Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another;
as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (John 13:34). Did
Jesus replace the clear definitions of the Ten Commandments with a new religious
principle: that love alone can guide our lives?
Does this new commandment supersede the Ten Commandments and replace all
other biblical laws? Jesus clearly answered this fundamental question when
He said, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets" (Matthew 5:17).
Yet many people who believe in Christ as their Savior also believe this
new commandment frees them from any obligation to obey God's laws.
They misunderstand what Jesus said and meant. The Holy Scriptures, in the
Old and New Testaments, teach that we should love each other (Leviticus 19:18).
Jesus did not introduce love as a new principle. That was already in the
Bible and a fundamental part of God's instruction to ancient Israel.
What, then, was new in Christ's "new commandment"? Notice His
wording. He said we are to "love one another; as I have loved you ..."
What was new was His own example of love! The whole world has, in Jesus,
a perfect model of the love of God in Christ's perfect example of loving
obedience. Christ loved us so much that He sacrificed His own life for us.
He Himself explained: "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay
down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13).
