After Jesus washed his disciples feet he said, said, “A new commandment I give unto that ye love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall men know ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
You probably know that this verse is the basis for the lyrics of a hymn. When I was a child, I was confused by this hymn because I misheard the lyrics. I heard, “by this shalmeno” and I thought a shalmeno was some type of object and one day I would get a shalmeno, and that’s how people would know I was a disciple. That’s not what Christ was teaching. Don’t expect to receive a shalmeno anytime soon.
Jesus is saying that people will know we are his disciples if we love each other. Jesus says this is a new commandment and the “new” part is in how we are supposed to love. The old commandment was to love your neighbor as yourself—but what if I don’t love myself very much? Then I’m not going to love my neighbor very much. But Jesus is saying it’s not about how much you love yourself. He wants us to love others as He loves us. That raises the bar.
According to John, this is not only a new commandment, it is also the last commandment that Jesus gives to his disciples. In John 15:12-13 Jesus says, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” And then in verse 17 he says, “These things I command you, that ye love one another” (John 15:17). These are the final commands Christ gives in mortality. Jesus clearly describes and demonstrates the type of love he has for us and then calls us to that kind of love.
This isn’t the kind of teaching we can just learn about. We have to do something with it. In a family or class setting, take a few minutes to discuss, “How will we respond to this commandment–today?” And then have people report back. If they did a good job, maybe you could give them a shalmeno as a reward. 😊
For more insights on this week’s Come Follow Me chapters, visit https://johnhiltoniii.com/teaching-helps-for-come-follow-me-matthew-26-mark-14-john-13/
