IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 949

ON LOVE; PART DXXXVIII

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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“The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).

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“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).

The last essay turned into a recap of sorts on the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew although we did get in new the final part on giving and lending which, while it IS more related to the Master’s previous words regarding the ideas of giving more to those that would take from you, we see it is better related to Jesus words on Love that follow. Nonetheless the ideas of lending, giving and even having taken away from are to be considered in the Master’s words as the same and that each should be done freely. This IS NOT how these ideas are viewed by doctrine which tends to turn these into only personal contexts as most see giving as of one’s excess; most do not readily see the link between these ideas on lending and the version from Luke that clearly says: “lend, hoping for nothing again“; how that the IS in fact giving. In this regard John Gill tells us: And from him that would borrow of thee, turn not away; refuse him not, turn not away from him with a frown, or without speaking to him, or with a denial; look upon him with a pleasant countenance, cheerfully lend him what he wants, whether he be a Jew, from whom it was not lawful to take usury, or a stranger, from whom it, was lawful to take it, yet take it not; lend him freely, “hoping for nothing again”, ( Luke 6:35 ) which must not be understood of not hoping for the money lent, for then it would be giving, and not lending; but of not hoping for any reward for lending it: and indeed the money itself is not to be hoped for again, when the circumstances of the borrower are such, that he is not able to make a return ⁸. Here we have a classic example of interpreting the Master’s words to be in accord with the ways of men when in Truth they are intended to change the ways of men.

The Commentary Critical does not relate these versions of the Master’s words at all except by telling the reader to compare; they rather use this in a stricter sense against some words by the Apostle Paul; they tell us: Give to him that asketh thee–The sense of unreasonable asking is here implied (compare Luke 6:30 ). and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away–Though the word signifies classically “to have money lent to one on security,” or “with interest,” yet as this was not the original sense of the word, and as usury was forbidden among the Jews ( Exodus 22:25 , &c.), it is doubtless simple borrowing which our Lord here means, as indeed the whole strain of the exhortation implies. This shows that such counsels as “Owe no man anything” ( Romans 13:8 ), are not to be taken absolutely; else the Scripture commendations of the righteous for “lending” to his necessitous brother ( Psalms 37:36 , 112:5 , Luke 6:37 ) would have no application. turn not thou away–a graphic expression of unfeeling refusal to relieve a brother in extremity ⁸. From our perspective these both miss the Master’s point which IS to change the view of men regarding these things and not to interpret the ideas to serve the convenience of men. We read our text again from both versions:

• “Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:42-48).
• “Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:30-36).

The idea here of lending is to do so without care that there is or is not a return and the Master makes this clear in Luke’s Gospel; first in saying that “And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye?” and then, confirming this He says: “lend, hoping for nothing again“. Can we see here the idea of giving and when we add the ideas of the cloak and the coat and the one mile and two we can also see the idea of considering those things taken by others as giving as well. Luke offers us the same words from the Master as Matthew saying “And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also” (Luke 6:29) but instead of going on to the idea of the one mile and the two, Luke gives us these other words from the Master on the same subject: “Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again“. In the combination of these ideas we should be able to see the reality of His message and the Truth that He IS trying to make us see….that these things of the world are for naught and whether it be bread as in the Parable of the Guest at Midnight or the sayings above, these fit neatly into the Master’s injunction that we “take no thought” which is also a part of this same Sermon.

In the next words according to Matthew we find the reality of ALL that has been said before this and that reality IS in the Love that the Master teaches us. He says clearly that we should change the way that we look at Life: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you“. And in this same context we find this saying with an important lead in by Luke; the Master says: “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you” (Luke 6:27-28). It should be quite apparent that there ARE NOT many who DO hear.

Here in these words there IS the commandment of God: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour“; and there is the doctrine and tradition of men: “hate thine enemy“. Our cross reference version cites some obscure passages from Deuteronomy as the basis for these words on hate but this IS NOT the intent their intent; the verses ARE about the Moabite and the Ammonite and much of this conflict ended in King David’s time. This idea of hate IS the creation of men and in the idea that one should “love thy neighbour” ALL men are intended. The Master here is clarifying these ideas of Love, that it extends to ALL men and in the ideas presented of Love, bless, “do good” and “pray for” we should be able to understand the intent of the Lord. And, while this assortment of words, these enemies, those “that curse you“, “that hate you” and those “which despitefully use you, and persecute you” may seem to be an inclusive list, it IS but an example that says regardless of who it IS or what the man have done or even IS doing, he IS to be Loved’. Again we must emphasize the reality of this Love, that it IS NOT that emotional nor that mental attraction or attachment to another; this IS that Love of God, that Love that IS God, that Love which the Master goes on to explain from the perspective of God saying “for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust“. This IS the reality of Love and this is the foundation for the clarifying words of the apostles who tell us that “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34).

These ARE NOT hard concepts to understand but they ARE hard concepts to accept; they are contrary to the ways of men in the world. Some commentary on this idea of Love for one’s enemies may help to understand the doctrinal thinking:

• John Gill tells us: But I say unto you, love your enemies; That is, as the Apostle Paul may be thought to interpret the words of Christ, ( Romans 12:20 ) . “If thine enemy hunger, feed him: if he thirst, give him drink”: unless our Lord should be supposed rather to regard the internal affection of the mind; since outward expressions of love, by words and works, are urged in the following exhortations: the actions of a man may be hated, and just indignation be expressed against them, and yet his person be loved, tenderness be used to him, and pity shown him: all men, even enemies, are to be loved with a natural love, as men; though they cannot be loved with a spiritual affection, as brethren in Christ: and in natural affection there are degrees, according to the relation and circumstances that persons stand in to one another ⁸.
• The Commentary Critical and Explanatory of the Whole Bible skips these two verses entirely in their commentary; this one regarding Love and the following one regarding the equanimity of God.
• Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible tells us this on the combination of sayings beginning at the “Ye have heard“: Verses 43-48 The Jewish teachers by “neighbour” understood only those who were of their own country, nation, and religion, whom they were pleased to look upon as their friends. The Lord Jesus teaches that we must do all the real kindness we can to all, especially to their souls. We must pray for them. While many will render good for good, we must render good for evil; and this will speak a nobler principle than most men act by. Others salute their brethren, and embrace those of their own party, and way, and opinion, but we must not so confine our respect. It is the duty of Christians to desire, and aim at, and press towards perfection in grace and holiness. And therein we must study to conform ourselves to the example of our heavenly Father, 1Pe. 1:15, 1Pe. 1:16 . Surely more is to be expected from the followers of Christ than from others; surely more will be found in them than in others. Let us beg of God to enable us to prove ourselves his children ⁸.
• Wesley’s Explanatory Notes offers us these ideas: 5:43 Thou shalt love thy neighbour; And hate thy enemy – God spoke the former part; the scribes added the latter. Leviticus 19:18. 5:44 Bless them that curse you – Speak all the good you can to and of them, who speak all evil to and of you. Repay love in thought, word, and deed, to those who hate you, and show it both in word and deed. 6:27, 35. 5:45 That ye may be the children – That is, that ye may continue and appear such before men and angels. For he maketh his sun to rise – He gives them such blessings as they will receive at his hands. Spiritual blessings they will not receive ⁸.

Several of the commentaries in our library skip over these ideas from the Master as we see above in the Commentary Critical while others treat these words much as they should be treated. Mr. Henry has the right tone here but why he would add in the idea of especially to their souls is a mystery as this IS not offered in Jesus words; Wesley also sees the Truth of the Master’s words but chooses to add at the end his comment about spiritual blessings which are not anywhere defined nor excluded by the Master. John Gill on the other hand restricts the expression of Love to the ways of man and the way that this IS interpreted by many which in Christian terms can be seen as ‘Love the sinner and hate the sin”. This of course IS NOT practical and also IS NOT Truly done in the world and here we find again the indefined interjection of spiritual as Mr. Gill says that these cannot be loved with a spiritual affection. 

Much like the idea of turn the other cheek and giving the cloak with the coat, these ideas of Love appear as difficult to accomplish but the Truth is that the Love IS the easier of this group and it IS the Love that allows for the others. Again we must see this Love as we have ofttimes defined it and then ever more so toward the realities embraced in the Great Commandments and the Golden Rule. It has been our own definition of Love that it IS benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. Here in these words we find the essence of our thoughts on Love as that article of respect, of seeing ALL men in the same way and seeing them as we wish to be seen ourselves. In the Master’s words that say clearly that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” there ARE NO defining remarks about who it IS that is this neighbor and we should see this in the Parable of the Good Samaritan and in the Truth that the Samaritan woman at the well expresses to the Master saying: “How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans” (John 4:9). There is a deep dislike and a distrust between these peoples who, while they are technically Jews, are the product of the repopulating of Israel after the captivity by the Assyrians many centuries before. Samaria was the name used for the nation of Israel after the death of Solomon and the splitting of the Kingdom…there was then Israel, or Samaria, and Judah. There is a long history here and each side has claims that are denied by the other and, if only on religious grounds, there is a deep dislike between these groups in that day.

Our point here IS that the Master speaks with this woman and teaches her people despite this animosity and Jesus also uses the Samaritan as His example in the Parable so as to show that this idea of neighbor and Love transcends the petty arguments of men. Again, there ARE NO defining ideas regarding who IS one’s neighbor and one need not like him or be liked by him; he is the neighbor nonetheless. In this idea of Love thy neighbor and the attendant saying “as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” which we find in Luke’s presentation of the Sermon above, there is no distinguishing of them that may hate or those that may be the enemy or even those who may “despitefully use you, and persecute you“; there is ONLY Love and the offer to ALL of benevolence, GoodWill, favorable thoughts, and whatsoever actions of well doing that can come from these. And, in so treating the neighbor, the brother, a disciple and an aspirant should “resist not evil” and ALL that comes together with those words in the Master’s teaching.

We find this attitude in the final words of the Master who willingly took the abuse of His captors and submitted Himself to their injustice in the Crucifixion and then says: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34); and this IS NOT unlike the words of the Apostle Stephen who IS stoned for his sharp words on the history and the current state of the Jews; we read: “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying , Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (Acts 7:59-60).

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

Note on the Quote of the Day

This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.

We repeat here a Quote of the Day that we spent much time with over the course of our essays. In this affirmation we find the Truth of discipleship as we have been ever been expressing and here we can relate our themes of the last few days; “take no thought” for the things of the world and that we approach the Kingdom and discipleship in the nature of the little child, in humbleness, meekness, unashamed in any way and unassuming. The message that this imparts for us today IS that it IS the Soul that is at work in the world of men as it expresses to some degree the purpose, power and the will through Life in this world. These words are from a meditation offered to his students by our Tibetan brother and in which we find greater understanding of the message of the Master. This IS Truly the way of the disciple.

My Soul has purpose, power and will; these three are needed on the Way of Liberation.
My Soul must foster love among the sons of men; this is its major purpose.
I, therefore, will to love and tread the Way of Love. All that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light must disappear before the purposes of the Soul.
My will is one with the great Will of God;. that Holy Will requires that all men serve. And unto the purposes of the Plan I lend my little will.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!

• ⁸ Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com