What is the context?
After Judas leaves, Jesus speaks of the Son of Man being glorified and of God being glorified in Him. The betrayal has set the road to the cross in motion. In this Gospel, that approaching death is bound up with His glory: John 12:23–33 has already connected His hour, His death and the drawing of people to Himself.
Jesus addresses the disciples tenderly as children and tells them that He will be with them only a little longer. They cannot follow Him where He is going now. Into that approaching separation He gives a command for their life together: they are to love one another as He has loved them.
The standard is personal and concrete. They have just received His humble service at the basin, and they will soon see the cost of His love at the cross. Their love for one another is to make their connection with Him recognizable to others. Jesus does not describe a badge or a slogan; He describes how His followers will treat one another.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Christians commonly understand this command as a defining mark of following Jesus: His followers are to love one another in a way shaped by His own love. The command is not an invitation to claim superiority over other people; it calls disciples to make His love visible in their life together.
Calling the command new does not mean that God had never required love before. Leviticus 19:18, 34 already commands love for the neighbor and the foreigner. Here Jesus makes His own love the pattern for the disciples. Calvin on verse 34 emphasizes the renewed force of a command that must remain before them; Wesley on verse 34 emphasizes loving to the degree and in the manner Jesus has loved. The Catholic Church’s Catechism, paragraphs 1823–1827, likewise describes Christ’s love as the source and pattern of Christian love. These explanations share the central point rather than presenting opposing commands.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
Jesus is preparing a community whose life will bear witness after His departure. In John 17:20–23, He prays for later believers to be one so that the world may believe that the Father sent Him. The love commanded here belongs to that public witness.
1 John 3:16–18 makes the connection practical: Christ’s laying down His life teaches His people what love is, and love responds when a brother has material needs. God’s purpose takes shape in people who pass on the care they have received.
What is our position?
Our studies What Is the True Church? and I Am a Disciple identify love for one another as a visible mark of belonging to Jesus. This means patient, forgiving, self-giving care in practice. A claim to follow Him is meant to be recognizable in how we treat people, not simply in the name we use for ourselves.