Why does Jesus call Love One Another a New commandment?

In my opinion, it was because the old commandments were about what NOt to do.
He made it simple…if you love one another, including yourself, you will naturally do the things that bring you joy and Heaven on Earth.

Can you point out where he says that? Chapter and verse please.

He didn’t say it that way. That is my interpretation.That is why I prefaced it with “In my opinion”

No, I was asking shorty for chapter and verse. We were posting at the same time.

Oh….thanks for clarifying that. It is in one of the four gospels.

John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

Also, repeated at John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

I found it in John 13. I also looked at the original ten commandments, and love one another isn’t one of them, so therefore what Jesus said in John 13 would be a new commandment.

Clearly, His true intent was that you buy everyone a fish, a baguette and some wine.

@ scamp
Love Your Neighbor As Yourself
Eight times in the Bible we are told to love our neighbor—one of the Bible’s most repeated commands.
Loving your neighbor is the opposite of selfishness—the common human practice. Acting in divine love demonstrates that unselfishness is possible for a human—showing a reality that cannot be ignored or denied.
Whether they appreciate you, or respond to your love, Jesus’s command is still valid: You must show love to your neighbor in a practical way.

Who Is A Neighbor?
When Jesus was asked by someone who his neighbor was (Luke 10:29), Jesus responded by telling the story of the good Samaritan—who helped a stranger in need by the roadside. Then, in verse 37, Jesus told the man to go and do like the good Samaritan.
A neighbor is someone who is near-by wherever you are.

Good Deeds Are A Witness
Us loving our neighbors is part of God’s plan to evangelize them. Our love demonstrates what God and His kingdom are like.
MATTHEW 5:16 NKJ 
16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
1 PETER 3:1 TEV 
1 . . . if any of them do not believe God’s word, your conduct will win them over to believe. . . .
1 PETER 2:12 TEV 
12 Your conduct among the heathen should be so good that . . . they will have to recognize your good deeds and so praise God . . . .
1 PETER 2:15 TEV 
15 For God wants you to silence the ignorant talk of foolish people by the good things you do.
1 TIMOTHY 6:18 CEV 
18 Instruct them to do as many good deeds as they can and to help everyone. Remind the rich to be generous and share what they have.
1 JOHN 3:14 TEV 
14 We know that we have left death and come over into life; we know it because we love others. Those who do not love are still under the power of death.
1 JOHN 3:18 TEV 
18 My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.
1 JOHN 4:7 TEV 
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God.
God loves your neighbor enough to die for them. You are God’s ambassador, representing God to your neighbor, for the purpose of demonstrating His love.
What are you doing to show God’s love to your neighbor? Love without actions is dead.

First Thing Is Prayer
If you really love your neighbor, the first thing you will do is pray for them. As a human you are limited in how you can help your neighbor, but God is unlimited in how He can help. The greatest thing you can do for your neighbor is seriously pray for them.
God can do more for your neighbor in one minute than you could in a lifetime. But God does not force His blessing on anyone without an invitation.
Through our requests in prayer, God is given further authority to work in our neighbor’s lives. We have a certain amount of authority in prayer concerning our neighbors, because what they do can affect us.

Eight Times In Bible
LEVITICUS 19:18 NKJ 
18 `You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
MATTHEW 19:19 NKJ 
19 `Honor your father and your mother,’ and, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
MATTHEW 22:39 NKJ 
39 “And the second is like it: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
MARK 12:31 NKJ 
31 “And the second, like it, is this: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
LUKE 10:27 NKJ 
27 So he answered and said, ” `You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and `your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
ROMANS 13:9 NKJ 
9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
GALATIANS 5:14 NKJ 
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
JAMES 2:8 NKJ 
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;

Be A Good Neighbor
As God’s representative He wants you to treat those around you with unselfish love.
PHILIPPIANS 2:4 NKJ 
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
MATTHEW 7:12 NKJ 
12 “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
ROMANS 13:10 NKJ 
10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
ROMANS 15:2 NKJ 
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.
HEBREWS 13:1–2 NKJ 
1 Let brotherly love continue. 
2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.

Jesus Will Reward You
EPHESIANS 6:8 NKJ 
8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord . . . .
MATTHEW 25:37,40 NKJ 
37 ”. . .`Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 
40 “And the King will answer and say to them, `Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
In Jesus’ teachings, our relationship with our fellow men, women and children is inseparable from our relationship with God. Love of God and love of our neighbors are two aspects of the same calling:
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (NIV, John 13:34–35)

It’s a new commandment because the original ten were given many many years before, to Moses. Those are in the Old Testament: the words of the prophets, the history of
the tribes of Israel. Jesus came along to update the rules – well, to add to them. That’s
why he was a revolutionary: New Rules.

It is new because the rule of the OT was an eye for an eye, etc. —Jesus was saying we are to love each other regardless of how we are treated. We are to love as He loves us – unconditionally. He also said we are to love those who treat us wrong or are an enemy. If your like me you soon realize that is only possible by letting Him rule our hearts!

the old rules were in place to let us know we needed a savior and now that he has come he left us a new rule to live by

but most Christians do not live by this new rule and expect the rest of the world to follow suit.

your right that’s why more people are leaving the church than coming in

I actually find more people willing to live by the law of the OT (to a degree), than the liberty and freedom of the NT. We have liberty but we are responsible to not misuse our liberty – - oneye1 can probably find the verse for us. We also are responsible to love as Jesus loves us. I expect even if all Christians were a perfect example of Jesus and His love modern man would still find fault with Christians.

I think modern man finds faults in Christians because Christians find faults in modern man

@Riser Do you think if Jesus was here with us (as He was in the NT days) that modern man would not find fault with him? I think mankind would still react the same way – the rejection and evil would just be expressed differently and He would be exicuted in a different way today and under different false pretenses. Just my opinion

perhaps although I see him being attacked because of us. I think the churches are quickly becoming the “brood of Vipers” that Jesus talked about.

I’m not so sure if the world would attack Christ if he were on earth today. I suppose, had he never come before, He would have to be attacked and killed in order to fulfill Biblical prophecy but if he were to return I believe he would reveal how far off Christians are in their priorities.

besafe are you thinking of Romans 6:1–14

only trouble with churches is they are made up of people just like us, imperfect. When ever I get my eyes on the people rather than the Jesus in them I get disallusioned.

Oneye – Check Gal 5:13 I think it the one I recalled. But Romans is good, just a whole lot more there than the point I was making.

Hey it is great being able to talk like this.

Blessings to you both.

The two great commandments in the Mosaic tradition were to:

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, might, mind, and strength

2. Love your neighbor as yourself

When Jesus gave this new commandment, he was moments away from performing the atonement, his sacrifice for sin. I think that in a way, he knew he was about to manifest the greatest love one could give to another person, and so the standard changed. No longer love your neighbor as yourself; love one another as I have loved you. We now have the model. It’s been fulfilled and performed perfectly. We follow Christ’s example in loving others, not follow after our own sense of self.

Godfather: Excellent answer, sir.

Jesus fulfilled the law and is showing us how to fulfill “the faith.” Which is not about his death but about his life!

The Law of Moses, according to Christian faith, is a law given to God’s people by God, the Father. It is an ‘eye for an eye’ law, meaning that people are punished for their sins in this life. If you steal from your neighbor, you must pay your neighbor back, plus an extra penalty for the inconvenience.

The new law given by Jesus, God’s Son, is to love your neighbor. The idea is that if everyone loves one another, then there is no need for detailed laws describing what you can and can’t do to each other. Therefore, the new commandment supersedes all the other commandments. It doesn’t necessarily replace them, but if you are following the two great commandments (love God, love your neighbor), then you are already following all the other commandments. This special relationship is sometimes referred to as ‘fulfilling the Law of Moses’ in Christian spirituality.

Wow, you are getting a lot of answers. I tend to be long winded, but I’ll try the short form.

Before JC said to love our neighbors as ourselves…the People of Israel, were very insular, not trusting or liking outsiders. JC turned all that on its head by saying, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF, and also by the radical notion of just who those neighbors were: the poor person, the sick person, the naked person, the hungry person. The last shall be made first; turn the other cheek; a rich person aiming for heaven is like a camel trying to walk through the eye of a needle. On and on and on—a call for nothing less than a radical, voluntary, and effective reordering of power relationships, based on the principle of love.