The Loving Law

The second half of the Great Commandment...

Matthew 22:34–40 ESV

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Not just love God, we are to love others as well. This is what is meant by…

Matthew 25:40 ESV

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

In order to love God, we must love His creation.

1 John 4:20 ESV

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

But who is my neighbor?

Luke 10:30–37 ESV

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?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

My neighbor is...

We tend to think of our neighbor as those who are like us, mostly because in our culture, the neighborhood is a key factor in buying a home. Location, location, location.

But this looks more like Jesus is telling is matters also, even more so, when it is someone NOT like us. The Samaritan has no social duty to the Jew. They were on really bad terms, even occasionally violent terms. It seems from this context that

My neighbor is… my enemy.

Luke 6:27–38 ESV

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Jesus gives a flurry of verbs to illustrate what he means by love your enemies! Do good, bless, pray, offer cheek, don’t withhold, give, do not demand, and do unto others. He had no intention of letting us think this could be a sub-level, internal, philosophical love. This is the real deal. The love we fear he is talking about. The kind of love He gave. Sacrificial love. If we are to follow Jesus, we ought to love how He loved, and whom He loved. “For He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”

My neighbor is… everyone.

“Who was the better neighbor?” Jesus asked. Not just the enemy Samaritan, but also the ally Jew had the duty of neighbor in God’s eyes.

How great is the Love of God! May we follow in our Lord’s steps.