LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF

Proclamation:

“One of the teachers of the law … asked Him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’ ‘The most important one’, answered Jesus, ‘is this: Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God, The Lord is one.  Love The Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these.’”  Mark 12:28-31 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Mark as he received it from the apostle Peter.  He began this chapter with Jesus, The Christ, teaching the parable of the Tenants. (Mark 12:1-12)  He followed this with the answer that Jesus gave the Pharisees regarding paying the imperial tax to Caesar. (Mark 12:13-17)  Then one of the Sadducees asked Jesus a question regarding marriage of a woman sequentially to each of seven brothers and the resurrection, which they did not believe in, and Mark recorded the answer that Jesus gave him. (Mark 12:18-27)   After noticing the good answers that Jesus gave to the other questions, one of the scribes asked Him a question regarding which was the most important of the commandments.  Jesus answered him immediately by quoting The Word of God to him. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

Application:

This was not one of the Ten Commandments given to Moses. (Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21)  This is the commandment spoken by Jesus, The Christ, to the multitude which followed Him. (Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, and Luke 10:27)  Jesus said that all of the commandments are based upon these two commandments. (Matthew 22:40)  In truth, all of us fall short when it comes to keeping these two commandments.  If we could keep both of them, then we would be perfect.  Although perfection is not humanly attainable, it is still a goal that is well worth striving for.  The Lord God also spoke to Moses and told him to tell the people to love their neighbor as they love themselves. (Leviticus 19:1-2 and 19:18)  If we could just do this, we would be doing very well. (James 2:8)