It seems like a reasonable commandment. Not that God’s commands have to be reasonable, I guess but as I think about it most of God’s commands really are pretty reasonable all in all. Take a day off every week, that’s our Sabbath. Don’t murder people, outright or with the words of our mouth. Honor your parents. Don’t steal. All those kinds of things that God commands us to do don’t stretch the imagination too much. They’re pretty reasonable, all things being equal.
They may be reasonable but that doesn’t mean we like all of them a whole bunch. It happens to most of us at one time or another and he lawyer in this story is kind of in that mindset. Not liking the command to love God and love neighbor as he’s been told, he wants some details. He wants some clarification. Perhaps it is some wiggle room that he’s looking for. Who is my neighbor, he wants to know? C’mon buddy, it’s not that complicated. You just don’t sound like you want to love your neighbor even though God and J
