Contradictions and Paradoxes in John 13:35

Check out Contradictions Catalog of John 13:35 for the comprehensive list of verses that contradicts John 13:35. Some key contradictions and paradoxes are described below.

According to John, people will know you follow Jesus if you are kind and loving to each other. Being nice and caring shows you are Jesus' friend.

John 13:35: By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Contradiction with Matthew 10:34

Jesus speaks of not bringing peace, but a sword, which contrasts with the love and peace emphasized in John 13:35.

Matthew 10:34: Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

Contradiction with James 4:4

Friendship with the world is enmity with God, highlighting a separation rather than the unifying love mentioned in John 13:35.

James 4:4: Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Contradiction with Luke 14:26

Calls for prioritizing love for Jesus above even family, contrasting with the inclusive love for others as a sign of discipleship in John 13:35.

Luke 14:26: If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Contradiction with 1 John 2:15

Advises not to love the world, whereas John 13:35 promotes love as a key characteristic of discipleship.

1 John 2:15: Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Contradiction with Matthew 15:24

Jesus states he was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, which seems to contradict the universal love command in John 13:35.

Matthew 15:24: But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
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