What the Bible says about Loving Our Neighbor as Ourselves
(From Forerunner Commentary)
In effect, He says we are to love our God with the entirety of our being, more than the pleasures Satan sets before us, more than the individual escapes we run to when we are tired or down, more than the pulls of this flesh, more than the opinions of our peer groups, employers, or neighbors, and more than our own intellect and opinions. Simply, we are to put God and His instructions first in our lives in every way.
Jesus states it so simply it must have been difficult for His twig-focused audience to comprehend. This commandment, out of Deuteronomy 6:5, is the first, the greatest of all in dignity and excellence, and is the foundation of all other commandments. It all begins with God and our wholehearted devotion to Him.
But Jesus does not leave it there. He continues in verse 39, listing the other part of the equation, a commandment that Israel had never been able to fulfill. He lists the commandment that requires repentance and change in each one of us, of every human being on this earth. He lists the commandment that will be the instrument or method that will assist in bringing and sustaining peace and harmony in this world among all nations and races.
Jesus tells the Pharisees: "And the second is like the first, 'You shall love your neighbor as your self.'"
When we consider these two great commandments, our attention automatically dwells on the first, complete love toward God. It is easy to understand why this is. God is the Creator, our Savior, our Healer, our Provider of all things, the One we must answer to, the One we pray to, and the Merciful One who forgives our sins.
However, we normally do not give more than lip service to the second great commandment, to love our fellow man. Again, it is easy to understand why. Our fellow man lies, cheats, steals, murders, commits sexual perversions, blasphemes, and generally makes life miserable for the rest of us.
Under Satan's guidance and in lock-step with the rest of the world, our fellow man promotes lawlessness, spreads pornography throughout the world, and devises evil schemes to bilk millions out of their well-earned money. Our fellow man wars, tortures, kills, and commits horrendous crimes against the weak, and the frustrating part is that we have no power that we can exert at this time to change him.
Our fellow man persecutes those of us who follow the truth. He puts obstacles in our way when it comes to taking our children out of school for the Feast, and he does not want us to take time off for it either. Our fellow man tries to insist that we work on the Sabbath and eat pork and shellfish, and when we persist in following biblical truth, he looks at us as if we have lost our minds.
Despite this, our Lord instructs us in the second great commandment that we are to love him.
Jesus makes an additional comment in verse 40: "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." In other words, the entirety of Scripture is summed up in these two commandments. Another way of putting it is that everything else in the Bible flows from and depends upon these dual principles. Both commandments are vital to living as God wants us to.
If that is the case—that everything starts with these two great commandments—they will surely continue to be the guiding principles throughout eternity. As Christians, we need to give them the time and effort they deserve.
John O. Reid
You Shall Love Your Neighbor (Part One)
What is the love that we are to have and show fellow man (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 5:43; 19:19; 22:39; Mark 12:31: Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8)? The Greek word for "love" in this command is agapao (Strong's #25), "to have a warm regard for and interest in another, cherish, have affection for." This seems like a rather general definition of any kind of love, but Jesus elevates it to an unconditional love, a heartfelt response to do good for another as the occasion requires, no matter who the other is, whether family, friend, enemy, or person on the street.
Showing this kind of love to our neighbor, then, goes far beyond wishing him well but extends to actively doing him good. It does not mean doing what will please him, but choosing to benefit him by showing him favor and goodwill. The outworking of this love may involve expressions of kindness or providence, or it could even be giving discipline and punishment. Its emphasis is on doing what is good for him, not on whether it will necessarily please him.
Then we must ask, "Who is my neighbor?" This question is asked of Jesus, and He replies with the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. The text tells us this expert in the law wished to justify himself, that is, show himself to be in the right on this matter and thus excuse his behavior. He had no argument regarding loving God, and as for loving his neighbor, he may have indeed been a good neighbor as instructed by the Pharisaical interpretation of the law.
Generally, that interpretation essentially boils down to "love your neighbor as long as they are not Gentiles." Some Pharisees carried this to extremes, turning it into hatred for any racial, ethnic, and religious group but their own. They despised Samaritans (thus Jesus' use of a good Samaritan in His parable) and called Gentiles "dogs" and probably other derogatory names.
We do the same today. We will love our neighbors as long as they are friends or coworkers or of the same race, ethnic group, or social status. We will love our neighbors if they follow our team, political views, or social causes. But that is not what God wants of us!
This can be seen in the parable. The story is of a Jew traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho on business, a journey of about fifteen miles. Robbers hold him up, beat him, and take everything he has, even his clothing, leaving him by the roadside half-dead and bleeding.
First, a man of his own nation, no less than a priest—a man who represents the love, compassion, tenderness, and kindness of God to the world—happens by. Of all people, one would think he would be the first to stop and help the battered traveler. Yet, he passes by on the other side, diverting his eyes, as if he never saw the man in need.
Then comes a Levite, one whose God-given task was to serve in the Temple. He not only sees the wounded man but also takes the time to walk over and examine him. But like the priest, he offers no help, scurrying to the opposite side of the road and continuing on his way.
Finally, a despised Samaritan happens by, and his heart goes out to the suffering man. Without thought for himself, he begins to clean him, pouring wine on the wounds to disinfect them and oil to promote healing. Then, putting him on his beast, he walks beside it until they arrive at an inn where the injured man could receive care and rest. He spares no expense and promises to repay the innkeeper for his troubles in helping the man get back on his feet.
Jesus ends the story by asking, "So which of these three was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" The lawyer, being an intelligent man, whose training had been the proverbial "straining out a gnat", now had to acknowledge the camel he had heretofore swallowed (Matthew 23:24). With a simple story, Jesus had given him a broad picture of the intent of this second great commandment. So the lawyer answers, "He who showed mercy on him."
It was the Samaritan, loathed by the Jews as heretics and religious frauds, who forgot all the antagonisms and abuses against him and showed mercy, kindness, and care—love—to the wounded Jew lying helpless by the side of the road. Only he displayed the love of neighbor that God expects of His people.
Jesus' instruction for the lawyer—and us today—is, "Go and do likewise."
Spiritually, this has been done for us. We, like this Jew in the ditch, were wounded unto death, left to waste away. The world passed us by, even those closest to us and those who claimed to be God's representatives, never giving us the help we needed. Then God, despised by this world, walked by and tended to us, paying for our care. He paid the ultimate price, giving His only begotten Son to save us and the whole world (John 3:16-17). We could say that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the pouring of wine and oil to disinfect and heal those wounded by sin. It enables sinners from every stratum of society, upon belief and repentance, to be justified, to pursue sanctification, and ultimately, to be glorified.
So we see that God the Father and Jesus Christ are the perfect examples, the embodiments, of what it is to be a neighbor. The psalmist writes of God, "The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" (Psalm 147:2-3). Jesus' mission was not just to preach, but also "to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed" (Luke 4:18). This is how They express Their love to us.
John O. Reid
You Shall Love Your Neighbor (Part Two)
The whole law encompasses the entire will of God. To break any part of it is to infringe on that will and therefore become guilty of sin, to become a sinner in principle against each individual law and the intent of the whole law. Even under human justice systems, a person becomes a criminal by breaking just one law.
God's law goes beyond physical infractions of rules. For instance, when He directs us to love our neighbors, He does not ask us to like the way they are. He expects us to give them forbearance, patience, and help when needed. Passing by a beaten man lying in a ditch on the road to Jericho may not be legally wrong, but it is unloving (Luke 10:25-37). Thus, a person doing so is guilty of far greater spiritual sin. He does not love his neighbor as himself.
In Matthew 22:37-39, Christ tells us how we can fulfill His royal law—by keeping the two great commandments:
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.
If we want to be part of God's glorious Kingdom, we must face our guilt and overcome our sins.
Martin G. Collins
What Must We Do When We Recognize Our Guilt?