What Is Jesus’s Commandment of Love?
1. The Centrality of the Commandment of Love
The commandment of love stands at the heart of Jesus’s teaching. When asked which commandment was the greatest, He answered: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37–40).
Here Jesus did not invent something new out of thin air; He drew from the Torah, combining Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. Yet He presented these two commands as the interpretive lens for the entire law. This reveals that all of God’s commands are not arbitrary rules but expressions of divine love.
2. The New Commandment in John’s Gospel
In addition to summarizing the law, Jesus deepened its meaning with what He called a “new commandment.” At the Last Supper He said: “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).
The newness lies in the measure of love. No longer is it only “as yourself” but “as I have loved you.” Jesus’s own life becomes the standard. His humility in washing the disciples’ feet (John 13:1–15) and His sacrificial death on the cross (John 15:13) define the kind of self-giving love believers are to imitate. This is the love that builds the community of the kingdom.
3. The Scope of the Commandment of Love
The commandment of love is not limited to fellow believers. Jesus shocked His hearers by commanding love for enemies: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:44–45).
This scope reflects God’s universal love: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son” (John 3:16). The love of God is not restricted to the righteous but extends even to sinners, calling His people to reflect the same. This broad scope is what sets Christian love apart from ordinary human affection—it mirrors the boundless mercy of God.
4. The Commandment of Love as Fulfillment of the Law
Paul writes: “Love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). The commandments against adultery, murder, theft, and coveting are all summed up in the command to love one’s neighbor. Likewise, James refers to the “royal law” of Scripture: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (James 2:8).
The commandment of love therefore provides both the foundation and the fulfillment of God’s will. It is not merely one command among many but the principle by which every other command finds its true meaning. To break any law is ultimately to fail in love.
5. The Commandment of Love and the Gospel of Christ
The commandment of love cannot be separated from the gospel. Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection embody the love He commands. As Paul says, “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
This reveals two aspects of the gospel:
Love from God – The commandment is rooted in divine initiative. Believers love because God first loved them (1 John 4:19).
Love in the Kingdom – The commandment points toward the reality of Christ’s present reign. In His kingdom, love governs relationships, shaping both worship of God and service to others.
The gospel is bigger than a private assurance of forgiveness; it is the announcement that God’s kingdom has come in Christ, and His kingdom is marked by love.
6. The Commandment of Love and Community Identity
Jesus said: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Love is the distinguishing mark of His people. It is not doctrinal precision alone, nor external rituals, but the visible practice of love that identifies the church as Christ’s body.
This commandment shapes community life:
In worship, love directs all attention to God.
In fellowship, love builds unity among believers.
In mission, love compels outreach to the lost and service to the needy.
The early church was known for this love, caring for widows and orphans, showing hospitality, and even loving enemies. Such love demonstrated that the gospel was not abstract theory but living truth.
7. The Commandment of Love and the End of the Age
The commandment of love also has eschatological significance. Jesus warned that in the last days “the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). To endure in love is therefore a mark of faithfulness until the end.
Paul reminds believers that love is eternal: “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Faith will give way to sight, and hope will be fulfilled, but love will remain forever. This is why the commandment of love is not temporary instruction but the eternal ethic of God’s kingdom.
8. The Commandment of Love and Transformation of the Heart
Obeying the commandment of love requires transformation. Human hearts, bent toward pride and selfishness, cannot love God and neighbor perfectly. The law reveals this failure, but the gospel provides renewal.
Through the Spirit, God pours His love into believers’ hearts (Romans 5:5). This divine love empowers obedience. As Ezekiel prophesied, God gives a new heart and spirit to His people (Ezekiel 36:26–27). The commandment of love is therefore not only an external standard but an internal reality, worked in the heart by the Spirit.
9. The Commandment of Love as Mission to the World
The commandment of love is missional. When the church lives by this command, it demonstrates the reality of God’s kingdom to the world. Acts of mercy, justice, and compassion are not optional extras but integral expressions of the gospel.
The commandment calls believers to embody God’s reign in daily life:
Feeding the hungry reflects love of neighbor (Matthew 25:35).
Forgiving offenses reflects God’s forgiveness in Christ (Ephesians 4:32).
Seeking peace reflects the gospel of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18–20).
The world sees Christ in the love of His people, and this becomes a witness more powerful than words alone.
10. Conclusion: The Kingdom Shaped by Love
What is Jesus’s commandment of love? It is the heartbeat of the gospel, the foundation of all the law, the defining mark of the church, and the eternal ethic of the kingdom of God. It calls for self-giving devotion to God and sacrificial care for others, patterned after the life and death of Jesus Christ.
This commandment does not merely tell believers what to do; it reveals who they are as citizens of God’s kingdom. In Christ, love is no longer an unreachable ideal but a living reality, for He has loved us and given Himself for us.
Bible Verses on the Commandment of Love
Matthew 22:37–39 – Love God and neighbor as the greatest commandments.
John 13:34 – “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
John 15:13 – “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son.”
Matthew 5:44 – “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Romans 13:10 – “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”
Galatians 5:14 – “The whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 – “Faith, hope, and love abide, but the greatest of these is love.”
1 John 4:19 – “We love because He first loved us.”
Ephesians 5:2 – “Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us.”
