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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - John 15:9-17

Christ, who is love itself, is here discoursing concerning love, a fourfold love. I. Concerning the Father's love to him; and concerning this he here tells us, 1. That the Father did love him (John 15:9): As the Father hath loved me. He loved him as Mediator: This is my beloved Son. He was the Son of his love. He loved him, and gave all things into his hand; and yet so loved the world as to deliver him up for us all. When Christ was entering upon his sufferings he comforted himself with this,... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 15:11-17

15:11-17 "I have spoken these things to you that my joy might be in you, and that your joy might be complete. This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friend. You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends because I have made known to you everything that I heard from my... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 15:11-17

(iv) Jesus did not only choose us for a series of tremendous privileges. He called us to be his partners. The slave could never be a partner. He was defined in Greek law as a living tool. His master never opened his mind to him; the slave simply had to do what he was told without reason and without explanation. But Jesus said: "You are not my slaves; you are my partners. I have told you everything; I have told you what I am trying to do, and why I am trying to do it. I have told you everything... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 15:12

This is my commandment, that ye love one another ,.... Christ had been before speaking of his commandments; and he mentions this as the principal one, and to which all the rest may be reduced; for as the precepts of the second table of the moral law may be briefly comprehended in this one duty, love to our neighbour, so all the duties of Christianity, relative to one another, are reducible to this, by love to serve each other. This was the commandment which lay uppermost on Christ's heart,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - John 15:12

That ye love one another - See on John 13:34 ; (note). So deeply was thus commandment engraved on the heart of this evangelist that St. Jerome says, lib. iii. c. 6, Com. ad Galat., that in his extreme old age, when he used to be carried to the public assemblies of the believers, his constant saying was, Little children, love one another. His disciples, wearied at last with the constant repetition of the same words, asked him, Why he constantly said the same thing? "Because (said he) it is... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - John 15:12

Verse 12 12.This is my commandment. Since it is proper that we regulate our life according to the commandment of Christ, it is necessary, first of all, that we should understand what it is that he wills or commands He now therefore repeats what he had formerly said, that it is his will, above all things, that believers should cherish mutual love among themselves. True, the love and reverence for God comes first in order, but as the true proof of it is love toward our neighbors, he dwells... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:9-16

The condition of abiding under the power of Christ's love. I. THE SPHERE AND CONDITION OF UNION . "As the Father hath loved me, I have also loved you: abide in my love." 1. The relation between the Father and the Son is the absolute type of the union between Christ and believer s. 2. The love of Christ is the sphere or atmosphere in which the disciple lives . "We love him, because he first loved us." 3. The disciple is under no other condition than that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:11-16

(a) To themselves . The Lord moves into another and wider development of the union between himself and his disciples. He drops the metaphor of the vine and the branches, and comes to the essence of the relation between them; that is, he does much to explain the meaning and nature of his abiding in them, and the character of the fruit which they were expected by the great Husbandman and Father to bring forth and ripen. A connection between the second section and the first is revealed in the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:12

This is my commandment, that ye love one another, even as I loved you. This ( John 13:34 ) was given as a "new commandment;" now he gathers the many commandments into one , as though all were included in it ( 1 John 3:16 ). This thought is further vindicated by an endeavor to explain in what sense and way he was loving them. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 15:12-15

Christ's friendship for his people. Human friendship is both beautiful to perceive and precious to enjoy. If affection and sympathy were thrust out of life, and if interest alone bound men together, how uninteresting and dismal would this world of humanity become! Every instance of friendship has its charm. The young, who share their pursuits and confidences; the middle-aged, who are guided by the same tastes, or principles, or occupations; the old, who interchange their recollections of... read more

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