The New Standard of Love Jesus Gave

Jesus raised the standard of love. The Mosaic law taught, “Love your neighbor as yourself” , a command Jesus affirmed as the second great commandment. But on the night before His crucifixion, He gave His disciples something deeper, something distinctly shaped by His own life:

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you.” (John 13:34–35)

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland notes that Jesus chose this commandment as His final, summarizing lesson—“one grand, eternal principle”—to sustain His disciples once He was no longer physically with them. He explains that the word new (Greek kainēn) means “fresh,” a renewed and intensified version of an ancient law. What was new was the measure: “As I have loved you.”

What Did Jesus Mean by “As I Have Loved You”?

Service and humility

At the Last Supper, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet—an act normally reserved for the lowest servant. He then said, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” Love takes the posture of a servant.

Self-giving sacrifice

Jesus added, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” The command points toward the cross—toward a love willing to bear cost for another’s good.

Formative, patient care

Jesus taught, corrected, and restored His disciples. He rebuked Peter, yet later recommissioned him tenderly. His love shaped them, not by shaming but by forming them into who they could become.

Elder Holland emphasizes that this kind of love is only possible when rooted in the first great commandment—to love God with all our heart (Matthew 22:37–38). “Love of our neighbor,” he quotes President Hunter, “springs from the love of God as its source.”

How the Two Commands Differ in Practice

“Love your neighbor as yourself”

This establishes a moral baseline: fairness, dignity, and goodwill toward all people. It assumes natural self‑care as the measure.

“Love one another as I have loved you”

This calls disciples into a deeper, intentional, Christ‑shaped love within the covenant community. This love:

  • serves one another,
  • bears burdens,
  • corrects and restores gently,
  • and sometimes suffers for another’s good.

Elder Holland calls this the “fresh” part of the commandment: not that love is new, but that we are now asked to love the way Jesus loved—with patience, endurance, and a willingness to bear with one another’s weaknesses.

Examples from Christ’s Life That Illustrate the Higher Love

  • Washing the feet: Love expresses itself in humble service, not status.
  • The cross: The ultimate picture of laying down one’s life.
  • Teaching, correcting, restoring: Jesus formed His disciples through patient instruction, honest rebuke, and gracious restoration.

Holland points to Mormon’s description of charity— “suffereth long… is not easily provoked… beareth all things” — as the fullest scriptural portrait of this Christ‑patterned love. Joseph Smith taught that to love like Jesus, we must “enlarge our souls toward each other” and “bear with each other’s failings.”

Loving Accountability: A Natural Outflow of Christlike Love

If Christ’s love is our pattern, then accountability becomes an expression of love, not judgment. Jesus’ way teaches us to:

  • Model humility by serving first.
  • Speak truth with gentleness and clarity.
  • Pursue restoration rather than shame.
  • Sacrifice comfort when another’s growth requires it.

This aligns with Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18:15–17 , where correction is always aimed at winning back a brother, not winning an argument.

Elder Holland reminds us that Christ gave this commandment because He knew His disciples would need it to survive spiritually without Him. We need it just as urgently today.


Conclusion

The old commandment gives us the moral foundation.
The new commandment gives us the Christ‑shaped pattern.

Discipleship is marked by a love that looks like Jesus—humble, truthful, sacrificial, patient, and restorative. When we love one another as He loved us, we become a community formed by His life, His example, and His self‑giving grace.

Source: Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “What Does It Mean to Love Others as the Savior Loves Me?”

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