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John 13:31-35
With Judas gone, Jesus speaks of what is now set in motion, then issues a new command that marks his followers.
Meaning in context
With Judas gone, Jesus speaks of what is now set in motion, then issues a new command that marks his followers.
Section 6 of 7
Glory Announced and New Command Given
With Judas gone, Jesus speaks of what is now set in motion, then issues a new command that marks his followers.
Movement
From signs to believing life
Artifact
Witness to the Word made flesh
Biblical Timeline
Jesus' Ministry
John context: AD 29 - AD 33
Biblical Timeline
Jesus' Ministry
John context
Jesus' Ministry / AD 29 - AD 33
John context is set in Jesus' ministry, where Jesus' public ministry, teaching, signs, death, and resurrection.
Scripture Text
Thesis
With Judas gone, Jesus speaks of what is now set in motion, then issues a new command that marks his followers.
Verse by Verse
Glory announced as the next event After “he had gone out” (Judas’ departure), Jesus says the Son of Man is now glorified, and God is glorified in him. He then stacks the idea: if God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him “in himself,” and this will happen “immediately.” The point is timing and mutual honor: what is about to happen will display God’s honor through Jesus, and God will answer by honoring Jesus without delay.
A short remaining time and an unreachable destination Jesus addresses the disciples tenderly as “little children” and says he will be with them only “a little while.” They will look for him, but he repeats what he previously told “the Jews”: where he is going, they cannot come (cf. John 7:34). Here it functions as a direct warning to the disciples: separation is coming, and they should not assume they can follow immediately.
Literary Context
This scene sits inside the Last Supper setting in John 13–17, where Jesus turns from public signs and debates to private instruction for his closest followers. Immediately before, Jesus identifies the betrayer and Judas departs into the night (13:30), which triggers Jesus’ “now” language here. What follows develops the same farewell tone: Jesus speaks about going away, about what the disciples can and cannot do next, and about how they are to live together without his physical presence. The “new command” becomes a cornerstone for the later teaching about relationship and witness (cf. John 15:12).
Historical Context
The narrative portrays Jesus and his disciples as Jews in Jerusalem during a major festival week, sharing a formal meal where loyalty, honor, and group identity mattered. Teacher–disciple relationships were publicly recognized, and a group’s reputation could rise or fall based on its internal conduct. Talk of “glory” and being unable to follow a leader would naturally land in a world shaped by honor, shame, and the risks of conflict with authorities. The immediate reference to “as I said to the Jews” echoes earlier controversy in Jerusalem and sets these words in a tense public environment that now becomes a private charge to the disciples.
Theological Significance
Questions
Keep Studying
The new command and its public effect Jesus gives a “new commandment”: they must love one another, and the measure is “just like I have loved you.” The command is repeated for emphasis. He then states the result: everyone will recognize them as his disciples if they have love for one another. Their shared love is presented as the distinguishing sign that identifies their relationship to Jesus in the eyes of outsiders.
The passage ties Jesus’ coming departure to “glory.” After Judas leaves, Jesus says the “Son of Man” is being glorified “now,” and that God is glorified in him. The wording presents a tight link: what happens to Jesus next will display something true about God, and God’s response will be to honor Jesus “immediately.” This is an explicit claim of mutual honor and timing (vv. 31–32), not a general comment about fame or public image.
Jesus also frames the moment as a transition for the disciples. He will be with them only “a little while,” and they cannot go where he is going (v. 33). In the same setting, he gives a “new commandment”: they are to love one another, with Jesus’ own love as the measure (“just like I have loved you,” vv. 34–35). The text makes a public-facing claim: this shared love functions as an identifying marker so that “everyone” can recognize who belongs to Jesus.
What “glory” refers to in the immediate events ahead. Many readers take “glory” to point primarily to Jesus’ death and what follows it (since Judas’ departure sets the final chain of events in motion, and “immediately” suggests nearness). Others think the focus is mainly on Jesus’ return to the Father, with the cross included but not the main emphasis. Both readings try to do justice to the “now/immediately” language.
What it means that God will glorify him “in himself.” Some understand this as God glorifying Jesus in God’s own presence (a movement back into God’s own sphere). Others read it more as God glorifying Jesus by God’s own action and authority (God himself does it), without specifying location.
Why the command is “new.” Some interpret “new” as “new in standard”: love is defined by Jesus’ self-giving love in a fresh way. Others interpret “new” as “new in situation”: with Jesus leaving, the community’s identity will now be publicly marked by how they treat each other.
Why the disagreement exists The passage is compact and forward-looking. It names “glory” without spelling out the exact events, and it uses a short phrase (“in himself”) that can be heard either as a statement about where Jesus is honored or about who does the honoring. Likewise, love for one another already existed as a known moral duty, so “new” invites explanation from the immediate context (Jesus’ departure) and from Jesus’ own example (“as I have loved you”).
What this passage clearly contributes It presents Jesus’ path ahead as the moment when God’s honor and Jesus’ honor are shown together, with urgency (“now… immediately”). It also places community life at the center of disciple-identity: love for “one another” is not described as optional or private, but as the recognizable sign of belonging to Jesus. The measure of that love is not left abstract; it is anchored to Jesus’ own pattern (“just like I have loved you”). A nearby parallel appears in John 15:12.