Loving Our Neighbors

Text: Matthew 22:39-40 and others

“And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.””

Intro

Thankful to be here

Thankful to teach

Matthew 22:39-40 is based off of Leviticus 19:14-18. This passage will set a framework for loving our neighbor.

“You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

Since the time of the Law of Moses, God has valued that we love our neighbors. As God is giving these commands to Moses notice how he touches on some pretty important subjects.

“No Injustice in court” - When in court, judge fairly.

“You shall not be poor or defer to the great” - There is absolutely NO partiality when it comes to the church.

“In righteousness shall you judge your neighbor” - Loving our neighbors means that sometimes, we will need to righteously judge a brother or sister. Jesus said in John 7:24 “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.””

“You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people” - Loving our neighbors involves not going around and slandering (gossiping) the name of someone else. We should encourage and uplift one another. not bring them down.

“You shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor” - Don’t bear false witness/testimony against your neighbor.

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor.” - This is a heart issue. If we are going to think about loving our neighbors, we need to do such from a clean and genuine heart.

“You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people” - Don’t hold things against people for a long time. Rather, seek to have unity amongst your fellow people (Christians).

Hook

In our second session of class, I want us to look at what Jesus says about loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. I’m afraid too many times I have viewed this scripture looking at the first commandment and believing that this commandment is above all the other commandments in scripture. However, I realize that what Jesus is teaching is not a matter of which commandment is greater but instead these commands are both equally great. Jesus says “and the second one is like it.”

Today, we live in a world that has promoted this idea of “loving one another.” I think it’s good in a sense that we are considering others and showing them love in a kind, gentle way. Yet, I’m not 100% sure that our world understands the concept of biblical love. This afternoon, I’ve been tasked with covering the second and third greatest commandments. Let’s look at the remainder of the text:

Matthew 22:39–40 “And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.””

Jesus has just told these Pharisees and Sadducees to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Now, Jesus is teaching them that they should love their neighbor as themself. As we consider this text, let’s do it in a way that is biblical and fair to the text. I want to make a series of applications from this text and then class will be concluded.

We must walk in the Spirit to love out neighbors

Galatians 5:13–14 “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.””

Galatians 5:22–23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

As Jesus is talking about loving our neighbors, notice how there is a correlation to Galatians chapter 5. As Paul is talking to the Galatian Christians, he highlights the point that these Christians have freedom in Christ!

There is a distinction that Paul makes between the flesh/law, and the Spirit. Paul explains that the Law goes together with the flesh.

Galatians 5:13–18 “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Galatians 5:22–24 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

If we say that we belong to Jesus, then we have crucified the flesh (or the law) and are now called to walk in the Spirit. What includes walking in the spirit is loving our neighbors with these nine things. What is fascinating is that you can take any one of these nine qualities and find a different scripture that applies to loving our neighbors. This is a consistent theme that the way we treat others.

We must love ourselves to love our neighbors

Psalm 139:1–3, 13-14 “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways… For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”

The Lord values his creation a great deal! Notice the psalmist here talks about how the Lord knows who we are! He rules our life and takes care of His creation (“You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.”)

Inside Out Example

Psychology today is going to tell us that all we need to do is focus on ourselves. What God wants is a healthy balance between the two. The standard with which we love ourselves is going to determine how we love others.

What does Jesus say?

Matthew 10:29–31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

The standard with which you love yourself will determine how you love others.

We must consider how Jesus loved others

His Enemies (Luke 23:34 “And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.” )

Rich Young Ruler

Mark 10:21 “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.””

Lame Man

Mark 2:5, 10-13 “And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven… But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them.”

We love others because of Jesus’ love

John 13:34–35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.””

As the Father has loved us, we ought to go and love others. Jesus’ love towards us should motivate us to love others with purpose and action.

Who is my neighbor?

The most commonly known scripture when it comes to loving our neighbor is the parable of the good Samaritan.

Luke 10:30–36 “Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?””

Who is my neighbor?

The new couple who walks in

The person who has wrong you

The lonely

The brokenhearted

The annoying

The Republican

The Democrat

Regardless of who the person is, Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. While this doesn’t mean the ooey-gooey love our culture means, if we are thinking about camp agape, then that agape love must be shown to every single person.