Jesus and Paul's usages of agape-love

Matthew 22:

36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

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Jesus considers love as the greatest as Paul does in 1 Corinthians 13:

13 now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

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Romans 13:

10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law.

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Before Jesus' arrest, he tells his disciples in John 13:

34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

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The word "love" is mentioned 3 times in just one verse. All these occurrences of the word "love" refer to the Greek agape love.

Both Jesus and Paul use agape-love as an ideal for the practical Christian life. However, the Greek word has general meanings. BDAG ἀγάπη:

① the quality of warm regard for and interest in another, esteem, affection, regard, love (without limitation to very intimate relationships, and very seldom in general Greek of sexual attraction).
ⓐ of human love
ⓑ of the love of God and Christ

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② a common meal eaten by early Christians in connection with their worship, for the purpose of fostering and expressing mutual affection and concern, fellowship meal, a love-feast

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See also

• Amnon agape-loved Tamar before he raped her
• Frequency of agape-love in the NT