“Commandment Thursday,” the day we commemorate as Maundy Thursday, derives from the Latin mandatum, a Latin word meaning mandate or commandment. On the eve of his crucifixion, Jesus gave a new commandment to the men He had chosen to change the world.
A New Commandment
Jesus defined what it means to be His follower when He gave this command:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35
John stresses this message of love in his writings and encourages believers to love others. In 1 John, he warns Christians about the dangers of loving the world, the false teachers among them, and the necessity of testing the spirits. He reminds believers of the absolute truth of the message passed down by eyewitnesses of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yet he returns to the message of love as the hallmark of those who believe.
The Origin of the Commandment
Where does this love come from? John reminds us that we love one another because love is from 
God. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10) What greater expression of love could there be? Those who love can do so because they have been born of God.
In John’s gospel, when Jesus explained it to Nicodemus, He showed the depth of His love for the world. “‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.’” (John 3:16)
The result of His perfect love for us was His death on the cross to free us from the power of sin so that we can live for Him.
The New Commandment Defines Us as Christians
Where do we find the ability to love as Jesus did? 1 John 16b-17 says, “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.” When the source of our life is in God, and we remain in Him, and He remains in us, we can love with His love.
There is an old song that says, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.” If someone harbors hate for his fellow man, he is a liar. If we cannot love people we can see, how can we truly love the God we cannot see? (1 John 4:20) John once again, reiterates Jesus’ commandment: “And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4:21)
The Lasting Gift of This New Commandment
God’s perfect love gives us peace and confidence on the day of judgment. We know Jesus paid the price of our sins. There is no longer any condemnation for us. (Romans 8:1) God sees us as holy and righteous through the blood of Jesus. He loves us with the same love He has for Jesus. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” (1 John 4:18)
Jesus changes the lives of His followers forever. We experience God’s love. He also empowers us to love others with that same love through His abiding presence in our lives. We are known by our love for one another. (John 13:35)
As we remember the Last Supper, remember His new commandment and abide in Him so we might fulfill it.
I never knew Maundy Thursday was also Commandment Thursday. Thank you for reminding me of the last commandment He gave before the Cross.