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What Does it Mean to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself?

• Danielle Bernock Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer
• Published Mar 09, 2021

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and 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 12:30-31

Loving your neighbor as yourself is found eight times in the Bible. Not once. Not twice. Eight times. Loving your neighbor as yourself is so important to God that He not only repeats Himself, He makes it a command. And not just one in a list of many commands. Jesus coupled the command to love your neighbor as yourself with loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. 

James calls it the royal law. It sounds beautiful, and it is when we obey it.

But loving your neighbor as yourself isn’t always easy. That’s why God made it a command. He knew we’d struggle. Making it a commandment is actually to our benefit. How is that? We have to do it on purpose, be intentional about it. Sometimes even out of our need. 

This is what it means to love your neighbor as yourself:

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1. Loving your neighbor means receiving God's love.

Too begin to love your neighbor as yourself , you need to know two things: you need to know what love is and that you are loved. 

The Bible tells us “this is love. Not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent his Son as a propitiation…” ( 1 John 4:10 ). You are the object of this love. God loves you. Knowing this is imperative. And not just loved in a general kind of way, but deeply loved and unconditionally loved. We tap into this when we understand that God loved us first. He’s the source of our love. God loved us even before Jesus gave Himself for us. God the Father is the source of all love. Before we can give this love we need to receive it for ourselves. You can’t give what you don’t have.

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2. Loving your neighbor means loving ourselves as well.

To love your neighbor as yourself as commanded, you need to measure correctly. The measurement within this command is—as yourself. To love your neighbor as yourself you need to love yourself. This is something that gets misunderstood in the body of Christ often. It gets mixed up with dying to self and denying self as if we need to destroy our self. This is not true. 

Jesus died for each and every one of us. If Jesus valued us enough to go through what He went through, we owe it to Him to value what He values. We need to love what He loves – us. The Bible even tells us that the Father loves us as much as He loves Jesus ( John 17:23 ). How dare we not love what the Father loves. Learning to love ourselves prepares and helps us to love our neighbor.  

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3. Loving your neighbor means showing grace.

Knowing God is love and that this love is for you is not enough. It needs to be developed. Imagine if you had a field of good soil and a bag of top notch seeds. Would they produce a crop all by themselves? No. The seeds must be planted and cared for. Grace takes the seed of His love and the soil of our heart and creates fruit for the kingdom of God. 

The Bible says, “it’s God who works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure” ( Philippians 2 .13). Loving Him and our neighbor pleases Him. Grace helps us do this. Grace teaches us proper love and respect for ourselves and for our neighbor. Freely receiving His grace empowers us to freely give it. 

4. Loving your neighbor means acting with compassion.

When Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbor?” He responded with a story: the Good Samaritan. Even those who have no love for God see the value of the story. What is the bottom line of this story? Who did Jesus say was being a neighbor? The one who had compassion. 

Compassion is not simply a warm fuzzy feeling in our hearts. Compassion does something. A heart that’s moved by compassion cannot sit idly by while someone suffers a need. Loving your neighbor as yourself is being moved to help to the full extent of your ability. 

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5. Loving your neighbor means looking out for their wellbeing.

The NIV translation of 1 Corinthians 13 says, “love protects.” In Philippians 2:4 it says, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Loving your neighbor as yourself is to look out for other people’s wellbeing. 

To look out for them is to pay attention. You notice if they need something and then you help. For example, their clothing tag is sticking out or they have food on their face so you let them know. Or something more serious like when my neighbor’s toddler got out and crossed the street. Concerned for his safety, I headed over there. I was almost there when the grandma came out to intercept him and thanked me.

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6. Loving your neighbor means serving them.

Serving from the heart is kindness in action. Kindness is one of the attributes of love listed in 1 Corinthians 13 . The funny thing about kindness, though, is you can do acts of kindness without kindness residing in your heart. If the kind thing is done out of duty then it isn’t love. 

Jesus said he came to serve ( Matthew 20:28 ). God, who is love, came to serve. Love serves. For you to love your neighbor as yourself , you’ll have a heart to serve them. Let them know you’re there for them. If they need a ride somewhere, you drive them. If they need their dog or cat checked on while they’re out of town, you do that for them. Other examples are getting their mail for them or taking them a meal if they’re not well. Examples in a public setting are to let people in front of you in line at the store or in traffic.

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7. Loving your neighbor means speaking kindly.

The childhood rhyme about stick and stones versus words is not true. Words build up or tear down. God created the world using words. The Bible says Jesus IS the Word ( John 1:1 ). 

To love your neighbor as yourself is to use words to build them up. Speaking words of encouragement to someone who’s down is the most obvious example but there are others. We can be more intentional with our words by looking for and magnifying the good. We can always find something good if we’ll take the time to look for it. Examples of this are giving someone a compliment and telling someone you appreciate them. 

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8. Loving your neighbor means making allowances for other people's humanity.

We live in a day and age when offense is as common as breathing. Criticism is running rampant. Love is not easily offended or critical. Everyone does dumb things; no one is always right or knows everything. We’re all a work in progress. 

I remember sitting through a green light. I wasn’t trying to inconvenience anyone. I got stuck in grieving daze because a family member died. I remember that when I encounter people driving too slow, sitting at lights, or even cutting me off. Maybe they have a reason. Maybe they’re just being human. We’re imperfect beings that do dumb things often. 

Giving people the benefit of the doubt is loving your neighbor. For example, I had a lady flailing her arms and cursing because I didn’t go through an almost red light. She was behind me so got stuck at the red light with me. I don’t know why she was so angry but she may have had other circumstances surrounding her that day. I prayed for her.

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9. Loving your neighbor means sharing in their joys and sorrows.

The Bible says we are to “rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn” ( Romans 12:15 ). 

Celebrating can be difficult for us at times, especially if our neighbor is getting something we have longed for. For example, a new job, a raise, or a pregnancy. Celebrating with them in spite of our own pain is a strong show of love. 

Likewise. mourning with our neighbor can be hard if we don’t know what to say, or have recently lost something or someone ourselves. Loving your neighbor as yourself is showing up and being there with your heart open, allowing them to be what they are and support them.

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10. Loving your neighbor means forgiving.

Forgiveness is a big deal to God. The Bible says He planned it for us from the foundation of the world ( Ephesians 1:4 ). Jesus frequently spoke forgiveness over others that resulted in the healing of their bodies. 

Forgiveness is freely given to us and to love your neighbor as yourself you’ll pass the forgiveness on. Jesus highlighted this in His story in Matthew 18 when Peter asks how many times is he to forgive. He tells the story of a king who forgave an enormous debt to one of his servants. This servant failed to pass the forgiveness on. He demanded payment of a small debt from his neighbor. When the king heard of it, he had his servant remanded for his debt, revoking the debt cancellation. Jesus’ story tells us that love always forgives.

We all need forgiveness, so loving your neighbor is to forgive them as you have been.

Danielle Bernock writes about overcoming the effects of childhood and emotional trauma through the power of the love of God. Her first book Emerging With Wings: A True Story of Lies, Pain, And The LOVE that Heals has ushered many to emotional and spiritual freedom. Other books include A Bird Named Payn, and Love’s Manifesto. For more information or to connect with Danielle go here: https://www.daniellebernock.com/  

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John J. Collins

Love Your Neighbor: How It Became the Golden Rule

TheTorah.com

APA e-journal

The biblical precept “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” has long been understood in Jewish and Christian circles as universal, a transcendent principle encompassing the whole Torah. However, in Leviticus, it is actually one of many action-oriented commandments focused on Israelite social cohesion.

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Mosaic based on Norman Rockwell’s “The Golden Rule” painting (1961). Wikimedia

The Neighbor as Kinsman

We are familiar with the precept in Leviticus 19:18 וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ “you shall love your neighbor as yourself,” which is found in the Holiness Collection (Leviticus 17–26). The Collection, which intersperses moral laws with ritual ones, gets its name from a refrain, found for example in the introduction to this chapter:

ויקרא יט:ב ...קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יְ־הוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.

Lev 19:2 …You shall be holy, for I YHWH your God am holy.

The remainder of the chapter is usually divided into two panels, vv. 3–18 and 19–36, with this law, וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ אֲנִי יְ־הוָה “love your neighbor as yourself, I am YHWH” marking the end of the first panel. Despite general familiarity with this injunction, each of its three Hebrew words requires unpacking.

1. What Is Love?

What does it mean to “love” one’s neighbor? We often think of this as requiring us to feel something, but its more probable meaning becomes clear when we look at some of the preceding laws:

ויקרא יט:יג לֹא תַעֲשֹׁק אֶת רֵעֲךָ וְלֹא תִגְזֹל לֹא תָלִין פְּעֻלַּת שָׂכִיר אִתְּךָ עַד בֹּקֶר.... יט:טו לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ עָוֶל בַּמִּשְׁפָּט לֹא תִשָּׂא פְנֵי דָל וְלֹא תֶהְדַּר פְּנֵי גָדוֹל בְּצֶדֶק תִּשְׁפֹּט עֲמִיתֶךָ. יט:טז לֹא תֵלֵךְ רָכִיל בְּעַמֶּיךָ לֹא תַעֲמֹד עַל דַּם רֵעֶךָ אֲנִי יְ־הוָה.

Lev 19:13 You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning…. 19:15 You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. 19:16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am YHWH.

Love, then, is not an emotion here, but refers to treating one’s neighbor justly—the manner you might treat someone whom you do love. [1]

2. Who Is Your Neighbor?

Most contemporary scholars agree that the “neighbor” (רע) in Leviticus 19 refers to fellow-members of the Israelite or Judahite community. [2] Although the word itself does not necessarily refer to Israelites, the context here is determinative:

ויקרא יט:יז לֹא תִשְׂנָא אֶת אָחִיךָ בִּלְבָבֶךָ הוֹכֵחַ תּוֹכִיחַ אֶת עֲמִיתֶךָ וְלֹא תִשָּׂא עָלָיו חֵטְא. יט:יח לֹא תִקֹּם וְלֹא תִטֹּר אֶת בְּנֵי עַמֶּךָ וְאָהַבְתָּ לְ רֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ אֲנִי יְ־הוָה.

Lev 19:17 You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you shall reprove your kinsman , and not incur guilt because of him. 19:18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people , but you shall love your neighbor like yourself; I am YHWH.”

The term “neighbor” is the fourth in a sequence that includes “brother,” “kinsman,” and “your people.” Neighbor, like the previous three, refers to a fellow Israelite.

3. “Like Yourself” or “One Who Is Like You”?

The most difficult part of the formulation in Leviticus 19:18 is the use of the word kamokha . [3] The more common interpretation is to construe the phrase adverbially, i.e., the way you should love them is the same way you love yourself. For example, Abraham ibn Ezra (1089–1167) writes:

ועל דעתי: שהוא כמשמעו, שיאהב הטוב לחבירו כאשר יאהב לנפשו.

In my opinion, it means what it sounds like, that one should love for good to happen to one’s neighbor the way one would love it for oneself.

This is also the way the Greek Septuagint (LXX) translates the term, “as yourself,” ὡς σεαυτόν. Scholars almost invariably take this as “a reflexive, adverbial modifier that defines the manner in which one should love.” [4]

The other interpretation is to understand the phrase adjectivally, i.e., “(only) if he is like you.” Among medieval Jewish interpreters, this is suggested by ibn Ezra’s contemporary, Rabbi Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam):

אם הוא רעך שהוא אדם טוב כמוך. [5] אבל אם הוא רשע – כדכתיב: יראת י״י שנאת רע.

If he is your neighbor, that is he is a good person like you. But if he is wicked, it is thus written (Prov 8:13) “Fear of the LORD is hating the wicked.”

Alternatively, it could be considered as explanatory, as suggested by Hartwig Wessely (1725–1805), “love your neighbor, that is someone like you” ( liebe deinen Nächsten wie dich selbst ), [6] and most famously in the Die Schrift Bible translation of Martin Buber (1878–1965) and Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929), “love your fellow, [he is] like you,” ( halte lieb deinen Genossen , dir gleich). [7] All of these readings are grammatically possible, but the parallel command in the second panel of this chapter discounts this latter interpretation.

Is the Alien “Like You”?

Leviticus 19:18 should not be understood in isolation. Toward the end of the second panel, we find a parallel to the love your neighbor passage:

ויקרא יט:לג וְכִי יָגוּר אִתְּךָ גֵּר בְּאַרְצְכֶם לֹא תוֹנוּ אֹתוֹ. יט:לד כְּאֶזְרָח מִכֶּם יִהְיֶה לָכֶם הַגֵּר הַגָּר אִתְּכֶם וְאָהַבְתָּ לוֹ כָּמוֹךָ כִּי גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם אֲנִי יְ־הוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.

Lev 19:33 When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress him. 19:34 The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the native born among you; you shall love the alien like yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am YHWH your God.

The word ger (here rendered “alien”) occurs 92 times in the Hebrew Bible—21 times in H— and refers not to all foreigners, but only to one who has settled in the land for some time and has special legal status as a resident alien. [8] Leviticus repeatedly commands that the גר be treated like the native born, even though he is still different. In this case, the command to “love him” is identical to the earlier command to love one’s neighbor.

Since the ger by definition is not an Israelite, kamokha here cannot have an adjectival force (the alien who is like you). [9] The reason given for the command to love the alien is “for you were aliens in the land of Egypt,” a reason often given in support of concern for the alien (Exod 22:20; 23:9; Deut 10:19; 23:8). Kamokha then—here and in verse 18—is adverbial, which is to say that it clarifies how one should love. [10]

This verse does not ground the command in ontology, in the creation of all human beings in the image of God. If it did, there would be no reason to distinguish between the ger and other kinds of foreigners. It is grounded in analogous experience, and calls to mind the Golden Rule: one should treat others as one would wish to be treated oneself.

Summary: The Meaning of the Law

In short, a few things seem clear regarding the law of loving one’s neighbor as oneself, and its corollary of loving the ger , in its original context:

• Love here is not a matter of feelings but of practice.
• The love command is not universal but applies only to Israelites (19:18) and to the ger (19:34). It is primarily concerned with relations within the Israelite community, whether with other Israelites or with long-term foreigners living in their midst.
• The preposition and suffix kamokha is used adverbially to indicate how one should love the neighbor or the alien.

Thus, to love one’s neighbors (fellow-Israelites) as oneself is to treat them as you yourself would wish to be treated. To treat aliens as like oneself is to treat them as one would native-born Israelites.

Second Temple Interpretations

Second Temple authors in the Greek and Roman periods made use of these laws in their works. For example, the book of Jubilees (3 rd cent. B.C.E.) makes several allusions to the love commandment, in the stories of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and the exodus, though it never cites the commandment to love the ger , thus restricting its application to fellow Jews. [11] The Damascus Document (2 nd cent. B.C.E.) clearly alludes to both, instructing the members of the group (CD 6:20):

לאהוב אישׁ את אחיהו כמוהו ‎ולהחזיק ביד עני ואביון 〚 〛 וגר ולדרוש איש את שלום אחיהו

To love his brother like himself, [12] support the poor, destitute, and ger , and to seek each man the peace of his brother.

By the time of the Scrolls, the ger is probably—though not certainly—a proselyte, and thus, ipso facto, a reference only to Jews. [13] The usage in these works has the same function as in Leviticus, namely to ensure the cohesion of the group. In the first and second centuries C.E., however, the understanding of the law undergoes a change.

The Emergence of the Golden Rule

In a series of stories about the 1 st cent. B.C.E. sage, Hillel the Elder, the Babylonian Talmud tells the following story (Venice printing):

שוב מעשה בגוי אחד שבא לפני שמאי אמר ליה גיירני ע"מ שתלמדיני כל התורה כולה כשאני עומד על רגל אחת דחפו באמת הבניין שבידו בא לפני הילל גייריה א[מר] ליה דעלך סני לחברך לא תעביד זו היא כל התורה כולה ואידך פירושה הוא זיל גמור.

It happened again that a gentile came before Shammai. He said to him: “Convert me on the condition that you teach me the entire Torah as I stand on one leg.” He pushed him away with the builder’s cubit in his hand. [The gentile] came before Hillel, who converted him. He (=Hillel) said to him: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. This is the whole entire Torah; the rest is its explanation. Go and learn.”

While Hillel is not quoting Leviticus, this seems to be an interpretation of that verse, since, as noted above, the verse is about actions and not about feelings. In fact, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (ca. 6 th –8 th C.E.), a rabbinic-Jewish translation into Aramaic which utilizes midrashic tropes, translates Leviticus 19:18 to match Hillel’s maxim:

ותרחמיה לחברך דמן אנת סני לך לא תעביד ליה

Love your fellow, that which is hateful to you, do not do to him. [14]

What is significant here is that, to Hillel, this maxim is a transcendent moral principle, encompassing all other commandments. While Hillel lived in the 1 st century B.C.E., the Babylonian Talmud was only written in the 6 th century C.E., which makes it difficult to evaluate this story’s historical validity. Nevertheless, a much earlier source, the Sifra—a 3 rd century rabbinic commentary on Leviticus—ascribes a similar sentiment to the 2 nd cent. C.E. sage, Rabbi Akiva (Sifra, Kedoshim 2:4.12):

ואהבת לרעך כמוך, רבי עקיבא אומר זה כלל גדול בתורה

“Love your neighbor as yourself”—Rabbi Akiva says: “This is a great general principle in the Torah.”

In between Hillel and Rabbi Akiva, another Jewish teacher also advocated for this law as an overarching ethical principle.

Love Your Neighbor in the Gospels

In the Gospel of Mark, the earliest of the canonical gospels, Jesus declares this law to be one of the two most important commandments, together with the command to love God found in the Shema :

Mark 12:28 One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 12:29 Jesus answered, “The first is (Deut 6:4–5), ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 12:30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 12:31 The second is this (Lev 19:18), ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” [15]

The Gospel of Matthew, which includes this story from Mark in its own words, adds “on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (22:40). [16] The parallel passage in Luke 10:25–28, the third Synoptic Gospel, runs the two passages—love God and love your neighbor—together, as if it were one passage:

Luke 10:25 Just then Torah scholar ( nomikos ) stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 10:26 He (Jesus) said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 10:27 He (the Torah scholar) answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 10:28 And he (Jesus) said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” [17]

Paul’s Epistles

One of the prominent early apostles of Jesus, also a Jew, presents this law in a similar way as the Talmud does for Hillel. For example, in Romans, Paul writes:

Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 13:9 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, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. [18]

Here Paul explicitly describes the ethical commandments in the Decalogue as deriving from this principle. Similarly, Paul writes in Galatians:

Galatians 5:14 For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” [19]

From all these sources, it is clear that by the first century of the common era, Leviticus 19:18 had attained an exalted status among Jewish interpreters as an especially important commandment, transcendent in that it included all others. [20]

Moderate Expansions of the Law

Nothing in the rabbinic or New Testament sources states that the law applies to all human beings. Instead, the most natural interpretation in context is that it applies within a given group: Israelites, Jews, early Christians, etc. [21] Nevertheless, some moderate expansions already appear during this period.

The Good Samaritan

For example, the version of the story in the Gospel of Luke (quoted above) broadens the horizon, if only somewhat, in the parable of the Good Samaritan. After Jesus elicits the response from the questioner that loving God and loving one’s neighbor are the most important commandments, the story continues with the law expert challenging Jesus with “and who is my neighbor?” Jesus responds with a parable in which a priest ( kohen ) and a Levite fail to take care of a fellow injured Jew, and instead a Samaritan does so.

Jesus then asks which one of these three people fulfilled the principle of love your neighbor, and the man answers that it was the Samaritan. The point here is that the Samaritan, a “Jew-like” person—Samaritans see themselves as Israelites and follow (a version of) the Torah similar to but distinct from the Masoretic Text—but not actually a Jew, and one who certainly does not belong to the questioner’s core group, counts as a neighbor. This is a somewhat expansive definition of neighbor, but it is unclear that it would apply to gentiles, who are in no way connected to Israel. [22]

Love your Enemy: The Sermons of Jesus

The most striking innovation in the Gospels, exceptional in ancient literature, is the command to love one’s enemies, which is framed as an expansion of the laws in Leviticus. Thus, in the Gospel of Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says:

Matthew 5:43 You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 5:45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors (=bad people) do the same? 5:47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? [23]

From the final verse, it is clear that Jesus is speaking only to Jews. Moreover, his opening reference about hating enemies is not from the Hebrew Bible. Nevertheless, neither is loving one’s enemy, though a number of texts from the Hebrew Bible comment on the importance of treating one’s enemy properly:

שמות כג:ד כִּי תִפְגַּע שׁוֹר אֹיִבְךָ אוֹ חֲמֹרוֹ תֹּעֶה הָשֵׁב תְּשִׁיבֶנּוּ לוֹ. כג:ה כִּי תִרְאֶה חֲמוֹר שֹׂנַאֲךָ רֹבֵץ תַּחַת מַשָּׂאוֹ וְחָדַלְתָּ מֵעֲזֹב לוֹ עָזֹב תַּעֲזֹב עִמּוֹ.

Exod 23:4 4 When you encounter your enemy’s ox or ass wandering, you must take it back to him. 23:5 When you see the ass of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it with him.

משלי כד:יז בִּנְפֹל (אויביך) [אוֹיִבְךָ] אַל תִּשְׂמָח וּבִכָּשְׁלוֹ אַל יָגֵל לִבֶּךָ.

Prov 24:17 If your enemy falls, do not exult; If he trips, let your heart not rejoice.

משלי כה:כא אִם רָעֵב שֹׂנַאֲךָ הַאֲכִלֵהוּ לָחֶם וְאִם צָמֵא הַשְׁקֵהוּ מָיִם.

Prov 25:21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; If he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

None of the sources speak of loving the enemy, thus Jesus can be seen as taking the biblical values a step further, which is an important theme in Sermon on the Mount. (In both cases, “enemy” likely refers to “enemy Jews.”) The connection between Jesus’ speech and the verses in the Hebrew Bible is clearer when we remember that “love” here, as in Leviticus 19, refers mainly to actions and not feelings.

A parallel command appears in Luke’s Sermon on the Plain:

Luke 6:27 But I say to you that listen, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 6:29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 6:30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 6:32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 6:33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 6:34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 6:35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. [24]

That Jesus is referring to actions rather than feelings is even clearer in Luke than in Matthew, as he adduces practical examples such as charity, praying for one’s enemies, and allowing them to abuse you.

Love All Humanity?

The command to love one’s neighbor as oneself is undoubtedly one of the great contributions of the Hebrew Bible to the ethical development of humanity. In context, the law was primarily concerned with the cohesion and identity of a particular people, yet the application of the “neighbor” would in time be extended to all people, and grounded in the recognition of shared humanity.

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April 27, 2020

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[1] See discussion in, Jon D. Levenson, The Love of God: Divine Gift, Human Gratitude, and Mutual Faithfulness in Judaism (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016), 1–58.

[2] A notable exception is Richard Elliott Friedman, “Love Your Neighbor – Only Israelites or Everyone?” Biblical Archaeology Review (Sept-Oct 2014): 48-52; idem , “The Exodus, the Alien, and the Neighbor,” TheTorah (2017).

[3] For a recent, thorough, overview, see Kengo Akiyama, The Love of Neighbour in Ancient Judaism. The Reception of Leviticus 19:18 in the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, the Book of Jubilees, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the New Testament . AGJU 105 (Leiden: Brill, 2018).

[4] Akiyama, The Love of Neighbour , 68.

[5] The Hebrew here follows MS Munich 252.

[6] In this case, Wessely, who was commissioned to write the commentary on Leviticus for Moses Mendelssohn’s Beur , is debating Mendelssohn’s own translation—Mendelssohn translates adverbially, “love your neighbor as you love yourself” ( liebe dienen Nächstern wie du dich selbst liebst ). Wessely explains the verse to mean that Israelites should love all humanity, since all humans are the same, but his rendering could just as easily be understood to mean “because all Israelites are the same.”

[7] Martin Buber, with Franz Rosenzweig, Die funf Bücher der Weisung (Berlin: Schneider, 1930), 326. Editor’s note: For more on this translation, see Orr Scharf, “ Die Schrift : A Non-Territorial Translation of the Land,” TheTorah (2019).

[8] Rolf Rendtorff, “The Ger in the Priestly Laws of the Pentateuch,” in Ethnicity and the Bible , ed. Mark G. Brett (Leiden: Brill, 1996), 77-87. Some scholars have argued that the “aliens” in Leviticus and Deuteronomy were either displaced Israelites after the collapse of the northern kingdom or disenfranchised Judeans in the period after the Exile. See Akiyama, The Love of Neighbour , 47-48. The more persuasive view, however, is that they were foreigners, living permanently in Israel or Judah. While the ger in Deuteronomy appears to be indigent, he is relatively independent in Leviticus, though still a vulnerable member of society.

[9] Jacob Milgrom, Leviticus 17-22 , AB 3A (New York: Doubleday, 2000), 1655. This objection cannot be evaded by appealing to the theory that the “aliens” are either displaced northern Israelites or southerners who have been disenfranchised. The fact that they are called גרי‌ם shows that they are not accepted by the author as ethnic Israelites.

[10] This is in accordance with a principle that is stated repeatedly in H. See, e.g., Lev 24:22, מִשְׁפַּט אֶחָד יִהְיֶה לָכֶם כַּגֵּר כָּאֶזְרָח יִהְיֶה “you shall have one law for the alien and for the native born.”

[11] Atar Livneh, “Love Your Fellow as Yourself: The Interpretation of Leviticus 19:17-18 in the Book of Jubilees,” DSD 18(2001): 173-99; Akiyama, The Love of Neighbour , 79-95

[12] Meir, A Marginal Jew , 504, does not accept this as a citation of Lev 19:18b, since the object of love is not the רע but the אח, which he takes to mean a member of the Essene community.

[13] The גר does not appear at all in Serek ha-Yahad , the Community Rule. Editor’s note: For more on the development of the term ger from biblical through Second Temple and rabbinic texts, see Ishay Rosen-Zvi, “In the Torah, Is the Ger Ever a Convert?” TheTorah (2019).

[14] In Jewish sources, the maxim phrased this way goes back to the 2 nd cent. B.C.E. book of Tobit (4:15), “That which you hate, do not do to anyone” (καὶ ὃ μισεῖς, μηδενὶ ποιήσῃς) and also appears in Philo (ca. 20 B.C.E.–ca. 50 C.E.): “what a man would hate to suffer, he should not do himself to others” (ἅ τις παθεῖν ἐχθαίρει, μὴ ποιεῖν αὐτόν; Hypothetica, 7:6).

[15] All English translations from the New Testament are based on the NRSV but with adjustments.

Κατά Μάρκον 12:28 Καὶ προσελθὼν εἷς τῶν γραμματέων ἀκούσας αὐτῶν συζητούντων, ἰδὼν ὅτι καλῶς ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν· ποία ἐστὶν ἐντολὴ πρώτη πάντων 12:29 ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι πρώτη ἐστίν· ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν 12:30 καὶ ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σου. 12:31 δευτέρα αὕτη· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. μείζων τούτων ἄλλη ἐντολὴ οὐκ ἔστιν.

[16] The full passage in Matthew reads:

Matthew 22:34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 22:35 and one of them, an expert in Jewish law asked him a question to test him. 22:36 "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" 22:37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 22:38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 22:39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Κατά Μαθθαίον 22:34 Οἱ δὲ Φαρισαῖοι ἀκούσαντες ὅτι ἐφίμωσεν τοὺς Σαδδουκαίους συνήχθησαν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό, 22:35 καὶ ἐπηρώτησεν εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν [νομικὸς] πειράζων αὐτόν· 22:36 διδάσκαλε, ποία ἐντολὴ μεγάλη ἐν τῷ νόμῳ; 22:37 ὁ δὲ ἔφη αὐτῷ· ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῇ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σου· 22:38 αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μεγάλη καὶ πρώτη ἐντολή. 22:39 δευτέρα δὲ ὁμοία αὐτῇ· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. 22:40 ἐν ταύταις ταῖς δυσὶν ἐντολαῖς ὅλος ὁ νόμος κρέμαται καὶ οἱ προφῆται.

Κατά Λουκάν 10:25 Καὶ ἰδοὺ νομικός τις ἀνέστη ἐκπειράζων αὐτὸν λέγων· διδάσκαλε, τί ποιήσας ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω; 10:26 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν· ἐν τῷ νόμῳ τί γέγραπται; πῶς ἀναγινώσκεις; 10:27 ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης [τῆς] καρδίας σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῇ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ἰσχύϊ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σου, καὶ τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. 10:28 εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ· ὀρθῶς ἀπεκρίθης· τοῦτο ποίει καὶ ζήσῃ.

Προς Ρωμαίους 13:8 Μηδενὶ μηδὲν ὀφείλετε εἰ μὴ τὸ ἀλλήλους ἀγαπᾶν· ὁ γὰρ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἕτερον νόμον πεπλήρωκεν. 13:9 τὸ γὰρ οὐ μοιχεύσεις, οὐ φονεύσεις, οὐ κλέψεις, οὐκ ἐπιθυμήσεις, καὶ εἴ τις ἑτέρα ἐντολή, ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ ἀνακεφαλαιοῦται [ἐν τῷ]· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. 13:10 ἡ ἀγάπη τῷ πλησίον κακὸν οὐκ ἐργάζεται· πλήρωμα οὖν νόμου ἡ ἀγάπη.

προς Γαλάτες ὁ γὰρ πᾶς νόμος ἐν ἑνὶ λόγῳ πεπλήρωται, ἐν τῷ· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.

[20] The Johannine tradition does not have this story, but it does have a similar sounding commandment from Jesus himself:

John 13:34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.

Κατά Ιωάννην 13:34 Ἐντολὴν καινὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν, ἵνα ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους, καθὼς ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους.

John 15:12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Κατά Ιωάννην 15:12 Αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐντολὴ ἡ ἐμή, ἵνα ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους καθὼς ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς.

For fuller discussion of the love commandment in the New Testament see Victor Paul Furnish, The Love Command in the New Testament (Nashville: Abingdon, 1972).

[21] John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus. IV. Law and Love . AYBRL (New Haven: Yale, 2009), 493.

[22] The entire passage reads:

Luke 10:29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 10:30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 10:31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 10:32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 10:33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 10:34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 10:35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 10:36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 10:37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Κατά Λουκάν 10:29 ὁ δὲ θέλων δικαιῶσαι ἑαυτὸν εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν· καὶ τίς ἐστίν μου πλησίον; 10:30 Ὑπολαβὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· ἄνθρωπός τις κατέβαινεν ἀπὸ Ἰερουσαλὴμ εἰς Ἰεριχὼ καὶ λῃσταῖς περιέπεσεν, οἳ καὶ ἐκδύσαντες αὐτὸν καὶ πληγὰς ἐπιθέντες ἀπῆλθον ἀφέντες ἡμιθανῆ. 10:31 κατὰ συγκυρίαν δὲ ἱερεύς τις κατέβαινεν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ἐκείνῃ καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ἀντιπαρῆλθεν· 10:32 ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Λευίτης [γενόμενος] κατὰ τὸν τόπον ἐλθὼν καὶ ἰδὼν ἀντιπαρῆλθεν. 10:33 Σαμαρίτης δέ τις ὁδεύων ἦλθεν κατ᾽ αὐτὸν καὶ ἰδὼν ἐσπλαγχνίσθη, 10:34 καὶ προσελθὼν κατέδησεν τὰ τραύματα αὐτοῦ ἐπιχέων ἔλαιον καὶ οἶνον, ἐπιβιβάσας δὲ αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸ ἴδιον κτῆνος ἤγαγεν αὐτὸν εἰς πανδοχεῖον καὶ ἐπεμελήθη αὐτοῦ. 10:35 καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν αὔριον ἐκβαλὼν ἔδωκεν δύο δηνάρια τῷ πανδοχεῖ καὶ εἶπεν· ἐπιμελήθητι αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὅ τι ἂν προσδαπανήσῃς ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ ἐπανέρχεσθαί με ἀποδώσω σοι. 10:36 τίς τούτων τῶν τριῶν πλησίον δοκεῖ σοι γεγονέναι τοῦ ἐμπεσόντος εἰς τοὺς λῃστάς; 10:37 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· ὁ ποιήσας τὸ ἔλεος μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ. εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· πορεύου καὶ σὺ ποίει ὁμοίως.

Κατά Μαθθαίον 5:43 Ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου καὶ μισήσεις τὸν ἐχθρόν σου. 5:44 ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν· ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν καὶ προσεύχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν διωκόντων ὑμᾶς, 5:45 ὅπως γένησθε υἱοὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς, ὅτι τὸν ἥλιον αὐτοῦ ἀνατέλλει ἐπὶ πονηροὺς καὶ ἀγαθοὺς καὶ βρέχει ἐπὶ δικαίους καὶ ἀδίκους. 5:46 ἐὰν γὰρ ἀγαπήσητε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, τίνα μισθὸν ἔχετε; οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ τελῶναι τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν; 5:47 καὶ ἐὰν ἀσπάσησθε τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ὑμῶν μόνον, τί περισσὸν ποιεῖτε; οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ ἐθνικοὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν;

Κατά Λουκάν 6:27 Ἀλλ᾽ ὑμῖν λέγω τοῖς ἀκούουσιν· ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν, καλῶς ποιεῖτε τοῖς μισοῦσιν ὑμᾶς, 6:28 εὐλογεῖτε τοὺς καταρωμένους ὑμᾶς, προσεύχεσθε περὶ τῶν ἐπηρεαζόντων ὑμᾶς. 6:29 τῷ τύπτοντί σε ἐπὶ τὴν σιαγόνα πάρεχε καὶ τὴν ἄλλην, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴροντός σου τὸ ἱμάτιον καὶ τὸν χιτῶνα μὴ κωλύσῃς. 6:30 Παντὶ αἰτοῦντί σε δίδου, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴροντος τὰ σὰ μὴ ἀπαίτει. 6:31 Καὶ καθὼς θέλετε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς ὁμοίως. 6:32 καὶ εἰ ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστίν; καὶ γὰρ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας αὐτοὺς ἀγαπῶσιν. 6:33 καὶ [γὰρ] ἐὰν ἀγαθοποιῆτε τοὺς ἀγαθοποιοῦντας ὑμᾶς, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστίν; καὶ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν. 6:34 καὶ ἐὰν δανίσητε παρ᾽ ὧν ἐλπίζετε λαβεῖν, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις [ἐστίν]; καὶ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἁμαρτωλοῖς δανίζουσιν ἵνα ἀπολάβωσιν τὰ ἴσα. 6:35 πλὴν ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν καὶ ἀγαθοποιεῖτε καὶ δανίζετε μηδὲν ἀπελπίζοντες· καὶ ἔσται ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολύς, καὶ ἔσεσθε υἱοὶ ὑψίστου, ὅτι αὐτὸς χρηστός ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀχαρίστους καὶ πονηρούς.

Prof. John J. Collins is Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale University. He received his Ph. D. from Harvard (1972) and holds honorary degrees from the University College Dublin and the University of Zurich. Collins' most recent books are The Invention of Judaism. Torah and Jewish Identity from Deuteronomy to Paul (University of California, 2017), and What Are Biblical Values ? (Yale, 2019). He serves as general editor of the Anchor Yale Bible and Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library and has received the Burkitt medal for biblical scholarship from the British Academy.

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How to 'Love Your Neighbor As Yourself' as in Mark 12:31

For all of us who lived the Christian faith, we have definitely heard the phrase “Love Your Neighbor As Yourself.” But what does it really mean to love your neighbor as yourself? Do we truly understand the way Jesus Christ intended?

Learn more about this famous Bible phrase and the greatest commandments of Jesus.

Love Thy Neighbor Bible Verses

Love Your Neighbor As Yourself is the second great commandment of Jesus. It immediately follows His commandment of loving God with all your heart, mind and soul. Following this commandment is the key Jesus Christ gave us for loving others as God loves us.

No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. ( 1 Corinthians 10:24 )

For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ( Galatians 5:14 )

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. ( Hebrews 13:1-2 )

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. ( Philippians 2:3 )

A new command I give you: Love one another . As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ( John 13:34 )

The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commands there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ( Romans 13:9 )

Who is Our Neighbor?

A Pharisee once tried to test Jesus after asking Him what the greatest of the commandment was. The Pharisee asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Instead of giving a direct answer, Jesus Christ turned the question on the Pharisee by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan. 

The parable of the Good Samaritan tells the story of a man who was attacked by robbers on the road to Jericho. He was stripped of his clothes, beaten, and was left for dead. Soon after, a priest was passing by the same road and when he saw the man, he went to the other side of the road and continued on his way. A Levite then passed by, and he too moved to the other side of the road when he saw the man. But a Samaritan came by and when he saw the man, he took pity on him, poured oil and wine on his wounds, carried him on his donkey and brought him to an inn and took care of him there. The following day he gave the innkeeper two denarii and asked him to look after the man, adding that when he returns, he will compensate the innkeeper for any extra expense he may have. After telling the story Jesus asked the Pharisee which he thought among the three was a neighbor to the man who was robbed to which the Pharisee replied, “The man who showed mercy .” Jesus then told the Pharisee to go and do likewise.

In Jesus’ commandment, He taught us that it is not about asking who our neighbor is. Rather, it is about our own willingness to be a neighbor ready to love. It is obvious in the parable of the Good Samaritan that our neighbor can even be a complete stranger who we can expect nothing from in return. But, following the commandment of Christ means being a neighbor to everyone, and most importantly it is about us being that good neighbor. It starts with ourselves.

How to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

When Christ was asked what the greatest of all the commandments was, it was not asked in earnest by someone who sincerely wanted to know. Rather, it was asked by someone who considered himself to be an expert in the law of the prophets, who only wanted to test Jesus.

And so with Christ’s answer of his great commandments of love, we can truly see His infinite grace and wisdom, as well as God’s infinite mercy which is the key to our salvation. By loving our neighbor as ourselves, Christ has made it impossible for us to fail because we are very good at taking care of ourselves. We want what is best for us and by making our own selves as the benchmark of how we should love others, Christ has shown us how to truly love our neighbor.

Another important teaching in loving our neighbor as ourselves is that we realize that we should not wait for when we feel loved before we start to love others. We do not have to wait until we feel that we have a surplus of self-love before we give it away to our neighbors. The commandment made it perfectly clear: love your neighbor exactly as you love yourself. No more and no less.

The Great Commandments of Jesus

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself . All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments”

These are the great commandments of Jesus. Christ gave us two commandments that encapsulate all the laws and commands previously mentioned in the Old Testament. The commandments as told by the prophets is about our bond with God and our fellow men.

Jesus first teaches us that the greatest of all commandments is to love God with our whole being because God is the foundation of love. It is only by loving God that we truly learn how to love. Right away Christ follows it up with loving your neighbor as yourself because once we put God at the center of our love, we learn how it is to genuinely do the same for our neighbors.

Prayer to Love Your Neighbor

Dearest Lord, may I be a blessing to my neighbors. Not just to those who are close to me but also to those with who I communicate even if they are far away. May I be a good Samaritan to someone today. Move me in compassion that I become a bearer of goodwill towards my brothers. Consume my soul with kindness and cast away all negative notions.

Lord give me the strength to live by Your commandment of love. Guide me through Christ, for through Christ all things are possible. May I not close my heart to those who are in need. May I share the blessings I received from You with those who ask for it.

May I never lose sight of how to love. May Christ renew me each time I lose sight of His commandment of love and bring me back to the path He has prepared for me. May the people I meet on this path become opportunities for me to live the teachings of Christ.

Lord, I ask that you open my heart to receive genuine love for Your commandments. Teach me, Lord, to love You first above all else, and to love my neighbors as I love myself. May I always keep sight of the very core of your commandment of love. Allow me to desire the best for my neighbors just as I desire the best for myself. Grant them peace of mind, success in their endeavors, and happiness in seeking Your love. May I do everything with love. May it be the driving force for my obedience to the Commandments.

Image Credits: © Getty Images/Tinnakorn Jorruang

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Leviticus 19:18 Meaning of Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Leviticus 19:18 “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.”

Explanation and Commentary of Leviticus 19:18

Contrary to what unbelieving critics of Christianity may say, God’s character is consistent in Scripture from start to finish. His desire here in Leviticus, a book hated by the unbelieving world, is that men and women would love their neighbor as themselves. Jesus did not invent this concept in the first century, but it was always the heart of God for mankind. Here, God is focused on the Jewish person’s attitude toward his fellow Jew, his “own people,” but we know that God means us to treat all people in the same way.

The bearing of a grudge is a disaster on one’s own heart and soul. Men and women are simply not meant to carry that sort of hatred without it killing us from the inside. God, who is perfect and merciful, will be the one to right the wrongs against us. It is not that we as his agents are not called to exact justice as vested authorities from God, such as when the state carries out the rule of law in just and fair ways, but to hold a grudge is to hold onto hatred, and God will not have it in his people.

Rather, we must love our neighbor as our very selves. Some might say, “But I hate myself.” On the contrary, one cannot hate him or herself unless one truly loves oneself enough to care to hate. Everyone loves themselves, but most, especially apart from God, have a dysfunctional relationship with themselves. Nevertheless, we are called to love others. Love, especially for those who have hurt us, sets us free from the agony of hatred and anger and gives them over to the justice of God.

Breaking Down the Key Parts of Leviticus 19:18

#1 “You shall not take vengeance…” When we are hurt, we are not to pay back to our abuser. Justice may need to be done by getting God’s agent, the state, involved, but we are to be free from the job of vengeance.

#2 “…or bear a grudge…” God’s concern is never simply about our actions, but also our hearts. Jesus would make this crystal clear in his teaching, especially in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7). We must let go of our anger and release it to God.

#3 “…against the sons of your own people,” For us, this means against our brothers and sisters in the Church, but Jesus even expanded the meaning of our “own people” to include all humans.

#4 “but you shall love your neighbor as yourself:” The absence of grudges and hatred will not be indifference, but love. This is a powerful and Christlike way to live and be.

#5 “I am the Lord.” To set these words in concrete, God reminds us who is making this command, and why he has the authority to make it and to expect us to obey. We need no other explanation.

Expert Overview of Leviticus

Biblical Translations of Leviticus 19:18

NIV “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

NLT “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

ESV “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.”

KJV “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.”

NKJV “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

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Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

• Marc Zvi Brettler
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Did You Know?

• Lev 19:18 is embedded in a larger legal collection, the Holiness Collection, which mandates that all Israel must be holy.
• The word “love” in “love your neighbor” does not refer to romantic love.
• Deut 6:4, the beginning of the  Shema , clarifies what “love” means.
• The injunction to “love your neighbor as yourself” may refer to Israelites, not foreigners.
• The injunction to “love your neighbor as yourself”  should be read in conjunction with a following verse that mandates love of the alien or foreigner.

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What does “love your neighbor as yourself” really mean? The New Testament makes it a central command, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Matt 7:12), as does rabbinic literature: “What is hateful to you do not do unto others” ( b. Shabbat 31a ). Yet who must be loved? And how should that love be expressed?

What does the phrase “love your neighbor” mean?

The injunction “ You shall love your neighbor as yourself” is part of a mini-collection of commandments in Lev 19:15-18: 15 You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the Lord. 17 You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Each verse contains at least one word referring to the fellow Israelite—“neighbor,” “people,” “kin,”—ending with “as yourself.” The usual understanding of Lev 19:18, that “as yourself” modifies “love” and demands that you must love your neighbor the same way that you love yourself, is likely incorrect. The surrounding verses imply that “as yourself” modifies “your neighbor,” and the verse means that you must love your neighbor who is like you—namely, your fellow Israelite, your kinsman or countryman.

But that is not the whole story. Lev 19:34 reads: “The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” This closely parallels Lev 19:18 and is part of a small subunit that focuses on aliens, namely, non-Israelites who are living in the midst of the Israelite community. They too must be “loved.”

But what is involved in such “love”? The Hebrew word ’ahav usually translated “to love” has a wide range of meanings. In the Song of Songs, it refers to erotic love; in some narratives it refers to love between a parent and a child; elsewhere it may mean “lust.” Exod 21:5 describes a slave who says, “I love [ ’ahav ] my master, my wife, and my children: I will not go out a free person”—here the verb means something closer to “like” or “prefer to tolerate.”

Another use of ’ahav may clarify its meaning in Lev 19. Various biblical texts, especially in Deuteronomy, command the Israelites to “love” ( ’ahav ) God. The most famous of these is Deut 6:5, the second verse of the Shema prayer: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Context suggests that this verse is commanding (primarily) not a mental or emotional attitude but obedience to God, acting in a way that reflects love for the divine. It is likely that the same is true for Lev 19:18 and Lev 19:34—they insist that the Israelite and foreigner be treated properly.

Does Leviticus contain legal codes?

Although some biblical laws, such as circumcision (Gen 17), are embedded in narrative material, most laws are found in larger legal collections. Scholars used to call these “codes,” but this is inaccurate, since unlike codes, known from later legal traditions, these legal texts are neither systematic nor complete, and we are not sure that they were ever actually used by judges within the judicial system. For this reason, the term “collection” is more suitable for the groups of laws found in Exod 20:22-23:19, Lev 17-26, and Deut 12-26.

Lev 17-26 is known as the Holiness Collection, since several times it enjoins the entire Israelite community to be holy, as in Lev 19:2: “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” It extends the notion of the priests’ holiness, found in the preceding material, to the entire Israelite population.

The Holiness Collection is not the work of a single author but is a compilation of various earlier written sources. This explains why it contains two very similar lists of prohibited sexual relationships in Lev 18 and Lev 20. Some scholars see the beginning of the intervening chapter, Lev 19, preceding the love command, as a restatement of the Decalogue, since it begins with the commandments to honor parents and to observe the Sabbath (Lev 19:3), followed by prohibitions against idolatry (Lev 19:4), stealing (Lev 19:11), and swearing falsely (Lev 19:12).

Lev 19:18 is full of surprises. Most readers incorrectly understand its famous words, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” to be very broad. Yet this narrow concept of brotherly love as referring only to one’s compatriot is part of a larger legal collection that contains more lofty ideals. Lev 19:34 concerns loving the foreigner and describes broad “love” as the proper treatment of all. This love was not understood as words or feelings but as ethical actions—deeds that expressed human obedience to God.

Bibliography

• Milgrom, Jacob. Leviticus 17-22: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Anchor Bible 3A. New York: Doubleday, 2000.

Marc Zvi Brettler is the Bernice and Morton Lerner Professor of Jewish Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at Duke University. He is the author of How to Read the Jewish Bible (Oxford, 2007) and coeditor of The New Oxford Annotated Bible, The Jewish Study Bible, and The Jewish Annotated New Testament.

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Love Your Neighbor

“The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

When Jesus was asked by one of the Jewish theologians which was the greatest commandment of all, he began by quoting a crucial passage from the Jewish law: "Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength." (Mark 12:29-30, based on Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

But then Jesus added a second commandment, even though he had been asked only which single commandment was the most important. “The second is equally important,” Jesus said, " 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these” (12:31). This was also a quotation from the Old Testament law (see Leviticus 19:18).

Why, we wonder, when Jesus was asked for the greatest commandment, did he answer with two commandments? Wasn’t it enough to say that loving God is the most important commandment of all? Apparently not, from Jesus’ perspective. I expect that Jesus was all too aware of the human tendency to be “religious” but unkind. As a pastor, I have seen people come faithfully to worship services, invest themselves in the songs and prayers, seeking truly to love God, only to return to their self-absorbed lives. They seem to think that all is well if they love God, no matter how they treat (or mistreat) others. Some of the most pious Christians in churches are often the meanest in their relationships, even with their closest friends and family members.

Jesus reminds us that loving God and loving others are intimately and inextricably intertwined. Yes, loving God is the most important thing of all. But truly loving God will necessarily spill over into your other relationships. In fact, a good measure of how much you love God is to examine how much you love people. You can’t have one without the other.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION : Are you loving your neighbor as yourself? How? What keeps you from loving others more consistently? What helps you to love people faithfully, even sacrificially?

PRAYER : O Lord, I do want to love you with all that I am. And I want to love you by loving others in your name. Forgive me, Lord, when I fail to be loving, especially to those who are closest to me . . . my wife, my children, my family, my colleagues, my neighbors. May my love for you inspire and enrich my love for others.

Help me, dear Lord, to love those I find hard to love. You know who they are. How easy it is for me to ignore them, to dismiss them, to judge them, to do anything but love them. Forgive me for failing to act toward them with Christ-like love. Help me to extend your love to them through words and deeds of kindness and compassion.

I am reminded today to pray for your church, Lord, that we might love each other. Sometimes it seems as if your people are meanest to one another. Church disagreements can be so nasty, so unlike what you have envisioned for us. Help your people to love one another, dear Lord . . . starting with me.

______________________________

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Here’s What it Really Means to Love Thy Neighbor

Michelle Blan

To do most things in life there is a prerequisite. Or, should we say, a recommended prerequisite? Let’s say you want to bake a pie. Unless you’ve honed your baking skills (a prerequisite), you may want to Google some directions, right? Of course, then you have to purchase the ingredients, preheat the oven, and so forth. 

What you don’t do is just bake a pie. 

This same scenario can be applied to things all throughout your life. There is usually always a prerequisite – something always needs to happen before something else can occur. And, guess what? There is a prerequisite to loving thy neighbor, too. 

“God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But, if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”

– 1 John 4:9-11 (NLT)

The Importance of Loving Thy Neighbor

When something is important we repeat it and emphasize it, right? As a teenager takes the car out, we remind him or her to be careful, pay attention, and to leave the cell phone alone. When a supervisor gives us a project to work on, we repeat it and briefly elaborate to ensure complete understanding. And, when a doctor wants you to take a particular prescription, he or she may stress the importance of taking it regularly. 

Learning that we are to love our neighbors is so important – perhaps that is why it is written at least 8 times throughout the Bible. Plus, Jesus spoke about it in parable and God even commanded it. That’s right – he commanded it.

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

The words written on every page of the Bible are intentional. And, a command from God is nowhere near similar to, say, a statement with a shoulder shrug. What if the Bible said, “Eh, go on and love your neighbor if you feel like it and if they are nice. You don’t have to. And you can love some and not others, like those who don’t deserve it. Loving thy neighbor is kinda important?”

Would we take the importance of this statement as seriously? Probably not. But, when God commands that we do something, there is no misconception. It is not up for debate. It is set in stone, literally. 

You are to love thy neighbor. End of discussion. ✋?

The Prerequisites

Like we discussed previously, there is always a prerequisite to the things we do. So, can you simply – and truly – just love your neighbor? 

You must complete these prerequisites first.

❤ Accepting God’s love

Before you can show genuine love to others, you need to know and understand what love is. True, unconditional love. You know, the type of love you receive only from your Father. To love others, you have to understand how to love. God shows us that.

“God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that he loved us…” – 1 John 4:9-10 (NLT)

❤ Learning to love yourself

Remember how the full statement reads: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ How do you love yourself? Do you even love yourself? If you have not fully embraced everything that you are and fallen head over heels for yourself, then how can you love someone as yourself ?

You have to find your own worth before you can begin to find it in others.

Once you have accepted and worked on the above, coming to accept God’s love and loving yourself, only then will you be ready to be there for your neighbors. It is important to understand that loving your neighbors is not just a simple task. Instead, it requires your entire self to be selfless. It requires you to show compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and provide service and meet needs to and for your neighbors. 

To honestly love your neighbors, you must give…

❤ Compassion: Compassion is an action, not simply a sympathetic feeling. When you are compassionate, you are there for your neighbors, regardless of what he/she/or they are going through. You lend a hand, offer an embrace, and an open ear. 

❤ Kindness: You never know what is going on in someone else’s life. In today’s world, we live behind closed doors, creating the reality we want on social media while living the reality we have within our own private boundaries. Be kind. Go above and beyond what is expected of you to show a softer side; to show love. After all, the person you may think doesn’t need it may need your kindness most of all.

❤ Sharing: As quickly as we receive something, it can be taken away. Our blessings are not ours to hoard and indulge in. They are meant for us to share. If you have something and you see someone else doesn’t, then share. This includes your faith. Luke 3:11 says, “…If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.”

❤ Forgiving: Oh, how God has forgiven you and me. Who are we to not forgive others? I know, it is hard. Of course it is – that is why forgiveness is so great and powerful. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be as meaningful, would it? Think about it – we even pray it regularly when saying The Lord’s Prayer, from Matthew 6 – “Forgives us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  

It is a good idea to practice what you pray, I say.

❤ Service: Finally, serve your neighbors. Allowing yourself to put humility into practice is what happens when you serve your neighbors. Let them know that you are there for them if they need anything – then, truly be there. Whether it is babysitting, a car ride, cleaning, or even a simple cup of sugar. 

Who Are Your Neighbors? 

Before we end this blog, it may be a good idea to clarify the term neighbors. The first thing that comes to mind for most of us is the next-door neighbor or the family that lives across the street, right? Well, they sure are your neighbors, especially in the literal meaning of the word. But, loving your neighbors means loving those you are in community with and those you aren’t. Those who live in your neighborhood and those who don’t. Those who work with you, go to school with you or even serve you at your local coffee shop. 

Loving thy neighbor does not stop with those right around your residence. Your neighbor is everyone, including the least of these.                     

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth when you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me.” – Matthew 25:40

Go on, spread some love. 

'Love Your Neighbor as Yourself' Bible Verse

Examples in Several Different Passages of Scripture

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"Love your neighbor as yourself" is a favorite Bible verse about love . These exact words are found several places in Scripture. Examine the many different instances of this key Bible passage .

Second only to loving God, loving your neighbor as yourself is the central point of all biblical laws and personal holiness. It is the anecdote to correcting all negative behaviors toward others:

Leviticus 19:18

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. (NKJV)

When the rich young man asked Jesus Christ what good deed he must do to have eternal life , Jesus ended his summary of the all commandments with "love your neighbor as yourself:"

Matthew 19:19

"'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" (NKJV)

In the next two verses, Jesus named "love your neighbor as yourself" as the second greatest commandment after loving God:

Matthew 22:37–39

Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' (NKJV)

Mark 12:30–31

"'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." (NKJV)

In the following passage in the Gospel of Luke , a lawyer asked Jesus, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus responded with a question of his own: "What is written in the law?" The lawyer answered correctly:

So he answered and said, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'" (NKJV)

Here the Apostle Paul explained that a Christian's obligation to love is without limits. Believers are to love not only other members of the family of God , but their fellow men as well:

Romans 13:9

For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (NKJV)

Paul summarized the law, reminding the Galatians that Christians are commissioned by God to love one another deeply and wholly:

Galatians 5:14

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (NKJV)

Here James is addressing the problem of showing favoritism. According to God's law, there should be no acts of favoritism. All people, non-believers included, deserve to be loved equally, without distinction. James explained the way to avoid favoritism: 

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well ... (NKJV)

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10 Ways to Love Your Neighbor As Yourself

Courtney whiting.

Several months ago, as we drove through our neighborhood, my daughter pointed out that the “mean lady's” house was for sale. This woman had done nothing to my child to evoke such a title. However, in her yard were no less than seven “No Trespassing” signs. Apparently, my daughter overheard a comment I made concerning the signs and thus, the title was born. I immediately felt convicted for my behavior.

I never knew much about the woman who lived down the street except that her name was Mary, she was older, and she lived alone. I waved to her when I passed by, but I never stopped to introduce myself. This was partly because I was so consumed with my own agenda that I never opened my heart to a potential need. Another reason for this missed opportunity was I simply prejudged her as not having anything in common with myself.

Popular culture often teaches to support others of similar viewpoints, interests, or beliefs. But Jesus' command challenges the cultural norm. In Luke 10, a lawyer asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answered with the story of what we call, The Good Samaritan.

Here are 10 things we can learn from this Samaritan man about loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/Daisy-Daisy

Who is My Neighbor?

In the ancient Near East, there was a division between various groups.  Animosity existed between Jews and Samaritans because of historical and religious differences.  Jews knew the commands of the Old Testament to love the Lord God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love their neighbors as themselves ( Deut. 6:9 ; Lev. 19:18 ).  Yet their interpretation of loving their neighbor was limited to only those who were of similar background.

When the Jewish lawyer asked Jesus, “who is my neighbor?” Jesus used the question to challenge the attitude of the day. The parable of the Good Samaritan defines what it means to love your neighbor.  In the story, a man is beaten by robbers and left half-dead on the side of the road.  While he lies helpless on the treacherous thoroughfare, a priest sees the man and deliberately walks by on the other side of the road.  Later, a Levite responds the same way when he sees the dying man.  Finally, a Samaritan sees the victim and responds. 

Whereas the two Jewish leaders saw the person in need and deliberately avoided the situation, the Samaritan personified neighborliness. He showed mercy to someone with no regard to background, religion, or potential benefits. 

Photo Credit:  Getty Images/StephM2506

How do I Love My Neighbor?

By looking into the story of the Good Samaritan, we can learn how to better love our neighbors by the character’s example in the story. Here are 10 ways we too can love our neighbors as ourselves:

1. Love is proactive. 

In the parable, when the Samaritan saw the victim, he went to him. The Samaritan was on his way somewhere, but he stopped when he saw the man in need.  We live in a fast-paced world where it is easy to overlook the needs of others. But if we learn from this parable, we will be careful to be aware of those who are around us. Who is God placing on your heart to show love to?

'Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."  ( 1 John 3:18 )

Photo Credit: Getty Images/monkeybusinessimages

2. Love is observant.

One of the first steps in being a good neighbor and loving others as yourself is noticing others. The Samaritan first saw the hurting man.

“ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine,” Luke 10:33 . Granted, a beaten man on the road seems like a scene that's hard not to notice. But Jesus also shows us the importance of seeing people. He sounds very similar to the Samaritan in Matthew 9:36 , “When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” 

How can you be prayerful and mindful of people in your life?

Photo Credit: Getty Images/AaronAmat 

3. Love is compassionate.

Luke 10:33 goes on to state that when the Samaritan saw the injured man, he had compassion on him. He went towards the injured man and responded to his needs rather than simply feeling sorry for him. How can you be active in showing compassion to someone in need?

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." ( Colossians 3:12-13 )

4. Love is responsive.  

When the Samaritan saw the man, he responded immediately to help meet the mans’ needs.  He bound his wounds using the resources he had on hand. Have you noticed someone in need in your community lately? How can you respond to their need?

"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself .” ( Galatians 5:13-14 )

Photo Credit: ©Pexels/Luis Quintero 

5. Love is costly.

When the Samaritan tended to the victim’s wounds, he gave of his own resources. One of the most valuable resources we have is our time. Loving his neighbor not only cost the Samaritan at least two days’ wages, but also his time. God has given us resources so that we can be a blessing to others. What other resources has God given you that you can use to bless others?

 "In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" ( Acts 20:35 )

6. Love is inopportune.  

Imagine trying to lift an injured man with no clothes onto a donkey. That was not a convenient task, and it was likely messy, given the man's injuries. The Samaritan physically had to support the man's weight by himself. Yet he set the man on his animal to take him to a place of safety. How have you benefited from someone going out of their way for you? Is there a way you can show love to a neighbor, even if it's inconvenient or not at a good time?

Photo Credit: Unsplash/Kate Remmer 

7. Love is healing.

After the Samaritan binds the wounds of the man, he continues his care by taking him to an inn and looking after him. Who has experienced healing because you have taken time to love?

"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."  ( Colossians 3:14 )

8. Love is sacrificial. 

The Samaritan gave two denarii to the innkeeper, which is approximately two days’ worth of earnings. Yet the only instruction he gave is to take care of the wounded man. There was no payback expected in return. 

Jennifer Maggio said this about serving without expecting anything in return in her article, " 10 Things The Church Can Do to Win Over Unbelievers :" 

"While it is a beautiful thing when someone we have served gives us a genuine, heartfelt, thank you , it is not necessary or required. Our service to others and our commitment to do for others is about what Christ has already done for us. Nothing more." 

What sacrifices can you make for someone in need?

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/photographer 

9. Love is communal.

The care for the injured man did not end when the Samaritan had to leave. Instead of leaving the man alone, he entrusted his care to the innkeeper. When we love a neighbor, the Samaritan shows us that it's good and sometimes necessary to involve others in the process. Who can you involve to show love to someone else?

"Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." ( Hebrews 10:25 )

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him a threefold cord is not quickly broken."  ( Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 )

10. Love is promising.  

When the Samaritan left the inn, he told the innkeeper that he would pay for any other expenses when he returned. The Samaritan owed nothing to the victim, yet, he promised to return and cover the cost of any extra care that the man needed. When we love others, the Samaritan shows us to follow through in our care, even if we are not obligated to them.  Is there someone you need to follow up with to show how much you care? 

Photo Credit: Priscilla du Preez/Unsplash 

BONUS! 11. Love is merciful.

“' Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?' The expert in the law replied, 'The one who had mercy on him.' Jesus told him, 'Go and do likewise, '" Luke 10:36-37 . 

The story of this Samaritan is one of a man who showed mercy to another. John MacArthur's description of mercy is quoted in this Crosswalk.com article, " What Christians Need to Know about Mercy. " 

"Mercy is seeing a man without food and giving him food. Mercy is seeing a person begging for love and giving him love. Mercy is seeing someone lonely and giving him company. Mercy is meeting the need, not just feeling it," MacArthur said. 

The Samaritan could have kept walking after he saw the man's need, but then he felt compassion. And he could have kept walking after feeling compassion. We all often do. But he acted on his compassion and showed mercy. Mercy is compassion in action. 

Mercy is the action God took when he felt compassion and love for us. In the famous verse, John 3:16 , we see that God sees us and loves us. He acted on that love in mercy by sending a savior. 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

What need of a neighbor moves you to compassion? What act of mercy could accompany that feeling?

Photo Credit: Getty Images/PeopleImages 

Love shows no partiality.

My neighbor Mary has since moved away, and a new family has bought her home. While I could wallow in guilt that I responded more like the priest or the Levite to her, I am challenging myself to treat my new neighbors like the Samaritan would. For love shows no partiality.

Cortney Whiting  is a wife and mother of two wonderfully energetic children. She received her Masters of Theology Degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. After serving in the church for nearly 15 years, Cortney currently serves as a lay leader and writes for various Christian ministries. You can find more of her work on her blog, Unveiled Graces . 

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/fizkes 

For more on how to love your neighbor, read:

10 Ways to Love Your Neighbor without Being Weird: "I used to feel guilty about Christ’s command to love my neighbor because I didn’t even know most of the people living around me. I had every excuse in the book for not loving my neighbor, but I couldn’t find an exception clause in the second-greatest commandment, Matthew 22:37-39 . After months of arguing with God, I finally knocked on my neighbors’ doors and invited them for coffee at my kitchen table. I didn’t want to be a freak or fanatic. I just wanted to be their friend. Here are ten simple ways you can love your neighbor without being weird."

7 Ways to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself: "I’m certain that all of us identify with a group of people from a particular life circumstance or background and are filled with compassion and love for them. We find it easy to love those neighbors as we love ourselves. But we’re not always moved by compassion for people, especially the difficult people in our lives. Here are seven practical ways we can actually love our neighbors." 

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/m-imagephotography 

Originally published Tuesday, 18 January 2022.

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Essay on Love Thy Neighbour As Thyself For Students & Children

We are Sharing Essay on Love Thy Neighbour As Thyself in English for students and children. In this article, we have tried our best to provide a Short Essay on Love Thy Neighbour As Thyself for Classes 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 in 100, 150, 200, 300, 400, 500 words.

Essay on Love Thy Neighbour As Thyself For Students & Children

The greatest bane of modern civilization is the isolation that man feels even while living in a big city.

It is because modern man has grown too selfish, egoistic, and self-centered.

In this state of excessive narcissism, man forgets even his neighbours. It is the tragedy of tragedies that in big cities, we do not even know or care to know who lives next-doors and how or in what condition, good or bad. There is hardly ever any interaction or exchange of views or opinions, much fewer goods or articles. The two modern neighbours are not even ready to exchange greetings or smiles. What a tragedy!

This seems highly unethical all our professions to civilization or cultural ethos notwithstanding.

Unfortunately, the cunning crafty people the politician, bureaucrat-industrialist nexus, in particular, have turned the world of our country into segments. One segment comprises the segment of “haves” the elitist rich living in marble houses and skyscrapers with all the luxuries that this earth can grant.

The second segment is the segment of “have-nots”, the poorest poor of the world living in slums and shanties who find it hard to arrange a two square meal despite working all day carrying loads and washing dishes for the first segment.

The Bible advises us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Then should we not spare some of our resources and time for the poorest of the poor who happen to be our neighbours?

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