On the night He was betrayed, Jesus gathered His disciples for a final meal. Judas was already in motion. The cross was hours away. And in that moment, Jesus did not give a strategy for survival. He did not offer a defense against the forces closing in. He gave a command.
"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" (John 13:34, ESV). The standard is not sentiment. It is not goodwill. It is the cross. Cruciform love is the measure.
What makes this command new is not that love was absent from the Old Testament. The law commanded love of neighbor. What is new is the standard: “just as I have loved you.” The bar has been raised to the height of Calvary.
This is not a love that waits for the other person to deserve it. It is not a love that keeps score. It is a love that absorbs the cost. Jesus loved His disciples knowing one of them would hand Him over. He washed their feet anyway. He broke bread with them anyway. He gave them the new command anyway.
The world will know we are His disciples not by our doctrine alone, not by our programs, not by our buildings — but by our love for one another. That is the testimony Jesus chose. A divided world is watching. The question is whether the church will give it something worth watching.
This essay first appeared at Ann Voskamp on 17 July 2026. The full essay is available there.
First appeared at Ann Voskamp, 17 July 2026. Read the original.
Dr. Neely’s book on love is available from Moody Publishers. See the book.
