The Greatest Commandment

Intro

As we begin this new year it is right of us to consider what we would like to do in 2023. I have asked a number of people in the last week and soldiers this weekend, if they have set any goals for 2023. Some have established goals, others, not so established. Some are building on previous goals and some don't know where to start.

In my civilian job I work with companies to create safe work environments for their employees. This can be difficult and finding a good baseline to establish can be interesting. Some want to start with the conditions that led to an injury recently, some want to start with the concept they are most familiar with. I have found that the easiest place to start is with Compliance. In other words what does the law say we HAVE to do. Then ask how can we achieve that.

So that is where I would like to start this afternoon, as believers in Christ Jesus, what are we commanded to do? and how do we achieve that?

Turn with me to Mark Chapter 12 Verse 28.

English Standard Version Chapter 12

28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

Outline of the sermon

The Question

The Quote

The Command

Application

Point 1. The Question

28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

-Why would this scribe ask Jesus this question?

At the beginning of a new year we tend to want to set goals for the year before us. These goals are personal, sometime physical goals, desires to get into better shape. Or handle finances more effectively. The goals could be professional, attend a school or receive a promotion, start or complete a project that would be beneficial to your career long term. Or relational goals, build a stronger marriage, or possibly get married, or develop friendships or deepen friendships.

Anyone who has gone through this process has needed to first answer the question “What is most important for me?”

Here the Scribe was asking Jesus to weigh in on which was the most important of the commandment listed in the old testament.

Now how many of you know the number of commandments in the Old Testament?

10-20-30-100?

The Gospel according to Mark The Test of the Scribes (12:28–34)

The rabbinic tradition counted 613 commandments in the Torah, 365 prohibitions, and 248 positive commands. Among the commandments, rabbis differentiated between what they called “heavy” and “light” commandments. The latter made less demand on one’s will or possessions, whereas heavy or weighty commandments concerned life’s uncompromising essentials.

So in other words, scene is these scribes and pharisees arguing about what the most important of the 613 commandments is and finally one looks to Christ Jesus and asks, “whats your take? which of the commands is primary? Which one is most important?”

-How is this scribe like us today?

Well going back to the introduction, we can see the scribe would be asking what does the Law say we HAVE to do? But for you and I, we could ask, What does God want us to do this year? How does God want us to use the time we are given?

Point 2. The Quote

29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

This is an ancient creed which confesses that the God of Israel is Lone in that office. In other words you could say this confession is conveying the reality of God being Existent and alone in that existence.

-Why does Jesus cite the Shema?

Jesus cites the Shema because He understood that the scribes and pharisees would see His answer is rooted in the reality of the supremacy of God. Jesus is saying, God is supreme, therefore everything that comes after, everything I am about to say matters in light of that supreme reality.

-How does this matter to us today?

The fact of the matter is that though we may have the same understanding of the gravity of what is communicated in the Shema, the reality is that God is just as supreme, just as pre-existent, just as worthy of praise and honor and glory NOW and He was THEN.

This reality that Christ is drawing the pharisees and scribes to then is the same reality that He is DRAWING US to this afternoon.

Point 3. The Command

30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

-Why does Jesus say it this way?

Because He is communicating to what degree ALL people should love God. God who as we say a moment ago is supreme, pre-existent, pre-eminent, sovereign, Holy, and Good. The right ruler of the universe and judge of all creation.

-So what should be do?

YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD

How?

WITH ALL YOUR HEART

The term with there in the greek is the word “EK” which means from. so in reality what we are reading could be read “from all the Heart”

This means that this love is all encompassing and is the outflow of our life!

The heart specifically can be understood as your will. Your desire should be according to Christ, to love God.

AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL

Likewise you should love God with all your soul, or emotions. You should be stirred to affection for the things of God, you should express joy as it would be joyful to God, sadness in moments that grieve God, and anger towards the things that anger the Sovereign Lord of the universe.

AND WILL ALL YOUR MIND

Refers to your intellect. Do you desire to not only learn more about Christ but think about Christ rightly. In other words, do you revere Christ as He is to be revered, do you think of God how He has revealed himself in Scripture.

One author and pastor out of Vancouver expresses this thought the following way,

“To love God with our whole mind involves the seat of our intellectual life. However, to love God with our mind is also to love Him with the right dispositions and attitudes, those that place our intellect in strict subordination to God's revelation of Himself, not only by thinking about Him, but by submitting our thinking to His revelation. Because of our finiteness, we will never get to a point where we have no need of learning more about God. We read in Isaiah 50:4 that God had given the "servant" (that is, Jesus) "the tongue of those who are taught," and that "morning by morning" the servant was awakened by God to be taught. Christ's love for God meant He applied not only His heart and soul, but also His mind.

If it was necessary for Jesus to be taught so that He could love God with His mind, how much more is it necessary for His people?”

AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH

This is the summary of all the previous elements. What Christ is saying here is that we are to love God with our whole being, and that love should be expressed in our whole being.

Think about it, Is any part of you and your life left out of what Jesus is saying here? No, not at all!

To summarize, When asked by the scribe, which commandment is the greatest, or supreme, Jesus says to Love the Lord your God with everything you are, and that should be expressed in everything you have.

Application

-What does this mean for us today?

When I was growing up there were these bracelets that became really popular. These bracelets were plastic, came in any color or color combination you could think of and have 4 letters on them. W.W.J.D. which stood for “What would Jesus Do?”

The idea was that we would wear these bracelets and they would remind us to consider What would jesus do, in every moment of the day. Though I believe this is a helpful reminder of how to respond to the world around us, normally when evil things take place, I believe it doesn't fully encompass what we see in scripture today.

We aren't ONLY to consider what would Jesus DO, We are commanded to live in a way that demonstrates Love for God in every aspect of our lives.

Now before you leave and try in your own power to love the Lord as we have discussed, let me share with you, that is impossible. Its impossible for us as finite, fallen humans to be obedient to this most important command.

SO WHAT THEN! This is the most important commandment and now your saying we cannot do it!

Yes, we cannot do it in our own strength, me must be made new creations through faith in Christ, and have the spirit at work in us through the process of sanctification.

ONLY WITH THE HELP OF THE SPIRIT IS OBEDIENCE TO THIS COMMAND POSSIBLE.

Conclusion

May we all enter 2023 with a desire to be obedient to our call to Love God. Also, may we all rejoice in the fact that we cannot do this by ourselves but are wholly dependent on Him. If you look at your life and say, God I have failed to love you as you have commanded, then repent and trust in the finished work of Christ to be sufficient for your needs.

If you look to the future and say there is no way I can Love God as He commands and Rightly deserves, then let that universal reality humbly bring us to our knees in prayer, recognizing our need to submit to this command, and our dependence on God to give us the power and will to do so.