Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
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John 15:11-15
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871) (public domain).
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends--The emphasis lies not on "friends," but on "laying down his life" for them; that is, "One can show no greater regard for those dear to him than to give his life for them, and this is the love ye shall find in Me."
Other Bible passages linked to this one, most cited first.
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
Authorship: the book itself or Christian tradition. Approximate dates, as in Carson and Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament, and Longman and Dillard, An Introduction to the Old Testament.