This is the second time that Jesus has commanded his followers to love one another (cf. 13:34). This is the true test that will always put his followers in high relief (13:35). The same theme is sounded throughout the letters of John. “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us” (1 John 4:11–12). Such love for one another is a fulfillment of God’s love for us and in us (4:17), and to refuse to love leads John to describe such people as “liars”—people who show that they have neither seen or experienced God’s love (4:20).

This human love cannot be viewed in isolation, as if simply exhibiting such love satisfies the call to discipleship. Such love is an outgrowth of a life that has witnessed the dramatic quality of God’s love (15:13) when his Son died on behalf of those he loves. Such love requires that we also love God with our entire heart, soul, and, strength (Deut. 6:5).