31When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
36Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterward.” 37Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.
Thoughts: What an interesting little piece of scripture that we get Jesus' command to love one another as he has loved us and the prophetic statement of Peter's denial. I'm sure Peter's intentions were good but he would not be able to stand by Jesus. Here I think we have a powerful conclusion to what following Jesus will be like. First, we are to be servants, to do feet. Secondly we are called to love one another, even as Jesus loves us--which is fully and unconditionally. I don't think any of us every lives up to this high calling perfectly; but we are called to hold it in front of us as the mark of the followers of Jesus. Serve in love!
Questions: What is new about this commandment to love. Certainly the Old Testament calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves...what is new about Jesus' love for us?
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