Williams Rudy 27 April, 2008 A. Whitley REL 1120
Unconditional Love in the New Testament
When one goes from the Old Testament to the New Testament, one of the biggest thematic differences is the introduction of agape, or love. In the New Testament, some Old Testament ideas are given new life and new meanings to satisfy Jesus teaching of love. Another major theme on the New Testament stems from Jesus ,,Love Commandment to love God and your neighbor unconditionally as yourself. Pauls teachings of Jesus message, the role of love in the epistles of John, and the eschatological expectations of the Gospels all play significant roles in the overall breakdown and meaning of the New Testament. In the Old Testament, there is a passage in which preludes the love commandment of Jesus that states, "You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD" (Levi. 19:18). This passage is located in the book of Leviticus, which traditionally deals with priestly matters and the worship of God at His sanctuary, and the section of Leviticus that the passage is from is a section which deals with moral and ethical laws for the people of Israel to follow. Also in the Old Testament in the book of Deuteronomy is a passage that serves as a perquisite to Jesus love commandment. It says, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God,
the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home, or when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead and write them on the doorposts of your house and your gates" (Deut. 6:4-9). What Jesus does with these two passages is he takes them and proclaims them together as the greatest commandment. He also tweaks the passages and expands on it in the synoptic gospels to explain what these passages are really calling for us to do: "But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs of you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you" (Lk. 6:27-36). What I found most interesting from this passage was the capitalization of the L in the word Love. This probably is making a reference to the ancient Greek word agape which translates to "selfless giving" (Harris 478), and selfless giving would be the perfect phrase to describe the teaching Jesus gave on the subject of loving your neighbor. The significance of the word agape in the New Testament is essential to understand. There are several meanings and connotations in English with the word ,,love, but in Greek, the language in which the gospels and all the epistles that make up the New Testament were written, the specific choice of the word agape means an unconditional love. Jesus love teaching of ,,do unto others plays a significant role in the synoptic
gospels of Matthew and Luke. In Matthew Jesus is credited for teaching "You have heard that it was said, ,,You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and the good; for he sends his rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ... Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:43-49). Again, just as in the passage from Luke 6:27-36, the write uses a capital L in the word ,,love to signify the use of agape and to highlight how and where the unconditional love it implies is needed. Basically, the writings in the synoptic gospels are just clearer and more concise explanations of the Old Testament laws in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. However, Paul, as one of the leading spiritual voices in the early history of the church, and the primary go-to man for problems in the church, often takes the helm and twists Jesus message around sometimes simplifying the message and/or emphasizing different teachings. Paul stresses, for example, in his letter to the Romans that one should "[o]we no one anything, except love to one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments ,,You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not covet; are all summed up in this word, ,,Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom. 13:8-10). Jesus stressed doing good works and gave many teachings, lessons, and parables about how to be a good person in general and how to live your life so that you might rejoice in the kingdom of God. What Paul does is he stresses that the sole teaching one needs to follow is the teachings of love. In Pauls teachings love takes top priority, and is exemplified in his first letter to the Corinthians. In this
letter he compares love to the "most highly charismatic gifts prophecy, knowledge, power, and self sacrifice Paul states that without love, these gifts are meaningless" (Harris 478). "Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when completeness comes the partial will come to an end" (1 Cor. 13:8-10). Paul stresses the completeness coming only when love is introduced into the equation. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul gives an account of what will truly liberate those in the Christian community. "For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Gal. 5:13-14). Pauls teachings really do not differ very much at all from those of Jesus. Both of them refer to serving one another and to the greatest commandment of loving your neighbor. The biggest difference is the amount of emphasis that Paul places on love. He takes the words Jesus spoke about love and completely expands upon those teachings. The eschatological expectations about Jesus teachings vary, however slightly, between Paul and the evangelist John. All three messages basically come down to the same expectation of unconditional love and dedication to God, to your neighbors, and to your enemies. Johns messages in his evangelical writings and his epistles all relate back again to the love commandment. Johns Gospel is completely different from the synoptic gospels because John is focused on mainly the spiritual and mystical aspect of Jesus ministry here on earth. According to Johns gospel, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down ones
life for ones friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you my friends, because I have made it known to you everything I have heard from my Father. I am giving you these commandments so that you may love each other" (John 15:12-17). In each of his epistles, John refers back to this teaching and the idea of no greater love than to lay down ones own life. He talks about the feud between Cain and Abel, and how "whoever does not love abides in death. All who hate a brother or sister are murders ... How does Gods love abide in anyone who has the worlds goods and sees a brother or sister in need yet refuses to help?" (1 John 3:11-18). When talking about the New Testament it is safe to say that the thematic elements of the books and letters included all basically give the same message about Christianity. Outside of its rules and stipulations as an organization, the ultimate goal of rejoicing in the Kingdom of God one day is ultimately attained by one, simple idea: the unconditional love, or agape, for God, your friends, family, and especially your enemies. Because just as Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew: "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt 5:46-8).
Works Cited Page The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Harris, Stephen L. Understanding The Bible. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007.