Who Is My Neighbor According To Jesus?

Who Is My Neighbor According To Jesus?

March 26, 2018 by Jack Wellman

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The Bible commands us to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves, so who exactly is our neighbor?
Loving God
We don’t have to do an intensive search to find out what’s most important to God, and what the greatest commandment ever given by God was, because it’s given by God, and specifically, Jesus Christ, as He says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt 22:37-40). Why does Jesus say that loving God and loving neighbor are the greatest? Clearly, that means they are the most important commandments. One example is we know that God’s will for us is to not sin, but we can sin by despising our neighbor and having regard for their person, but Solomon wrote, “Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor” (Prov 14:21), so part of loving God is loving our neighbor, but also obeying God, since “whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him” (1 John 2:5), but if that love for God and love for neighbor is not there, then we can’t really know for sure if we’re in Him or not, can we?
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Loving Neighbors
The Apostle John wrote more about love than all of the other apostles combined. He even refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23, 21:20), and he knew enough about the love of God to say, “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20-21). This isn’t just New Testament teaching, but as Jesus said, it was the underlying teaching of “the Law and the Prophets” (Matt 22:40). Moses recorded the command, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD” (Lev 19:18). Not taking revenge is part of loving God and loving neighbor. We don’t give our neighbor what we think they deserve (vengeance), we give them what they need (love). Again, we go back to obedience; to be loving God naturally includes loving our neighbor. We might not love what they do, but we love them, so Jesus included this as the second part of the greatest commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31). Jesus often refers back to the Law and the Prophets when teaching that we must love our neighbor as we do ourselves. He said “whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matt 7:12).Here is why the Apostle Paul stresses that we should “please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me” (Rom 15:2-3). God did not give us what we deserved…He gave us what we needed.
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Living it Out
Its one thing to know that we’re to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, but it’s another thing to do it! It’s not possible without Jesus Christ (John 15:5), but with Him, all things are possible (Phil 4:13). Jesus reminds us all, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). That’s an incredibly difficult standard, but only in God’s strength can we possibly do it. What does loving our neighbor look like in real life? We should “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:8-10), so once again, it goes back to the Law and the Prophets. James wrote “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well” (James 2:. If you are child of the King, you are to observe the royal law, or the Law from the King of kings and Lord of lords, since “the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal 5:14). Love others by taking tangible actions as you do for yourself, and most of us take pretty good care of ourselves, don’t we? Loving your neighbor might even include not “bringing your neighbor into court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame? Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another’s secret, lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end” (Prov 25:8-10). Think about the new commandment given by Christ, just before His death and the Ascension: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34).
Conclusion
Who is our neighbor? Who do you see? Whoever you meet or see today is your neighbor, and the Bible doesn’t specify that only Christians are our neighbors. Our neighbor is anyone that we can help. We have three things to offer…our time, talent, and treasure, so “if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him” (1 John 3:17)? That’s an excellent question, isn’t it? Perhaps a neighbor, whoever that might be, would reach out for help today. What would be your and my response? “Well, I will pray for you,“ but if “one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that” (James 2:16)? That’s another fine question. The best thing we can do for our neighbor is to love them, and the love of God should compel us to share Christ with them. We need to let them know that God demands perfect righteousness to enter the kingdom, but God provides what He demands through Jesus Christ. Who else is sinless, perfect, and completely holy? There is no reconciliation between us and God without Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). Telling your neighbor that is the most loving thing you could ever do.
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is a writer at Christian Quotes and also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.