Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
Than this (tauthv). Ablative case after the comparative adjective meizona and feminine agreeing with thv agaphv (love) understood.
That a man lay down his life (ina tiv thn yuxhn autou qh). Object clause (non-final use of ina in apposition with the ablative pronoun tauthv and the second aorist active subjunctive of tiqhmi. For the phrase see John 10:11 of the good shepherd. Cf. I John 3:16; Romans 5:7 f.
For his friends (uper twn filwn autou). "In behalf of his friends" and so "in place of his friends." "Self-sacrifice is the high-water mark of love" (Dods). For this use of uper see John 11:50; Galatians 3:13; II Corinthians 5:14 f.; Romans 5:7 f.
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing John 15:13:
John 4:36
Acts 5:3
1 John 3:16
1 John 4:21
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