| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with ean {Ἐὰν | Eàn} ‘if’, introducing an open condition rather than a completed fact. The verb agapate {ἀγαπᾶτέ | agapâte} ‘you love’ is in the present subjunctive, portraying love as an ongoing stance or characteristic disposition. The object me {με | me} keeps the focus personal: Jesus is not speaking abstractly about devotion, but about devotion directed to Him. The phrase tas entolas tas emas {τὰς ἐντολὰς τὰς ἐμὰς | tàs entolàs tàs emàs} uses the repeated article to give the noun phrase an emphatic attributive force, marking the commandments as specifically His own. The future teresete {τηρήσετε | tērḗsete} ‘you will keep’ states the expected outcome of the condition, so the Greek presents obedience as the visible result of love, not as a separate command appended to it. The sentence therefore functions as a compact Johannine maxim: genuine love is demonstrated by loyal observance. |