Final answer:
Moral duty according to Jesus emphasizes love, compassion, and the selfless care for others, transcending mere survival to encompass a flourishing life in both material and spiritual realms.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Jesus, moral duty is not primarily based on an individual's need to survive but rather on a higher ethical calling that emphasizes love, compassion, and care for others. In the Christian tradition, Jesus's teachings focus on the virtues that allow a person to foster meaningful relationships and to actualize their potential, which can lead to a flourishing life both in the material and spiritual sense. One's moral duty according to Jesus involves actions that promote cooperation and caring for others, as these are elements that align with the Christian definition of a good life. As Jesus taught, the greatest commandments are to love God and love one's neighbor as oneself.
Indeed, in the broader context of morality, many religious traditions, including Christianity, suggest that what is 'good' is good because God commands it, and that living a moral life involves following these divine teachings. Questions of morality often become most pressing and immediate to individuals when facing their mortality, revealing that actions taken and the ways individuals have treated each other bear significantly more weight than material possessions. While survival instincts drive much of human behavior, Jesus's teachings challenge individuals to rise above mere survival, encouraging a morality that surpasses the basic needs of human life and health and ventures into selfless love and service.