When the lawyer seeks to test Jesus by asking what is necessary for eternal life, Jesus answers his question with another question: “What is written in the law?” (Luke 10:26). The lawyer rightly responds with what we call the Great Commandment: “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.”
Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan in response the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Could it be that Jesus’ answer given in that story is a specific application of that verse in its original context in Leviticus 19? I think it could be.
The command to love one’s neighbor comes as a concluding climax to a portion of the law we find in Leviticus 19:9-18. These verses give us concrete, specific ways to love our neighbors.
Verses 9-10 provide a summary of the gleaning laws, in which God commanded the people of Israel not to strip their fields so bare that when someone needed help they had to say, “I’m sorry, I have nothing left to give.” We aren’t farmers, most of us. So what do these gleaning laws tell us about how we are to love others?
They give us the principle of being intentionally generous. Do you plan your generosity? Do you put aside income for the purpose of giving it away? That is a real life way we love others, through intentional generosity.
In the next two verses, Leviticus 19:11-12, we see we must love our neighbor with our words. In this context, the command not to steal is paired with dealing falsely and lying. The context seems to be talking about being deceitful in a business deal or at the marketplace. The second part, verse 12, has a court in mind as its context. In this day, a person’s words about you in court really mattered. What a person claimed in the marketplace about weight, the delivery date of a product, really mattered. Words matter.
We are called to love one another with our words. We are to speak the truth in love. We show love to one another when we watch over the words we speak.
Words can hurt. Gossip can ruin a reputation. Criticism can make heavy a heart. Do you want to love your neighbor? Then make sure your words are true and helpful, important and necessary and kind. Use your words to build others up.
Consider also verses 13-14. In the day this was written, it was easy to take advantage of the poor. Wealthy men could hire a day laborer for a certain wage, come to the end of the day and say, “Oh, I don’t have the money like I thought I would. Come back for it tomorrow.” Or they may say, “That work is not up to par; come make it better tomorrow, and I’ll pay you.” Many times those people needed that money so they’d have something to feed their families that day. If you owe money to someone in need and you wait until tomorrow to pay him, you are robbing him, the Bible says.
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And what about verse 14? Other than knowing that it’s mean to curse the deaf or trip the blind, what is the problem? What this verse tells us is that God knows. God sees everything we do. What others aren’t aware of, God is aware of.
The commands in verses 13 and 14 tell us another practical way we can love our neighbor is by our actions. Living with integrity toward others is a loving thing to do. Do what you say you’re going to do. Provide what you can when you can. Be respectful and kind, even when it seems no one would know the difference.
Verses 15-16 deal with the judgments we make. We practically love others when we are fair. Israel’s courts were not to side with the poor simply because they had need, nor were they to side with the rich because they had influence.
When we are in a position to determine what’s fair in a situation, we are not to have an end in mind and do whatever it takes to achieve that end. The means matters as much as the end. How you get somewhere is as important as where you’re going. This is about our judgments and values.
When we base our actions on right judgments and godly values, that is loving our neighbors. God is far more concerned about who you are than what you do. God wants your heart to be right, so love your neighbor by basing your behaviors on godly principles and values.
The final verses in the section, verses 17-18, are most difficult. You want to know a practical, nitty-gritty, concrete way of loving others? Love them with your attitude. It is not enough to simply smile and wave on the outside while inside you’re seething with hatred or rotting with bitterness. No, you should love your neighbor as yourself.
Who is responsible for sin if you have hate in your heart toward someone, or if you are vengeful or have unforgiveness? Is the other person at fault because they started it, they wronged you, they haven’t made things right? No matter what anyone else does, you are responsible for your heart’s reaction. How are we to love our neighbor? From a pure heart.
God does give an alternative to having hatred in your heart toward another person. In verse 17, you shall not hate, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor. Talk it out. Go and be honest and frank, and put the issue out there in a respectful and loving way, with the purpose in mind of being reconciled, not getting your way. Can you do this in every instance? No. There could be someone from your past who you couldn’t contact if you wanted to. There could be someone who it would be unsafe for you to contact. That’s fine. You don’t have to. But you do have deal with the state of your heart. You have to love your neighbor as yourself.
The closing phrase of each of these pairs of verses reads: “I am the Lord.” Every single one of these commands is based on the character of our God. The parable of the Good Samaritan shows us that Jesus expects us to love all people in this way, not just those we think deserve it.
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