Get Real November 23 Devotional
November 23, 2024
I also believe this parable is crucial for understanding the relation of the two commandments to love God and neighbor. Some treat the two as a simple hierarchy. Love of God is primary. The priest and Levite were going to Jerusalem from Jericho, presumably for Temple service. Touching a non-Jew, let alone a dying man, would make them unfit to serve. Since love of God trumps love of neighbor, they felt it was a necessity to fulfill the worship command before any neighborly laws. Jesus includes, and implicitly criticizes, the two clerical men, to make this view untenable. Are the two commands then correlative, two versions of one command? Does love of neighbor fulfill the command to love God? This too fails to capture the relationship. Prayer and worship have intrinsic value and are more than motivation to serve.
I think Jesus teaches here that these two commands are mutually reinforcing and interpreting. You can’t worship God properly unless you know him as the God who seeks justice and is concerned for the neighbor. You can’t love your neighbor rightly unless your love for God directs and inspires and disciplines your care and compassion. Without theology, care is just social work. Without service, faith and worship are empty.
How do you relate the two commands?
FAMILY TIME—
Memorize the two commands together.
