This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. John 15:12–13
In His final conversation with His disciples, we may expect Jesus to reveal the things that they needed most to remember. What does He say? He begins by washing their feet and teaching the importance of humility and servitude. He assures them that He is going for reasons beneficial for them: (1) to prepare a place for them in His Father’s house and (2) to send the Holy Spirit. In this speech Jesus speaks to these troubled men about things like peace (14:27) and perfect joy (15:11). Notice the commandment that Jesus stresses: “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (v 12, emphasis in the original). Jesus emphasizes the need for love among the disciples after His departure, naming this crowning virtue no fewer than 20 times in two chapters. He assured them that He loved them just as the Father loved Him (15:9), and He urges them to remain in this sacrificial form of love that is greater than any other (vv 10–13). Jesus knew that the disciples would need one another to weather the storms ahead, and love would be the only force strong enough to bind them together.
Why was brotherly love so important to Jesus? One reason is because it is the fulfilling of the law (Matthew. 22:40). This is what the Pharisees had missed in their attempt to follow the law. Jesus said, “You tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God” (Luke 11:42). This is the same point Paul made when he finished his letter to the problem-laden Corinthian church with a treatment on spiritual gifts followed by a demonstration proving that love is superior to any other gift (1 Corinthians 12–13). Jesus knew that when the disciples failed—and fail they would—only love could bring them back. When Jesus met Peter again after he had denied Him, the Lord did not rebuke him, but simply asked, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:15–17). When Paul says that we are to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), he did so in a discussion about maintaining unity (v 3) and edifying (v 15) the body. Furthermore, their love would demonstrate to the world that Jesus truly was from God. When Jesus died, far from sneaking back to anonymity, the disciples stood side-by-side and faced the consequences of preaching openly in Jesus’ name! Their love for one another made it plain that Jesus had permanently transformed their lives in a way that only deity could. Does the world see this in us today?
We are to love one another as Jesus loved the twelve. John tells us that He loved them “to the end” (13:1) and that He loved them enough to lay down His life for them (15:13)—not only as their Messiah, but as their friend (15:13–15)! When we learn to love one another this way, we will work to make the Christian walk easier for one another. We do this by refusing to cast any stumbling block into our brother’s way (Romans 14:13), by sacrificing and praying for one another, and by refusing to speak ill of one another (James 4:11). Loving brethren are willing both to stand by one another and up to one another, and they forgive one another as often as necessary (Matthew 18:15; Luke 7:40–43).
As Jesus’ disciples, we must stand together, because we are better together than we could ever be apart. A coal will burn brightly when it is inside the fire with coals glowing beside it, but when pulled out, it will quickly die and grow cold. If your love for your brethren is lacking, start looking for opportunities to nourish it and to show it, and when you do, you will be surprised just how far a little love will go.