Click to Play
0 plays
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
— Matthew 7:12
“‘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.”
— Matthew 22:37–40
The song you have before you is built around what is often called “the Golden Rule” and what Jesus Himself described as the greatest commandments. According to Jesus, these are not minor moral suggestions. They are the summary, the essence, the weight-bearing structure of all that God gave through “the Law and the Prophets.”
If you understand and obey these words of Jesus, you are aligned with the entire revealed will of God under the Old Covenant and carried to its fulfillment in the New. If you ignore them, no amount of religious activity, knowledge, or spiritual “experiences” will compensate.
So we must ask:
“Let us look at what the Word of God says.”
---
### Matthew 7:12 – Within the Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:12 appears in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). Jesus is speaking to His disciples with the crowds listening. He is not giving Pharisaic legalism; He is expounding the righteousness of the Kingdom of Heaven.
He has just been speaking about:
Immediately after this teaching on the Father’s goodness, Jesus summarizes human relationships in one sweeping command:
> “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,
> for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)
“So” (or “therefore”) connects this to the revelation of God as Father. Because God is generous, kind, and trustworthy, His children are to reflect His character by acting toward others in the way they themselves would desire to be treated.
### Matthew 22:37–40 – Confrontation with the Religious Experts
In Matthew 22, Jesus is in Jerusalem, surrounded by religious and political opposition. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and others are trying to trap Him with questions. One of them, “an expert in the law,” asks:
> “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36)
Jesus gives a two-part answer, but in His mind it is one unified ethic:
1. Vertical love – toward God:
> “‘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.” (Matthew 22:37–38)
2. Horizontal love – toward people:
> “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
> All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:39–40)
This is important: the man asked for the greatest *commandment* (singular). Jesus gave two, and then said the second is “like” the first, and both together hold up everything God has commanded.
All of God’s moral will can be traced back to these two axes:
The song you have cites both Matthew 7:12 and Matthew 22. Jesus Himself links them conceptually:
They are two perspectives on the same Kingdom reality.
---
To understand the force of these commands, we must look briefly at two key words: “love” and “neighbor.”
### 1. “Love” – Greek: *agapē* (ἀγάπη) / Verb: *agapaō* (ἀγαπάω)
When Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God” and “Love your neighbor,” the verb is *agapaō*. This is not:
*Agapē* in the New Testament indicates:
1 John 4:8 says, “God is *agapē*.” This love is seen supremely at the cross:
> “But God demonstrates his own love (*agapē*) for us in this:
> While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
So when Jesus commands us to *love* God and our neighbor, He is not commanding us to feel a certain way. He is commanding us to align our will, our choices, our actions, and our priorities according to God’s nature and purposes.
This means:
### 2. “Neighbor” – Greek: *plēsion* (πλησίον), Hebrew background: *rea‘* (רֵעַ)
The Greek word *plēsion* means “one who is near.” It translates the Hebrew *rea‘*, which often means:
Jesus expands this dramatically in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37). A lawyer, trying to justify himself, asked:
> “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29)
Jesus responds with a story in which the hero is:
Then Jesus asks:
> “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” (Luke 10:36)
The answer: “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus replies: “Go and do likewise.”
So “neighbor” is not defined by:
“Neighbor” means: any person God places within reach of your mercy.
The lyrics say:
“Love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no commandment greater than these.”
Understanding *agapē* and *plēsion* deepens this lyric:
---
Let us now examine the themes of the lyrics, bringing Scripture alongside Scripture.
### A. “So in everything, do to others
what you would have them do to you,
for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus’ statement is radical in two ways.
1. “So in everything”
No compartment is exempt:
2. Positive, proactive righteousness
Many religious and philosophical systems express a negative version:
Jesus goes further:
“Do to others what you would have them do to you.”
This shifts us from passive avoidance of harm to active pursuit of good.
James 4:17 echoes this:
> “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”
The Golden Rule exposes a subtle form of selfishness:
“I have not injured anyone; I have not stolen; I have not murdered.”
But Jesus asks:
“Have you done for others what you wish they would do for you?”
This is the practical outworking of *agapē*.
### B. “Do to others as you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets.
Treat people the way you want to be treated—
this is the heart of God’s commands.”
The repetition underlines a great principle: God’s moral law is relational.
The “Law and the Prophets” is a Jewish way of referring to:
Jesus is saying: “If you understand and obey this one rule, you have grasped the inner logic of all that.”
Paul confirms this:
> “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law.
> The commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not covet,’ and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule:
> ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
> Love does no harm to its neighbor.
> Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
> — Romans 13:8–10
Notice:
So when the lyric says,
“Treat people the way you want to be treated—this is the heart of God’s commands,”
it is not exaggeration. This is exactly what Jesus and Paul teach.
### C. “Love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no commandment greater than these.”
The phrase “as yourself” does not command self-obsession or self-worship. It assumes a basic instinct of self-care:
In Ephesians 5:29, Paul says:
> “After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it…”
So “as yourself” means:
Now apply this:
Galatians 6:1–2 captures the spirit:
> “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.
> But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
Deepen your worship with these related songs:
No more songs available