NOTES for Joh 13:21-38

Jesus gathered the disciples for the final meal—the meal of the covenant—and gave them a new law unlike the former one. His commandment concerns love within His community. It seems so simple to love one's companions and brothers... But the Lord tells them that one of them is a traitor. His commandment now becomes virtually impossible: how can they love one another if any one of them may suddenly prove to be an enemy? Each tries to distance himself from the terrible label of “traitor,” but Jesus stops them. He foretells that all of them will prove unfaithful, and very soon, before morning. The disciples, and all believers after them, are not divided into good and bad, faithful and unfaithful. They are united by one human weakness and one unfathomable commandment: to love one another without trying to guess who will prove to be an enemy, imitating the love of the Teacher who loves them unconditionally.