Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

The Two Great Commands

CONTEXT

Mat 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

My 6 year old son took this photo in the Philippines

This is the center of all things! LOVE! We should love God and Jesus said in verse 39 that the second command to love our neighbor was just like the first about loving God. Somehow the way we treat people shows how much we love God. When we love our neighbor we want the best for that person, equally to wanting the best for ourselves.

THE APOSTLE JOHN GETS RIGHT TO THE POINT

1Jn 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
1Jn 4:21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

Now John is speaking about the brethren, which could be family members or could be those eternal brothers and sisters that we have being part of the Body of Christ. Sad but denominations and prejudice separate followers of Christ from fellowship and practiced love for one another. I also see biological family members where siblings won’t speak to one another for years, even all the way to the grave. This same sad practice is also seen in the Church.

In Our Text Jesus Takes this Love to a Higher Dimension “Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself”

Jesus tells a story about a man that is attacked by thieves and left bleeding by the side of the road. Three people pass him, but it was only the third who stopped to help. The Samaritan! The question was asked to Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?

Luk 10:29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
Luk 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Luk 10:31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
Luk 10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Luk 10:35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Luk 10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
Luk 10:37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

In other words, every single human being is our neighbor! Not just the person living next door, or people we know when we go to worship, but the beggar, those that are not too easy to love. We are to love them too! This is how we show our love to God by loving the unloved or unlovable! Then if this is not difficult enough, Jesus even raises the bar even higher.

Love your Enemies

Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

Sometimes we ask someone to our house for dinner, but we know that one day that person will reciprocate. It is one of the times that we are most like God, is when we do something with no thought of how we will be treated in return. I hear people say that they are going to quit helping another because that person does not appreciate their charity. But what are our motives?

Our motives should be to please God. As I write this I see the goal of what Jesus has put before us as His followers. I am in no way saying I do well at this very high bar set by Christ! Love the Brethren, Love Thy Neighbor, Love my Enemies. So impossible to do without His help. If we are followers of Jesus Christ, then this should be our mutual goal.

Thank you for stopping by and and for your comments.
Daddy William

Here is my beloved family!