Matthew 5:43-47 “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR [Leviticus 19:18] and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the  unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

In Jesus’ first recorded discourse called the Sermon on the Mount, he elevates the command to love far above what was previously required in the Old Covenant recorded in Leviticus 19:18. The ability to carry out this lofty command was greatly enhanced after he ascended and sent the holy spirit. As we love in this way, we imitate our Father, God. The Old Testament speaks hundreds of times about God’s steadfast lovingkindness that is not a reaction to people, but an intrinsic, self-motivated  characteristic. God is love! When we love others regardless of their dealings with us, even if they are enemies, we attain a  spiritual and moral maturity that is God-like.

Luke 7:41-47 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among[h] themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

The above was spoken in defense of Jesus allowing a woman who was a known sinner to wash his feet with her tears, wiping them with her hair, and anointing them with expensive perfume. Simon, the selfrighteous, critical host did little to show love for Jesus compared to the extraordinary loving behavior of this woman. Jesus went on to say to Simon, “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” The woman knew she was a sinner; whereas Simon was oblivious to his own sins. Ironically, the Pharisee who rejected the Messiah and wrongly judged him was the greater sinner. Because she loved the Lord, she was forgiven. Everyone, regardless of their  lifestyle before accepting the Lordship of Christ, was equally dead in trespasses and sins. Some of us manifested our  sinfulness more outwardly.

His communication with the Pharisee was based on his love for him. Jesus never placated or appeased his enemies; rather, he spoke truth to them. Nor did he aggressively attack them with anger and profanity. He never backed down but rather used their confrontations with him to speak truth and give them the opportunity to change and do what was right. He did win some of them.

Luke 16:13-15 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

The Pharisees were about themselves, lovers of money, and deeply concerned about how others perceived them. Their very appearance was designed to gain high esteem from people, with their robes and phylacteries on their heads and arms. Their pretense of religiosity may have impressed people, but to God, it was detestable. We should be very cautious around such people, according to Luke 20:46-47. If we truly love God, we will be devoted to Him alone and not persuaded by the things of the world or what people think of us.

Matthew 22:35-40 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And 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.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Sentences capitalized in the NASB indicate they are a quotation from the Old Testament. Here, Jesus first quoted from  Deuteronomy 6:5 and then Leviticus 19:18. The Law refers to the first five books of the OT, and the prophets relate to everything else in the OT. Herein Jesus sets forth with simplicity and clarity that loving God and others is the quintessential summary of the Old Testament commandments.

Matthew 24:9-13 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will
mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”

Jesus foretold of the destruction of the temple, so his disciples asked, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” What is written above happened before the destruction of the temple in 70 AD and will happen again at the end of the age. Today, there is good reason to consider we are close to the end since many of our religious and governmental leaders mandate that evil is good and good is evil. The expeditious growth of lawlessness, cynicism, and hard heartedness is obvious in recent years. Is our time the end time? Can we say with certainty as some declare? Right now, today, I can say with absolute certainty I must determine, with the help of God, to love and endure. One day at time, whether it is “the” last day or my last day or neither, I must decide to love and endure. We do not want our love to grow cold or grow weary and give up.

Mark 10:21- 22 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.

Similar to the records in Matthew and Luke, a man asked Jesus “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus told him to keep the commands, to which the man replied he had done so since his youth. The above verse in Mark reveals that Jesus’ then responded because of his love. “Jesus told him what was necessary even though the man was saddened and went away  grieving. Jesus’ words were always as his Father inspired and not motivated by what people wanted to hear. He did not
conform to the desires of others to win their favor. His loving words and actions were always influenced by the desire to obey and please God his Father. Herein we have a great example to follow.

Mark 12:28-34 One of the scribes…asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND 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.’ “The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM; AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE’S NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.

The scribe and Jesus understood that God is one, yet so many today think He is three. The importance of love is stated very clearly by our Lord – “There is no other commandment greater than these.” Jesus’ usual dialog with scribes did not end  amiably; however, with this one he said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

Luke 6:27-36 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. “Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do  not withhold your shirt from him either…. “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. “If you love those who love  you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. “But love your enemies, and do good, and  lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to
ungrateful and evil men. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Jesus’ teaching recorded here is similar, but not identical to the Sermon on the Mount. The love we share with people is not motivated by or in response to them. Godly love is centered in God. He loves us, and we love Him, so we love people even when their actions are undesirable or even offensive to us. With the holy spirit, according to Romans 5:5, the love of God has been poured out within our hearts enabling us to love like God loves. As God’s children, we no longer love others due to outward circumstances, rather by that which lives within us. We love from the inside out, not outside in.

Luke 10:25-28 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” And he 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.” And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”

This lawyer asked the same question the rich young man asked Jesus – “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This is the all-important question that everyone should ask. The all-important answer was the same both times: love God, and love your  neighbor as yourself. “Neighbor” can be understood as anyone near you. The whole of the New Testament elaborates on how to love God and people. Accepting Jesus as Christ and Lord is the beginning, and continuing action is required. It is impossible to carry out these two commandments without our Lord.

Luke 11:42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

The Pharisees were persnickety legalists when it was to their advantage, such as tithing (since they lived off the tithes). Justice and the love of God, the more important matters, were not their concern. Jesus confronted their hypocrisy. Tithing is good, but all godly actions should include justice and love. We do not want to go through the motions of doing right without the godly motivation of love.

John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus elaborated on loving others with considerable detail in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:20-49). He also, on a number of occasions, set forth the two great commandments — to love God and your neighbor as yourself. Yet, at the last supper, he said, “A new commandment I give to you.” The reason it was new is that he changed the standard from loving others as you would like to be loved yourself to loving others “as I loved you.” Time would pass before the disciples would grasp the significance of this commandment. Their understanding was greatly enhanced when
they reflected back on the last supper. Jesus washed their feet, even though he knew that Judas would betray him and Peter would deny him. Also, he knew the suffering and crucifixion that he was to endure. The standard was and is now to love others as he loved.

John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

As I have loved you” is such a brief statement with profound insight on a subject of universal concern. What does true godly love look like? Thank God we have the four Gospels that record the life of Jesus, so we have a panoramic view of the many aspects of true love. When we love others in this way, we become a reflection of our Lord. The love that I saw from others when I first came around was indeed the thing that drew my attention and fueled my desire to get involved.

John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (Joh 14:15 NAU