Matthew 22:34-40
The Greatest Commandments
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
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
The 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 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 words were always bold and often shocking… And somehow by reading and studying His teachings about what He did while He was on earth we learn much about good and evil...Jesus' teachings are the moral laws of God and in breaking these moral laws of God we sin...And when we sin we break the moral laws of God, and He is hurt and is somewhat wounded by our decisions to sin...Teaching about being good often requires mercy...Evil does not have or show mercy or forgiveness...
Jesus teaches us it is not good to be absence from people in need and those who are outcasts…One hurt and one lost along the road cannot be forgotten...He teaches us that those who show mercy are good neighbors… The non-believer and atheist may not believe or feel this merciful requirement…And if they do believe in this merciful requirement, they do they may not see it as Divine Ordinance...There are certain teachings that Jesus continually comes back to over and over and that is love of God and love of neighbor…These are the Two Great Commandments...And by continual linking God and neighbor, we somehow can better see that there is a positive and healthy force for good in this world…But, also, by the way He taught we can realize that there is evil around…
The nonbeliever may look at evil in a different way than those who follow Jesus…The nonbeliever maybe more tolerant of certain things than the believer because of the teachings of Jesus and the Bible…Certain people do not believe that different things that we choose to do and how we choose to live are evil and offend against the divine ordinance and the laws of God…But those who do follow Jesus and the moral laws of God are the ones who understand that the Good Samaritan is the good neighbor, and is helping to bring good to our world…And although man sometimes forgets to be good and we have this nature to sin, God has in His very nature the great attribute of forgiveness...