Passage
A new commandment I give to you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
John 13:34 (DBY)
Nearby Context
John 13:32 If God be glorified in him, God also shall glorify him in himself, and shall glorify him immediately.
John 13:33 Children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me; and, as I said to the Jews, Where I go ye cannot come, I say to you also now.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
John 13:35 By this shall all know that ye are disciples of mine, if ye have love amongst yourselves.
John 13:36 Simon Peter says to him, Lord, where goest thou? Jesus answered him, Where I go thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me after.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "commandment", "give", "love", "another", and "loved". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "commandment" and "give", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 33's "Children yet a little while I am..." into verse 35's "By this shall all know that ye...", so "commandment" and "give" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "commandment" and "give" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.