When an expert in the Law asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment, he intended to trap Him, but Jesus gave a response, now familiar to many, that almost silenced him.
Jesus said to him, “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” (Matthew 22:37-40).This answer should have silenced the lawyer, but he had one more question. Because of his own definition of a neighbor, perhaps he thought the answer to this question might get him off the hook, so he asked, “Who is my neighbor?”
According to the Jews, a neighbor was any member of the Hebrew race and community, their relatives. However, Jesus was not going to let this man continue to think that love was about family and kinship. He described what love is by using the story of the Good Samaritan, therefore expanding the meaning of a neighbor to any other person, irrespective of race or religion, with whom we live or chance to meet.
Aside from that, some people from this generation don’t even focus on the word neighbor. They assume that this second command is a mandate for self-love and use it in definitions for self-esteem. However, the Bible is clear that people naturally love themselves. We want the best for ourselves and will go to great ends to get it. In fact, sin could be defined as all those self-centered wants and desires for things and conditions that suit us, and our efforts to serve those desires.
Jesus is saying that I am to love others in that same way, as I love myself. I’m to want the best for them and go to great effort to make sure they have it. The words are different, but the idea is the same as the Golden Rule. I should want for everyone the same as I want for myself.
In the story of the Good Samaritan, a compassionate Samaritan takes care of a Jewish man who had been beaten and left for dead on the road. Samaritans and Jews normally hated one another, but this is not so much about loving enemies as it is about putting aside my desires to do the right thing for someone else.
The priest and Levite didn’t do that. They were in a big hurry perhaps, but whatever their reasons, they didn’t stop to help their countryman. In this story, Jesus slams them. Think of it; the leaders of the Jewish religion would not love their neighbor (neighbor even by their own definition), but a Samaritan loved the man, put aside the mutual hatred and helped him.
My devotional writer says this isn’t about stopping to help everyone who has a flat tire, or giving money to every panhandler you meet, but being sensitive to the situation. My husband is like that. We pass many situations like these, and for some of them he says, “God wants me to stop and help.”
This is about knowing the heart of God. There is a love in God that I can experience and pass on to others when I drop my selfishness. His love certainly covers everyone and every situation, but He also has a plan for every needy person. I might not be the right person to help them, but if I am paying attention and listening for His direction, He will tell me, “This one is your neighbor, love this person.”
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