Matthew 6:5-15
The LORD's Prayer
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 25:31-46
The Sheep and the Goats
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Matthew 22:36-40
Two Greatest Commandments
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Luke 10:25-37
Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Jesus throughout His ministry links our faith with God to our neighbors...Our love and a forgiving attitude towards our neighbor is talked about in the LORD's Prayer...He teaches us that when we pray we ask God to forgive us of our sins, but before our sins are forgiven -we first have to forgive other people when they sin against us...Jesus puts it this way, "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you...But if you do not forgive others of their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins...
Jesus makes me think that there is this interconnected fellowship between all men and women...That our fate may depend on the fate of others...We as mankind are all somehow connected...When we love God and love all our neighbors, there is this great fellowship...A great solidarity with God and humanity...
When Jesus is telling us the story about the sheep and the goats, He teaches, that the King in Heaven will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world...For when I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, when I was thirsty you gave Me something to drink, when I was a Stranger you invited Me in, when I needed clothes you clothed Me, when I was sick you looked after Me, and when I was in prison and you came to visit Me.’...“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink?...When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or when you needed clothes, we gave You clothes?...When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?...The King will say this, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.’...“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels...For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.’...“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a Stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help You?’...“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’...“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”...
And when Jesus is asked about the One Greatest Commandment, He gives two of them...We hear not one, but two...“‘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...And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself...’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”...Jesus goes out of His way not to give us the One Greatest Commandment, which is about God and loving His Father...No, He adds a second on His own and He says it is much like the first...And it is all about loving your neighbor...
Surely Jesus links loving, forgiving, mercy, and helping a neighbor in need to walking with God...And He gives us this in the Parable of the Good Samaritan...This Parable is all about God and neighbor...On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus...“Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”...“What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied...“How do you read it?”...The rabbi must have studied the Old Testament well or heard Jesus teaching, because he repeats the Greatest Commandment, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”...“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied...“Do this and you will live.”...But the expert in the law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”...In reply, Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers...They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead...A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side...So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side...But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him...He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine...Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him...The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper...‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’...Jesus ask, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”...The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”...Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”...
Love, forgiveness, and mercy toward our neighbors lets us inherit eternal life, when we believe in Jesus and the One who sent Him...And there in heaven, we can be with Him and His Father...