34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” ~ Matthew 22:34-40
Jesus died for His enemies. He didn’t have to, but because He saw that there was no other way for us to be with Him other than Him dying on the cross for our sins and taking our punishment upon Himself. He didn’t have to take our sin. He didn’t have to take our punishment, but He did. Jesus set aside His own feelings, desires, and wants so that He could focus on saving us. He followed the will of His Father and gave Himself as the perfect and final sacrifice for our sins.
Jesus stated that the greatest commandment given is to love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. He then says the second greatest is to love your neighbor as yourself. The reason love is the greatest commandment is because love is a sign of unity with God. If God is love, and we are transforming into the image of God, then we would have to bear fruit that is of God.
As Jesus said,
17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
Mathew 7:17
And the greatest fruit, as we explained in our video The Power of The Holy Spirit under our Nuggets of Truth category, is love. Therefore, we must love everyone, even our enemies.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Love Your Enemies.
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