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BASEL CHRONICLES | EDITORIAL | APRIL 2021

Maundy Thursday and Good Friday,
were the darkest days of suffering in

Jesus' life. However, those darkest days
of suffering of our Savior heralded a
great beacon of hope for the entire

humankind.

Was Jesus' command of love to His disci-
ples something new? In a way, it was

not new. Read Leviticus 19:18 – ‘Do not
seek revenge or bear a grudge against
one of your people, but love your neigh-

bor as yourself.’

Further, there were countless laws in the

Old Testament, instructing and admon-
ishing people, that they should act with

love and compassion. However, there is
a great difference between Old

Testament laws of love and Jesus' com-
mand of love. The mediators of the Old

Testament had given many laws and
commands, but Christ gave only one com-

mand. What is more, Jesus not only com-
manded people to love, but He redeemed

them from their sins and gave them the
power, to follow the command of love.
Therefore, Jesus' command on that cru-

cial Thursday, was truly a new com-
mand.

Few things to ponder upon : 1. God is

Love - Christ is Love. Love and compas-
sion are the norms or the very nature of

God. So also, it was with Jesus. New
Testament repeatedly afrms this fact.

Jesus epitomizes the very love of God the
Father, (Read: John 13:1 Jesus loved His
people, He loved them to the end).