No Greater Love
Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter // May 7th, 2026 // John 15:12-17
It was St. Augustine, who in De doctrina Christiana, suggested that the ultimate standard by which we need to read the Bible correctly is the commandment to love God and love neighbor above all. Jesus even tells us in Matthew 22:37-40 that these are the two commandments on which all of the law and the prophets depend - we need to live this life loving God and His children around us, and we interpret His Word with this love in mind.
After emphasizing that His commandment is for us to love one another as He has loved us (John 15:12), Jesus states in today’s Gospel that there is “no greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). When we read Scripture in light of the command to love God and His children, we can understand even more so how we are being told here to adhere to our fundamental identity of being made in God’s image and likeness. We are called to love as He loves so as to fully adhere to this image, and as Christ explains, this involves being willing to give up our lives for the good of others; this is true and authentic love.
Jesus then explains that we are His friends if we follow Him in this way, doing what He asks of us; He no longer calls us servants, but friends (John 15:14-15). There is great significance to Christ calling us His friends in this instance; when He does so, He is explaining to us again that He will be giving up His life for our good, all out of love for us. Since He says earlier that there is no greater love than to give up one’s life for his friends, and since Jesus now calls us His friends, He is telling us that He will be giving up His life for us. He tells us to love, but He doesn’t tell us to do what He wouldn’t be willing to do Himself. He paves this way.
We are told to “go and bear fruit that will remain” as followers of God (John 15:16). As images of God, we are commanded to go tell others about Him. Giving others the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His saving love can change the course of their eternity; this is often how we are individually called to love our neighbors: by simply telling them about Jesus and modeling His love through our actions. If someone comes to believe in Christ because we first decided to tell them about Him, then they have the chance to enter into eternal love with Him - fruit that truly remains. This is love.