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1 John 2:8 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
⁸Again, I am writing you a new commandment, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

Again, I am writing you a new commandment. ‘And yet, that which I write to you, and particularly enjoin on you, deserves in another sense to be called a new commandment, though it has been also inculcated from the beginning, for it was called new by the Savior himself.’ Or the meaning may be, ‘In addition to the general precepts which I have referred to, I do now call your attention to the new commandment of the Savior, that which he himself called new.’ There can be no doubt here that John refers to the commandment to ‘love one another,’ (see 1 John 2:9–11,) and that it is here called new, not in the sense that John inculcated it as a novel doctrine, but in the sense that the Savior called it such. For the reasons why it was so called by him,

See Notes, John 13:34.

John 13:34 Notes: A new commandment – This command he gave them as he was about to leave them, to be a badge of discipleship, by which they might be known as his friends and followers, and by which they might be distinguished from all others. It is called new, not because there was no command before which required people to love their fellow-man, for one great precept of the law was that they should love their neighbor as themselves Lev. 19:18; but it was new because it had never before been made that by which any class or body of people had been known and distinguished. The Jew was known by his external rites, by his uniqueness of dress, etc.; the philosopher by some other mark of distinction; the military man by another, etc. In none of these cases had love for each other been the distinguishing and special badge by which they were known. But in the case of Christians they were not to be known by distinctions of wealth, or learning, or fame; they were not to aspire to earthly honors; they were not to adopt any special style of dress or badge, but they were to be distinguished by tender and constant attachment to each other.

This was to surmount all distinction of country, of color, of rank, of office, of sect. Here they were to feel that they were on a level, that they had common wants, were redeemed by the same sacred blood and were going to the same heaven. They were to befriend each other in trials; be careful of each other’s feelings and reputation; deny themselves to promote each other’s welfare. See 1 John 3:23; 1Thess. 4:9; 1Pet. 1:22; 2Thess. 1:3; Gal. 6:2; 2Pet. 1:7. In all these places the command of Jesus is repeated or referred to, and it shows that the first disciples considered this indeed as the special law of Christ. This command or law was, moreover, new in regard to the extent to which this love was to be carried; for he immediately adds, “As I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” His love for them was strong, continued, unremitting, and he was now about to show his love for them in death. John 15:13; “greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” So in 1 John 3:16 it is said that “we ought also to lay down our lives for the brothers.” This was a new expression of love; and it showed the strength of attachment which we ought to have for Christians, and how ready we should be to endure hardships, to encounter dangers, and to practice self-denial, to benefit those for whom the Son of God laid down his life.

Which is true in him. In the Lord Jesus. That is, which commandment or law of love was illustrated in him, or was manifested by him in his intercourse with his disciples. That which was most prominent in him was this very love which he enjoined on all his followers.

And in you. Among you. That is, you have manifested it in your intercourse with each other. It is not new in the sense that you have never heard of it, and have never evinced it, but in the sense only that he called it new.

Because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. The ancient systems of error, under which men hated each other, have passed away, and you are brought into the light of the true religion. Once you were in darkness, like others; now the light of the pure gospel shines around you, and that requires, as its distinguishing characteristic, love. Religion is often represented as light; and Christ spoke of himself, and was spoken of, as the light of the world. Comp. John 8:12; 12:35, 36, 46; Isa. 9:2.

See Notes, John 1:4-5

John 1:4 Notes: The life was the light of men – “Light” is that by which we see objects distinctly. The light of the sun enables us to discern the form, the distance, the magnitude, and the relation of objects and prevents the perplexities and dangers which result from a state of darkness. Light is in all languages, therefore, put for “knowledge” – for whatever enables us to discern our duty, and that saves us from the evils of ignorance and error. “Whatsoever doth make manifest is light,” Eph. 5:13. See Isa. 8:20; Isa. 9:2. The Messiah was predicted as the “light” of the world, Isa. 9:2, compared with Matt. 4:15-16; Isa. 60:1. See John 8:12; “I am the light of the world;” John 12:35-36, John 12:46; “I have come into the world as light.” The meaning is, that the λόγος Logos or Word of God is the “instructor or teacher” of mankind. This was done before his advent by his direct agency in giving man reason or understanding, and in giving his law, for the “law was ordained by angels ‘in the hand of a mediator” Gal. 3:19; after his advent by his personal ministry when on earth, by his Spirit John 14:16, John 14:26, and by his ministers since, Eph. 4:11; 1Cor. 12:28.

John 1:5 Notes: The light shines in darkness – Darkness, in the Bible, commonly denotes ignorance, guilt, or misery. See Isa. 9:1-2; Matt. 4:16; Acts 26:18; Eph. 5:8, Eph. 5:11; Rom. 13:12. It refers here to a wicked and ignorant people. When it is said that “the light shines in darkness,” it is meant that the Lord Jesus came to teach an ignorant, benighted, and wicked world. This has always been the case. It was so when he sent his prophets; so during his own ministry; and so in every age since. His efforts to enlighten and save men have been like light struggling to penetrate a thick, dense cloud; and though a few rays may pierce the gloom, yet the great mass is still an impenetrable shade.

Albert Barnes