LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF

PROCLAMATION

“Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  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.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ ”  Matthew 22:36-40 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION
These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, which were spoken by Christ according to the Apostle Matthew.  Jesus continued to speak to the people in parables, telling them the Parable of the Wedding Banquet. (Matthew 22:1-14)  Then the Pharisees tried to trap Him with words, but He silenced them as He spoke regarding paying tax to Caesar. (Matthew 22:15-22)  The Sadducees, who do not believe in the resurrection, also tried to trip Him up with words and He answered them regarding the marriage of a woman to each of seven brothers in succession. (Matthew 22:23-33)  Then one of the Pharisees asked Him which was the greatest commandment in the law.  To him Jesus answered, love The Lord God with all your heart, soul, and mind; and love your neighbor as you love yourself. (Matthew 22:36-40)  Then Jesus asked them whose son is The Messiah, and they responded, “The Son of David.”  And Jesus asked them how is it then that David calls Him Lord, and they had no reply.  After that no one dared to ask Him any more questions. (Matthew 22:41-45)

APPLICATION

The Lord God should be paramount in our lives and we should love Him with all that we are. (Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, and Luke 10:27)  We are also to love and treat our fellow man as we would love and treat ourselves.  This “love” for each other is the basis for “The Golden Rule,” which is taken from The Bible: “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” (Luke 6:31)  Christ wants us to love everybody, including our neighbors, one another (John 13:35), and even our enemies. (Matthew 5:44)  We should love people because God is love. (1 John 4:8)  The Spirit of God dwells within us and His love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:12)  Love is patient and kind, it always protects and perseveres, it is trusting and hopeful, it does not envy or boast or dishonor others, it is not proud or selfish or disrespectful, it bears all things, it believes all things, it is always hopeful, and it endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)  Believers are commanded to love one another. (John 15:17)