The words of Jesus
What Did Jesus Say About Loving Your Neighbor?
Jesus said love for neighbor stands second only to love for God, and He widened the word neighbor to include anyone in need, even a stranger or an enemy.
“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
Jesus, in Matthew 22:39, King James Version
Love for people is second only to love for God.
“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”
Jesus, in Mark 12:31, King James Version
Nothing outranks loving God and loving people.
“Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?”
Jesus, in Luke 10:36, King James Version
A neighbor is defined by mercy shown, not by proximity.
“Go, and do thou likewise.”
Jesus, in Luke 10:37, King James Version
He turns the lesson into a call to act in mercy.
What Jesus is really saying
Jesus refuses to let us narrow the word neighbor to people like us. Through the story of the Samaritan, He shows that a neighbor is anyone who needs mercy and anyone willing to give it. Love, in His teaching, is not a warm feeling but a road you cross to help someone bleeding by the way.
Who these words reveal Him to be
He commands neighbor-love as the second greatest law, and then embodies it as the Good Samaritan of our souls, crossing every distance to bind up our wounds. Jesus is God's love in action, the Lord who defines love by His own self-giving. He loved His enemies to the cross. He is the Savior who first loved us when we were the ones left for dead, and His love is the source of any love we manage to give.
Come to Him
Loving your neighbor can feel impossible on your own, but Jesus first loved you when you were the one in need. Receive His mercy, and let it flow through you. Go, and do likewise.
His words were always meant to lead you to Himself. You can begin with Jesus here, ask someone to pray with you, or read His words in the Bible.