John 13:35

To the utmost of your power, dearly beloved brethren, do ye prohibit such accusations, and all unrighteous and injurious emulations, because contention is to be avoided by all means... Dearly beloved, beware of these things. Ponder these things, and minister comfort to the brethren in …

On which account let him also be void of anger; for Wisdom says: "Anger destroys even the prudent." Let him also be merciful, of a generous and loving temper; for our Lord says: "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another." Let him be also ready to give, a lover of the widow and the stranger; ready to serve, and minister, and attend; resolute in his duty; and let him know who is the most worthy of his assistance.

(Hom. lxxii. 4) Passing over the miracles, which they were to perform, He makes love the distinguishing mark of His followers; By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another. This it is that evidences the saint or the disciple, as He calls him.

You will set upon yourselves, He says, an irresistible and unquestionable mark of your having been My disciples, if you hasten to follow in the track marked out by My own conduct, at least as far as your nature and the limit of human powers will permit; so as to have ever the bond of mutual love firmly drawn, and to be united one to the other in full sympathy, at least to the extent of mutual love and the incomparable glory of affectionateness: for this it is that will stamp on us most exactly the true character of our Master.

Showing that after His departure they will not be humiliated but will become glorious, He says: "By this all will know." Do you see, He declares that they will become known to all, and by this He comforts them not a little. Passing over in …

The Church is a union of rational men united in harmonious and uniform adherence to divine peace. For the Church in return loves itself. And love is born of obedience to the Law. And the Law itself commands love. And so it is fitting that …

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another: because, as Augustine says, "love is the proper and special virtue of the devout and the holy. This is what distinguishes the children of the kingdom from …

Then when he says, By this all men will know that you are my disciples, he gives the reason for following this command. Here we should note that one who is in the army of a king should wear this emblem. The emblem of Christ …

By this shall all men know,....

Little children--From the height of His own glory He now descends, with sweet pity, to His "little children," all now His own. This term of endearment, nowhere else used in the Gospels, and once only employed by Paul (Ga 4:19), is appropriated by the beloved disciple himself, who no fewer than seven times employs it in his first Epistle.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples--the disciples of Him who laid down His life for those He loved. if ye have love one to another--for My sake, and as one in Me; for to such love men outside the circle of believers know right well they are entire strangers. Alas, how little of it there is even within this circle!

Children, I am still with you for a little while. You will look for me, and just as I said to the Jewish authorities, ‘Where I am going you cannot come,’ now I tell you the same. "I give you a new commandment—to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?"

I CAN never doubt, or for a moment distrust the affection of my dear people to myself. I certainly do not ask for any more of your love, for I have as much as one man ought to have—perhaps a little more—certainly a great deal more than I deserve. I can now fairly turn round and say to you, putting myself altogether on one side, "Let brotherly love continue and let the warmth of your affection towards one another increase."

Children, I am still with you for a little while. You will look for me, and just as I said to the Jewish authorities, ‘Where I am going you cannot come,’ now I tell you the same. "I give you a new commandment—to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow later." Peter said to him, "Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you!" Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? I tell you the solemn truth, the rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times! In this passage we find the Lord Jesus at last alone with His eleven faithful disciples. The traitor, Judas Iscariot, had left the room, and gone out to do his wicked deed of darkness. Freed from his painful company, our Lord opens His heart to His little flock more fully than He had ever done before. Speaking to them for the last time before His passion, He begins a discourse which for touching interest surpasses any portion of Scripture. These verses show us what glory the crucifixion brought both to God the Father and to God the Son. It seems impossible to avoid the conclusion that this was what our Lord had in His mind when He said, "Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him." It is as though He said, "The time of my crucifixion is at hand. My work on earth is finished. An event is about to take place tomorrow, which, however painful to you who love Me, is in reality most glorifying both to Me and My Father." This was a dark and mysterious saying, and we may well believe that the eleven did not understand it. And no wonder!

I CAN never doubt, or for a moment distrust the affection of my dear people to myself. I certainly do not ask for any more of your love, for I have as much as one man ought to have—perhaps a little more—certainly a great deal more than I deserve. I can now fairly turn round and say to you, putting myself altogether on one side, "Let brotherly love continue and let the warmth of your affection towards one another increase." And I can say this, too, without anybody daring to insinuate that there is something wrong in the Church—some division or schism here. Blessed be God, I do not think that a microscopic eye could discover anything of the kind! There may be some of you who do not like certain persons quite as much as you like other people. I do not wonder at that, for there will always be some partialities even among the best of friends. Our Lord Jesus, Himself, had 12 Apostles and out of the twelve, three especially favored ones. and out of the three, one who leaned upon His bosom. There are some people who are more lovable than other people and we can hardly help loving them more than others. Still, I know of no special reason of that kind why I should preach this sermon. I bless the Lord that you are as loving as you are and pray that you may increase more and more in your love to one another. I am going to speak upon our text thus. First, the title which our Lord gave to this commandment. He called it "a new commandment." Secondly, the example by which He expounded it—"That you love one another as I have loved you." And thirdly, the result by which He enforced it—"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." I. First, then, THE TITLE WHICH CHRIST GAVE TO THIS COMMANDMENT—"a new commandment." Many of you, I do not doubt, have heard the story of Archbishop Usher and Mr. Rutherford.

By this shall all men know, etc. - From this time forward, this mutual and disinterested love shall become the essential and distinctive mark of all my disciples. When they love one another with pure hearts, fervently, even unto death, then shall it fully appear that they are disciples of that person who laid down his life for his sheep, and who became, by dying, a ransom for all. The disciples of different teachers were known by their habits, or some particular creed or rite, or point of austerity, which they had adopted; but the disciples of Christ were known by this love which they bore to each other. The primitive Christians were particularly known by this among the Gentiles. Tertullian, in his Apology, gives us their very words: Vide, inquiunt, ut se diligunt; et pro alterutro mori parati sunt. “See, said they, how they love one another, and are ready to lay down their lives for each other.”