Matthew 25
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Should we take the bolded phrases here to mean that we should in all circumstances serve our neighbour as though he was our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ? Of course, we are not to worship anyone but God, but what are the implications of these sayings to our way of treating our neighbour?
Jesus is not talking about serving our neighbor as we would serve or worship the Father in heaven or Jesus Christ His Son as our savior. Jesus is speaking about treating our neighbor with Compassion; the compassion that he demonstrates in the entire New testament which is to love and treat one another as the Father loves us. The New testament is in essence all about Love. Loving God, loving our self and loving one another even when there are moments it may be hard to love.
Read two verses further and Jesus says Matthew 22:36-40 (King James Version)
36Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38This is the first and great commandment.
39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Christ’s First Great Command
The first is from command relates to: Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (King James Version)
4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
This is an extremely powerful commandment. Jesus is telling us that we are to adore Him in every moment of our lives. We are to talk to our children from a very early age to fill their hearts with Jesus. We are to talk about our love for Jesus when we sit in our house. When we sit down to dinner, we are to bless our food in His name and speak of Him. When we sit down in the evening, we are to open a Bible and reflect on His Word. We are to talk of our love for Jesus when we walk in our neighborhood or in a shopping mall. We are to talk of our love for Jesus when we go to bed in the evening and when we wake up in the morning. Our love for Jesus should be reflected in our actions and should be constantly before our eyes. Even the outdoor entryways to our home should reflect our love for Jesus, so that every passerby will know that in this house Jesus reigns as King.
Christ’s Second Great Command relates to
Leviticus 19:18 (King James Version)
18Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
The Jewish sage Yohanan ben Zakkai, most respected among the founders of Yavneh, taught that “loving our neighbor” means we have to take care of our neighbor’s honor as much as our own, our neighbor’s property as much as our own. Yet the ancient Israelites did not even love themselves very much. God called them to what is best for themselves but they rebelled, hurting themselves.
Jesus raised this commandment dramatically. He said,Matthew 5:43 (King James Version)
43Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
The Hebrew Scriptures accepted hating the enemies of God. Psalm 139:21 (King James Version)
21Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
He changed it in Leviticus 19:18 (King James Version)
18Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
In Mt. He says: Matthew 5:44 (King James Version)
44But 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;
He is expanding the range of our love from the neighborhood to the world. God loves all His covenant family; the most miserable refugee remains God’s image and likeness. Jesus told us, Matthew 25:40 (King James Version)
40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Jesus in this way is expanding and at the same time making understood that the original ten commandments are really just two.
Matthew 22:36-40 (King James Version)
36Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38This is the first and great commandment.
39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
King James Version (KJV)
Exod. 20:1-17
1And God spake all these words, saying,
2I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
13Thou shalt not kill.
14Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15Thou shalt not steal.
16Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
King James Version (KJV)
Here is how the verses read as we know them today as Protestants and call them the Ten commandments
Here is how the verses read:
Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work –you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. Exod. 20:1-17
The first 3 talk about loving God , the remaining commandments are all about how to love and be with your neighbor.
Jesus translated “the negative of do not do” in the Old Testament to “do as I command and do unto you , I ask you do to all my brethren.” I hope thei might clarify and help you understand the question you asked........"Should we take the bolded phrases here to mean that we should in all circumstances serve our neighbour as though he was our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ? Of course, we are not to worship anyone but God, but what are the implications of these sayings to our way of treating our neighbor?"
