"And it was night." Physically, spiritually, emotionally, politically... it was night. The final sentence from John13:31 sets the stage. Judas had gone out. Most of the disciples were in the dark about the betrayal. Suffering was imminent. Rather than focus on the darkness, Jesus pivots to God's glory and love.
In the midst of the night, the Savior reminds his disciples, he is going away without them. Then, the Lord offers what most translations call a "new " command. Love one another, John 13:34. Sceptics sometimes point to the text as an example of an error in scripture. Jesus was essentially recapping Leviticus 19:18 and 34, which commands love for the Jew and the Gentile. Included as the motivation for the Old Testament passage are the words, "I am the LORD." In other words, do this because I am like this. Love is considered the basis for the whole Torah. How could Jesus call it new? Dr. Wave Nunnally, with Bible Unplugged, acknowledges God's call to love permeated Jewish thought. He explains, "kainos" the word we read as "new", is better understood "fresh" or "refreshed", John 13:34-35.
In the Bible, "refresh" carries the idea of finding support or relief. Jesus looked at people he loved and explained, "It's dark. I'm going away. God will be glorified, but it will be hard. You need a refresher. Get back to what God has always required. If you are going to find support and relief, if you are going to shine in the darkness so that people will know you are mine, one thing does that, love." Love refreshes. Love supports. It offers relief. Even in a world hostile to Jesus, if we intend to come through the darkest hours making sure the world knows we belong to Him, we must love. This has always been true. That's Worth Remembering.
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