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John 13:31-38, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
John 13:31-38
Glory, Mutual Love, and Peter's Coming Denial
After Judas leaves, glory and love meet a promise Peter cannot keep tonight.
With the betrayer gone, Jesus speaks of the Son of Man being glorified and of God being glorified in him. He tells the remaining disciples that he is going where they cannot come now, and he gives them a new command: love one another as he has loved them. This love will be how people recognize them as his. Peter vows to follow even to death; Jesus answers with three denials before a rooster crows.
The command is new in measure and pattern, not because Torah lacked love. Mutual love inside the community is meant to be public evidence, not a closed club that neglects neighbors. Glory here is the coming self-giving, not celebrity. Peter's later martyrdom, still ahead in this Gospel, does not make tonight's overconfidence harmless, and tonight's failure will not be the last word about him.
How this should shape us
Make Jesus' costly, truthful love the recognizable mark of your people, and pair brave promises with humility about limits. Do not treat Jewish Scripture as loveless in order to praise the new command, and do not use 'love one another' as a reason to ignore outsiders or to skip accountability for a vow you cannot keep.
Teach it back
Explain John 13:31-38 in your own words. Include its place in John's movement, the decisive claim or action, one sourced uncertainty, and one use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible interpreters differ?
Best judgment: The command is new in measure and pattern rather than because love was absent from Torah. Love within the disciple community is public witness but cannot become inward exclusivity. Peter's future martyrdom does not validate his present overconfidence.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
John 13:31-38, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and critical-text reading checked independently of the KJV.
Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/John.txt, 13:31-38
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT John data, rows for 13:31-38
Supports: Verse-level syntax, older-English clarification, material variants, background, and alternatives.
NET Bible John PDF, John 13:31-38 and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Supports: Current historical-critical synthesis, narrative movement, Jewish context, signs, Christology, Spirit, Passion, and resurrection.
Enter the Bible John course, Farewell and Spirit materials; applied to 13:31-38
Supports: Literary, historical, theological, gender-aware, sacramental, and reader-oriented interpretation.
Yale Bible Study, Gospel of John course, Last Supper and Farewell Discourses study guide; applied to 13:31-38
Supports: Complete confessional evangelical interpretation, represented as a strong traditioned view rather than consensus.
Köstenberger, “John,” commentary heading covering John 13:31-38
Supports: Historically specific Jewish referents, varied responses, Jewish identity, Roman agency, reception danger, and anti-violence safeguards.
Anderson, “Anti-Semitism and Religious Violence,” full PDF, especially terminology and Ioudaioi pp. 1–22, historical models pp. 23–46, Passion and reception pp. 47–65, safeguards and appendices pp. 66–77; applied to 13:31-38
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: John 13:31-38, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and critical-text reading checked independently of the KJV.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/John.txt, 13:31-38
Open the John Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT John data, rows for 13:31-38
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — John with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level syntax, older-English clarification, material variants, background, and alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible John PDF, John 13:31-38 and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET John PDF ↗modern scholarly book introduction
John course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Craig R. Koester; revised by Karoline M. Lewis
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2024 revision; current course inspected 2026
Supports: Current historical-critical synthesis, narrative movement, Jewish context, signs, Christology, Spirit, Passion, and resurrection.
Exact location: Enter the Bible John course, Farewell and Spirit materials; applied to 13:31-38
Open the Enter the Bible John course ↗modern scholarly narrative and theological course
The Gospel of John: course introduction and twelve study guides
Harold W. Attridge and Michal Beth Dinkler
Yale Bible Study, Yale Divinity School, Current online edition inspected 2026
Supports: Literary, historical, theological, gender-aware, sacramental, and reader-oriented interpretation.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Gospel of John course, Last Supper and Farewell Discourses study guide; applied to 13:31-38
Open the Yale Gospel of John course ↗modern open confessional commentary
John
Andreas J. Köstenberger
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, Current online edition inspected 2026
Supports: Complete confessional evangelical interpretation, represented as a strong traditioned view rather than consensus.
Exact location: Köstenberger, “John,” commentary heading covering John 13:31-38
Open Köstenberger's John commentary ↗modern scholarly ethical and historical study
Anti-Semitism and Religious Violence as Flawed Interpretations of the Gospel of John
Paul N. Anderson
Bible and Interpretation; expanded from John and Judaism, SBL Resources for Biblical Study 87, 2017
Supports: Historically specific Jewish referents, varied responses, Jewish identity, Roman agency, reception danger, and anti-violence safeguards.
Exact location: Anderson, “Anti-Semitism and Religious Violence,” full PDF, especially terminology and Ioudaioi pp. 1–22, historical models pp. 23–46, Passion and reception pp. 47–65, safeguards and appendices pp. 66–77; applied to 13:31-38
Open Anderson's full study ↗