Jesus' Discourse about the Rule of Living 

In March of 28 CE, at the home of Lazarus in Bethany of Judea, Jesus answered an apostle’s question about the olden rule of living, often called the “golden rule." In his reply, he described six levels or six ways of interpreting the rule. At the highest level, he gave it a new and greater meaning, revising the old "Treat others as you would like to be treated" to the new "Treat others as you think God would."

During his public ministry, when passing through Bethany, Jesus would stay at the home of his old friend Lazarus. On one of these visits, after the evening meal, Jesus and his twelve apostles sat around a fire in Lazarus’ garden, talking.

The apostle Nathaniel was a deep-thinking man. In fact, he was the amateur philosopher of the twelve apostles. However, he was confused about one of Jesus’ teachings and asked for clarification. The answer prompted the delivery of one of the most profound of Jesus’ discourses.

Nathaniel asked this: “Master, although you have taught us the positive version of the old rule of life, instructing us that we should do to others as we wish them to do to us, I do not see how we can always abide by such a rule. What about people who do evil, who purposely and willingly lust after, and even commit crimes against one another? Surely, we can’t teach others to do likewise.”

When the Master heard this, he stood and, pointing his finger at the apostle, said: “Nathaniel! What manner of thinking is going on in your heart? Do you not receive my teachings as one who has been born of the spirit? Do you not hear the truth as men of wisdom and spiritual understanding? When I admonished you to do to others as you would have them do to you, I spoke to men of high ideals, not to those who would be tempted to distort my teaching into a license for the encouragement of evil-doing.”

When Jesus had spoken, Nathaniel rose and said: “But, Master, you should not think that I approve of such an interpretation of your teaching. I asked the question because I imagined that some might misjudge your admonition, and I hoped you would give us further instruction regarding these matters.”

To this sincere request, Jesus replied: “I well know, Nathaniel, that no such idea of evil is approved in your mind, but I am disappointed that you all so often fail to put a genuinely spiritual interpretation upon my commonplace teachings, instruction which must be given you in human language and as men must speak. Let me now teach you concerning the differing levels of meaning attached to the interpretation of this rule of living, this admonition to ‘do to others that which you desire others to do to you.’”

Spontaneously and without rehearsal or notes, Jesus articulated six ways of interpreting the golden rule:

1. “The level of the flesh. Such a purely selfish and lustful interpretation would be well exemplified by the supposition of your question.
2. “The level of the feelings. This plane is one level higher than that of the flesh and implies that sympathy and pity would enhance one’s interpretation of this rule of living.
3. “The level of mind. Now come into action the reason of mind and the intelligence of experience. Good judgment dictates that such a rule of living should be interpreted in consonance with the highest idealism embodied in the nobility of profound self-respect.
4. “The level of brotherly love. Still higher is discovered the level of unselfish devotion to the welfare of one’s fellows. On this higher plane of wholehearted social service growing out of the consciousness of the fatherhood of God and the consequent recognition of the brotherhood of man, there is discovered a new and far more beautiful interpretation of this basic rule of life.
5. “The moral level. And then, when you attain true philosophic levels of interpretation, when you have real insight into the rightness and wrongness of things when you perceive the eternal fitness of human relationships, you will begin to view such a problem of interpretation as you would imagine a high-minded, idealistic, wise, and impartial third person would so view and interpret such an injunction as applied to your personal problems of adjustment to your life situations.
6. “The spiritual level. And then, last but greatest of all, we attain the level of spirit insight and spiritual interpretation that impels us to recognize in this rule of life the divine command to treat all men as we conceive God would treat them. That is the universe ideal of human relationships. And this is your attitude toward all such problems when your supreme desire is ever to do the Father’s will. I would, therefore, that you should do to all men that which you know I would do to them in like circumstances.”

Nothing Jesus had said to the apostles up to this time had ever more astonished them. They continued to discuss the Master’s words long after he retired. While Nathaniel was slow to recover from his presumption that Jesus had misunderstood the spirit of his question, the others were more than thankful that their philosophic fellow apostle had dared to ask such a thought-provoking question.

The apostles first heard Jesus modify the golden rule when he ordained them and delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Among other things, Jesus said the following:

“…Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who despitefully use you. And whatsoever you believe that I would do to men, do you also to them.”

From the Sermon on the Mount to his farewell address at the Last Supper, Jesus taught his followers to manifest fatherly love rather than brotherly love. Brotherly love would love your neighbor as you love yourself, and that would be adequate fulfillment of the “golden rule.” But fatherly affection would require that you should love your fellow mortals as Jesus loves you.