John 13:34

Having announced their inevitable separation, Jesus now began to explain what He expected of His disciples during their absence from Him. They were to love one another as He had loved them. They had seen His love for them during His entire earthly ministry and most recently in His washing of their feet, but they would only understand its depth through the Cross.

The command to love one another was not completely new (1 John 2:7-8), but in the Mosaic Law the standard was "as you love yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). Now there was a new and higher standard, namely, "as I have loved you." It was also a new (Gr. kainen, fresh rather than different) commandment in that it was part of a new covenant that Jesus would ratify with His blood (Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25). In that covenant God promised to enable His people to love by transforming their hearts and minds (Jeremiah 31:29-34; Ezekiel 36:24-26). It is only by God’s transforming grace that believers can love one another as Jesus has loved us. The Greek words for "love" appear only 12 times in John 1-12, but in chapters 13-21 we find them 44 times.