While teaching one day, Jesus was asked by an expert in the Jewish law codes ‘what is the most important commandment.’ His answer was to repeat the Old Testament summary of the 10 Commandments: Love God with all your being and love your neighbor as yourself. This prompted another question: Who is your neighbor? Neither of these questions was unique among the ancient Jews. Rabbis had been arguing over these sorts of matters for centuries. In particular, the neighbor question was one of the 7 most hotly debated religious topics of the era. There were two opposing perspectives. The most religious...
