such as finding moments to send thoughtful text messages, spending quality time with my family, and also showing them sacrificial love.
PRAYER
I feel like Jesus’ question to Peter, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, Truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times,” is one that He is also asking me personally. There are so many times that I say I love Jesus and would lay down my life for Him, but I do not spend time with Him, give to Him, or serve Him even in the smallest ways because of my own lack of discipline. I realize that I cannot do anything for Jesus first. I can only serve Him if I first see what He has done for me. Maybe that is why He says that the disciples cannot follow where He is going, but will come later. Only when Jesus laid down His life for us was the path to eternal life made. Laying down our lives in ways that are true can only be done in light of the Cross. Similarly, self-will alone cannot change us. My prayer is that serving and loving Him is not done out of self-will, but as a result of the power of Jesus’ life in me.
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