Message
Mark 12:31
Your Neighbour As Yourself
Let’s start today by talking about loopholes.
A loophole is what happens when a contract, or rule, or statute is written in such a way that the obligations of that contract, rule, or statute can be ignored or evaded.
There are heaps of examples but a sector of society that is often accused of using loopholes is insurance companies. Even a simple thing like defining a “flood” is still not worked out and flood victims are not covered. All because of a loophole.
Now it is really easy to point the finger at all sorts of organisations and situations and throw out heaps of examples. But the reason I mention loopholes is that we
… we as humanity.
… actually even more specifically – we as people who are committed to loving God.
… we have a tendency to find and use loopholes.
Spiritual loopholes.
Indeed our text today challenges us in one of the biggest spiritual loopholes of all.
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” 31 The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:30-31
Love your neighbour as yourself?
Where is the loophole? Jesus here is quoting a part of Leviticus 19:18. In the context the verse reads:-
16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people. “‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbour’s life. I am the Lord.
17 “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbour frankly so you will not share in their guilt.
18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:16-18
Leviticus is written at a time just after the Exodus when the Israelites were wandering in the desert for 40 years before they entered the promised land. In Leviticus the Lord is giving instruction on how the people can live a life of holiness when the settle in the land. A life of holiness included getting on with the people around you.
Notice the wording in Leviticus 19.
Your people.
Your neighbour.
Fellow Israelite.
After wandering in the desert the people … the neighbours … the fellow Israelites … settled into the land. Eventually, after a few centuries, they ruled the land. More centuries took place. The land went through many changes.
By the time we get to the days when Jesus is preaching the once great nation of Israel was known as the small state of Judea.
In the past the Israelites ruled surrounding countries … now it was under the authority of the Romans.
The Romans were just the latest in a list of ruling authorities.
Babylonians
Persians.
Greeks.
Then the Romans.
Each time world powers rose the Jews found themselves in their own land surrounded by people from many nationalities. The more these changes happened the more the Jews became insulated and isolated. They didn’t want to show love to all these people from the different nations who were around them. So they came up with a loophole. Jesus addresses this loophole in Matthew 5:43-44
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
Matthew 5:43-44
You have heard that it was said.
Part of what was said was indeed Scripture – the love your neighbour part. Part of what was said was the Pharisees and Rabbi’s giving their interpretation … the hate your enemy part. The explanation went something like this … imagine for a moment I am a Rabbi.
God’s Word says, love your neighbour. But who is your neighbour? Well, the Lord doesn’t leave us in the dark about this.
Leviticus 19 tells us not to spread slander among your people … it doesn’t say anything about slandering Gentiles.
The Torah says don’t hate your fellow Israelite … but nothing about not hating those Romans.
Scripture is clear—you can’t bear a grudge against your people … but you can carry a big a grudge as you like against the Samaritans.
Love your neighbour must mean you do the opposite for everyone else. To love your neighbour means to hate your enemy. Everyone who is not a Jew can be considered an enemy.
That is how it worked.
It’s a loophole. Using the ambiguity of the Scripture to avoid living a life of holiness and obedience.
Finding loopholes is such an in-built habit that Jesus didn’t preach about it on just one occasion. If you have been following this series on a weekly basis you will know that conversations about the greatest commandment takes place in Matthew, Mark and Luke.
When it happens in Luke it isn’t Jesus who answers, it is a teacher of the law. This is the conversation.
27 He answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”
Luke 10:27-29
He wanted to justify himself … it is another way of saying “he wanted a loophole”. In the next verse Jesus begins to tell a parable … which we often call the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
The main point of this parable is that we need to be those who have the Jesus-character of being willing to show compassion and pity – no matter who is in need. In the parable Jesus avoids any sort of loophole that seeks to allow me to define someone as a non-neighbour.
I don’t try and make restrictions by asking, “who is my neighbour”.
I keep asking the question, “How can I be a neighbour?”
No loopholes.
Why are we taking so much time to stress this point?
Let’s go back to Mark 12:31
31 The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:31.
Loving God. Loving your neighbour.
There are no commandments greater than these.
In Mark 12 after Jesus answers the question about the greatest commandment the conversation continues:-
32 ‘Well said, teacher,’ the man replied. ‘You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.’
Mark 12:32-33
Even the teacher of the law has a similar interpretation to Jesus. “More important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Loving God and neighbour goes far beyond external actions and visible duties. These are commands which need serious spiritual attention. In Matthew 22 the extreme importance of the commands is expressed by Jesus in this way:-
39 And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’
Matthew 22:39-40
Take every part of the Old Testament … you can hang every commandment that is spoken on the Old Testament on one of these two commands.
Take every part of the New Testament … and it is still true. If you go back to the very foundation of any command, or any attitude, or any character calling, or any Christian responsibility. If you go right back …
It will either hang off the command to love God.
Or it will hang off the command to love your neighbour.
What are the implications of this for Matthew 12:31.
Loving your neighbour as you love yourself is no less than a calling to living in obedience to every command that is not hanging of the command to love God.
There are commands that will focus on loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.
You read them. You live them.
You hang them off the command to love God.
Then all the other commands that are left.
You hang them off the command to love your neighbour as yourself.
Let’s have a look at Scripture and see how this works in practice.
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:8-10
Do you see the way Paul gathers different commandments and hangs them of the one commandment?
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Galatians 5:13-15
Not indulging the flesh. Not biting and devouring one another.
These are hung on the command to love your neighbour. Then, in the same context, Paul keeps going.
Some acts of the flesh include impurity; hatred, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, envy; drunkenness.
These hang off loving our neighbour.
There is also the call to live the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
These hang off loving our neighbour.
One more example.
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbour as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favouritism, you sin.
James 2:8-9
Can you see how it works?
All the “one another” passages in Scripture – they would hang off the command to love your neighbour.
Most of the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount would hang off the command.
The Beatitudes would hang there as well.
That is a huge calling, isn’t it?
We are being faced here with a commandment that is pretty well going to touch every aspect of our lives. And we might look at this command and say, how is it even possible?
Well it is only possible when we are in Christ isn’t it.
We can’t just merely be living out of duty and action – where it is all external. Just sitting in the space of burnt offerings and sacrifices.
We can’t even hope to fulfil the command by relying just on ourselves and our own capacity.
Loving our neighbour as ourselves will only flow out of a deep commitment to Jesus as we trust in Him as our Saviour.
But more than that …
Loving our neighbour as ourselves requires a life that will express itself in obedience.
A life where we are continually repenting.
A life where we are continually turning from the old way of life to a new way of living.
A life where we are continually being transformed by the Scriptures because we are continually reading the Scriptures.
A life of prayer where we are not just asking, but where we are also willing to listen.
Is this going to be a challenge … 100%.
The greatest challenge will be this one.
Are we going to accept the significance of this command in our lives and, under the grace and out of the grace of Jesus, live in obedience?
Or we going to try find a way to get around the significance by trying to find the loopholes?
Love your neighbour as yourself …
What commands have you perhaps ignored, and so you have not loved, that need to be hung here?
Prayer
