As I Have Loved You: Jesus' New Commandment (John 13:34-35)

Sermon by Judit, Agape Church, February 1, 2026. English translation of a service given in Japanese, adapted in a pastoral tone for the reader.

Introduction: Jesus' Last Word

If you had to choose a single word from the whole Bible, which one would you pick? The question is dizzying, and honestly, we often answer that we can't choose. And yet, Jesus did choose. On the eve of the cross, during the Passover meal (what we call the Last Supper), he left his disciples a farewell speech. A kind of last will and testament. And the word he hammered home there, the one he wanted, above everything else, his disciples and all Christians to hold on to, is this one:

"A new commandment I give to you: that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35, ESV)

Jesus' heart is right there. What concerned him, before he died, was not the great things we would do for him, but how we would love one another, we, the ones he was leaving behind.

Outline of the Sermon

1. What Is "New" About This Commandment?

The command to love your neighbor is not new. Leviticus 19:18 already said it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." And Jesus himself, when asked about the greatest commandment, quotes this text. So where is the newness?

It lies in the manner of loving. The Old Testament said, "as yourself." Jesus says, "as I have loved you." It is no longer the measure of my own self-regard. It is the measure of Christ's love. And that measure is infinitely greater than the first.

2. Loving "As Jesus Loved": Washing Feet… and the Cross

Just before this passage, in John 13:4-11, Jesus washes his disciples' feet. The master does the servant's work. Then he adds (John 13:14-15): "I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you." At the time, with sandals on feet walking dusty roads, washing feet was the dirty work. Jesus does it.

But the scene doesn't stop there. After this meal, he goes to the cross. "As I have loved you" also means: even to the point of giving my life. Philippians 2:6-8 sums it up: "Though he was in the form of God... he made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men... he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." And Jesus says it plainly in John 15:13: "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." There is the measure.

3. Covering Rather Than Judging

The disciples' dirty feet are also, symbolically, our weaknesses, our failures, our flesh, our immaturity. When you see this in someone else, what do you do? 1 Corinthians 13 tells you that love is patient and kind, that it does not get irritated, that it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Proverbs 10:12 adds: "Love covers all offenses."

Covering the other person's weakness, placing a hand on their shoulder, encouraging them, walking with them, praying for them, that is what you are called to. Not to judge. Matthew 7:1: "Judge not, that you be not judged." Romans 14:4: "Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?" The only judge is the Lord Jesus. You, while you wait for that day, are called to love.

4. The Debt of Ten Thousand Talents

Remember the parable of the unforgiving servant. Ten thousand talents is a colossal amount, the equivalent today of several hundred million. That is our debt before God. Jesus wiped it out at the cross. And yet, forgetting that means risking grabbing your neighbor by the throat over a small debt and ending up, as in the parable, thrown into prison. As long as you remember that you are a "forgiven sinner," you can love. The moment you forget it, you become hard.

5. Loving the Brothers and Sisters Is Loving God

1 John 4:20-21: "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar." Loving God and loving our brothers, sisters, and neighbors are two sides of the same coin. Why? Because God loves them. Not loving them is going against the Father's heart and against the Holy Spirit who lives in them. Jesus died for that brother you don't get along with. Your reluctance toward him touches the Father's heart.

6. Love Is a Choice, Not a Feeling

"Love is not a feeling, it's an act of the will." If you wait until you feel like it, you will never love. The world tells you, "Be yourself, listen to your feelings." The gospel tells you, discipline yourself, submit to the Word, choose to love, take the step, and the Holy Spirit will then give you the strength from within. It is not hypocrisy to love without feeling like it, it is faith, it is maturity. Living the opposite way, at the mercy of your emotions, is not being "authentic," it's being immature.

7. The Source: The Spirit Poured Out in You

You cannot produce this kind of love on your own. Romans 5:5: "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." When you received Christ, the Spirit came to live in you. And Galatians 5:22-23 reminds you that the first fruit of that Spirit is love. Your Christian life is not magic that automatically changes you after conversion. It is two wheels turning together: the Spirit speaking from within, and you deciding to obey, taking the action, taking the step.

8. "Love One Another... or Else"

There is also a more solemn side to this. Matthew 7:21-23: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father." Many will say, "We prophesied in your name, cast out demons, did many mighty works." And he will answer, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." Lawlessness here is not only the great, scandalous sin. It is also not repenting, not forgiving, not loving with the Lord's love.

The Sermon on the Mount continues (Matthew 7:24): "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock." Hearing and putting into practice. James 2:26 confirms it: "As the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." Those works are, first of all, the concrete gestures of love.

Key Takeaways

• What is new is the measure of love: no longer "as yourself," but "as I have loved you," all the way to the cross.
• Love covers the other person's weaknesses instead of judging them (Proverbs 10:12).
• You are a forgiven sinner. Forgetting it makes you hard; remembering it makes you merciful.
• Loving is an act of the will, not a feeling. Decide, take the step, and the Spirit will do the rest from within.
• Loving your brothers and sisters is a condition for entering the Kingdom, just as much as repentance and forgiveness (Matthew 7:21-23).

Personal Application

• Which person, this week, is hard for me to love? What would "washing their feet" concretely mean?
• Have I forgotten the immense debt Christ wiped out for me? How would remembering it change the way I look at those who have hurt me?
• Am I waiting to "feel like it" in order to love, or am I choosing to love out of obedience and faith?
• Am I letting the Spirit transform me, or am I pushing away his inner promptings?
• If Jesus asked me today, "What have you done, in this world, for my brothers and sisters?" what could I answer?

Verses Cited

• John 13:34-35 · the new commandment
• John 13:4-15 · the washing of the feet
• John 15:12-13 · laying down your life for your friends
• Leviticus 19:18 · love your neighbor as yourself
• 1 Corinthians 13 · the love chapter
• Proverbs 10:12 · love covers offenses
• Matthew 7:1, 21-24 · do not judge, do the Father's will
• Romans 14:4 · who are you to judge another's servant?
• 1 John 4:20-21 · loving God is loving your brother
• Romans 5:5 · God's love poured out by the Spirit
• Galatians 5:22-23 · the fruit of the Spirit
• Philippians 2:6-8 · the humility of Christ
• Matthew 24:12 · the love of many will grow cold
• John 1:5 · the light shines in the darkness
• James 2:26 · faith apart from works is dead

FAQ

Does John 13:34 abolish the Old Testament?

No. Jesus does not do away with "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). He fulfills it and carries it further by setting a new standard: his own love, all the way to the cross.

Am I required to love people I don't like?

Yes, if you take Jesus seriously. Biblical love is not a feeling but a choice. You can feel nothing and still take an act of love, that is where the Spirit begins to work in you.

Does "I am saved by grace" exempt me from loving?

No. Grace saves you at the entrance. But Matthew 7:21-23, James 2:26, and John 13:34-35 are clear: living faith produces obedience and love. "Loving" is not a moral option, it is the law of the Kingdom.

A Prayer for the Week

Lord Jesus, you loved me all the way to the cross. Today I choose to love, even when my heart resists. Pour out your Spirit in me. Make me able to cover rather than judge, to serve rather than dominate, to remember the debt you wiped away. Make me a true disciple: let everyone recognize, by my love, that I belong to you. Amen.

Note: in the spoken sermon, the reference "Leviticus 19:8" has been corrected to Leviticus 19:18 (the actual verse on loving your neighbor).