Jesus’ example is that you shall love your neighbor

As recorded in Mark 12:28, Jesus set his ethical agenda in a conversation with a scribe. The scribe asked Jesus about the greatest of commandments. Jesus responded with not one but two: “You shall love God with heart, mind, strength and soul,” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Similar statements are found in the Matthew and Luke gospels. No one disputed his response, and Christians have never disputed his standards. However, over the centuries Christians have argued over who constitutes a neighbor.

The vast majority of Christians during the past 2,000 years have conveniently avoided including all human beings in the embrace of a loving God. They have lots of company; ancient Israelites had the same problem. When Jesus recited his No. 2 commandment, he was not cutting an entirely new path. He was quoting Leviticus 19:18. However, put into the context of the larger Leviticus passage, “neighbor” went no further than members of his own family and clan or tribe.

The story of limiting the meaning of neighbor has a long history among the Israelites. According to the Israelite history, Yahweh, the God of the Israelites, delivered them from slavery in Egypt. According to their tradition, Yahweh gave them a great leader in the person of Moses. With the aid of a series of miracles, Moses led them out of Egypt. Their first significant stop was at Mt. Sinai, where God gave Moses the laws by which Israelites were to live. But Sinai was not their destiny. Their destiny was a land of their own, a land we call Palestine. There was a problem. The land was already occupied by coalitions of tribes that were ready to fight for what they had. Scholars, using both Biblical and non-Biblical sources, have pieced together the story of how the Israelites came to control the entire Palestinian area.

The Israelites who came out of Egypt were not a peace-loving people. They had experienced great cruelties in Egypt and were not about to submit easily to the tyranny of another powerful ruler. Only Yahweh had been able to break the slavery of Egypt and it was Yahweh who would keep the dream of a new life in a new land alive. To the careful reader, the nature of their God is found embedded in their tradition. Exodus 15:3 states, “Yahweh is a man of war. Yahweh is his name.” The Israelite God was not a peace lover, and neither were the Israelites.

In their wilderness wanderings, the Israelites made contact with another wandering, landless tribe, the Habiru. Their existence is well documented by Near East documents. The name Habiru is related to the word Hebrew. The Hibiru existed outside the social and political structures of the era. The word habiru can properly be translated “outlaw.” They were a tribe skilled in war and often hired themselves out as mercenaries. Scholars today believe the Habiru and the Israelites joined forces and became a lethal war machine.

In forming the partnership, the requirement of the Israelites was that the Habiru had to submit to their God, Yahweh. Under the rule of Yahweh, the Habiru became a part of the Israelite clan. Under loyalty to Yahweh, they became kin. They became family. Israelites were to love their new clansmen as neighbors.

The new Israelite war machine systematically conquered the coalition tribes that controlled Palestine. They were ruthless. The tribes that occupied Palestine were to bow down to Yahweh (the war God) or be killed. Most chose to bow down to Yahweh. Those who did not were killed without mercy. When tribes bowed down to Yahweh, they became neighbors and were then worthy of the love and courtesies of the growing Israelite clan.

Old Testament law makes it very clear. Love was reserved for people who embraced Yahweh as their God, and who were then absorbed into the Israelite nation. This was the dominant definition of neighbor in Israelite history and tradition. But it was not unchallenged.

During the entire history of the Israelites, special people appeared to critique the behavior of leaders, whether they were kings or priests. The role of prophets was unique to the Israelites. They seemed to appear from out of nowhere. The position was not inherited, nor were they elected. They were not controlled by leaders. The word translated as “prophet” can be translated as “delegated messenger” or “one who is called.” They might be farmers, poets or actors, but their weapon was the simple words “thus says the Lord.” Name most any Old Testament prophet, and he is best understood as a protester, one who contested the standards and actions of those in power. It was the prophets who had the differing opinions about the definition of the neighbor who was to be loved.

Jesus from Nazareth lived and taught in the tradition of the protesting prophet. A lawyer once asked Jesus “and who is my neighbor?” Jesus did not give a direct answer, but rather told the story of the Good Samaritan. He obviously described a despised Samaritan as being a neighbor.

My argument with most of my Christian brothers and sisters is that they have abandoned the Jesus expansion of the definition of neighbor. Jesus’ definition of neighbor made him the unique person that he was.

I will be writing more about neighbor loving in next week’s column.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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