The Life of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
THE LAW OF LOVE
The Life of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
THE LAW OF LOVE
Lesson Plan:
1. The Most Undeserved Love (Lk. 6:27-29)
2. The Most Liberal Love (Lk. 6:30-35)
3. The Most Humble Love (Lk. 6:36-38)
4. The Most Comprehensive Love (Rom. 13:8-10)
5. Ten Commandments of the Law of Love
Time: Summer of 28 A.D.
Place: The Sermon on the Mount was preached on a hill west of the Sea of Galilee, perhaps the Horns of Hattin'.
Romans: Paul wrote his Epistle to Rome during his three months in Corinth in his third missionary tour, probably the winter of 57-58 A.D.
Inductive Study of the Lesson:
a. Read Luke 6:27-38, and the parallel passages, Matthew 5:39-48; 7:1,2,12
b. With verse 27, compare Exodus 21:23-25; 23-25, 23:4, 5; Romans 12:20, 21
c. With Christ's precept in v 29, compare His conduct, John 18:22, 23
d. Read Romans 13:8-10, compare summary of the Ten Commandments with Exodus 20:1-17
e. Compare Romans 13:9 with Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39; Luke 10:27; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8
f. Read some of the principal Bible passages on love: Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 7:9; 10:12; Joshua 22:5; Psalms 91:14; 112:5; 133:1; 145:20; Proverbs 8:17; 15:17; 17:17; Solomon's Song 8:6, 7; Matthew 10:37; 12:29-33; Mark 12:28-34; Luke 6:27-38; 10:36, 37; John 14:21-23; Romans 8:28; 12:9-16; 13:8-10; 1 Corinthians 10:24; 13:1-13; Ephesians 3:17-19; 4:2, 32; 5:2; 2 Thessalonians 3:5; 1 Timothy 1:5; 1 Peter 1:8; 4:8; 1 John 2:10; 3:11-23; 4:12-20
The Fundamental Debt of Love
Introduction: What is the principal word of the New Testament? – Love. This word is the heart of the gospel: (a) The love of God to man, shown to us in the life and death of Jesus Christ; (b) The love of man to God, shown in heartedly following Jesus Christ; (c) The love of man to man, shown in bringing men to Jesus Christ; and (d) Joining with others in doing His will.
One lesson cannot define the full meaning of the word 'love,' but we can get an outline of its meaning, and our outline will be: (a) The Most Undeserved Love (Lk. 6:27-29); (b) The Most Liberal Love (Lk. 6:30-35); (c) The Most Humble Love (Lk. 6:36-38); (d) The Most Comprehensive Love (Rom. 13:8-10); and (e) Ten Commandments of the Law of Love.
Scripture Reading: Luke 6:27-29
1. The Most Undeserved Love
Of what discourse is our lesson a part? – Of "the Sermon in the Plain" (v 17), or level place on the hill, which is Luke's shorter form of what Matthew reports in the familiar Sermon on the Mount. That it is for all practical purposes the same sermon, but abridged, is shown by the fact that (a) it contains only five verses (vs 24-26, 39, 40) which are not in Matthew's version, and (b) that it follows Matthew's order.
Who are those that least deserve our love? – Our "enemies," those that "hate" us, "curse" us, "use" us "despitefully" [maliciously] (v 27), smite us, try to take away our possessions. So common is the instinct of retaliation that even a college president once said to a student, "We are commanded by the Bible to forgive our enemies, but not to love them!"
What was the Old Testament rule for treating enemies? – "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" (Ex. 21:24): that is, your enemy is to be made to suffer as much as he has made you suffer. That was a great step in advance. For one angry word said to a quarrelsome person, fifty are generally given in reply; for one blow inflicted upon us, our practice is usually to give ten in return. Moses said, "If a man injures you, you shall not kill him, but make your punishment commensurate with his offenses."
Illustration: An Englishman, thinking he was cast away upon an uninhabited island, came upon the remains of a gibbet, whereupon he took courage. A gibbet is indeed a sign of civilization, though not the highest sign; it implies the reign of law instead of private vengeance.
But Christ carried the Law of Moses much further: what was His command? – Not merely to be just to our enemies, but to "love" them, "do good to them, bless them, pray for them" (v 27), even give them further opportunities for theft and violence.
Why are we to love our enemies? – Note that we are not told to love their sin and ugliness, but them: (a) God always has and always will love His enemies, and His divine energy is at work, seeking to render such a loving nature in man. (b) Our enemies are of one nature with us, even the divine nature. Shall this divine thing have no recognition from us? (c) We cannot be just to our enemies if we are indifferent to them and hate them. Love is the law of our condition, without which we can no more render justice than a man can keep a straight line walking when drunk. Are we literally to turn the other cheek, and give our coat (‘chiton’, inner garment), if any one takes away our cloak (‘himation’, outer garment)? A Christian should always do good in return for evil, but always in a sensible way. What if turning the other cheek provoked another blow? During His trial, Jesus Christ was smitten by one of the officers of the high priest. He did not encourage a second blow, but instead gave the man a gentle rebuke (Jn. 18:22, 23). Yes, we are commanded to give an enemy drink when he thirsts, but not when his thirst is for our blood. Often, however, the literal obeying of this command has melted the hearts of the most hardened sinners.
Illustration: The famous story of Jean Valjean's theft of the silverware from the good Bishop Bienvenu, in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. When he was caught and brought to the bishop, the latter said, "But I gave you my silver candlesticks also; why did you not take them along with your plates?" He forced them upon him, thus freeing the rouge from the police, and bringing about Jean Valjean's conversion to the life of an honest man. It seems especially wise to forgive first thefts and similar offenses, affording young sinners every opportunity for amendment. An old preacher once said, "Try returning good for evil with your tongue, you'll then better understand how to do so with your cheek."
Scripture Reading: Luke 6:30-35
2. The Most Liberal Love
We have learned to whom we are to give; now, how much are we to give? – Christ's answer is startling: we are to give everything that is asked, lending whatever anyone would borrow.
Is this command to be taken literally? – Certainly not. The Sermon on the Mount is not an instruction in mathematics. Jesus is surely desirous that no one assume or leave thinking He is following the example of the religious teachers of Jerusalem, by binding His disciples with the confining cords of inelastic rules. It seems, therefore, that He purposely puts these statements into the form of paradox, making them so extreme that it would be evident to everyone that the spirit rather than the letter is intended.
v 30 ... "Give to every man that asketh thee;" literal? Put it into absolutely literal practice. What about parents? Should they be required to practice this with their children? Whatever their baby asks for, give it? Scissors? Knife? Gun? Poison? Obscene material? Rattlesnake? If parents put this statement into absolutely literal practice, how many babies would be badly injured or dead by tomorrow? Also, do any of us really believe that indiscriminate charity will lift men up to a higher spiritual level. What about helping beggars, who by choice refuse work? Do you? Would you?
What, then, is the spirit of Christ's command? – "We should give when our gift will be a real gift, that is, a benefit" (Harrison). We are not to carelessly turn away from any appeal. We are to hold ourselves, our possessions, time, talents, and strength, at the call of any need; heeding the call without disregarding other important calls having prior claim upon us. Christians should always stand ready and willing to give whatever is needed to meet real needs, but not surface ones.
Illustration: The real need of the child who asks for poison is for rational amusement. The real need of the beggar at the door is for self-respecting work. We should be willing to give him the personal attention necessary that will hopefully put him in the position of earning his own bread. It is the Golden Rule (v 31), because it is supreme among religious maxims as gold is supreme among metals. This rule had been stated negatively before.
Illustration: "Thus it is written in the Talmud that a Gentile came to Rabbi Shammai and asked that the Law might be explained to him in the time that he could stand on one foot. The rabbi lifted his staff and drove the inquirer from his presence. He then went to the rival Rabbi Hillel, who at once replied, 'Do not to thy neighbor what is hateful to thyself; that is the whole Law.' The Gentile became a proselyte" (R. F. Horton).
Illustration: Confucius gave the precept in the same negative form: "Do not to others what you would not have them do to you."
Christ was the first to give it a wide and positive application.
"It is a little bundle of truth, which every man can put into his bosom and easily carry about with him" (Luther).
Who can wisely use the Golden Rule? – Only those wishing for themselves what is right and good can wisely do to others what they want others to do to them. For example: A drunkard wants others to give him drink, but he is not taught by this precept to give drink to others. A vain man wants flattery, but the Golden Rule does not bid him flatter others. "What I, the unregenerate I, would have men do unto me may be a very imperfect standard of what I should do to them. But what I, when it is no longer I, but Christ that liveth in me, would have men do unto me becomes a quick and useful guide for what I should do to them" (Harrison).
What are some advantages of living by the Golden Rule? – (a) It forces us to think of others continually, trying to put ourselves in their place. (b) It leads us to study ourselves and our own real needs. (c) It makes us brotherly, placing the lowest man on the same plane of desire with ourselves. (d) It turns us from the past (what men have done to us) and toward the future (what we want men to do for us). (e) Finally, it requires our deepest nature to be the guide of action, identifying us at once with whatever we do, making us real and sincere.
What would be the result if all men obeyed the Golden Rule? – (a) Employers would be eager to truly give workmen all they earn. (b) Workmen would be zealous to give employers their best. (c) Office-holders would consider the public business a sacred trust. (d) We would all be sincere, yet kindly and courteous in our speech and actions. (e) Teachers would sympathize with the perplexities of students. (f) Pupils would be attentive and obedient to their teachers. Only the Golden Rule will bring in the Age of Gold.
What is the reward of this liberal love? – Christians are not to love others in order that others might love us. We are not to give to receive a return. No, Christians should do the good thing for its own sake, or for God's sake, not on any stipulation for a grateful return.
v 34 ... "What thank have ye?" does not mean 'thanks' from men by humoring their whims and living on the lower level of the world; but if we give ourselves for men as our Lord gave Himself, we shall perhaps get from them no more than the cruel return He received; but our ...
v 35 ... "reward shall be great," for we "shall be the children of the Highest." No reward could be more glorious than this.
Scripture Reading: Luke 6:36-38
3. The Most Humble Love
What fault is likely to spoil even the most liberal love, exercised toward the most undeserving? – The great fault and sin of pride. As we serve others we are likely to think how much better we are than they. Whoever has this spirit does not really love those whom he serves; he only patronizes them.
What is the cure of this fault? – The spirit of mercy, forgiveness, refusal to judge others (vs 36, 37). Some judgment of others is necessary, or we could not live prudently and helpfully with men. For instance, we recognize dishonesty, or suffer loss. We perceive a friend's faults and temptations, thus being able to help him overcome. Christ does not say that we cannot form opinions about others; but He does take us completely out of the realm of passing sentence on anyone; discern, but do not discriminate or criminate.
Illustration: Many people have observed that in following the fall of Tito Melema, in George Eliot's Romola, they have been led to detect in themselves those trifling acts of selfishness which are as 'the little pitted specks in garnered fruit;' they have seen how by the same imperceptible steps they might pass from weak self-indulgence to indolence, from indolence to cowardice, from cowardice to ingratitude, and from ingratitude to murder.
Illustration: Probably every reader of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde will remember a similar influence. One reader said of this book, "After reading it, I was haunted for several days by a sense of double consciousness; a recognition that if the elements of his own character, good and bad, were untwisted, and worked up in two separate personalities, there would be precisely that hideous effect of an angel and a devil revealed." We find some men whose love is like a very broad vessel; that is, they can meditate a great deal upon our Lord, and with great desire and fervor, but they are hardly two inches deep; lacking humility and a common godlike love toward others.
What is the penalty for judging others harshly? – God measures us by the same measure we use measuring others. This is a plain and equitable rule, whereby God permits you to determine for yourself in what manner He will deal with you in the judgment. In the unloving condemnation of another, we condemn ourselves.
What is the reward of humble and loving service? – An equal service from others and from God (v 38). This is the rebound of our own lives. Newton's third law of motion is that 'action and reaction are always equal to each other.' Every pressure involves resistance; every blow is answered by a blow in return. Thus, out of the same field the farmer gets grain, the naturalist a box of specimens, the artist a painting, the poet a sonnet. Thus, we get from life what we put into it and from men what we bring to them. So, regarding those we touch in life, it matters not what they are, but it does matter who we are.
What about the ungrateful? – The world sometimes measures persecution or neglect for loving service. But God always sees that we get a just return; we are to find our sufficient reward in His "Well done" and in His heaven. And, usually, good deeds receive ample and sure recompense on earth.
Illustration: Whittier, scorned and persecuted in the early days of the abolition movement, lived to become one of the most honored and beloved of Americans.
Illustration: Edison at first found extreme difficulty in getting any one to take up his patents, but now all the world pays tribute to his genius.
Scripture Reading: Romans 13:8-10
4. The Most Comprehensive Love
Paul closed his splendid Epistle to the Romans with an unrivaled section filled with practical admonitions, among them an exhortation to "render to all their dues," to...
v 8 ... "owe no man any thing." Few things discredit the church more than dishonest church- members; we will not call them Christians, but the world takes them as samples of Christ's followers.
One debt we always owe – The debt of love. This is a constant debt, which we must still pay, and yet still owe. It is like the debt of light, always due to the darkness; or of the heat, always due to the cold.
To whom do we own this great debt of love? – To all other men. This does not mean, of course, that we are to love all alike. We are to love as God makes contact between our lives and those of others.
But do we not owe this debt of love to God also? – Certainly, to Him fundamentally and preeminently. But is it not true that love of man springs only from love for God? And is it not also true that such love is an evidence and effect of God's marvelous grace?
What law is fulfilled when we pay this debt of love? – From what follows it is clear that Paul is thinking of the Mosaic law; virtually the only thing in the world to which He could apply the word nomos ('law,' v 8), or which He could use to illustrate that word. Therefore, Paul enumerates some of the provisions of the law, taking them from the second table, our duties to man, because it is perfectly plain that love to God would fulfill the duties of the first table. It needs only the naming of the sins of adultery, murder, and theft, to convince us that if we love another we shall not commit these terrible wrongs against him; and if we love him as ourselves we shall not covet his good things, but shall rejoice in his possessions as much as if we owned them ourselves.
Is it enough for one who loves, simply to refrain from working ill to his neighbor (v 10)? – No; love is an inspiration rather than a restraint, and transcends law as embodied in merely negative commandments. Paul speaks thus because the Mosaic law was couched in prohibitions; but Christ's Golden Rule requires active service to our neighbor.
5. Ten Commandments of the Law of Love
The Ten Commandments of the Law of Love which Paul sets forth in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 are not negative but positive, and they are an unfolding of this brief passage in Romans: (a) Love must be supreme, always sought first, last and all the time (vs 1-3). (b) Love must be ready and glad to suffer for the loved one (vs 4, 7). (c) Love must not envy the loved one, but rejoices in all he has, gladly giving up what is rightfully one's own, if love requires it (vs 4, 5). (d) Love must be humble, always placing others first and itself last (v 4). (e) Love must lead an upright life, for the sake of he loved one and to be worthy of him (v 5). (f) Love must be peaceable, always believing the best of others and refusing to think evil of them (v 5). (g) Love must find its joy in the highest things, for those alone belong to the domain of love (v 6). (h) Love must believe what the loved one says, especially when the loved one is God; and even with regret to man, love will be credulous rather than skeptical (v 7). (i) Love must ever be hopeful, confident in the justice of the Father's providence, and seeing so much good in even the worst of men that it never despairs of them (v 7). (j) Love must be permanent, not fluctuating but constant, the one thing in life to be depended upon (v 8).
