“Jesus spoke of love rather than of justice because he included a generous justice in his idea of love. As justice does not mean legality, so love does not mean charity. The prophets never urged that contributions should be made to the victims of social injustice. While Jesus spoke much of giving to the poor, for that was the one means of social service available, he emphasized ever the personal relationship. The neighbor is not only to be fed; he is also to be loved. The parable of neighborliness shows personal service to the wounded traveler, not the mere giving of money. Jesus’s idea of forgiveness was not merely charitable; it was generous.”
Theodore Gerald Soares, The Social Institutions and Ideals of the Bible (New York: Abingdon, 1915), p. 374.