Ethical Teachings of Jesus Christ

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Jesus came not to destroy the law but to fulfil it (Matt 5:17, 18). This means, on the one hand, that He endorsed it. This He did, first, by yielding to it an obedience that was unique. Not only in moral matters but also in its wider connotation, Jesus abode by the law (Matt 17:27; 23:23; Mark 14:12). Second, He endorsed its teaching, subsuming all under the twofold head of love to God and neighbour (Matt 22:37-40).

Ethical obligation, according to the Saviour's teachings, is enforced by the yet higher religious obligation. Our duties to men are really a part of our all-comprehensive duty to God. Why must I love my neighbour as myself? If it be placed on utilitarian grounds, meaning personal utility, then I ought to love my neighbour as myself because it will benefit me, that is, because I love myself better than my neighbour. If the utility consulted be general, then why ought I to care as much for the general good as for my own? We are back where we started. Herbert Spencer, with all the ability and earnestness shown in his "Data of Ethics" makes a reply which I think men in general cannot recognize as philosophically conclusive or practically cogent. Natural sympathy with others, we are told, if frequently exercised, hardens by force of habit into altruism, a sense of obligation to others. Is that all? Nay, I must love my neighbour as myself because I am the creature and the child of God, whom I must love with all my heart, more than my neighbour and more than myself. Shall we then, it may be asked, accuse every man who is not definitely religious of being gravely immoral? Nay, individual moral convictions may be largely the result of inheritance, education and present environment, and may subsist notwithstanding the individual lack of those religious convictions which are their proper, and, as a general fact, their actual support.

 In His summary of the law, Jesus provided also a summary of His positive ethical teaching. This is found in the command to love God and neighbor (Matt 22:37-39) and the Golden Rule (7:12). Despite parallels in Judaism, such teaching was nonetheless unique. Here alone, love to God and love to neighbor are specifically linked together and related to each other. Furthermore, the command to love is given unprecedented preeminence in the teaching of Jesus. Rabbi Akiba may have quoted the OT (Lev 19:18) as the summation of the teaching of the law, but he saw it as standing alongside the rest of the law, both written and oral. Hillel may have used the Golden Rule, but only in its negative form. Moreover, Jesus radicalized love by revealing love in its fullest meaning—not only in His teaching, but also in His life. In particular, He universalized the meaning of love by specifically extending the term “neighbor” beyond the bounds of those who have a claim upon us (Luke 10:29-37; cf. Matt 5:43-47). This He demonstrated in His own life through His compassion.

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