In today’s passage, we not only see that the second part of the Great Commandment – “Love your neighbor as yourself” – comes from the Old Testament. We also see some examples of how this love should work itself out in all of our relationships.

And there are some surprises here. We would all agree with verse 16 that we should not lie about others or act out our hostility to them in any way. We would all agree with verse 13 that it is wrong to oppress other people, or to steal from them. But the end of verse 13 may bring us up short – true love, true consideration for others means being timely in helping them. It turns out that we must put the urgent needs of the poor first, even if that sometimes means inconveniencing ourselves.

But verse 15 puts the shoe on the other foot. After all, we expect God to tell us that we should not defer to the great and powerful. We expect God to say that we should treat everyone equally. But notice that God also says we must not be partial to the poor. It turns out that it is wrong to bend the scales of justice either way.

So, how do we deal with the sorts of conflict that are inevitable even among those who love each other the most? Verse 17 says that mutual honesty is simply indispensable. Sometimes we need to reprove one another, to point out to others when their lives are out of accord with God’s Word. And of course that entails the same willingness to let others point out our own failures and inconsistencies. In spite of our Southern tendency to avoid conflict, it is simply not an expression of love to let someone continue in the self-deception of sin. But at the same time, we must not let necessary conflict boil over into anger and hatred. After all, verse 18 says that we should not take vengeance on others. Although we may sometimes be called to help others see their sin, it is never our job to pass judgment on anyone else. Holding up a ruler to a crooked line is acceptable – erasing and redrawing it is beyond our jurisdiction.

But then verse 17 makes everything even more personal. Just as Jesus did in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:21-24), the Law says we must not harbor hatred for one another in our hearts, even if we never act on it. And verse 18 says we must not even bear any grudges toward others. In other words, our love for one another must not be feigned – it must be heartfelt and genuine.

Finally, verse 14 explains that treating even the most helpless among us with compassion is an expression of reverence for God. Why is that? Well, all people are made in the image of God, so if we love God, we should love all of His images, right? But Jesus goes even further than this in Matthew 25:31-46 – if we care for the least of His brothers and sisters, we are caring for Him. It thus turns out that keeping the second part of the Great Commandment – loving one another – is a very good way of observing the first part – loving God with all we are and all we have.

Leviticus 19:13-18 ESV

13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning.
14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.
15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.
16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.
17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.
18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.