The Second Greatest Commandment

You Shall Love Your Neighbor As Yourself
Matthew 22:39

One day when Jesus was teaching, the Pharisees gathered together to ask Him a question they thought they could use to ‘stump’ Him. One of the Pharisee layers asked, “What is the greatest and most important commandment in the law?” Jesus not only answered with the first commandment from the Ten Commandments but elaborated on it. To love God with all our hearts (Who is easy to love) we must also ‘love our neighbor in the same way we love ourselves’ – this is the hard part. It is hard because our neighbor may not love us back. We love ourselves a lot, we put ourselves first, when we are hungry and thirsty we feed ourselves and satiate our thirst. When we hurt we seek comfort; when we are sick we do all within our power to get healing. When we are lonely we seek companionship. Whatever our need, spirit, soul or body, we go to any length to fulfill our need.

Do I love my neighbor (who may not be easy to love) in the same way as I love myself? Maybe a better question is, “Can I love my neighbor just like I do myself?” The answer is, “No.” It is an impossible task to love my neighbor without first loving the Lord my God with all my heart, soul and intellect. It is only with God’s indwelling love can I love others (even myself). Love is a choice so it is only with His indwelling love can I want to choose to love others.

The next question is, “What is this kind of love?” The Greek word for this kind of love is, ‘agapao,’ and means “to love in a moral or social sense.” This kind of love is “a deliberate assent of the will and intellect,” – I choose to love. I choose to forgive my neighbor who has wronged me. I choose to return to my neighbor good for the evil he has done to me. I choose to give to my needy neighbor from my supply. I choose to comfort my neighbor who is hurting. I choose to try to understand my neighbor’s situation, and ask myself, “How would I want them to treat me if I were in their situation?” and react to them as I would have them react to me; and how would Jesus react? This is living out the “Golden Rule” (Matt. 17:12).

Then the Pharisee lawyer trying to acquit himself of reproach asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus gave him the best definition of who our neighbor is in the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’ in Luke 10:30-37. This is the story of a traveling man who was attacked by robbers, who stripped him of his clothes and belongings, beat him and left him half dead, unconcernedly. Then by coincidence a preacher was going along that road, and when he saw the wounded man, he passed by on the other side, unconcernedly.

Next a Levite, a very religious and educated man who was responsible for keeping the
tabernacle and temple and activities that went on there. He too saw the injured man and passed by on the other side. But when a Samaritan, as he traveled along came to where the wounded man was, saw him and was moved with pity and sympathy for him. And he went to him and dressed his wounds, pouring on them oil and wine. Then he set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And the next day he took out two day’s wages and gave them to the inn keeper, saying, “Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I myself will repay you when I return.”
Which of these three, do you think, proved himself neighbor to him who fell among robbers? And the lawyer answered, “The one who showed pity and mercy to him.” And Jesus said to him “Go and do likewise.”

Jesus was speaking to us as well. When He comes in His glory and sits on the throne of glory, all the nations will stand before Him and He will separate all the people as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats. The sheep will stand on His right hand and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come you favored of God, receive the kingdom prepared for you. For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you brought Me together with yourselves and welcomed and entertained and lodged Me; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me with help and ministering care; I was in prison and you came to see Me.

Then the just and upright will answer Him, “Lord, when did we see You hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave You drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and clothed You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and came to visit You?” And the King will reply to them, “Truly, I tell you, in as far as you did it to one of the least (in the estimation of men) of these my brethren you have done it unto me.”

Then He will say to those at His left hand, “Be gone from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!” Then He began to explain why they were cursed instead of being blessed like those on His right. The scenario of the ‘goats’
was the opposite of the ‘sheep.’ “I declare to you, in so far as you failed to do it for the least of these (in the estimation of men) you failed to do it for Me.”

This detailed definition of ‘neighbor’ given to us all, Jesus clearly shows that ‘loving’ the least of these (in the estimation of men) is ‘loving’ Him.

Lord, help me to love my neighbor as you love.