Can you explain from a biblical perspective what it means to love your neighbor as yourself? The Bible says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” How to love yourself correctly? And is it necessary to love yourself at all?

The Gospel commandments are: The Commandments of Christ are the commandments set forth within the framework of the New Testament, given to the disciples by Jesus Christ. These commandments are the basis of Christian morality and Christian doctrine itself. The most important part of these commandments are the Beatitudes given in the Sermon on the Mount.

Commandments of love.

The commandments of love are two commandments of the Old Testament, declared in the Gospel as the basis for the entire Divine Law and as predetermining all other commandments. Both commandments were declared by Jesus Christ to be the most important in response to the question about the highest law for man. The spirit of these two canons permeates the entire Gospel.
New Testament tells how a Pharisee lawyer asked Christ: “What is the first of all commandments?”, to which he received the answer from him:
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is similar to it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets are based on these two commandments. (Matthew 22:37-40)"

In answer to the scribe's question about the greatest, most important of all the commandments, Jesus Christ calls the greatest two commandments, about loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself. The spirit of these two commandments permeates the entire messianic teaching of Christ.

37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 The second is similar to it: Love your neighbor as yourself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Matthew 22:37-40

The Beatitudes.

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven...
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of unjust things against you because of Me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: even so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(Gospel of Matthew. Chapter 5, verses 3-12.)

Other commandments of the Sermon on the Mount.

The Sermon on the Mount is sometimes considered analogous to Moses' proclamation of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Christians believe that Jesus Christ brought the New Testament to people (Heb. 8:6).
The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Matthew, mainly reflecting the moral teaching of Christ.
The most famous part of the Sermon on the Mount is the Beatitudes, placed at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount also includes the Lord’s Prayer, the commandment “not to resist evil” (Matthew 5:39), to “turn the other cheek,” as well as the Golden Rule. Also often quoted are the words “salt of the earth,” “light of the world,” and “judge not, lest ye be judged.”
Many Christians consider the Sermon on the Mount to be a commentary on the Ten Commandments. Christ appears as the true interpreter of the Law of Moses. It is also believed that the Sermon on the Mount contains the main content of Christian teaching.

21 You have heard that it was said to the ancients: Do not kill; whoever kills will be subject to judgment.
22 But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be subject to judgment; whoever says * to his brother: “cancer” is subject to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says: “madman” is subject to fiery hell.
23 So if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something * against you,
24 Leave your gift there before the altar, and go, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Make peace with your adversary quickly, while you are still on the way with him, lest your adversary hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the servant, and you be thrown into prison;
26 Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid the last coin.
27 You have heard that it was said to the ancients, “You shall not commit adultery.”
28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell.
31 It is also said that if a man divorces his wife, he should give her a divorce decree.
32 But I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for the guilt of adultery, gives her cause to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33 Again you have heard what was said to the ancients: Do not break your oath, but fulfill your oaths to the Lord.
34 But I say to you: do not swear at all: not by heaven, for it is the throne of God;
35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King;
36 Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black.
37 But let your word be: yea, yea; no no; and anything beyond this is from the evil one.
38 You have heard that it was said: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
39 But I say to you: do not resist evil. But whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other also to him;
40 And whoever wants to sue you and take your shirt, give him your outer garment too;
41 And whoever forces you to go one mile with him, go with him two miles.
42 Give to the one who asks from you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
43 You have heard that it was said: Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you,
45 May you be sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don't publicans do the same?
47 And if you greet only your brothers, what special thing are you doing? Don't the pagans do the same?
48 Therefore be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
(Mt 5:21-48)

1 Be careful that you do not do your alms in front of people so that they will see you: otherwise you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
3 But when you give alms, let left hand yours doesn't know what your right one is doing,
6 But you, when you pray, go into your room and, having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.
14 For if you forgive people their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
15 But if you do not forgive people their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16 Also, when you fast, do not be sad, like the hypocrites, for they put on gloomy faces in order to appear to people as fasting. Truly I tell you that they are already receiving their reward.
17 And you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 That you may appear to those who fast, not before men, but before your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.
19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal,
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal,
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
24 No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one and neglectful of the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will wear. Is not the life more than food, and the body than clothing?
(Mt 6, 1, 3, 6, 14-21, 24-25)
1 Judge not, lest ye be judged,
2 For with the judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the plank that is in your own eye?
4 Or how will you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” and behold, there is a plank in your eye?
5 Hypocrite! First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see how to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
21 Not everyone who says to Me: “Lord!” Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven.
(Matthew 7, 1-5, 21)

During the life of Christ, one priest asked the Savior how to gain eternal life. Jesus, full of wisdom, advised him to look for the answer in God's Law. The interlocutor referred to the book of Leviticus from the Old Testament, where it first appeared: love your neighbor as yourself - a commandment. How to identify such a person? - asked the priest and heard the parable of the Good Samaritan. The data has passed through millennia and was remembered by Christians in the epistle of James to all believers.

Modern preachers often turn to the parables of Christ that are succinct and understandable to ordinary people. Philosophical disputes arise around texts and translations, but the essence remains unchanged. The Samaritans were not fellow believers of the Jews, and the name of their people was considered an insult to the Jews. The parable clearly indicates that a person is characterized not by his origin, but by the deeds he does.

Let's look at the basic elements of the Samaritan story.

1. The hero of the parable went on a journey. In those days, a lone traveler was in great danger. The wanderer was robbed, stripped and left to die near the road.
2. Other travelers went the same way: a priest and a Levite (temple servant), but they remained indifferent to the beaten and humiliated character of the parable. Fellow believers turned their backs on the victim.
3. A Samaritan was walking along the road. No mercy was expected from him towards the sufferer. But the Lord softened the foreigner’s heart, and he lifted the beaten man from the ground, put him on a donkey and took him to the city, paying for a hotel room.

The Samaritan's neighbor turned out to be beaten and humiliated, and he did not pass by. This is the meaning of this Christian thought. Just look around, and those in need will be very close.

The commandment to love your neighbor in life

You shouldn’t give your last money to drunks for a bottle of vodka. This is just a way to dismiss those who are suffering. Love your neighbor as yourself - the commandment says that you need to put yourself in the place of other people. Get out of your selfish cocoon to help others.

• Visit parents and single relatives who receive news during the holidays.
• Have a heart-to-heart talk with your significant other and children.
• Pray to the Lord to point out your neighbors. and you will notice them immediately.

Love your neighbor as yourself - the most important Christian commandment. It is accompanied by the idea of ​​not doing to other people what you do not want. This golden rule morality arose at the time when people turned from highly developed animals into Man.

The most important commandment of the Gospel, “love your neighbor as yourself,” at first glance, is the simplest rule that does not require interpretation. Nevertheless, it is precisely around these simple words of Christ that the sages (and not only the sages) love to conduct intellectual disputes.

After reading a number of statements by many philosophers interpreters (from F. Nietzsche to Father Sergei Bulgakov or Vasily Rozanov or Lev Krasavin), a believer himself can fall into error. He will inevitably face questions that overnight turn from simple and understandable to complex and intractable:

Who is a Christian's neighbor? whom should he love?

How exactly should we love our neighbor—as ourselves?

The Golden Commandment of Christian Ethics

Indeed, in the Gospel one can indeed find repeated mentions by Christ that “many are called, but few are chosen”, “a man’s enemies are those who are close to him” (Matthew, 10-39). “It is not good to take away the children’s bread and give it to dogs” (and to the Canaanite woman who prayed for help, Matt. 15-26).

Therefore, those who should be loved─ not all the people around a Christian, but some chosen ones? At the same time, does the Bible designate “to love your neighbor as yourself” as the most important condition for Salvation? And how to “love yourself”?

A person who has recently come to Christianity, if he does not read the interpretations of the Fathers of the Church and does not have conversations with his confessor, may doubt what exactly Christian love for oneself is. Despite rhetorical speculation, the believer will understand that “loving yourself” in the gospel spirit does not at all mean affording yourself new luxury cars or diversifying your table with foie gras and exotic fruits. On the contrary, out of self-love, you should tear out your “tempting eye,” “leave it,” and sometimes “ hate father and mother"(Luke 14-26).

The same applies to love for “your neighbor.”“, if it is likened to self-love. The object of love should be protected from excesses, helped, even guided with love on the right path, and not allowed to doubt the commandment and the Bible.

To avoid such harmful confusion, you should know the interpretations of the Holy Fathers and simply church authorities on this simplest commandment.

At its core, Christ’s commandment “to love your neighbor as yourself” includes, as well as postulates from the Old Testament, in particular, the book of James: “you do well by loving your neighbor as yourself (Bible, James 2, 8 ) and the modern golden rule of ethics in a positive reading: “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” In this, the commandment of Christ ─ the second most important, after love for God, ─ is comprehensive and simple.

But it should be noted that Christianity sharply distinguishes between “all” close people (for example, relatives or colleagues who go to a person regardless of his wishes), and true “close ones”.

In the parable of the victim of robbers, directly answering the question “who is a Christian’s neighbor,” Jesus himself emphasizes this difference. ─ A man was robbed and beaten by bandits, lying on the road. Those who should take care of him pass by: a relative in the tribe and a teacher of laws (in application to today's realities - a cousin and a people's deputy, or even an unworthy priest). And only one of the three, a man of an unknown tribe (“a Samaritan” in the time of Christ or a random Korean in the current situation), stops and helps the victim of the raid. From this parable it becomes clear: who, first of all, Christ meant by the concept of “neighbor”. But not only!

Who are “his neighbors” for a person?

If you read the Gospels carefully, then those who, like him, profess the true faith, themselves follow, become “neighbors” of a Christian. At the same time, it is important to understand that this may not be the person you are close to in life in the world. Not even a relative: « For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.”(Matt. 12-50).

Nevertheless, even without loving parents, ─ since love is a feeling from God, and it is extremely difficult for it to arise in relation to those who lead astray the righteous, or slander the teachings of Christ, ─ a true Orthodox must honor his father and mother.

A very good, clear answer to this question is given by St. John Chrysostom in his interpretation of “love of God and love of mankind.” Even brother or wife (husband), even if they “love” you with physical love, but do not care about your Christian self-improvement, encourage, for example, laziness and are not “neighbors” in the Gospel sense of the word.

Neighbors in blood and spirit in the Gospel and Bible

But we must not forget that the commandment of love for one’s neighbor is the second most important, while the first is about love of God. From this, theologians conclude that a true Christian, brought up in the spirit of the words “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind,” no matter what, he himself must try to see God’s creation in everyone, treat like the Samaritan treated the robbed, look for the heart of the strength to help the most erring one, making him your “neighbor.” You need to find a response to suffering in your heart any creature, and it will become your neighbor.

Moreover, the Bible repeatedly places the words of the Gospel “love your neighbor as yourself” among the most important commandments of the Old Testament, for example: the book of Leviticus 19:18.

Here is a short list of works Orthodox Church Fathers, which give the clearest interpretation of not only the commandment “love your neighbor” but also who this neighbor should be (you can find an extended list of references on the Optina Hermitage website or on the ABC of Faith resource http://www .optina.ru/, https://azbyka.ru/).

• "Commentary on St. Matthew" St.
• “The Commandments of God” by Bishop Alexander Mileant of South America from Buenos Aires.
• “About love for God and neighbors” St. John Kronstadt.

Of these(and many other writings or just a conversation with a thoughtful priest), it will become clear what a true Christian should consider “his neighbors”

• those who are in need and whom he can help,
• those who at least once helped him with advice, guidance or deed.
• But, first of all, those who, like himself, are trying to comprehend the love of the Lord, those who are close to him in the Christian spirit.

Other people, especially the “slanderous” ones, a Christian (if he has not discovered in himself the gift of preaching and carrying the word of God himself) should rather avoid: “know that through your brother you will (meaning not “brother by Faith, but “brother by blood”) listen to the depths" (Elder Ambrose of Optina).

“Have fellowship with those who fear the Lord and give comfort to your soul.”

Pachomius the Great.

For those who want to study the problem in more depth, we recommend the work of N. Berdyaev “Spirit and Reality” or the essay by Fr. Pavel Florensky "Pillar of Faith".

What should Christian love for oneself and one's neighbor be like?

No high, truly exalted spiritual feeling can come to a person for free. Philosopher Fr. Sergei Bulgakov wrote: “love, even friendship, comes after spiritual achievement, asceticism.” The love for neighbors that comes to a Christian must be severe enough (as well as for oneself) to become a feeling capable of protecting one’s neighbor - as well as oneself - from temptations, help to move away from “those who do evil”, save from hell.

The Gospel rejects love that depends on the movement of blood, on the feelings of the carnal heart

Ep. Ignatiy Brianchaninov

This feeling should in no way be an indulgence: “Oh, my neighbor wants a million dollars, I need to help.” Christian love in true Orthodoxy, not mixed with Lutheran theories of “success in worldly life,” should be quite strict. In the example with a million dollars, a Christian should rather not help his neighbor earn this million, but rather point out the dangers for his soul that await him on the path of acquisitiveness.

But a true Orthodox must also see the likeness of God in every other person. And to help, to the best of his ability, with his love, to get out of harmful delusions onto the road from which the robbers in the parable pushed him. Love your neighbor as yourself and never despair!

Levin B.H.

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF

“In much wisdom there is much sorrow;

and who increases knowledge,

increases sorrow" (Eccl. 1:18)

The words in the title, as everyone knows, are written in the Bible. But what does it mean to “love”? Feel tender feelings? Then who is the neighbor? And what is it like to love yourself: to also experience tender feelings? To yourself? It is from the Bible that we will try to understand what all this means. We will turn to other sources only to verify the logical conclusions obtained from studying the Bible. All statements are supported by quotations from the Bible ( synodal translation), and in order not to be distracted from the main narrative, much is explained in the footnotes. The study of such a simple “formula of love” turned out to be so complex and multifaceted that it had to be divided into several stages: 1. Who said: “Love”? 2. Who is your neighbor according to the Old Testament? 3. Who is Jesus' neighbor? 4. Jesus' new commandment to love your neighbors. 5. The Apostles on the new commandment of love for neighbors 6. And yet: “as I have loved,” or “love one another”? 7. Should you love your enemies? 8. Love your neighbor in a Christian way or in a Jewish way? 9. What is it like to love yourself? 10. What is it like to love your neighbor in a new way? At each stage we will get closer to the truth, and therefore each time the conclusions may not be final... Why did it take so much effort, and what happened? driving force such a difficult study that you even had to turn to Ecclesiastes for a pessimistic epigraph? Not just scientific interest, or everyday curiosity... Living in a Christian environment, knowing full well about the basic ideological guideline of Christianity “love your neighbor as yourself,” feeling it in everyday life, but also knowing the historical practice of Christianity, which is sharply different from it ( Inquisition, Crusades, baptism of pagans with “fire and sword”, religious wars in Europe, witch hunts, anti-Semitism), I wanted to understand this paradox, which could potentially have an impact at any moment negative impact for the life of each of us. Once again, it should be clarified that this study of the “formula of love” concerns only its biblical understanding, and not its actual historical and modern application. Lyrical digressions are kept to a minimum.

1. Who said: “Love”?

There is no person who does not know the biblical call to “love your neighbor as yourself.” These words are usually attributed to Jesus Christ. Even, for example, in the Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary (M.: INFRA-M, 2001), in the preface of which an objective approach is stated, in the article “Love for one’s neighbor” it is written, without any hesitation: “Love for one’s neighbor is proclaimed Christianity an ethical value that corresponded to the main ethical value of antiquity - justice, being at the same time broader in content" (emphasis in the text in a font other than italics, hereinafter - the author). Indeed, these are the words of Jesus: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 19:19), and "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39). But this biblical "formula of love" was invented by Moses under, so to speak, the direct guidance of God for the XIII centuries before Jesus of Nazareth declared himself the Son of this God. Simply put, it is written in the Old Testament, in the book of Leviticus: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19, 18). from his Jewish disciples to observe the Jewish commandment. In the New Testament itself there is direct evidence that “love your neighbor” was not Jesus, but it was written in the Jewish law by a certain young man (“young man”, according to Matt. 19, 20; but). in Luke 18:18 it is written: “one of the rulers”) asked Jesus what should be done “to have eternal life,” to which Jesus, among other things, said, “love your neighbor as yourself.” Then the “ruling youth” replied that “I have kept all this from my youth” (Matthew 19:16-20). This indicates that Jesus’ interlocutor knew the commandment “to love your neighbor as yourself” even without Jesus, “from his youth.” If this recognition of the “ruling youth” is not enough for those who have never read the Old Testament, or who generally believe that nothing good happened before Jesus, then here it is: “And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and, tempting Him, said: Teacher! What should I do to inherit eternal life? He said to him: Vlaw what is written? how do you read? He answered and said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself. Jesus said to him: You answered correctly; do this, and you will live" (Luke 10: 25 - 28). Let us note that it is precisely the expert in Jewish law The Torah, not Jesus, combined the commandments to love God and love neighbor. And he asked the question not out of ignorance of the answer, but “tempting”, that is, in order to test Jesus how well he knew the Torah. It turned out that Jesus knew the Torah very well and, most importantly, did not deviate from its commandments, expressing his attitude towards them as follows: “You answered correctly; do this and you will live.” There is also evidence from the apostles James and Paul that “thou shalt love” is written in the Jewish law. “If you fulfill the royal law, according to the Scripture: love your neighbor as yourself, you do well” (James 2:8). Here the Scripture is the Jewish Holy Scripture, that is, the Old Testament, since the New Testament Scripture had not yet been created under Jacob. The royal law means that it is the main, the most important in Scripture. “He who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not covet someone else’s, and all the others are contained in this word: love your neighbor as yourself. Love does not harm your neighbor; so love is fulfillment law" (Rom. 13:8 - 10). As everyone knows very well, the commandments not to commit adultery, not to kill, not to steal, not to bear false witness and not to covet the things of others are from the Sinai Decalogue, written in the Old Testament, or rather, in the Torah. This means that “to love another” is also written in the Torah. But the Torah is not the first written source in which this principle of the formula of love, known as the “golden rule of morality,” is recorded. In the Code of King Hammurabi (reign: 1793 - 1750 BC), written at least 500 years before the Torah, the first law states: “If a person, having accused a person under an oath, casts [suspicion of] murder on him and does not proves this, the one who accused him must be killed.” As we see, a false witness is subject to the same punishment that was provided for the accused. It’s like a warning: don’t wish on others what you don’t want done to you. In other words, you must treat others the same way you treat yourself. And although this principle is not as clearly formulated as in the Bible, it opens up a code. It turns out that the entire code is based on the “golden rule”. By the way, it is called “golden” because it is used in all cultures. However, written sources with classical formulations are no older than the Torah (13th century BC). For example, in Hinduism, the Mahabharata (X century BC), Confucius (551 - 479 BC), Socrates (470 - 399 BC), Aristotle (384 - 322 BC) etc.

2. Who is your neighbor according to the Old Testament?

When it comes to this famous phrase, a discussion inevitably arises about who is considered a neighbor. Although it would seem that there is something complicated here: a neighbor is someone who is close: whom you see, feel, communicate with, deal with, whom you know... Of course, the closer, the “closer”... That’s why you should love yourself the neighbor must be stronger than the far; anything else is unnatural. For example: to love your wife, and someone else’s; their children and others; your own people, and a stranger... Moreover, closeness is meant not only spiritual, but also purely mechanical (for example, a neighbor or fellow countryman). However, not every biblical dictionary and encyclopedia has an article about neighbor. Moreover, it is necessary to understand what “neighbor” means. Christians claim that in the Old Testament this concept included only fellow tribesmen, that is, Jews (and Jesus, they say, expanded it to all humanity, which even corresponds to the special term “Christian love”). Formally, this is so - the verse quoted above from the Old Testament, if read in full, leaves no doubt that neighbors are fellow tribesmen: “Do not take revenge and do not have any grudge against the sons of your people, but love your neighbor, as yourself. I am the Lord" (Lev. 19, 18). "Have no malice against the sons of your people" and "love your neighbor" are two parts of the same parallelism, and therefore "the sons of your people" are "your neighbors." However, this does not mean that the Old Testament as a whole calls for love only"a neighbor of his people", a fellow tribesman, a fellow believer. This is what is said in the quoted chapter of the Book of Leviticus further, a little lower (fifteen verses later): “When he settles alien in your land, do not oppress him: the stranger who settles with you, let him be the same as your native; love him as you love yourself; for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God" (Lev. 19, 33 - 34). And before - the same thing: "Do not harm the stranger: you know the soul of the stranger, because you yourself were strangers in the land of Egypt" (Ex. 23, 9). From this it is clear that, according to the Old Testament, you need to love as yourself everyone you deal with - that is, those who are nearby, your neighbors: whether you are a native or a stranger, your own or a stranger. And not only to love, but to relate in general. equally towards both our own and strangers: “Do not offend a mercenary, poor and needy, from your brothers or from aliens yours, who are in your land, in your dwellings" (Deut. 24:14). Why did Christians have such a wrong idea about the Old Testament “neighbor”? The fact is that the Torah was given only to Jews - to regulate the life of the chosen people. In this regard, the vast majority of laws (commandments) concern the relationship between the Jews themselves, which is why “neighbor” in most cases is a Jew for a Jew. But when the Torah talks about “aliens,” then “neighbors” are them too. And this means that in the Old Testament all people are neighbors.

3. Who is Jesus' neighbor?

Let us immediately make a reservation that one should form an idea of ​​Christian ideology, first of all, according to the words and deeds of the one by whose name it is named. After all, if we admit that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, then this inevitably means that the will of God himself is conveyed through him, which is directly stated in the Gospels more than once. And this will cannot but be canceled and changed. Therefore, we will focus almost exclusively on the Gospels, since only they contain the words and deeds of Jesus. Let's also see what those who knew Jesus best - the apostles - said about Christian love. So, Jesus himself was not distinguished by universal love, that’s what’s surprising! On the contrary, he proposed to love not even all fellow tribesmen, but only the very, very closest of them, that is, like-minded friends! There are not even words from Jesus that we must love all people. There is - to love: neighbors, enemies, friends. That is, again, in the Old Testament way: only those with whom you are dealing, and not abstract “humanity”. But more on that below, but for now let’s reveal the biggest “secret” of Jesus, the knowledge of which will allow us to better understand this man. Jesus called for the exact fulfillment of the Torah (Old Testament): “Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle.” He will not pass from the law until all is fulfilled... For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5: 17 - 18, 20). Jesus taught even foreigners that “salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). From these words it follows that, fulfilling the Old Testament “law or prophets” to the last letter, one should love one’s neighbors exactly in the Old Testament way, that is, only one’s neighbors (“the sons of your people” and “the stranger”). The most typical example of this declaration of non-love for everyone indiscriminately, for all “humanity” is Jesus’ categorical unwillingness to help the Canaanite woman solely because of her nationality. "And behold, a woman Canaanite Coming out of those places, she shouted to Him: have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David, my daughter is cruelly raging. But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came up and asked Him: let her go, because she is screaming after us. He answered and said: I have been sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And she, coming up, bowed to Him and said: Lord! help me. He answered and said, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it away.” dogs. She said: yes, Lord! but dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from the table gentlemen their. Then Jesus answered and said to her: O woman! great faith yours; let it be done to you as you wish. And her daughter was healed at that hour" (Matthew 15: 22 - 28). As we see, the Jew Jesus believed that only Jews, (“sheep of the house of Israel”), that is, fellow believers, Jews, should be helped. This was not accidental, not an emotional statement - even earlier, before meeting the unfortunate woman, he carefully instructed the apostles about this: “These twelve Jesus sent, and commanded them, saying: Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter the city of the Samaritans; but go above all to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 10:5-6). True, having become convinced over time that his fellow tribesmen often do not understand him and do not accept him, and even persecute him (John 1:11: "He came to his own, and their own did not receive Him"), Jesus said: “I have other sheep which are not of this fold, and these I must bring, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16 ). But more on this below. Jesus compared the Canaanite foreigner to a dog and did not help her until she agreed with him that the Jews are God’s chosen people, “lords.” And this (the chosenness of the Jews) is one of the main tenets of the Jewish people. Holy Scripture (Old Testament). And only when she humbly acknowledged this postulate, Jesus considered her to be a fellow believer (“great is your faith”), and helped her. One might think that Jesus, contrary to the declaration quoted above, violated the commandment of the Torah to love. a stranger as himself. But the fact of the matter is that the Canaanites were not strangers in the land of the Jews. On the contrary, it was the Jews, 13 centuries before Jesus, who captured the land of the Canaanites (the land promised to them by God) and were even obliged to completely destroy this people ( along with several other local peoples) for the sins of those before God, according to God's instructions. In the Gospel of Mark (7, 26) this woman is simply called “a pagan, a Syrophoenician by birth” (that is, a resident of Phenicia in Syria). Thus, Jesus, showing dislike for the Canaanite woman, did not deviate one iota from the Torah. That is, he did not call for all-encompassing love, strictly observing the thesis from the Jewish Holy Scripture about love only for neighbors (including aliens, but we will talk about them a little lower). But who Jesus considered his neighbors is the most interesting thing! In the parable of the Good Samaritan, who, unlike the Jewish clergy (priest and Levite), helped a stranger in trouble (Luke 10: 29 - 37), Jesus directly stated: “he who shows mercy” is his neighbor. That is, again, Jesus did not consider every inhabitant of the planet to be his neighbor. And not even necessarily a fellow tribesman! But only the one, in particular, who showed mercy, showed mercy, that is, a righteous person, even if he is not a fellow believer. However, according to the Old Testament, as was shown earlier, the neighbor is also not necessarily a fellow believer. True, without dividing into good and bad. By the way, Jesus’ love for the Good Samaritan does not contradict his contempt for the Canaanite woman (both are not Jews), since the Samaritans were precisely “strangers” whom, as mentioned above, the Old Testament instructs to love as oneself. However, it is important to note that with this parable Jesus showed that one must love as oneself not every stranger and not every fellow believer, but only depending on righteousness: a good fellow of another faith should be loved, a bad fellow believer should not be loved. This clearly showed distinguishing feature character of Jesus, which he himself formulated as follows: “Judge not according to appearances, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24).

4. Jesus' new commandment to love others

As in some other cases of his understanding of the commandments of Moses, Jesus strengthened the commandment of loving others. Yes, that’s right: toughened it up. What an apt word to describe Jesus' work in interpreting the Hebrew Scriptures! And what an ambiguous thing in relation to love: toughening of love... But this is really so. And now we will be convinced of this by reading in the Gospels what Jesus himself said about love. First, we will present all the words of Jesus about love for people (and not about love in general) in the order in which they are recorded in the Gospels (without duplicating repetitions from the synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke), highlighting in font and underlining what should be paid attention when analyzing Christ's love for others. Looking ahead, we note that the sequence of quotes is important - it reflects the ideology of Jesus in development. So here is the direct speech of Jesus. "And I say to you: love your enemies yours, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you, yes you will be sons of the Father your Heavenly, for He commands His sun to rise over the evil ones and good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what will be your reward? Don't publicans do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what special things are you doing? Don't the pagans do the same? So, be perfect, how perfect the Father is your Heavenly" (Matthew 5, 44 - 48). "Whoever loves father or mother more than me, not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me" (Matthew 10:37). "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 19:19). "Commandment new I give it to you, yes love each other; how I have loved you, So and may you love each other. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love between each other"(John 13, 34 - 35). "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14, 15). "Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he loves Me; and whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father" (John 14:21). "As the Father has loved Me, I have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as And I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love" (John 15:9-10). "This is My commandment, yes love each other for your friends"(John 15:12 - 13). It is impossible not to pay attention to the fact that the loudly called new commandment to love" each other" sharply contradicts the no less famous condemnation by Jesus himself of such a narrowly understood love: “if you welcome only your brothers, what special things are you doing? Don’t the pagans do the same?” (Matthew 5:47). However, it must be borne in mind that the phrase about greeting the brothers is polemical (this is clearly visible from the context), and serves only to highlight the maxim about love for enemies , that is, against its background, show the uniqueness, the value of love for enemies: “But I say to you: love your enemies... For If you love those who love you, what will be your reward? ... And if you greet only your brothers, what special thing are you doing?" (Matthew 5: 44 - 47). That is, the idea here is the value of love for enemies, and not the inferiority of love only for brothers (meaning non-relatives , but fellow tribesmen). In other words, Jesus calls to greet not only brothers, but also enemies. Yes, and in one case Jesus is talking about friends (to love each other), in the other - about brothers (to greet not only brothers). these are by no means synonyms. If we still consider that one statement of Jesus contradicts another, at least in form (here a positive attitude towards strangers, there a negative attitude towards one’s own), then we can approach it just as formally and consider the last statement of Jesus to be valid. (about love for each other), and the first (about greeting brothers) - to those who lost their power after him. The validity of this approach is visible in the example considered with the Canaanite woman: at first Jesus did not want to help her, but then he helped her when. circumstances have changed(the Canaanite woman recognized God’s chosenness of the Jews), and ultimately, Jesus showed mercy. And we consider Jesus to be merciful - precisely because of the last (and not the first) statement. But all this is secondary. The main thing is in the commandment about love, which Jesus himself called new. Implying the newness of Christian love, they refer precisely to these words of Jesus: “The commandment new I give to you, that you may love one another; just as I have loved you, so you also love one another" (John 13:34). Let us emphasize that this was said at the Last Supper to the closest disciples and to no one else. It is striking that we must love "one another" and not the first person you meet and, in any case, not all “humanity”! Usually here they pay attention to the words “as I have loved” (which we will discuss in detail below), that is, love as God, as we know, loves. everyone, and Jesus clarifies: “the just and the unjust”... Well, so what? After all, “love as God”, according to Jesus, still applies. only to each other, and not to everyone! First of all, let us note the enormous significance of this new commandment, since it is the only one in the entire New Testament called “new” by Jesus himself, and named at the end of his ministry (that is, it is his, so to speak, last word). Therefore, we can consider that the New Testament is new solely because of this commandment. Therefore, it is this short phrase Jesus influenced the entire history of mankind, and drives it to this day. Therefore, let us consider this new commandment very carefully, from all sides. The commandment to love one another is indeed new, at least formally: Jesus proclaimed it after commandments about love for neighbor and enemy. This happened at the last, Passover meal (the so-called last supper), after which Jesus was arrested and executed - that is, after it he did not say anything new about love, and did not speak at all about love for his neighbors. Consequently, Jesus could say “new” in the sense of “one more,” meaning not the novelty of the idea, but the consistency of the presentation - everything that is said last is new in relation to what was said before. It would be possible to consider this commandment truly new, that is, new in essence, only when love concerned exclusively friends (after all, it is said only about like-minded friends: “love each other"), and no one else, and Jesus would not have mentioned love for other people... And this, indeed, is not in the Old Testament, this is, in fact, a new word about love for one's neighbor... But this contradicts the well-known truth , that “Jesus loves everyone,” and here we should carefully understand. However, this love proclaimed by Jesus in comparison with the Old Testament love for one’s neighbor does not look fundamentally new, not revolutionary, since love between friends can be considered a special case of love between neighbors. and there is a narrowing, a tightening of the love for neighbors known before Jesus. Let us immediately say that there is another important side of this commandment, which still makes it revolutionary new, but we will consider this side of the “new commandment” later. So, with the last statement in time. Jesus about love for neighbors was still a commandment about love only for friends (and not for all “mankind”): “This is my commandment, yes love each other how I have loved you. There is no greater love than this if someone lays down his soul for your friends"(John 15: 12 - 13). One could assume that Jesus addressed only friends, and spoke only about friends, since they turned out to be the only listeners at the time of the announcement of this new commandment, and then the main thing in this commandment is not “love each other", and "love... like me loved." However, doubts disappear after the words: "Greater love has no one than if someone lays down his life for your friends"(John 15:13). And the words "By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have Loveamong themselves "(John 13:35) clearly indicate to whom Christian love should be directed - “among each other”, to “your friends.” So, after all, we are talking only about friends, otherwise Jesus would have said not “for his friends”, but “for all mankind” (for any person, for another person), or at least “for his people” (“for his brothers”), or, in extreme cases, "for your neighbors"; I would say not “among each other,” but “among neighbors.” But Jesus extremely strengthened the commandment to love one’s neighbor, narrowing the circle of neighbors to only like-minded friends! In addition, Jesus addressed the “new commandment” specifically to his friends not by chance, not spontaneously: he chose the moment when only his disciples, devoted to him, remained with him, sending away the traitor Judas (and by this, by the way, disavowed the “commandment” to love enemies) . Here is the sequence of actions at the Last Supper (John 13:21 - 35): “I tell you that one of you will betray Me” (21). “Having dipped a piece, he gave it to Judas Simon Iscariot” (26). “And after this piece Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to him, “Whatever you are doing, do it quickly” (27). “Having accepted the piece, he immediately left” (30). “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, so you also love one another (34). “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (35). We We have already noted that the words of Jesus “if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing in particular?” But Jesus has a lot of contradictory statements. Therefore, let us note what is in common with the “new commandment”: the commandment of love for enemies. the commandment of love for friends is of the same order, since divide neighbors on those who should be loved and on everyone else. And if we read the Gospels with an open mind, we will find no confirmation of this corporate thinking of Jesus: the division into friends and foes, friends and foes. These are the words of Jesus: "I have come divide a man with his father, and a daughter with her mother, and a daughter-in-law with her mother-in-law. And a man’s enemies are his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me" (Matthew 10:35-37); "He who is not with Me is against Me" (Matthew 12:30); "pointing His hand at His disciples , said: Here are my mother and my brothers; For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother" (Matthew 12:49-50); "And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for My name's sake, he will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life" (Matthew 19:29). The apostles and neighbors were divided into "ours" and "not ours": "They went out from us, but were not ours: for if they were ours, they would have remained with us; but they went out, and through this it was revealed that they were not all ours" (1 John 2.19) - but this will be discussed in more detail below. How are all these words combined with Jesus’ literal repetition of such commandments of the Torah as honoring parents, loving to your neighbor? It’s simple: in principle, you need to honor, but not everyone, but specifically, only those who are worthy of Jesus. In principle, you need to love your neighbors, but not everyone indiscriminately, but specifically, only like-minded people, followers of Jesus. The division into friends and strangers occurs on the basis of faith, faith not even in God, but faith in Jesus! Here are the words of Jesus about this: “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God and believe in me"(John 14:1); "I am the way and the truth and the life; nobody does not come to the Father, as only through Me"(John 14:6); "You My friends, if you do what I command you" (John 15:14); "I pray for them: not abouteveryone world I pray, but for those whom You gave To me, because they are Yours" (John 17:9); "I do not only pray for them, but also about believersinto Me according to their word" (John 17:20); "The love with which You loved Me, in them will be" (John 17:26). As we see, Jesus believed that only those who believe in him are worthy of the love of God. And, of course, one who is not worthy of the love of God is not worthy of the love of the adherents of this God, cannot be called a neighbor to them. This is, indeed, a new word about love for one’s neighbors! It’s time to once again recall the thesis expressed at the beginning: this “new commandment” about love only for friends is a narrowing, tightening of the “Old Testament” commandment about love for all neighbors. why there are contradictions in Jesus’ statements, in particular about love for others. They can be easily explained if we consider Jesus’ beliefs not in a static state, but in development, the evolution of Jesus’ ideas, in other words, to answer the question, how did Jesus. was able to reach this: from the general (Old Testament love for all neighbors) - to the particular (love only for friends)? Let us remember as a precedent how Jesus changed his attitude towards the Canaanite woman in a matter of moments - as soon as the circumstances changed (she believed at first). Jesus preached the laws of the Torah as they were (Matt. 5, 18: “not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law”), because “salvation is from the Jews” (John 4, 22). But he saw that they were not being fulfilled or were being fulfilled formally, hypocritically (Matthew 8:10: “and in Israel I have not found such faith”), and began to demand a stricter implementation of them in spiritually, and not in the ritual. For example: “you can do good on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:12); “The Sabbath is for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27); “Whoever looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). But this, obviously, did not work, since the people only needed miracles and healing from physical illnesses, and not spiritual improvement. It is directly written in the Gospels that the people followed Jesus only for healing from physical illnesses. For example: “The inhabitants of that place, recognizing Him, sent into all that surrounding area and brought to Him all the sick” (Matthew 14:35); "Much people followed Him from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and beyond the Jordan. And those living in the region around Tire and Sidon, when they heard, what did he do, came to Him in great multitudes... For He healed many, so that those who had wounds rushed to Him to touch Him" ​​(Mark 3:7 - 10; the same Mark 6:56); "A multitude followed Him people, because they saw the miracles that He performed on the sick" (John 6:2). Jesus saw that the people did not understand his moral preaching. For example, during the sermon from the boat, when he was listening, as it is written, "many people ", Jesus said to the disciples: "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, and they don't understand"(Matthew 13:13). And after a sermon dedicated precisely to the golden rule (“And as you want people to do to you, do so to them,” Luke 6:31), he exclaimed: “What are you call me: Lord! God! - and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46). Despite this, Jesus continued to preach (Mark 10:1: "Again the people gathered to Him, and, according to His custom, He again taught them "), since he sincerely believed that "those who are healthy do not need a doctor, but those who are sick... for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matthew 9: 12 - 13). The people associated repentance only with healing, and Jesus forgave sins as, so to speak, a panacea for all illnesses in exchange for faith in him (Matthew 9:2). It was the simple people who perceived Jesus preaching to them not as a teacher, but as a healer: “Jesus asked: what do you want from me? The blind man said to Him: Teacher! so that I may receive my sight" (Mark 10:51). This is what happened literally before the Sermon on the Mount: "they came listen to Him and be healed from their illnesses, and also those suffering from unclean spirits; and were healed. AND all the people sought to touch Him, because power emanated from Him and healed everyone"(Luke 6:18 - 19). There is reason to assume that Jesus deliberately engaged in healing in order to attract listeners - after all, his goal, without a doubt, was the spiritual, and not the physical, improvement of the people: "Be ye perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect "(Matthew 5:48). But, obviously, only a few needed real spirituality. Even those who began to study with Jesus eventually left him: "From that time many of His disciples departed from Him and walked no more with Him" ​​(John 6:66). Jesus gathered only twelve permanent disciples, followers, friends. But this number turned out to be too many, since even these chosen ones too often did not understand him. However, Jesus could not take less - he needed There were exactly twelve apostles (in Russian: ambassador, or sent) by analogy with the twelve tribes (tribes) of Israel, whom God chose one and a half thousand years before Jesus to spread knowledge about himself to all nations: “Jesus said to them: Verily, I say you, that you who have followed Me, in the future, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matt. 19, 28). Therefore, in the end, Jesus turned all his love for his neighbor only to friends, to like-minded people, to those who really needed him as Teacher(that’s what they called him), who loved him the same way. It is not for nothing that the last words (at the last meeting with the disciples) of the already resurrected Jesus were to ask Peter three times whether he loved him (John 21: 15 - 17). Thus, obviously, Jesus exchanged the Old Testament ideology of love for all neighbors, with which he began his ministry, for his own ideology of love only for like-minded people. But since Jesus narrowed the circle of those worthy of love (and we examined only this part of the “new commandment”), then he probably concentrated love itself on the elect... And we will understand this “concentrate” later.

5. The Apostles on the new commandment of love for neighbors

Jesus himself did not explain in any way the new commandment of love: whether it really concerns only “one another.” He just formulated it. But Jesus taught the apostles (except Paul, but it was thanks to him, as the “apostle of the pagans,” that Christianity turned from a Jewish sect into a world religion), and they paid a lot of attention to this commandment in their messages. Therefore, let's turn to them, give all the quotes from the messages, which directly say who exactly should be loved. And we will see clearly that love Christian" to each other" the apostles put it in the first, and in fact, in the only place. To complete the picture, let’s consider quotes not only about love, but also about kindness towards others, keeping in mind that these can be synonyms. Slightly different from general rule Places in quotations will be underlined and then explained in detail. Here, everything that is found in the messages about love for neighbors, in which, let us remind you, it is specified who our neighbors are (after all, we are only interested in this now, and not what love is in general, about which a lot is also said in the messages): “If you fulfill the royal law, according to the Scripture: , - you do well" (James 2:8); "Having purified your souls to the unfeigned brotherly love, constantly love each other from the bottom of my heart" (1 Peter 1:22); "Honor everyone, love brotherhood“Fear God, honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17); “Above all, have diligent love for each other, because love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8); " Greet each other with the kiss of love" (1 Peter 5:14); "Show in your faith virtue, in virtue knowledge, in knowledge self-control, in self-control patience, in patience godliness, in godliness brotherly kindness, in brotherly love there is love"(2 Pet. 1, 5 - 7); "Who loves brother his own, he abides in the light" (1 John 2:10); "Whoever does not practice righteousness is not from God, neither is he loving brother his"(1 John 3:10); "For this is the gospel which you have heard from the beginning, so that we loved each other"(1 John 3:11); "We know that we have passed from death to life because love brothers; he who does not love his brother remains in death" (1 John 3:14); "We must lay down our souls for the brothers"(1 John 3:16); "And this is His commandment, that we believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and loved each other as He commanded us" (1 John 3:23); "Beloved! we will love each other"(1 John 4:7); "We must love each other"(1 John 4:11); "If we love each other, then God abides in us" (1 John 4:12); "Whoever says: “I love God,” but hates his brother, is a liar: for he does not loving brother his own, whom he sees, how can he love God, whom he does not see? And we have this commandment from Him, that he who loves God loved his brother too"(1 John 4:20 - 21); "The commandment... which we have had from the beginning, that we loved each other"(2 John 1:5); "Be brotherly love to each other with tenderness" (Rom. 12:10); "He who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not covet what belongs to someone else, and all the others are contained in this word: . Love does not harm one's neighbor; Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom. 13: 8 - 10); "Let all things be done with you with love. Please, brethren..." (1 Cor. 16, 14 - 15); "Serve with love to each other"(Gal. 5:13); "For the whole law is contained in one word: love your neighbor as yourself "(Gal. 5:14); "Carry burdens each other, and thus execute law of Christ"(Gal. 6:2); "Therefore, while we have time, let us do good everyone , A especially those according to faith"(Gal. 6:10); "Condescending to each other love" (Eph. 4:2); "Peace brothers and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 6:23); "Not about myself only others to each other and toeveryone "(1 Thess. 3:12); "Oh brotherly love there is no need to write to you; for you yourselves have been taught by God love each other"(1 Thess. 4:9); "See to it that no one repays evil for evil; but always seek the good and each other andeveryone brethren by all of you "(2 Thess. 1, 3); "Cling to righteousness, faith, love, peace with to all who call on the Lord from the bottom of my heart" (2 Tim. 2:22); "Let us be careful to each other, encouraging to love and good deeds" (Heb. 10:24); " Brotherly love between you let him abide" (Heb. 13:1). It will be shown further that by "brothers" here we mean Christians, but for now let's summarize the main results. So, in all the letters of the apostles, 34 quotes about love for people were found, where it is specified who exactly should to love. Of these, 26 are about love for each other (17) and brothers (15), as well as “those who call on the Lord” (1), 5 are similar statements of the Apostle Paul, in which not only friends, but also certain people are mentioned as worthy of love. all" and "others", 3 - about love for neighbors in general. Thus, the vast majority of apostolic calls for love are fully consistent with the new commandment of Jesus: to love one another (and no one else). It is all the more interesting to consider the exceptions to this rule. What differs most are from the new commandment there are five calls of the Apostle Paul to love “all” and “others” (though three of them are about care and kindness): “Therefore, while we have time, let us do good everyone , A especially those according to faith"(Gal. 6:10); "Not about myself only everyone cares, but everyone also about others "(Phil. 2:4); "And may the Lord fill you and fill you with love to each other and toeveryone "(1 Thess. 3:12); "See to it that no one repays evil for evil; but always seek the good and each other andeveryone "(1 Thess. 5:15); "It is always just that we should thank God for you, brethren because your faith increases and multiplies everyone's love for each otherby all of you "(2 Thess. 1, 3). Let us figure out who these “all” and “others” are. In the first quote, “So while we have time, let us do good everyone , A especially those according to faith“(Gal. 6:10), although it does not speak about love, what is striking is the requirement for a different attitude towards “our own” and “everyone”: one should treat “our own” well (“do good”) first of all. Here, “everyone” undoubtedly means all people, including people of other faiths, that is, non-Christians. In the verse “Not about yourself. only everyone cares, but everyone also about others “(Phil. 2:4) “others” are not all of humanity, as it might seem at once, but only our own, Christians, which clearly follows from the context of the two previous verses of this letter to the Philippians. In order not to be unfounded, we will present them together in full : "Have just thoughts, have the same love, be unanimous and unanimous; Nothing don't do out of ambition or vanity, but out of humility, read one another superior to yourself. Not about myself only everyone cares, but everyone also about others"(Phil. 2:2 - 4). It is clear that here Paul is addressing only Christians: “have the same thoughts,” “be of one accord and of the same mind.” And “honor one another” and “take care... and about others.” - the same thing, said in slightly different words (that is, parallelism). “One of the other” is said about Christians, therefore “about others” - it is also worth adding that in the above quote, like in the first, it is not about love for. neighbor, but about caring for him: “take care.” In the letters of the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians there are three similar quotes where “all” and “others” are mentioned, so it makes sense to consider them together using the method of parallelism: “... love to each other and to everyone"(1 Thess. 3:12), "... seek goodness and to each other and to everyone"(1 Thess. 5:15) and "...the love of everyone increases to each otherbetween all of you"(2 Thess. 1, 3). From two quotes from the first letter to the Thessalonians, it formally follows that “one another” and “all” are different concepts, since they are separated by the conjunction “and.” But in the quote from the second letter to To the Thessalonians, the words “among you all” and “to each other” are not separated by a union, and it is clear that these are one and the same thing, synonyms, elements of parallelism. Thus, it becomes obvious that in the quotations from the first letter to the Thessalonians these “. to each other" - those Christians to whom the message is specifically directed, and "all" are the rest of the Christians "between all of you." This sentence structure represents a parallelism very characteristic of the Bible (when in fact the same thing is said in different words). One of the two quotes does not talk about love, but about doing good: “seek good.” Thus, even in those quotes that seem to talk about love for everyone, in fact, they mean love only for Christians. (and only a good attitude towards everyone). For this reason, quotes not literally about love (but also about care and kind attitude) were included in the list of those considered, in order to eliminate any doubts about equal treatment of “everyone”. In the next three quotes about love for neighbors, although it is not directly specified who these “neighbors” are, it is said that love for them follows from the law and Scripture. What law and what Scripture did the Jewish apostles have in mind? As previously explained, definitely - Toru. These verses are: "If you do law royal, by Scripture: love your neighbor as yourself, - you do well" (James 2:8); "He who loves another has fulfilled law. For the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not covet what belongs to someone else, and all the others are contained in this word: love your neighbor as yourself. Love does not harm one's neighbor; Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom. 13: 8 - 10); "For all law in one word is: love your neighbor as yourself"(Gal. 5:14). You may not know at all what the Torah is, you may never read the Old Testament at all, but in the second quote it is impossible not to recognize the well-known decalogue (ten commandments) from the Old Testament: “Thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill , do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not covet what belongs to others." And all this, as the Apostle Paul said, constitutes the same " law", which means the Torah. Yes, and the Scripture to which the Apostle James refers, in his time there was only one - the Jewish Holy Scripture, that is, the Torah (Old Testament). It is not surprising that the Jewish apostles, raised from childhood to live according to the Torah, taught by Jesus to strictly observe it in general (“not one jot or one tittle shall pass from the law”), albeit with some reservations (as in the Sermon on the Mount and the new commandment), they called for fulfilling one of the main Jewish commandments (which he called such and Jesus himself): love your neighbor as yourself. Why are we considering these three quotations containing the Old Testament commandment if they do not specify who the “neighbors” are? If the apostles had not referred to the Torah, then yes, we would have been at a loss as to who they meant by their neighbors. But it’s not for nothing that we first found out who our neighbors are in the Old Testament: this is everyone with whom you deal. Consequently, at least three times the apostles James and Paul called on Christians to love not only each other according to the new commandment, but also everyone according to the old (old) commandment. It turns out that the new commandment to love one another does not at all cancel the old one to love your neighbor as yourself. And here a doubt arises that the new commandment is part of the old one, and we will resolve this doubt further. By the way, the letters of the apostles affirm the enduring significance of Old Testament values. This is what the Apostle Paul said about this, who knew a lot about the Old Testament, since, in his own words, he was “a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, carefully instructed in the law of his fathers, zealous for God "(Acts 22:3), "Pharisee, son of a Pharisee" (Acts 23:6), "circumcised on the eighth day, of the family of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Jew of Hebrews, according to the teaching of a Pharisee" (Phil. 3:5 ), in the letter to Timothy: “Moreover, from childhood you have known the sacred scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3, 15 - 16). "From childhood" Timothy, to whom Paul writes, could only know the Jewish Holy Scripture (Torah), since his childhood could have taken place even before the activity of Jesus, and indeed, before the formation of the Scriptures of the New Testament. Let us remember that the “ruling youth” said: “I have kept all this from my youth.” And in modern Christian worship the Old Testament is very widely used. It is impossible not to pay attention to the different attitude towards “everyone” and towards “each other”: to everyone (neighbors) - to do good (and to Christians too, but more, “especially”), and to “each other” (Christians) - love. The message of the Apostle Peter says this directly: " Read everyone, love brotherhood“Fear God, honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17). Respect for everyone, love for fellow Christians. But what about what was said three times “to love your neighbor as yourself” - isn’t this the same love as “to each other”? No, further it will be shown that, despite the fact that both there and there are love, “to love as oneself” and “just to love” are fundamentally different concepts, although outwardly similar. Dozens of verses in the letters of the apostles contain calls to love not all neighbors, as in the Old Testament, but only like-minded Christians, “each other,” exactly as Jesus bequeathed in the “new commandment” Rare wishes to love all neighbors, borrowed by the apostles from the Old Testament. , do not change the picture. And it’s not a matter of quantity. For example, in the Old Testament, in the overwhelming majority of cases, fellow believers are called neighbors, but just one phrase that “aliens” are also neighbors is enough to avoid dividing people into “ours” and “ not ours.” But in the New Testament, the Old Testament “love for one’s neighbor as oneself” is disavowed by the division into Christians and so-called “outsiders” and the demand for a fundamentally different attitude towards them: to love everyone as oneself, “to do good to everyone.” (Gal. 6, 10), but to simply love - only Christians... It is not for nothing that we first considered the question of whom Jesus considered his neighbors. It turned out - righteous people. Jesus, keeping the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself,” helped only those who believed him. For example: “And he did not perform many miracles there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58). That is, faith in Jesus was the criterion of righteousness, the criterion by which it was determined who was his neighbor. Naturally, Jesus suggested loving only “one another,” Christians, since, by believing in him, only they were neighbors to each other. The Apostle Paul especially emphasizes that the attitude towards non-Christians should be different from Christian love for each other: “With external get by prudently, making use of the time" (Col. 4:5). "Prudently", that is, prudently. Compare with what the Apostle Paul says regarding Christians: "So that you do not deal with your brother in anything unlawful or selfishly" (1 Thess. 4, 6). Is there a difference: to act prudently (prudently) with outsiders, and not selfishly with one’s brother? just thoughts" ... be " unanimous and unanimous"(Phil. 2:2). The Apostle Paul directly writes about such: “if anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed” (1 Cor. 16:22). Since “anathema” is translated not just as a curse, but also as excommunication ( that is, excommunication from the community with a curse), then, therefore, concerns only Christians who moved away from the teachings of the Apostle Paul and became “external.” Therefore, we can conclude that by neighbors the apostles understood only “each other,” their like-minded Christians. “brothers.” By the way, the apostles called only fellow believers, Christians, brothers. This is completely clear from the context of the above quotes and follows, for example, from here: “Those who have masters.” faithful, should not handle them carelessly because they brothers; but we must serve them all the more because they are faithful and beloved and do good to them" (1 Tim. 6:2). The faithful, that is, of the same faith, are therefore brothers, brothers in faith, since children of one Father, God, but "related " among themselves, "one with another", who became "brothers" only through Jesus Christ: "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:26); "a true son through a common faith" (Titus 1 , 4). And the sons of one father (in this case, God) are brothers. By the way, it is from this kinship and brotherhood that Jesus’ new covenant to love one another stems: “Look how Love gave us Father so that we can be called and be children of God"(1 John 3:1). That is, since we are children of God, and the Father naturally loves us, then we must love each other - otherwise, what kind of sons of God are we (and brothers among ourselves), and What right then do we have to eternal life in the Kingdom of God the Father! Thus, brotherhood is one of the foundations of Christianity. But brotherhood is only between Christians themselves - according to the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament (we are not considering the practice of the Churches, or popular Christianity, etc.) Let us recall what was said earlier in the footnote to the word “brothers.” Throughout the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments, “brothers” are not only people who have common things. biological parents, or one of them. In the Old Testament, these are all fellow tribesmen, compatriots, friends, and fellow citizens (not necessarily fellow tribesmen and co-religionists), and complete strangers to each other. But in the New Testament “brothers” (except biological) - only co-religionists, that is, people united along ideological lines, regardless of nationality and citizenship. As an exception, Jesus called brothers of the same tribe (both Jews among themselves and Gentiles among themselves) when he spoke about love for enemies: “And if you greet only your brothers, what special thing are you doing? Do not the Gentiles also do the same?” (Matthew 5:47), but, as we see, he called this a delusion (“what are you doing in particular?”), since, in reality, he considered only like-minded people to be brothers: “pointing His hand to His disciples, He said: Behold My mother and My brothers; for whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother" (Matthew 12:49-50). This is a narrowing of the Old Testament understanding. According to the Jewish Holy Scripture (Old Testament), there is one God, he is the creator of the first man, and all people descended from Adam, therefore, all people are brothers. And in the books of the New Testament, only the spiritual children of Jesus Christ are brothers (since Jesus Christ, and not God, made a Covenant with them), and this is not all people on the planet. The apostles of Jesus founded Christianity precisely on the thesis that only believer in Jesus, that is, whoever believes that Jesus is the Son of God will be able to be saved from punishment for his sins, since Jesus atoned for them with his sacrificial death, thanks to which the believer will live forever (just as Jesus was resurrected) and happily (as Jesus took upon himself all the sins of the world) in the Kingdom of God. “The promise which He promised us is eternal life” (1 John 2:25). “If you believe in the Son of God, you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). “He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is already condemned” (John 3:18). "When the grace and love of our Savior, God, appeared, He saved us not by works of righteousness which we would have done, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we may become heirs according to the hope eternal life "(Tit. 3, 4 - 7). Of course, at the same time, every person who does not believe in Jesus, or believer, incorrectly represents a mortal threat, and is an enemy, since he destroys hope for an eternal and happy life. Therefore: “Whoever does not love the Lord Jesus Christ is anathema” (1 Cor. 16:22). But “if anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or welcome him” (2 John 1:10). It is not for nothing that the apostles persistently demanded unanimity from Christians: “Be like-minded among yourselves” (Rom. 12:16); "May the God of patience and consolation grant you to be of one mind with one another, teaching Christ Jesus" (Rom 15:5); "I appeal to you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same spirit and in the same thoughts" (1 Cor. 1:10); “But even if we Angel from heaven began to preach to you a gospel not that which we preached to you, so be it anathema"(Gal. 1:8). These are the roots of the extreme religious intolerance of the followers of Jesus Christ towards dissenters (not “each other”) throughout almost the entire history of Christianity: towards Jews, Muslims, pagans and especially towards their own Christians who differ ideologically and ritually from the dominant churches... However, the fight against dissent is not an invention of Christianity. It is laid down in the Old Testament, in which God repeatedly requires the chosen people to fight. pagan gods, however, we emphasize, only in the promised land, that is, within the borders of the Jewish state. For example: “Do not worship their gods, and do not serve them, and do not imitate their deeds; but crush them, and destroy their pillars” (Ex. 23, 24); "Destroy their altars, break their pillars, cut down sacred their groves" (Ex. 34:13); "But do this to them: destroy their altars, break their pillars, and cut down their groves, and burn their images with fire" (Deut. 7: 5); "Destroy all the places, where the nations that you will conquer served their gods, on high mountains, and on the hills, and under every branching tree. And destroy their altars, and break down their pillars, and burn their groves with fire, and break in pieces the images of their gods, and destroy their name from that place" (Deut. 12:2-3); "And in the cities of these nations, of whom the Lord Your God gives you possession, do not leave a single soul alive; But put them to destruction: the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as the LORD your God commanded you, lest they teach you to do the same abominations as they did to their gods, and lest you sinned against the Lord your God" (Deut. 20: 16 - 18). So, it is not surprising that the Son of God was equally intolerant of those who did not share his faith, his views, and therefore gave a new commandment love specifically for friends, thereby, as it were, tightening (narrowing) the old commandment of love for all neighbors. We examined the new commandment of Jesus about love for each other, comparing it with the commandment of Moses about love. to your neighbor as to yourself, since Jesus himself constantly turned to the commandments of the Torah, as if improving them. But what if it was this “commandment of love” that Jesus did not perfect, but actually invented? What if it is new, not formally, not evolutionarily, but, indeed, fundamentally new, as he said: “The commandment new I give"? In this regard, you should pay attention to the fact that Jesus in this commandment speaks specifically about love for others, without comparing it with love “for oneself,” as is customary in the Old Testament - he simply speaks about love, as a feeling. And then, if you get rid of the stereotype, and do not see love “for each other” as love for your neighbor, then it turns out that Jesus is not talking about the “golden rule of morality” (doing with others as you want, to do to you), but about love in pure form, about selfless love. But we’ll talk about this understanding of love by Jesus a little later...

6. And yet: “as I have loved,” or “love one another”?

Let us repeat, Christian scholars and theologians, from John Chrysostom (347 - 407) to modern times, see the novelty of the “new” commandment about love in the words: “ like me loved you, let you also love" (while completely "not noticing" that these words are addressed only to friends, and relate only to relationships between friends). Since Jesus called himself the Son of God and even "I and the Father are one" (John 10, 30), then it turns out that love for your neighbor should not be compared in the old way - with love for yourself (love your neighbor, like yourself), and in a new way - with the love of God demonstrated through Jesus (love your neighbor, as I have loved). It is also emphasized that this is precisely why Christian love for one’s neighbor is qualitatively higher than Old Testament love. But God’s direct love for people is spoken of in the Old Testament, for example: “The Lord loves you” (Deut. 7:8). And, naturally, the requirement in the Old Testament of love for God presupposes the same love for his creations, and especially for his sons (who are called Jews in the Old Testament), but also for all people in general, since everyone was created through Adam directly by God. For example, first it is said that God “loves the stranger,” and immediately after this: “you also love the stranger” (Deut. 10: 18 - 19). That is: as God loves (the stranger), so do you love (the stranger)... So Jesus did not invent anything fundamentally new: “as I have loved you, let you also love.” No wonder Jesus, quoting the Torah (Old Testament), said that the first commandment is love for God, and from this commandment follows the second: love for one’s neighbor: “Jesus answered him: first of all the commandments: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength—this is the first commandment! Second like her: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:29 - 31). Let us repeat that this was known to the Jews even before Jesus, since it was first said by a Torah scholar, and then Jesus confirmed it, as is directly written in Luke 10:25 - 28, and what we drew attention to at the very beginning of this article. The merit of the New Testament is that it very clearly articulates the connection between the love of God and love for one’s neighbor. On the one hand, in the New Testament there is a connection between love for one’s neighbor. the love of God is said directly, and on the other hand, still through the love of Jesus, as the image of God (“Christ, Who is image God invisible" 2 Cor. 4:4; "This being the brightness of glory and image His hypostasis" Hebrews 1:3), but still not God himself, as in the Old Testament. Therefore, it is impossible to say unequivocally which love for one’s neighbor, so to speak, is better - the New Testament or the Old Testament. On the one hand, in the Old Testament this love connected directly with God, on the other hand, in the New Testament, the strongest emphasis is placed on it.

7 . Should you love your enemies?

Among Jesus’ calls to love, the most paradoxical, at first glance, is this: “love your enemies.” What reasons did Jesus have for saying that we must love our enemies? Since the enemy is the same neighbor (that is, one who is close, but “bad”), then first of all, let us note the obvious connection of love for the enemy with the usual, Old Testament “formula of love”: one should treat the enemy in the same way as the enemy would like treated you. That’s why you should love your enemy so that he will love you. This is the path to reconciliation with him - perhaps this is what Jesus meant. Jesus called to him: “Have peace among yourselves” (Mark 9:50). The Apostle Peter, to whom Jesus entrusted “feed My sheep” (John 21: 16, 17), unequivocally said this: “Seek peace and strive for it” (1 Peter 3, 11). In general, we can assume that Jesus suggested treating the enemy the same way as oneself. In the Gospel of Luke, which speaks of love for the enemy, this connection of love for the enemy with love for one's neighbor is obvious. After Jesus said “love your enemies” (Luke 6:27), turn the other cheek, etc., he concluded with the classic formulation of the golden rule: “And as you would have people do to you, do so to them.” (Luke 6:31). That is, if you want the enemy to love you, then you love the enemy. And don’t just love, for the sake of love in itself, unselfishly. And in general, we are not talking about love at all, but simply about normal relationships with your neighbors: as you want people to do to you, do so to them. It turns out that the whole point is what is meant by “love”. And more about this to come... But Jesus also named a deeper reason for the need to love enemies, which is connected with the love of God and God’s love for people. And here Jesus obviously understood love as a feeling in the literal sense. It is believed that God loves everything that he has created, everyone, including sinners (“the just and the unjust”). Like, he wouldn’t do something that was unpleasant to him, therefore, he loves everything he created. Therefore, by loving even your enemies, you become as perfect as God. In other words, Jesus proposes to judge people not in a human way, but in a divine way, that is, the highest court, taking the point of view of God himself! It is worth reading the entire maxim about loving your enemies, paying particular attention to the last sentence: “But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, yes you will be sons of the Father your Heavenly, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what will be your reward? Don't publicans do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what special thing are you doing? Don't the pagans do the same? So, be perfect as the Father is perfect your Heavenly" (Matthew 5:44 - 48). It must be clarified right away that Jesus understood perfectly well that man cannot become perfect like God. This can be seen from the following: "They were extremely amazed and said to each other: who can escape? Jesus, looking at them, said: with men this is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God" (Mark 10:26-27). Jesus called only to strive for perfection. Indeed, to be perfect like God is impossible, since to be perfect, like God, means only one thing - to be God. And only God himself can be God. That is why the wise Solomon said: “there is no man who does not sin” (3 Kings 8:46), and Jesus repeated: “ who among you is without sin" (John 8:7). That is, there are no perfect people. And therefore Jesus’ call to love your enemies looks like just a good wish, nothing more. In addition, Jesus gives another “irresistible” argument: since God loves everyone, then people should have love among themselves, including between enemies. But Jesus initially has the wrong premise when he says: “For He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” Firstly, the sun does not shine equally everywhere, and it does not rain at the same time for everyone. Secondly, if an unrighteous person is next to the righteous, God will not “turn off” the sun and the rain because of this. Thirdly, the sun is shining and it's raining both over deserts and over oceans, where there are neither righteous nor unrighteous - the presence of sun and rain does not indicate any attitude of God towards people - this is obvious! There will be no people at all, but the sun will shine and the rain will fall... If God loves everyone, then not everyone equally, but depending on people’s merits to him. And at the same time, a person cannot judge his own or someone else’s merits before God. These are axioms of both Judaism and Christianity. And therefore it is impossible to love friend and enemy equally, to treat them equally, referring to God. And in the literal sense, loving the enemy is simply not practical, not vital. Or, as Jesus himself said, not of this world. In modern terms, this is an ideal that is unattainable in principle, like any ideal, but which one must still strive for. It is generally incorrect to focus on God in the matter of attitude towards the enemy. It costs God nothing to love his enemies, since he is not afraid of any enemies. But this must certainly come as a backlash to people. Unless the “enemies” will be operetta-like, like a neighbor in a communal apartment. What if the enemy is real, deadly: wanting death and killing you and your family? Also - to love? Or is there a clear gradation of enemies and love for them? Or does everyone decide for themselves which enemy to love and which to kill? After all, if an enemy threatens the well-being of a neighbor whom you love as yourself, then the manifestation of love for your neighbor must be to protect him from the enemy - if this is not done, then the commandment of love for your neighbor will be violated, since “faith without works is dead.” Yes, and in the end, Jesus himself disavowed this commandment when he had to experience it personally, saying: “You must be tempted; but woe to that man, through whom temptation comes" (Matthew 18:7) and "The Son of Man goes, as it is written about Him, but woe to that man, by whom the Son of Man is betrayed" (Matthew 26:24). Why did he not love Judas the traitor, but - "woe to that man"? Nevertheless, this New Testament commandment is perceived precisely as love for the enemy. And finally, a kind attitude to the enemy is not the invention of Jesus. Even in the Old Testament it is said: “If you find your enemy’s ox or his donkey lost, bring it to him; If you see your enemy’s donkey fallen under your burden, then do not leave him: unload him along with him” (Ex. 23:4-5). But this must be done, obviously, out of love for the ox and donkey, and not for the enemy! seriously, this means that you should not hate the enemy, but “those who love the Lord, hate evil!” (Ps. 96:10) These are the subtleties: we must understand the difference between the enemy and evil. This cannot be said to be the commandment received by Moses. and written by him in the Pentateuch in the 13th century BC, remained a dead letter until Christianity, since three centuries later it was repeated by the wise Solomon (10th century BC) in Proverbs: “If your enemy is hungry, feed his bread; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink" (Proverbs 25:21). Moreover, as we see, it is not just mechanically repeated, but clarified: you need to take care not only of the enemy’s property (donkey), but also of himself. And how is it different? “new” commandment of Jesus “love your enemies” from a specific manifestation of love for the enemy, about which Solomon said (almost a thousand years before Jesus!): “feed him with bread... give him water to drink”?

8. Love your neighbor in a Christian way or in a Jewish way?

Now let’s figure out why everyone knows about Christian love for neighbors, but not about Jewish love for neighbors, which is spoken of in the Old Testament. The main thing, perhaps, is that Jesus and, especially, his followers (starting with the letters of the apostles in the New Testament) emphasized this love, and in the Old Testament this is not the only commandment. In addition, adherents of the New Testament, Christians, know about the existence of only ten commandments, and in Judaism there are 613 of them. So, it was lost for an outside observer, since “love your neighbor” is more noticeable against the background of the ten commandments than the six hundred... But this does not mean that in Judaism the commandment of loving one’s neighbor is just one of hundreds. On the contrary, this is the fundamental commandment of Judaism, on which all others are based - with the words “I take upon myself the commandment “Love your neighbor as yourself”” begins morning prayer(Shacharit) everyone religious Jews peace (in synagogues, a prayer book with text in their native language and Hebrew is opened in front of each worshiper). Even Jesus himself called it one of the two greatest commandments: “Jesus answered him: The first of all commandments: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. , and with all your strength, this is the first commandment! The second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31). And he knew Judaism very well and called for fulfilling it to the last jot and jot, as we have already talked about. But even before Jesus, the greatest Jewish teacher of the law and chairman of the Sanhedrin, Hillel (75 BC - 5 - 10 AD), said the same thing, but very succinctly: “What you hate, do not do to your neighbor . This is the whole Torah, and everything else is commentary." Let us note that Jesus lived immediately after Hillel, and he simply could not have known such an aphorism from the famous teacher-compatriot. That is, Jesus conscientiously repeated, following his great predecessor, that you need to treat your neighbor as you treat yourself, and, most importantly, that this is the fundamental commandment: “So in everything, as you want people to do to you, do so to them.” ; for in this the law and the prophets" (Matthew 7:12). The apostles also spoke about the primacy for Christians of the "golden rule of morality", formulated in the Torah: "If you fulfill royal law, according to Scripture: love your neighbor as yourself, - you do well" (James 2:8); "He who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments are: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not covet someone else’s and All other are concluded in this word: love your neighbor as yourself"(Rom. 13:8 - 10); "For the whole law in one word is: love your neighbor as yourself"(Gal. 5:14). But to claim that the commandment to “love your neighbor” is so important that the other commandments are simply not needed, have become “dilapidated”? Let’s compare, for example, with a car. Fuel, of course, is the most important thing for a car, but and without the rest of the details and the full instructions in “613 commandments”, even if there is fuel, it won’t work, even if you love the car very much. And with any technology it’s the same: every detail is important: love alone is not enough, you need all-encompassing, maximum love. possible instructions on the rules of life. Why, say, rules traffic study for three months, any serious manufacturing and engineering specialty is studied for up to three, five or even six years, and periodically take advanced training courses, and the rules of life are at random? So how many of these rules is better to know in order to be a good specialist in life among people - ten or six hundred and thirteen? Although without love, life is certainly incomplete. It seems that the emphasis on love for one's neighbor was placed in Christianity, starting with the letters of the apostles, for one simple reason: the need to convey to the pagans at least the basic ones values, basics of Judaism that Jesus taught the Jews. After all, the messages of the apostles were sent mainly to the pagans, and Paul called himself “the apostle of the pagans” (Rom. 11:13). And, as we have shown, the main commandment on which all other laws are based is precisely “love for one’s neighbor,” known as the “golden rule of morality.” Jesus and the apostles spoke about this... Yes, this rule was well known to the ancient Greek and Roman philosophers (it is possible that from the Jews, since Jews from ancient times had close contact with the Greeks and Romans, and from the 3rd century BC Jewish The Holy Scriptures were translated into Greek), including to Jesus’ contemporaries (for example, Seneca, 4 BC - 65), but not to the ordinary Greek and Roman people. But Judaism is not a philosophy, not the lot of selected intellectuals... And that is why the Jewish apostles tried to make every pagan know about “love for one’s neighbor” just as every Jew knew about it. However, every Jew was taught all 613 commandments from childhood. But it was impossible to completely retrain adult pagans, but at least hammering home the main thing - “to love your neighbor as yourself” - is quite possible. Other possible reason- a substitution of concepts that probably occurred by accident. Even in this article (see the previous paragraph), instead of the full formulation “to love your neighbor as yourself,” it is written “love for your neighbor.” But it’s one thing when the Jews themselves spoke and wrote this way, the Jews (who, as already mentioned, were all the apostles who carried the Jewish values ​​of Jesus to the pagan masses), understanding that by “love for one’s neighbor” one means “love for one’s neighbor, as towards oneself,” and this only means a good attitude towards one’s neighbor, and it’s another matter when pagans read and listened about “love for one’s neighbor.” They understood it literally: “love for one’s neighbor” as a tender feeling. Numerous commandments of the Torah, which had to be scrupulously fulfilled every day, were too burdensome for pagans converting to Christianity, but love for one’s neighbor and, especially for one’s neighbors in spirit, for each other, for like-minded people is very attractive in order to receive life in return eternal. But neither the Old Testament call to love your neighbor as yourself, nor the Christian call to love one another guarantees them in reality, even among supporters of both. We have already mentioned the extremely negative aspects of Christianity: the Inquisition, the Crusades, the baptism of pagans with “fire and sword,” religious wars in Europe, witch hunts, anti-Semitism. And all this is the consequence of the apostolic calls for unanimity, based on the new commandment to love one another. Moreover, the duration of these events and phenomena from hundreds of years to almost two millennia suggests that they are not accidental, but are an integral part of this religion. It cannot be said that Judaism, unlike Christianity, was always “white and fluffy” and did not fight dissent. In his practice there were also such episodes as the extermination of pagan clergy (1 Kings 18, 40) and the forced conversion of the Edomites to Judaism (Antiquities of the Jews, XIII.9.1). Not to mention the formation of Judaism, when only for the sin of the golden calf (the same dissent), on the orders of Moses, “about three thousand people” (Ex. 32, 28) were killed, as well as the destruction of the peoples of Canaan, “so that they would not teach you to do the same abominations that they did to their gods" (Deut. 20:18), described in detail in the Book of Joshua. But these were, indeed, episodes, and were not of a systematic nature.

9. What is it like to love yourself?

We have already said that when considering the formula of love for one’s neighbor, as a rule, the dispute is about who is considered “neighbor.” However, this is only a quantitative question - who to include in the circle of those worthy of love. But it is worth paying attention to a more important, qualitative aspect: what does it mean to love as yourself? Because it is with this love that love for one’s neighbor is compared. When we try to understand what “to love” means in the biblical “formula of love,” we unwittingly compare this “love” with the ordinary idea of ​​love. However, love is different. Love for parents is one thing, for a wife (husband) is another, for children is a third, for the homeland is a fourth, for ice cream is a fifth, etc. Even the ancient Greeks distinguished several types and dozens of “subspecies” of love. We will look at them later in order to compare them with the conclusion obtained by logical means. But all these loves are united by at least the fact that in your soul you definitely experience craving and attachment to the object of love: to your parents, wife, children, homeland, ice cream... Without craving and attachment, it’s anything but love. Of course, this is not the only condition for love, and the presence of craving and attachment does not mean love. But for further reasoning, it is enough for us to know only about craving and attachment. Has anyone ever experienced a craving or attachment (as an indispensable sign, an attribute of love) towards oneself? Actually, this is possible, but it is condemned by public morality and is called “narcissism”: the mythical Narcissus was in love with his reflection. How great must be public contempt for someone who loves not only a reflection, but directly himself! And here: love... as yourself! How can we understand this? It is absolutely clear that you should not love yourself in a straightforward way: as a wife, or as ice cream. In any case, it is not narcissism, not selfish selfishness that is meant. Simply because someone who loves himself egoistically is not capable, due to egoism, of loving someone else (that is, his neighbor) the same way as himself. So, loving yourself, in the ordinary sense and in the norm, is impossible. However, both the Old and New Testaments call for this... Then, obviously, the word “love” here means something else, not related to craving and attachment. Consequently, the word “love” here is not literal, but only figurative, allegorical. But, in this case, the allegorical “love” refers not only to oneself, but should also apply to one’s neighbor: “ Love your neighbor as you [love] yourself." And this is very important for understanding “love” for your neighbor. So, what is meant by “love”? It is clear that this is some kind of attitude, both towards your neighbor and towards yourself Moreover, this attitude is positive, that is, a good attitude towards the object of “love”. Simply put, instead of the word “love”, you can safely put the broader concept of “treat well”. sound like this: “treat your neighbor as well as yourself.” highest form good attitude, then: “Treat your neighbor as well as possible, just as you want the best for yourself.” This expression is better known in this form: “treat others the way you want to be treated” (“the golden rule of morality”). Jesus said this: “Therefore, in everything that you want people to do to you, do so to them, for this is the law and the prophets"(Matthew 7:12); "And whatever you want people to do to you, do so to them" (Luke 6:31). But about what they are based on " law and prophets“Jesus said in another way: “Jesus said to him: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind: this is the first and greatest commandment; the second is similar to it: love your neighbor as yourself; on these two commandments is established all the law and the prophets" (Mark 12: 37 - 40). Comparing these parallel passages, we get that “as you want people to do to you, do so to them” and “love your neighbor as yourself” - one and the same So, at least, the Old Testament “love” does not mean a tender feeling, but simply a good attitude towards one’s neighbor, expressed in actions("As you want people to do to you, so should you do it with them"). It turns out that feeling is not necessary here at all! And a pragmatic kind attitude is simply called care. In principle, any love presupposes caring for the object of love (even you need to take care of ice cream so that it does not melt...). If you love to ride, you also love to carry sleds! It is in caring that love is manifested. This speculative conclusion can be confirmed in the New Testament. As already noted, Jesus himself did not explain the new commandment (obviously, he simply did not have time), but his disciples did this regularly in their messages. And so, the Apostle Paul wrote in plain text: “Everyone is not concerned only with himself take care, but each also about others" (Phil. 2:4). So this is the Old Testament formula of love, in which the word “love” is replaced by “care”: care for your neighbor as for yourself! Here are other similar statements: “ Carry the burdens each other" (Gal. 6:2); "Therefore, while there is time, we will do good everyone" (Gal. 6:10); "Always seek goodness and to each other and to everyone" (1 Thess. 5:15); Carrying other people's burdens (that is, burdens, hardships), doing (seeking) good for others are synonyms for caring for one's neighbor... "This is how husbands should love their wives as their bodies: he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and warms her" (Eph. 5:28 - 29). Here the Apostle Paul calls self-love care (“nourishes and warms”). Why was the word “love” used? Obviously, in order to emphasize the need for exclusively positive, maximally kind attitude towards one's neighbor. Just as every normal person treats himself positively, kindly. No one wants harm to himself. And one should treat one's neighbor in the same way: not to desire or do evil. In the Bible, even in the Old Testament. it is written directly, for example, “You who love the Lord, hate evil!” (Ps. 96:10) and even “Do not follow the majority to evil” (Exodus 23:2). solely on not doing evil to one’s neighbor, but doing good to him. It should be borne in mind that allegory and imagery are a characteristic literary feature of the text of the Bible. There is another consideration regarding the word “love”. The mentioned book “Philosophy of Love” convincingly shows the change. content (meaning) of love in different historical eras . Therefore, those relationships that were called love in ancient times should not be looked at with a modern enthusiastic and romantic gaze. The practicality and pragmatism of love in biblical times does not exactly contradict the equally pragmatic “self-love.” And here we again come to the conclusion that by love (for yourself, for your neighbor) in this case we must understand simply a good, kind attitude, care. The difficulty with “love” also arises because in Russian all types of love are described by this one word. But in Ancient Greece there were several words to designate different types of love (brief definitions are given below): - “eros” - enthusiastic love; - “philia” - love-friendship, love-affection, disposition, attraction; - “storge” - love-tenderness, family, kindred (parents to children) love; - “agape” - selfless love-self-giving, sacrificial love, care, desire for good; - “ludus” - love-game (for receiving pleasure); - “mania” - love-obsession (passion and jealousy); - “pragma” - rational love (in selfish interests). So, in the New Testament, written in Greek, the word is used... "agape". A natural question may arise: why not start with this? And then such a voluminous study would not be needed... Firstly, not everyone will be able to be convinced that biblical “love” is “agape”, and “agape” is love-self-giving, sacrificial love, care. But the Synodal translation is always at hand, and it’s easy to check all the calculations. Taking into account the last arguments, let us return to Hillel’s statement that the entire Torah, all the Holy Scriptures are expressed by the formula: “love your neighbor as yourself,” although Hillel said a little differently: “What you hate, do not do to your neighbor.” But these are just mirror phrases: not doing what you hate (what you don’t love) or doing what you love is the same thing. The main thing to note here is that Hillel excluded the word “love” from the formula. Obviously, 1200 years after Moses wrote down the commandment “love your neighbor,” the meaning of this word had undergone such changes that it could already be misleading, and Hillel had no choice but, without changing the meaning, to change the formula of love so as not to mention the word itself “ love." In our time, that is, three millennia after Moses and two millennia after Jesus, the meaning of the word “love” has already become so romanticized, so far removed from the original (doing good, showing care), that in the Old Testament formula of love the word “love” urgently needs to be replaced, for example, to "take care". And then the formula of biblical love for one’s neighbor in modern language should look like this: “Take care of others the same way you take care of yourself.” At the same time, all questions disappear, because everyone takes care of themselves.

10. What is it like to love your neighbor in a new way?

Conclusion

In the course of this study of the biblical “formula of love”, various options for understanding it were worked out. Therefore, there is an urgent need to draw definitive conclusions. The formula common to both the Old Testament and the New Testament: “love your neighbor as yourself” works the same in both Judaism and Christianity: you need to treat those with whom you deal as well as you want to be treated. treated you well. In this case, the word “love” does not mean a tender and reverent feeling, but simply a good, kind, “prudent” (Col. 4:5) attitude towards the object of “love”, care for it. Moreover, this “formula of love” is considered paramount not only in the Old Testament, but also in the New Testament (Jesus and the apostles speak about this directly and repeatedly). And so, Jesus, far from rejecting the Old Testament formula, proposed supplementing it with a new commandment: one should love literally, and not just treat well. However, Jesus and the apostles clearly indicated that only like-minded Christians should be loved “tenderly.” Moreover, the apostles especially emphasized the need for strict unanimity among Christians. There is nothing unusual in this division into friends and foes - this always happens when a new ideology is born. So, according to the Old Testament, God gave commandments not to all humanity at once, but only to one people, the Jews. Likewise, Jesus (on behalf of the same God) proposed to love not all people at once, but only those chosen by him, “one another,” his disciples, those who accepted his teaching, his commandments... Then, in the Old Testament there are many It is said more than two dozen times that all the nations of the earth will eventually come to God, who entered into a covenant with the Jews, for example: “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the tribes of the Gentiles will worship before You, for the Lord is the kingdom , and He is the Lord over the nations" (Ps. 21, 28 - 29). The New Testament says the same thing, about ten times, although by these promises it means the Old Testament predictions about the spread of the teachings of Jesus to the whole world, for example: “God promised before through His prophets in the holy scriptures concerning His Son... that in His name bring all nations under faith" (Rom. 1:2, 3, 5). So, there is one significant difference between the attitude towards neighbors in Judaism and Christianity. The Old Testament declares a dispassionate (figuratively called love) attitude towards neighbors, regardless of nationality and even religion: “You shall have one judgment, both for the stranger and for the native; for I am the Lord your God” (Lev. 24, 22). Although it is not written directly in the Old Testament, it follows from it that first of all you must love your neighbors: your wife more than someone else’s; one’s own children more than strangers, one’s own people more than strangers... And according to the New Testament, although all people should also be treated kindly, dispassionately, “prudently,” but only like-minded people should be treated with love. The division into “ours” and “not ours” took place on its own strong feeling- love. But the point is not that love was applied incorrectly (in other words, those who applied it incorrectly were supposedly not true Christians), when we mean crimes associated with Christianity... Historical practice has shown that once in the hands those in power, it was not the idea of ​​love itself that was used with all its might, but its condition - unanimity, based on the “new commandment” of Jesus: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love each other"(John 13:34). This is where these manifestations of the struggle for unanimity come from: the Inquisition, the Crusades, the baptism of pagans with “fire and sword,” religious wars in Europe, witch hunts, anti-Semitism. Every believer in Christ will readily surrender to the divine feeling love for one's neighbor, bringing him closer to the Kingdom of God (in the soul and in heaven). The inspirer of this wonderful feeling, Jesus of Nazareth, was, in his own words, “not of this world” (John 8:23), in other words, an idealist. , and his first followers were also “not of the world” (John 15:19). They wanted the best... But the rulers are even more ready to use... the thesis of fighting the dissent of “not ours” to strengthen their earthly kingdoms, using as consumables - believers in love. practical conclusion: we must distinguish when they call for love, and when they call for like-mindedness...

Notes

1. Some historical and biblical facts (in an abbreviated and simplified presentation). Relocation of the forefather of the Jews Abraham from Mesopotamia to Canaan - 20th century. BC e. Laws of Hammurabi (Interfluve) - XVIII century. BC e. The exodus of the Jews from Egypt under the leadership of Moses, the beginning of the writing of the Torah (Old Testament) and the capture of Canaan by the Jews under the leadership of Joshua - XIII century. BC e. Rule of the State of Israel by Jewish kings David, then his son Solomon - 10th century. BC e. The first translation of the Jewish Holy Scripture (Old Testament) into a foreign (Greek) language (Septuagint) - III century. BC e. Life of Jesus Christ, writing of the Gospels - 1st century. n. e. The uprising of the Jews of Judea against the Roman Empire, which ended with the destruction of the Jerusalem temple and the eviction of the Jews - 66 - 70. The currently used Russian translation from the Hebrew and the Septuagint (Synodal) - XIX century. Restoration of the Jewish State of Israel - 1948 2. From the first lines, Evangelist Matthew introduces Jesus Christ to readers not as the Son of God, but as “the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). For the first time on the pages of the New Testament, Jesus was named Son of God like this: “And Jesus was baptized and immediately went up out of the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw John the Spirit of God, which descended like a dove and descended upon Him. And behold, a voice from heaven said: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:16-17). Without a word "John"(and italics mean that it was inserted by the translator “to link words,” that is, it is not in the original) it is clear that only Jesus himself saw and heard (see the detailed justification in the article Example: “The “Testimony” of John”). But even without that, the Angel Gabriel predicted that Jesus will only be called Son of the Most High" (Luke 1:32). Then in the Gospel of Matthew, the devil demands Jesus to prove that he is the Son of God, but Jesus does not give in (Matthew 4:3 - 10). The first of the people called Jesus the Son of God - “two demoniacs came out of the graves” (Matthew 8:29). But then Jesus himself constantly proved in his sermons that he is the Son of God, referring to the authority of God, very convincingly confirming his right to be called his Son by many miracles. most gave weight to his sermons. In addition, for research based on logic, no authority matters. “Plato is my friend, but the truth is more valuable.” Therefore, we will not seriously consider that Jesus is the Son of God literally. recognized by both unbelievers and believers. Here, for example, are the words of the Apostle Paul: “For there is one God, one and mediator between God and people Human Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5). 3. “After eight days, when the Child was to be circumcised, they gave Him the name Jesus, which the angel had called before He was conceived in the womb. And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him before the Lord, as is prescribed in the law of the Lord, that every male child who opens his womb should be dedicated to the Lord, and that he should sacrifice, according to what is said in the law of the Lord, two turtle doves or two chicks of doves" (Luke 2:21-24); “So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linens with spices, as the Jews are wont to bury” (John 19:40). And here is what, according to the Old Testament (Torah), is meant by the words “when it was necessary to circumcise”: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Tell the children of Israel: if a woman conceives and gives birth to a male child, she will be unclean for seven days; as in the days of her suffering through purification, she will be unclean; on the eighth day his foreskin will be circumcised..." (Lev. 12: 1 - 3). And this is what the words “when the days of their purification were fulfilled” mean according to the law of Moses, brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him before the Lord, as prescribed in the law of the Lord"(the highlighted words are synonymous with Torah, which means "Law", which is why we refer to the Old Testament to find out what should be done" according to the law of Moses"): "At the end of the days of purification for her son or daughter, she shall bring a lamb of one year old for a burnt offering, and a young dove or turtle dove for a sin offering, at the entrance of the tabernacle of meeting to the priest; he will bring it before the Lord and cleanse her, and she will be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law regarding one who gives birth to a male or female child. If she is not able to bring a lamb, then let her take two turtle doves or two young doves, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering, and the priest will cleanse her, and she will be clean” (Lev. 12:6-8). Thus, in the Gospels it is quite clearly and unambiguously written that Jesus was circumcised as a Jew and buried as a Jew. And in Orthodoxy, among the great holidays there is the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord, celebrated, as it should be among the Jews, in accordance with the Torah (Old Testament. ), on the eighth day after birth (for Jesus Christ called Christmas), that is, January 14. It should be clarified that circumcision of the foreskin of the penis is a sign of the covenant (agreement) of the Jews with God: “Circumcise your foreskin: and this will be a sign of the covenant. between Me and you. Every male child among you throughout your generations shall be circumcised eight days from birth" (Gen. 17:11-12). 4. The fact that all twelve disciples-apostles were Jews is clearly indicated by their participation in the so-called Last Supper, which in the Bible is simply called Passover: “On the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus and said to Him: Where do you tell us to prepare the Passover for You? " (Matthew 26, 17). There are no words about the “Last Supper” in the Bible at all. Easter, which they celebrated, and which is mentioned dozens of times in the Gospels (for example: “The Passover of the Jews was approaching, and Jesus came to Jerusalem” John 2:13, or: “The Passover, the feast of the Jews, was approaching” John 6:4) , was dedicated to the exit of the Jews from Egyptian slavery, which was first mentioned in Ex. 12: “And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, These are the statutes of the Passover: no foreigner shouldn't eat it"; " All Israeli society must do it"; "On this very day the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies" (Ex. 12: 43, 47, 51). Just in case, it is worth saying that there are no other Passovers in the Old Testament, nor in The new is not mentioned, especially since during the “Last Supper” there could not have been an Easter dedicated to the resurrection of Jesus, since he had not yet been crucified and, therefore, had not been resurrected. Yes, and the Evangelist John directly named Easter, which Jesus celebrated with. disciples-apostles, a Jewish holiday (see quotes above). Apart from the closest disciples-apostles, all the other disciples of Jesus were only Jews. Jesus categorically refused to teach anyone other than the Jews: “I have been sent. only to the dead sheep at home Israel"(Matthew 15:24). Jesus taught in synagogues where only Jews gathered: "And Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in the synagogues" (Matthew 4:23). "And Jesus walked throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in the synagogues" (Matthew 9:35). "Jesus answered him: I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and I did not say anything in secret" (John 18:20). Often Jesus taught outside, in the open air, where everyone could listen to him. But this is what was said at the end of the famous Sermon on the Mount: “And when Jesus had finished these words, the people marveled at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes and Pharisees” (Matthew 7:28 - 29). studied with the scribes and Pharisees, therefore these people are Jews. 5. These are the words in the Jewish Holy Scripture (Torah, Old Testament): “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deut. 6, 4) and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19, 18). 6. This word is translated into Russian exactly as " law"; and therefore, asking “what is written in the law,” Jesus meant, of course, the Jewish law, and not the Roman, or... Chinese. 7. Translated into modern language“to tempt” means: to test, to test. According to the dictionary of V.I. Dahl: “to test, to explore, to be convinced by experiments in the way of actions or thoughts, feelings; to subject someone to a test; to tempt, to seduce, to confuse with temptation, to lure with deceit; to try to seduce someone from the path of good and truth.” 8. It can be assumed that the legislative part of the code begins with the law on witness liability, because evidence (written, oral) is the main principle of legal proceedings. 9. Here are a few examples (everything found in the fund national library Republic of Belarus, with the exception of one book from my personal library). There is no article “Neighbor”: 1. Popular encyclopedia of Archimandrite Nikifor (Russian Orthodox Church). True, in the article “Love” it is also written about our neighbor: “We should honor everyone as our neighbors, because everyone is the creation of one God and came from one person. But those who are of the same faith with us should be especially close to us, as children of one Heavenly Father according to the faith of Jesus Christ" 2. Bible Dictionary by E. Nyström (Evangelical Christian Baptists). 3. New Bible dictionary. - S.-P.: Publishing house. "Myrtle". - 2001. 4. Great guide to the Bible / Trans. with him. - M.: Publishing house. "Republic". - 1993. 5. Biblical encyclopedia. - M.: Locked Press. - 2004. (printed from the encyclopedia of Archimandrite Nikifor). 6. Concise Bible Dictionary. - Ed. "Good News" - 1997. 7. Catholic Encyclopedia. -M.: Publishing house. Franciscans. - 2002. 8. Orthodox Encyclopedia. - M.: Church Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia". - 2002. 9. Jesus and the Gospels. Dictionary / Ed. J. Green, S. McKnight, G. Marshall. - M.: BBI. - 2003. 10. Complete Orthodox Theological Encyclopedic Dictionary. (Reprint edition:; Published by P.P. Soykin). - M. - 1992. There is an article “Near”: 1. D.A. Yasko. Encyclopedic Dictionary(Evangelical Christian Baptists): this is “every person who needs our help.” 2. F. Rinecker, G. Mayer. Brockhaus Biblical Encyclopedia. - Publisher O.S. Kostyukov. - 2009. 3. Large Bible Dictionary / Ed. W. Elwell and F. Comfort. - S.-P.: "The Bible for everyone." - 2007. 10. Here is a quote from the Bolshoi bible dictionary edited by W. Elwell and F. Comfort: "A concept that... meant only the Israelites and members of the covenant society, Jesus extended it to everyone who meets a person in life." 11. . 12. In the Bible, brothers are not only people who have common parents, or one of them. For example, David called his friend Jonathan brother (2 Sam. 1:26). It happens that this or that person calls complete strangers “brothers” in order to establish closer contact with them. So, Lot, being the only Jew in Sodom, turned to the townspeople: “My brothers, do not do evil” (Gen. 19:7). Here "brothers" are fellow citizens. And when Jacob first came to the city of Harran, he turned to the local shepherds: “My brothers, where are you from?” (Gen. 29:4). These “brothers” are generally only supposed fellow citizens of Jacob’s relatives who lived in Harran. Most often, all fellow tribesmen and countrymen are called “brothers” (Ex. 2:11; Deut. 22:1-2), for example: “But do not rule over your brothers, the sons of Israel, over one another with cruelty” (Lev. 25, 46). And in the New Testament, “brothers” are only fellow believers, Christians. 13. To be fair, there are exceptions to be mentioned in the Torah. It is hardly possible to call the peoples who lived in the Promised Land before the Jews and the Amalekites close to the Jews - they should, according to God’s instructions, be destroyed: “And in the cities of these nations, which the Lord your God is giving you to possess, you shall not leave alive not one soul; but give them over to destruction: the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God commanded you, so that they will not teach you to do the same abominations that they did to their gods. and lest you sin against the Lord your God" (Deut. 20:16-18); “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I remembered what Amalek did to Israel, how he opposed him on the way when he came from Egypt. Now go and defeat Amalek and destroy everything that he has; and do not give him mercy, but betray death from husband to wife, from child to suckling, from ox to sheep, from camel to donkey" (1 Sam. 15: 2 - 3). 14. This word is put in quotation marks not because of an ironic attitude towards it, but only because it is not in the Bible (neither in the Old nor in the New Testaments) either literally or in meaning (there is the word “nations”, but this is a divided humanity is divided into parts, and not humanity as a whole), and to mention it in connection with the Bible in the literal sense is simply incorrect. 15. The Hebrew Holy Scripture (Tanakh), to which the Christian Old Testament corresponds (it is a translation of the Tanakh), consists of the Torah (the Pentateuch of Moses; the word "torah" is translated as "law"), Nevi'im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings). Jesus mentions the Law (Torah) and the Prophets here. In general, usually, when speaking about the Torah (Law), they mean the entire Tanakh (written Torah), and even more broadly - the Tanakh plus the Talmud (that is, the interpretation of the Torah), since their wording alone is not enough to fulfill the laws (for example, the Ten Commandments) , examples of implementation and interpretation of laws are needed. Thus, when Jesus said “the law and the prophets,” he meant all of the Hebrew Scriptures that were available at that historical moment. If this is not so, then why did Jesus call on his followers to achieve the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees (“For, I say to you, unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” Matt. 5:20), then are there those who most scrupulously fulfilled the Hebrew Scriptures? 16. Yota and dash are the smallest letters of the Hebrew (more precisely, the Hebrew language) alphabet (yod and vav, the eleventh and seventh letters, respectively). 17. In fact, Jesus also said things that are not in the Old Testament, but that directly follow from it, for example, love for enemies (this will be shown later). This situation is typical for the Torah: in the Talmud one can find conflicting opinions (interpretations of the Torah). Even the New Testament speaks of the disagreements of the Jews in the interpretation of the Torah: “the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees admit both” (Acts 23:8). No wonder they say: two Jews - three opinions. And in this Jesus is no exception. 18. Often, God's chosenness of Jews is mistakenly understood (not only by Christians, but also by Jews themselves) as meaning that Jews are the favorites of God, common to all peoples. The Canaanite woman understood this in such a simplified way, calling the Jews “masters.” But, according to the Torah, God's chosenness only means the immeasurably greater responsibility of Jews before God. Let's compare: according to the Torah, a Jew must fulfill 613 commandments, and a non-Jew must fulfill only 7 (the so-called seven laws of Noah for the nations of the world). Christians know about the 10 commandments. That is, God punishes Jews for failure to fulfill 613 commandments, and non-Jews - for only 7 or 10. So who is easier to be saved? God chose the Jews only to promote knowledge of himself among all nations. It was necessary to start with someone! 19. “And in the cities of these nations, which the Lord your God is giving you to possess, you shall not leave a single soul alive, but you shall consign them to destruction: the Hittites and the Amorites, and Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God commanded you, lest they teach you to do the same abominations that they did for their gods, and so that you sin against the Lord your God" (Deut. 20:16 - 18). But what are these “abominations” that must be destroyed along with their carriers: “Do not lie with a man as with a woman: this is an abomination. And do not lie down with any cattle, so as to shed and become defiled by it; and a woman should not stand in front of cattle to have sex with them: this is disgusting. Do not defile yourselves with any of this, for with all this the nations whom I drive out from before you have defiled themselves: and the land was defiled, and I looked upon its iniquity, and the land cast out those who lived in it. But you shall keep My statutes and My laws, and do not do all these abominations, neither the native nor the stranger who dwells among you, for all these abominations have been committed by the people of the land that is before you, and the land has become defiled; so that the earth does not overthrow you when you begin to desecrate it, as it overthrew the nations that were before you; for if anyone does all these abominations, the souls of those who do these things will be cut off from their people. Therefore keep My commandments, so as not to walk in the vile customs in which people walked before you, and not to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God" (Lev. 18:22 - 30). But the Jews not only did not destroy everyone (despite the victorious reports of Joshua in the book of his name), but, following the example of these peoples, they themselves began to serve their gods (along with serving to his Lord God), and then “the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He said: Because this people transgresses My covenant, which I made with their fathers, and does not listen to My voice, and I will no longer drive out any one of those nations that Joshua left [Joshua - B.L.], when he was dying, in order to tempt Israel with them: will they keep the way of the Lord and walk in it, as their fathers did, or not? And the Lord forsaken these nations and did not drive them out..." (Judges 2:20 - 23). Behold, one "of those nations that Joshua [Joshua] left", "a Canaanite woman", and met Jesus (Christ) , “to tempt.” But Jesus did not give in - the woman gave in. 20. Samaritans are residents of the area in the former kingdom of Israel, not Jews. After the conquest of Canaan in the 13th century. BC e. Jews for a long time lived on this promised land in scattered tribes (the era of the judges). Only in the 11th century. BC e. At a national meeting, King Saul was elected. After him, David became the king of the Jewish state of Israel (named after Jacob-Israel, the ancestor of the Jewish tribes that conquered Canaan). But already under his grandson it was divided in 928 BC. e. into two kingdoms: Judah (named after Judah, the ancestor of the tribe from which David was, southern part original Israel, capital Jerusalem) and Israel (northern part of original Israel, capital Samaria). In 722 BC. e. as a result of the conquest by the Assyrians, the kingdom of Israel ceased to exist, its Jewish population was forever deported to Assyria, and in its place peoples from the regions of Assyria were settled: “In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and resettled the Israelites in Assyria, and settled them in Halakhah and in Habor, by the river Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes" (2 Kings 17:6); "And Israel was removed from their land to Assyria, where they are to this day. And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, and from Kutah, and from Abba, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel . And they took possession of Samaria, and began to live in its cities" (2 Kings 17, 23 - 24); “They honored the Lord, and they served their gods according to the custom of the nations from which they had driven them out” (2 Kings 17:33). As we see, the Jews of Judea had reason not to consider the Samaritans to be fellow tribesmen, or rather, co-religionists, despite the fact that “they honored the Lord.” So, for example, during the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem (it was rebuilt in 515 BC), they did not allow the Samaritans to build, and they, in retaliation, hindered it (Ezra 4). Because of this, the Jews disliked the Samaritans. And during the Maccabean revolt they destroyed the temple in Samaria. Thus, this dislike became mutual. Here are examples from the New Testament: “they went and entered the Samaritan village to prepare for Him; but they did not receive Him there, because He appeared to be traveling to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:52 - 53); “Jews do not communicate with Samaritans” (John 4:9). The Jew Jesus made an exception for the Samaritan because he showed mercy. However, here we must keep in mind that the meaning of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan was not simply that the Samaritans must be loved if they are merciful, but that even an enemy can be a neighbor (and the Samaritan is here only as an example of an enemy ), if he is a good person, in particular, merciful. In other words, Jesus showed with this parable that a person should be judged not by external signs, but by his soul, not by how he prays, but by how he acts. By the way, this is the creed of Jesus: “Judge not according to appearances, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24). But, in any case, Jesus here speaks of love according to merit, and not to everyone, not to all people indiscriminately, not to all “humanity.” 21. From the parable of the Good Samaritan, it is tempting to conclude that the Samaritans are more merciful than the Jews (the priest and the Levite were, of course, Jews). But we must take into account, first of all, that this is a parable (anecdote, fable), and not real case from life. After all, for example, from the fable of I.A. Krylov's "Miron" we will not conclude that all Mirons are greedy and cunning, will we? 22. In the Old Testament there is something similar: “A friend loves at all times and, like a brother, will appear in times of misfortune” (Proverbs 17:17). But these words about love for a friend do not cancel love for one’s neighbor, since they are not called new. 23. It is impossible not to pay attention to the similar, but opposite in meaning, words “devotees” (disciples) and “traitor” (Judas) nearby. Obviously, this did not happen by chance. With sound reasoning, it is discovered that almost all of the “devoted” disciples of Jesus turned out to be traitors, and not just Judas Iscariot. Peter famously denied Jesus three times during the night when asked if he was his disciple. But almost all the disciples fled from Jesus when he was arrested. Only one disciple took up the sword to defend Jesus (Matthew 26:51; Mark 14:47), and it was Peter (John 18:10). True, it is written that all the disciples wanted to protect Jesus: “And those who were with Him, seeing where things were going, said to Him: Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” (Luke 22:49), but Jesus dissuaded them with the words “how will the Scriptures be fulfilled, that this must be so?” (Matthew 26:54). However, to “strike with a sword”, you first need the sword itself. And the eleven disciples of Jesus had only two (Luke 22:36)! And so, despite what Jesus said the day before, “Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13), the majority of the disciples did not lay down their lives for him. Judas betrayed Jesus for money, and almost everyone else betrayed him out of cowardice, soberly assessing the overwhelming superiority of the enemy. Yes, the faithful disciples obeyed Jesus in not defending him. But the traitor Judas also listened to Jesus, going to betrayal: “Jesus... dipped a piece and gave it to Judas Simon Iscariot. And after this piece back] 27. So that the conclusion drawn is not perceived as a stretch, we present a couple of sentences from the Bible in which the elements of parallelism (the same in the meaning of the word) are connected precisely by the conjunction “and”: “And she lost her life all flesh, moving on the ground, And birds, And cattle, And animals, And all the creeping things that crawl on the earth, And all people" (Gen. 7:21). "All flesh that moves on the earth" includes birds, livestock, beasts, creeping things, and people, despite the union "and" connecting all these creatures with " all flesh." Obviously, before the listing of "all flesh" you simply had to put a colon. "To you, people, I appeal, And to sons human voice mine" (Proverbs 8:4). It is absolutely clear that people and the sons of men are one and the same, and the conjunction “and” does not connect different concepts, but separates the same ones, differing only in nuances (you can read about these nuances here:) . [ back ] 31. There are six hundred verses in the Bible (Old and New Testaments) that mention other gods, usually in a negative way. Cm. . 32. 1. John Chrysostom: “How does He call this commandment new, when it was also in the Old Testament? He made it new in the very image; therefore he added: “how I have loved you”” (Conversations on the Gospel of John. Conversation 72.3) . 2. N. Stelletsky (1862 - 1919, archpriest, doctor of theology, professor of theology at the Imperial Kharkov University): “According to the new commandment, the degree and measure of our love for our neighbor should not be simple natural love for ourselves, but the love we have learned from Christ and through Christ from God the Father Himself,” “According to the new commandment, the love of Christ is the true scale by which we must love our neighbors. The love of Christ is pure and selfless. It obliges us to love others more than ourselves” (N. Stelletsky. Experience of moral Orthodox theology in apologetic coverage. Volume 1. - M.: FIV - 2009. - P. 275). 33. Cm. . 34. In the edition of the Torah with Rashi's commentary there is such an explanation of the connection between love for one's neighbor and love for God. The word "neighbor" means one who is close. And the closest to man is God, since he is even inside man: “The Spirit of the Lord speaks in me, and His word is on my tongue” (2 Sam. 23:2). “I will bless the Lord, who has taught me; even at night my inner being teaches me” (Ps. 15:7). "And all my insides - holy name His" (Ps. 103:1). "The lamp of the Lord is the spirit of man" (Prov. 20:27). "The Lord is my portion" (Lamentations 3:24). "He will say in me" (Hab. 2:1 ) This means that “loving your neighbor as yourself” means “loving God” and at the same time “loving any person with whom you deal.” 35. Here it is impossible not to clarify: does God really love everyone? But what about the destruction of all sinful humanity by a flood, the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (and the neighboring non-sinful Adma and Seboim), etc.? Moreover, “the Lord repented that he had created man on earth, and was grieved in His heart” (Genesis 6:6). Destroy loved ones? This means that God created not only what was pleasant to him, but also what was simply necessary (for the existence of loved ones, for example: darkness for light, death for life, etc.). For example, God demanded from the chosen people “in the cities of these nations which the Lord your God is giving you to possess, you shall not leave a single soul alive” (Deut. 20:16), but when this requirement was not fulfilled, “the wrath of the Lord flared up.” against Israel, and He said: Because this people transgresses My covenant, which I made with their fathers, and does not listen to My voice, and I will no longer drive out from them any of the nations that Joshua left (Joshua - B.L.), when he was dying, to tempt Israel with them: will they keep the way of the Lord and walk in it, as their fathers did, or not? And the Lord forsaken these nations and did not drive them out..." (Judges 2:20 - 23) - that is, God left those subject to destruction alive not because He loves them, but as examination material to test the Jews' love for Him. 36. In the wonderful book “Philosophy of Love” (Philosophy of Love. Part 1 /Under the general editorship of D.P. Gorsky; compiled by A.A. Ivin. - M.: Politizdat, 1990. - 510 pp.) the author of an article about Christian love V.V. Bychkov, ardently advocating for it, is forced to admit that the task of the followers of Christ to introduce all-encompassing love into humanity turned out to be “practically impossible” and was solved “only on an ideal level” (p. 71). 37. Criticizing the Old Testament attitude towards enemies, Jesus is quoted as saying: “You have heard that it was said: “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy"(Matthew 5:43). But in the Old Testament there are no words “hate the enemy.” Jesus said “you heard", not "did you read", and " said", and not "written". That is, he was arguing with someone who once said something about hatred of enemies. 38. In Christian and near-Christian (secular in Christian countries) literature they always give not this, but a similar quote about “the first of all commandments” from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 22, 37 - 40), and sometimes from the Gospel of Luke (Luke 10 , 27), where the words “listen, O Israel” are not present. But Jesus only literally quoted the Torah: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:4-5 ), where the words “hear, Israel” are precisely there (these words, beginning with “hear, Israel..." are to this day the most significant in Jewish worship - a believing Jew pronounces them at least twice daily; according to their significance in Judaism, can be compared to the Lord's Prayer in Christianity). For example, in the major work “The Experience of Moral Orthodox Theology in Apologetic Light” by N. Stelletsky (1914 - 1917, republished in 2009), references are given only to Matthew and Luke (N. Stelletsky. The Experience of Moral Orthodox Theology in Apologetic Light. Volume 1. - M.: FIV - 2009. - P. 261). 39. In one of the TV shows (2015) on Russian TV about the depressing demographic situation in Russia, the audience received an ovation from the participant’s proposal to introduce in secondary schools teaching children how to create and maintain a family, how to raise children. As we see, Christian society has matured to understand the importance of not just a declaration of love, but also how to do it in practical life. In Judaism, an entire treatise is devoted to the purity of family life (that’s what it’s called), and everyone knows what a Jewish husband and a Jewish mother are. This is obvious: the more complex the instructions, the higher the standard of living (compare, for example, the instructions for an electric drill and a sledgehammer). The caveman had no instructions at all... 40. In the Old Testament it is said only once to love your neighbor as yourself (and once to love the stranger as yourself), and at the same time love for your neighbor is considered the basis of all other commandments. And the New Testament, which is three times smaller in volume (292 pages versus 925), speaks three dozen times about love for neighbors and each other (who are the same neighbors). 41. Jesus also said about this: “They bind heavy and unbearable burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders” (Matthew 23:4). And at present, different movements of Judaism have different attitudes towards the fulfillment of these 613 commandments. 42. 1. The Inquisition operated from 1215 to the 18th century. 2. The Crusades took place from 1096 to 1291. to Palestine, from the 12th to the 15th centuries. - in Europe against pagans and heretics (including Orthodox). 3. Religious wars in Europe from the 16th to the 17th centuries. between Protestants and Catholics (including the famous St. Bartholomew's Night in 1572). 4. Witch hunt - from the 15th to the 17th centuries. 5. Anti-Semitism is characteristic of almost the entire history of Christianity, since the very ideology of the “novelty” of the New Testament is based on the “dilapidation” of the Jewish Holy Scripture. Anti-Semitism manifested itself in the restriction of the rights of Jews, demonization by the church of the image of the Jew (including blood libels), forced baptism, settlement in ghettos, expulsion, and total extermination (for example, during the Crusades in Palestine, the Jews of Northern France and Germany were completely destroyed; during the plague 1348, all the Jews of many cities in Germany were massacred and burned; massacre of the Jews of Poland and Ukraine by the Khmelnytsky Cossacks in the 18th century), pogroms... 43. In the 9th century. BC e. In response to the extermination of the Jewish prophets (3 Kings 18:4). 44. In the II century. BC e. in exchange for permission to remain in the part of the territory of Judea previously captured by the Edomites and returned to the Jews (Antiquities of the Jews, XIII.9.1). The Edomites (Edom) have long been at enmity with the Jews. The enmity began in the 13th century. BC e. “Edom did not agree to allow Israel to pass through its borders” during the exodus of the Jews from Egypt (Num. 20, 21). In the 10th century BC e. the commander of King David “beat up all the males in Idumea” (1 Kings 11, 15). And in the VI century. BC e. the Edomites participated in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Chaldeans (Ps. 136:7; Av. 1:10 - 16). By the way, as a result of converting to Judaism, Idumite by origin, Herod (1st century BC) was able to become the king of Judea (see). 45. Philosophy of love. Part 1 /Under general. ed. D.P. Gorsky; comp. A.A. Ivin. - M.: Politizdat, 1990. - P. 44 - 46. 46. Cm. . 47. Several examples of descriptions of love in the Bible. 1. Isaac did not choose his wife himself, but when he saw her, “Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her” (Gen. 24:67). Isaac married according to the principle “endure and fall in love.” This was 580 years before Moses began recording the Pentateuch (Gen. 25: 20, 26; 47, 9; Exod. 12, 41). 2. "Jacob fell in love with Rachel, and said: I will serve you seven years for Rachel, youngest daughter yours... And Jacob served for Rachel seven years; and they appeared to him for a few days, because he loved her." (Genesis 29: 18, 20). However, this love did not prevent Jacob from fulfilling his marital duty with another wife and two slaves of the wives. According to the Bible, Jacob was born in 560 years before Moses began recording the Pentateuch (Gen. 47, 9; Exod. 12, 41), and fell in love with Rachel when he was 84 years old (Gen. 29: 20, 30; 30, 25 - 26; 41: 46, 53; 45, 6; 47: 8 - 9). 3. “Moses liked to live with this man; and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses" (Ex. 2:21). No comment! 4. In the Book of Song of Songs only sensual, erotic love. The authorship of this book is attributed to King Solomon, who knew a lot about such love, since “he had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines” (3 Kings 11:3). Solomon lived from 1011 to 931 BC. e., that is, three centuries after the beginning of the recording of the Pentateuch by Moses. And according to the Bible - after 480 years (3 Kings 6:1). 48. The word “tenderness” appears in the Bible only twice - except for the one given here: “And behold, a woman came towards him, dressed as a harlot, with a treacherous heart, noisy and unbridled; her feet do not live in her house: now in the street, then in the squares, and at every corner she builds forges. She grabbed him, kissed him, and with a shameless face said to him: “I have a peace offering: today I have fulfilled my vows; That’s why I came out to meet you to find you, and - I found you; I made my bed with carpets, with colorful Egyptian fabrics; I scented my bedroom with myrrh, aloe and cinnamon; come in, let's get drunk tenderness see you in the morning, let's enjoy love, because the husband is not at home: he has gone on a long journey..." (Prov. 7, 10 - 19). From here it is clear that by love the apostle meant precisely the feeling of tender love. And not just a good attitude. 49. In the Gospels Jesus is repeatedly called "Rabbi": Matt. 26: 25, 49; Mar. 9, 5; 11, 21; 14, 45; John 1: 38, 49; 3:2, 26; 4, 31; 6, 25; 9, 2; 11, 8. And in John. 1:38 it is directly written that a Rabbi is a teacher (that is, in a modern way, a rabbi): “Jesus turned and saw them coming and said to them: what do you need? They said to Him: Rabbi,” which means: “teacher.” "Where do you live?" The same - in John. 20, 16: “Jesus says to her: Mary! She, turning, says to Him: Rabbi! - which means: “Teacher!” Also in the Gospels, the word “teacher” is used dozens of times in relation to Jesus. But a Jewish rabbi, or rabbi, is not a priest, but a teacher, an expert in the law (Torah). 50. “And Jesus walked throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues” (Matthew 4:23); “And Jesus walked through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues” (Matthew 9:35); “He entered their synagogue” (Matthew 12:9); “And when he came into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue” (Matthew 13:54); the same in the Gospels of Mark and Luke; “Jesus answered him: I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where the Jews always meet” (John 18:20). 51. You can get an idea of ​​the Pharisees not only from the books of the New Testament, but also from the works of Josephus, written at the same time (1st century AD): “The Pharisees are reputed to be the most accurate interpreters of the law... They make everything dependent on God and do they teach that although a person is given the freedom to choose between honest and dishonest actions? But in their opinion, souls are all immortal; doomed to eternal torment... The Pharisees are very devoted to each other and? acting with united forces? strive for the common good" (Jewish War, II.8.14). "The Pharisees lead a strict lifestyle and refuse all pleasures. They follow everything that reason recognizes as good, considering reason the best guardian in all desires. They stand out for their respectful attitude towards the elderly and do not dare to contradict their plans. In their opinion, everything that happens happens under the influence of fate. However, they do not at all take away a person’s freedom of will, but they recognize that according to God’s design, His desire is mixed with the desire of a person, whether to follow the path of virtue or malice. The Pharisees believe in the immortality of the soul and that beyond the grave people will face judgment and reward for virtue or retribution for crime during life; sinners are subject to eternal imprisonment, and virtuous people have the opportunity to rise again. Thanks to this, they have extraordinary influence over the people, and all sacred rites associated with prayers or sacrifices take place only with their permission. Thus, individual communities testified to their virtue, since everyone was convinced that the Pharisees in deed and in word strive only for the highest" (Antiquities of the Jews, XVIII.1.3). "The Pharisees are generally very lenient in their punishments" (Antiquities of the Jews, XVIII.10.6). 52. True, even earlier, immediately after the miracle of feeding five thousand people with bread, Jesus “said... in the synagogue, teaching in Capernaum” (John 6:59): “I am the bread of life,” “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.” “Whoever eats this bread will live forever; the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world,” “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life,” etc. (John 6:48). , 51, 54). But then he did not connect this with love for one’s neighbor, but only explained the symbolic meaning of the miracle. 53. To Jesus’ question “Which of you is without sin” (John 8:7) no one could answer in the affirmative, since everyone was “convicted by their conscience” (8:9). 54. Regardless of whether it was a manifestation of love, the “golden rule of morality,” or simple human mercy, one cannot fail to mention about 26 thousand Righteous Among the Nations, most of whom, being Christians, saved Jews from extermination by the Nazis during the Second World War and at the same time, they selflessly risked their own lives and the lives of their families (the latter is the main condition for awarding the title of Righteous Among the Nations by an independent public Commission headed by a member of the Supreme Court of Israel). 55. See (at the end of the article). 56. Same.

Cultivating love in the heart is one of the most significant processes spiritual work for an Orthodox Christian. The New Testament says: love your neighbor as yourself. This commandment of Christ was and remains one of the main ones for an Orthodox Christian.

Let us turn to the text of the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus answers the Pharisee’s question as follows.

Thus, we see how Christ concentrates on only two commandments, which relate strictly to the moral and spiritual aspect.

There are no prohibitions or regulations here, like the Old Testament, only the path of spiritual development and the path to the Lord, with whom the Messiah offers to establish a personal relationship, and not a simple one, but based on the law of love.

People who know the Scriptures may be a little indignant at some of the previous phrases, because it is somewhat rash to talk about only two instructions, since the Bible also contains the Beatitudes, which were given during the Sermon on the Mount.

Pay attention! If we talk about the central element of the teaching, then this is precisely the need to love the Lord and neighbor.

Similar things are also stated in the Gospels of Luke and Mark. This fact is very significant, since various apostles noted and highlighted these words of Christ.

These words have enormous conceptual significance and define the semantic evolutionary transition from the Old Testament to the New. If you remember the tablets of Moses, then 9 out of 10 prescriptions are prohibitive, and the prohibition is given for various actions. In some ways they are similar to an adult telling a child: “don’t go there”, “don’t do that”.

Such instructions have the most direct and simple interpretation; they simply require fulfillment and are, as it were, instructions for everyday human behavior. Nevertheless, it is necessary to note a peculiar transition, the threshold of the New Testament. This transition becomes the 10th commandment, which reads.

Interesting! What is a report from and how to get it

It would seem that this is also a prohibition, but here we are talking about a moral prohibition and one that extends not to external actions, but to the level of consciousness. The source of all unsightly actions is pointed out - bad thoughts. Therefore, the Lord, through His prophet, instructs believers to pay attention to the sphere of their desires and eradicate all sorts of vices there.

It is not in vain that many consider the tenth instruction to be a transition to the New Testament, where Christ says: “love your neighbor as yourself,” that is, he transfers the emphasis completely to the moral area. No prohibitions or restrictions will be required if the world is ruled by love.

Keeping the commandments

We must immediately say about the difficulty of explaining the postulate of faith we are considering. It's easy to say: love
your neighbor, but it is much more difficult to understand how to fulfill such an order.

Sadly, some people do not experience love at all throughout their entire earthly journey, others live in vice and are subject to passions.

Moreover, even believing Christians sometimes find it difficult to cultivate true feelings in themselves. The path of faith is difficult, the Orthodox are hindered by Satan and demons, and modern world full of vices.

It must also be said about modern mass culture, which actively corrupts people by offering a surrogate of love as a substitute for genuine feeling.

Therefore, an Orthodox Christian needs to know where to get high spiritual standards from. An excellent example here is the words of Christ from the Gospel of Matthew.

The Savior, using simple examples, explains how the truth is manifested, which is generated by personal effort and the development of faith. After all, indeed, even animals love (in an accessible way) their owners, their offspring, instincts operate in them, and this does not require any understanding or personal effort.

At the same time, the Orthodox develops and shows a sense of respect and love towards everyone; for him, love your neighbor as yourself - not empty words, but a direct guide to action.

So, if we look at it in detail, we need to point out the following details:

• an even, fair attitude towards all people around you;
• the valor of the Christian is in his all-embracing love;
• even evil should be answered with blessing;
• if you concentrate on main goal, then the rest of the virtues will come from there.

It is not for nothing that in Orthodoxy love refers to both the Fruits and Gifts of the Holy Spirit and is considered one of the highest achievements of a believer. This feeling, or rather state, is achieved in the process of spiritual work.

Of course, one should not confuse a positive attitude towards pleasant food or observing a beautiful landscape with the true virtue that an Orthodox Christian develops. True Christian virtue is a spiritual achievement.

Rules of love

In the philistine sense, the concepts between real feelings and fake ones are often substituted. You should not confuse any sympathies that can be caused by elementary actions and real feelings. Sometimes, sympathy manifests itself as a consequence of a simple mechanism of affection.

Of course, similar signs relative position are pleasant and can be necessary in a relationship, but often this spills over into indulgence in vices. When we allow ourselves and others laziness and gluttony, this may look like a good attitude, but in reality it is harmful. The words “love your neighbor” do not mean indulgence in vices or anything like that.

The topic appears to be quite difficult; theses will also be useful here:

• the main goal for the Orthodox remains the salvation of the soul, therefore it represents the main value; in order to go towards this goal one should love the Lord and one’s neighbor;
• following religious precepts and cultivating faith are also signs of self-love;
• in Orthodoxy, this virtue, like faith, is a dynamic parameter, that is, it can be cultivated and changed;
• You should show delicacy towards others, not judge people, and not impose your opinion on them.

Of course, all this requires deep reflection and personal spiritual experience. You need to independently try to comprehend each thesis and, perhaps, develop your own.

It is not always possible to describe how a true feeling manifests itself in a religious sense, since, like faith, it is felt on a level that is not always fully grasped by the mind, that is, you can distinguish the true from the untrue, but it will be difficult or even impossible to describe it in words.

In the process of understanding how to love your neighbor as yourself, you need to focus on both reasoning and cultivating a feeling that is beyond reasoning and concepts. Sermons and books left by holy Orthodox ascetics can help with this, because such works contain the quintessence of spiritual experience.

Who is the neighbor

The concept "neighbor" can have different interpretation, since it implies, on the one hand, any person who happens to be nearby, that is, virtually everyone. On the other hand, we are talking about loved ones who are always present in your life, as well as others.

The first option is quite understandable; this was said earlier, in the place where Christ’s words about love for enemies and haters are given. Let's consider the second version of the words of Christ from the Gospel of John.

The canonical writing of the apostle points to the Christian community. In particular, it is quite reasonable to consider it further as a community of Orthodox believers. Initially, you need to develop relationships with those who are close in faith, with those who share your views.

A variety of people can be called neighbors:

• Family members are not always close in spirit; often relatives feel incredibly “distant” from each other;
• Also, people with whom you work or who are part of everyday life due to circumstances beyond your control should not necessarily be considered neighbors (in the spiritual sense);
• the relationship may not be particularly developed, but some people have similar views to yours, follow identical principles in business, then such a person is, in fact, closer than many;
• the one who contributes to the salvation of your soul becomes your neighbor, and the one who corrupts and teaches vices, in reality, turns out to be “far away.”

You should always start with yourself, that is, first develop your own Christian virtues, and then look for feedback in the souls of other people who share your views. In a community where mutual affection flourishes, virtues are more effectively cultivated and vices are also quickly eliminated.

Pay attention! It can be helpful to consider with your mind the suffering and sorrow that other people experience.

If we consider various hardships, then compassion develops more easily, which later develops into the highest attitude towards each being.

Useful video: “Love your neighbor as yourself..”

Conclusion

The next step is to extend one’s attitude to all people in general, when everyone becomes a neighbor. Here it is useful to follow the example of Christ himself, who communicated with publicans and with other, let’s say, not the most pleasant people.

Nevertheless, he treated everyone with the best feeling, and therefore could make, for example, from a publican an apostle of the new faith and a holy ascetic. In one in a simple word lies the quintessence of all faith, because this word also refers to the Lord God himself.