TheologyThoughts

A response on one of the lists, slightly edited:

1. My first comment, that it was simply the first time that Jesus gives the
commandment in his own teaching, is certainly true in the overall context of
John, but I think the specific text gives us some additional clues:

Joh 13:34 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. Joh 13:35 By this
all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another."

2. It is obviously not literally the first time the commandment has been
given in the canonical context, cf. Lev 19:18). The actual word for "new" is
interesting, καινός, KAINOS. This word can mean "new" as in "absolutely
new," but it can also mean new in the sense of "renewed, made better" (cf. 2
Cor 5:17). I think it is the latter sense which better fits the context
here, for two reasons:

a) Note the standard that Jesus sets, something which was not part of the OT
version of this commandment, that they were to love one another "just as I
have loved you." Want context? Look to the foot washing for a picture of
this type of love, and to the passion narrative for the supreme example.

b) As you noted, the context of the Farewell Discourse is that Jesus is
going away. He is returning to the Father, and sending the Spirit, the
Comforter, in his place. Now, I don't have time to go into detail (and
maybe you don't want me to do so!), but this passage is rife with
eschatological completion (the idea that the work of God is completed in
Christ and the victory over the forces of darkness won). This enriches our
understanding of the concept of "new" here, that the command to love one
another has an added dimension of power and possibility that did not exist
before Christ's coming.