If ye fulfil the royal law according to the Scriptures: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; ye do well. James 2:8
Did you ever check to see how often the Bible contains the words ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’? It first appears in Leviticus 19:18, as God delivers the Law to Moses. In the New Testament, in addition to our text today, it appears in Matthew 5:43, Matthew 19:19, Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, and in Luke 10:27. So it must be important. Even the world will admit that loving our neighbour as ourselves is a good thing. It can serve effectively as the basis for all human relationships; if it was truly put into practice our world would be a much different place. Our text identifies this commandment as the royal law. Why do the Scriptures so identify it?
The royal law is so called because of its royal source: It is our King who commands and desires that we love our neighbour as ourselves. And it was our King Who showed us how to do it. Throughout His life, the Lord Jesus was always looking out for the needs of others. He traveled long distances out of his way to meet the need of a sinful Samaritan woman. He kept the needs of the hungry multitude in mind as he preached in the wilderness. He comforted the grieving, healed the sick, encouraged the weary, and in everything He did, put the needs of others above His own. Even as we consider His final journey outside of Jerusalem to die on a lonely hill, He was displaying His love for His neighbour. He Who had done nothing amiss was there only because He was bearing our punishment and providing our salvation. We keep the royal law by following our King’s commandment.
But it is called the royal law for another important reason: it is the law to be observed by the King’s children. As the children of our Heavenly King, we are faced with expectations that the unregenerate world around us knows nothing of. As His children, more is expected of us, because we are responsible to uphold the family honour. Misdeeds or shameful behaviour would reflect badly on our Father. And so, we have been given this royal law.
If we love our neighbour as ourself, we will display to God and men that we are members of Heaven’s royalty. We will do well. -Jim MacIntosh