It’s the night before His crucifixion. Jesus has washed the disciples’ feet. Then He says: “So now I am giving you a new commandment. Love each other” [John 13:34].  I can imagine Jesus pausing to let the words sink in. Of course, the more they sink in, the more His disciples must have wrinkled their foreheads. “Love each other.” That’s it?

I can almost hear Thomas muttering under his breath: “But Jesus, what’s new about that? Moses gave us the command to ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ about 1,500 years ago. You can’t get much older than that.” Thomas would have a good point. That is, if Jesus meant only, “Love each other as you love yourselves.” But Jesus isn’t finished yet. Jesus goes on to say: “Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”

In 11 words, Jesus radically changes what it means to love others. It’s no longer enough to love them as much as I love myself. Jesus calls us to love them as much as He loves us. Then He adds: “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” [John 13:35].

What could be better? What could be better, indeed!

This is Luis Palau.