44: Q&A with Jesus (Mt 22:34-46)

Some questions don’t really seem to have adequate answers. Questions like:

Why is a boxing ring square?

Do sheep get static cling when they rub against one another?

If a bunch of cats jump on top of each other, is it still called a dog pile?

If a kid refuses to sleep during nap time, are they guilty of resisting a rest?

Since bread is square, then why is sandwich meat round?

What’s another word for “thesaurus?”

If you could have a Question & Answer time with Jesus ask Him question, what would it be?

I would have several. But, as we have already seen in our Matthew study, if your question was intended to stump Jesus, there’s no doubt He would answer it well. Today we not only hear a question asked of Jesus and answered by Jesus, but will also hear a question Jesus asks - a question that stumps his opponents regarding His identity.

But before we do that, let’s catch the context from where we left off.

4 weeks ago in our study of Matthew’s gospel, we saw the disciples of the Pharisees, the Herodians, and the Sadducees all throw their best pitch at Jesus and He smacked it out of the park! Remember that?

The Pharisees ask if the Hebrew people should be paying taxes to Caesar or not: Jesus tells the Pharisees, give to Caesar what is Caesars and give to God what is God’s.

Then it was the Sadducees turn - who say there is no eternal life - they asked who would a women be married to at the resurrection? Jesus corrected them 2 ways, first they don’t believe in the resurrection of the dead - eternal life. SECOND, in the afterlife people are no longer married - it’s better than that - we are family with EVERYONE who is there - no more sin, no more sickness, no more broken relationships - FOREVER!

That’s where we were 4 weeks ago. Now, let’s dig in and continue some more more Q&A with Jesus.

Matthew 22:34–35 (NIV) Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:

Remember that this testing of Jesus wasn’t to prove he WAS the Messiah, but to prove that He wasn’t .

Remember that they were attempting to “trap Him in his words”. (Mt 22:15)

This expert in the law knew what the Scriptures said and was trained to interpret and teach it to others. This time it wasn’t to train or teach, but to TRAP.

Matthew 22:36 (NIV) “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Out of the 613 commands in the Old Testament (365 negative & 248 positive), there were several differing views on the most important command.

For example, Rabbi Hillel (whose ministry flourished around 20 BC) - is said to have been approached by a Gentile convert who asked him to summarize the whole law while he stood on one leg (in other words - it had to be a quick summation). He responded by inverting the ‘Golden Rule’ and something similar to, “Do not do to others what you don’t want done to you. This is the whole law; the rest is just commentary.” [1]

There were other views as well, but now we come to how Jesus answers. Maybe the man hoped Jesus would point people AWAY from the authority of the Scriptures and to His own teaching, thereby opening the door for the Pharisees to condemn Jesus for diluting the authority of the Scriptures.

Instead, Jesus spotlights the authority of the Scriptures by saying…

Matthew 22:37–40 (NIV) Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Jesus boils the 613 OT laws down into 2, quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5 (Love Yahweh) and Leviticus 19:18 (love your neighbor). We say it this way at Fellowship:

Love God. Love People.

Everything from the Law & the Prophets (the Hebrew Scriptures) is found here in these 2 commands. Every other command is under the umbrella of one of these 2 commandments. For example,

Here’s an example: The 10 Commandments that God gave the Hebrew people - all of which I believe apply today for Gentile believers, with the exception of the Sabbath command - demonstrate how all laws fall under the 2 commands to LOVE GOD and to LOVE PEOPLE.

To love God is more than words we say. To love God is to be devoted and obedient to our Creator & Provider - to love Him with every fiber of our being. We should think about Him, thank Him, live to honor him, and long to be in His Presence.

Jesus quotes this phrase “Love the Lord Your God…” from the Hebrew Shema (Hebrew “hear”) from Deuteronomy - a prayer that many Jews in Jesus’ day prayed 2 times a day - morning & evening.

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 (LSB) Hear [shema], O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one! You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Let’s do a little word study through “The Bible Project” video that will give us clarity into what it means to “love God and love people”.

VIDEO - “What it means to LOVE God” - Bible Project

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV_LUs2lnIQ&list=PLH0Szn1yYNefi38u7gAh_vAn1OuqIJrlD&index=2

To love God is to be devoted and obedient to our Creator & Provider

I can’t LOVE HIM without being devoted to Him. I can’t LOVE HIM & live in disobedience to Him.

I don’t really LOVE TONYA if I’m not devoted to her, if I have other people or things that I give more time. I don’t really LOVE TONYA if I very little concern about being faithful to her.

FEET2FAITH The greatest thing you could do this week is learning how & living out what it means to LOVE GOD with every fiber of your being.

Get in the Scriptures to know WHO God is & what God says. Think on His holiness, His graciousness, His justice.

LIVE OUT what you read about. Put it into practice every day.

Be aware of God’s constant PRESENCE. If we really lived like God was with us, it should impact what we say & what we do - when everyone is around & when no one is around.

But there’s a second command that is like the first, upon which all the commands of Scripture hang from.

Matthew 22:37–40 (NIV) Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The spill-over from loving God with all we’ve got is the God-given ability to love people - to treat people He has made in His image, as if they were really made in His image - VALUABLE. So, if we have a neighbor who is in need, we should help them the way we hope someone would help us, if we we’re going through the same struggle.

This is not a new command, but an old one. Jesus is once again quoting from the Hebrew Scriptures.

Leviticus 19:18b (LSB) …you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yahweh.

We will come back to this in a moment, but let’s catch the context of what it looks like to love your neighbor as yourself.

Leviticus 19:9–18 (NET) When you gather in the harvest of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field, and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. You must not pick your vineyard bare, and you must not gather up the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You must leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.

[11-12] You must not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your fellow citizen. You must not swear falsely in My Name, so that you do not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.

[13-14] You must not oppress your neighbor or commit robbery against him. You must not withhold the wages of the hired laborer overnight until morning. You must not curse a deaf person or put a stumbling block in front of a blind person. You must fear your God; I am the Lord.

[15-16] You must not deal unjustly in judgment: you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. You must judge your fellow citizen fairly.You must not go about as a slanderer among your people. You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the Lord.

[17-18] You must not hate your brother in your heart. You must surely reprove your fellow citizen so that you do not incur sin on account of him.You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

This is vivid imagery of what it means to love your neighbor, to treat them with VALUE - people created in the image of God. And we will do well to remember, when someone asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” - Jesus responded by telling the story of the Good Samaritan, where a person from a different tribal race - whose ancestors had fought one another - cared for a Jewish man he had never met, who had a need he could meet.

The importance of loving our neighbor is echoed by the New Testament authors - Paul (Rom 13:9, Gal 5:14) & James (Jam 2:8).

And, to love your neighbor as yourself is to treat people with value & help meet their needs.

Be consistently kind. People need friends - someone who will treat them like they matter. Don’t be a jerk in public & then put on a kind countenance because you’re at a church event.

Share your stuff with those in need. Maybe they need some money, a meal, or a ride somewhere.

Be quick to forgive & restore. People will hurt you, but we - like our King - must be willing to forgive & restore - the way He does for us.

Speak the truth in love. It is NOT loving to nod in agreement when our neighbors are hurting others & buying the lies that the devil is spewing.

So, rather than falling into the baited trap by pointing to His own authority, Jesus answers the question well by affirming the authority of the Scriptures.

They had asked their questions. Now it’s time for Jesus to ask HIS own question.

Matthew 22:41–42 (NIV) While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied.

As we have seen several times in this writing, it was understood that the Messiah was to be “the Son of David”. This could not have meant that David was his dad, as David had died 1000 years before Jesus starts His ministry. It DOES mean the Messiah is in the family line of King David.

Isaiah, writing 700 years before the ministry of Jesus, gave this prophecy we mentioned a few weeks ago.

Isaiah 9:6-7 (NIV) For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Many of the people who saw the amazing things Jesus did thought He just might be “the Son of David”.

Matthew 12:22–23 (NIV) Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

And as Jesus entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, listen to what the crowd cried out:

Matthew 21:9 (NIV) The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

In fact, Matthew begins this gospel with these words:

Matthew 1:1 (NIV) This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

And so, while the religious leaders would have disputed the claim that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of David - it was an undisputed fact that the TRUE messiah would be “the Son of David”.

So now Jesus digs deeper and essentially asks, “What does that MEAN?”

It’s a question they can’t answer, but a question that we NEED to answer.

Matthew 22:43–45 (NIV) He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”

First, Jesus claims that David was speaking by the Spirit in writing this text - that’s what Scripture is - God speaking TO people THROUGH people by what God has led them to write.

The Scripture Jesus quotes comes from Ps. 110:1.

Next, Jesus asks a question based on this then 1000 year old passage written by King David…a question WE need to answer!

How is it that King David calls the Messiah - someone who would now have to be His great, great, great, great, great, great (lots of greats) grandson - my Lord?!!!

You mean to tell me that the Scripture declares that if KING DAVID were alive on the planet…he would bow his knee…to this Messiah and declare HIM to be the MASTER over King David? YEP! And just WHO would that BE!? Who is this “son of David”?

And although the Greek text from this passage uses essentially the same term - kurios - lord - the originating Hebrew text uses 2 different terms here (Yahweh & doni).

Rather than seeing the text as “The Lord declared to my Lord” it would be understood as what we see in the Hebrew text of Psalm 110:1.

“Yahweh said to my Lord. So, it is Yahweh, the One true God, who tells the One whom David calls my Lord to sit at Yahweh’s right hand until I put your enemies under your feet - the right hand being the place of honor and authority, as enemies are forced to bow to his authority.

Using an enemy as a footstool is ancient imagery for defeating an enemy, as the conquering king would place his foot on the neck of the defeated leaders as a footstool, just as Joshua had his leaders do to the kings who fought against the Hebrew people (Joshua 10:24). This is what WILL happen to the enemies of the Messiah - more on that in a moment.

So, just WHO IS this Messiah?

He is the one that King David will FREELY bow before - His Lord - His authority.

But the very men being asked this question will be FORCED to bow before the Messiah - the One they have labeled an enemy - the One they have been planning to kill.

Matthew 22:45–46 (NIV) If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

This is BRILLIANT reasoning from the Scriptures! The Messiah is no mere teacher, miracle worker, or prophet! The Messiah - “the son of David”, but the one King David calls his Lord!

And that Messiah is standing in their midst - Jesus is that One the Scriptures have spoken of!

What Kind of Man Would God in Skin BE?

Bernard Ramm gives answers that question like this: [2]

1. We would expect Him to be sinless.

2. We would expect His words to be the greatest words ever spoken.

3. We would expect Him to have profound power over human personality - like being able to stump the most intelligent people.

4. We would expect Him to perform supernatural miracles.

5. And we would expect Him to demonstrate the love of God.

Of all human beings who have ever lived, Jesus Christ alone met all of those criteria.

Yet, the men asking Jesus questions and being stumped by His, refused to recognize who He was. They refused to call Him Lord.

Is that where YOU are too? OR…

Will YOU - like King David - call the Messiah - Jesus - your Lord! - the One who you bow your knee to - the One you obey above all others?

The question really isn’t “Will you bow?” You WILL bow before the King of kings.

The better question - a question you need to answer TODAY - is…

BIG QUESTION: Will You Bow NOW?

OR…will you wait too late, and one day be FORCED to bow - an enemy forced to become a footstool?

The day is coming for you and me - the day when YOU and I will either DIE or be alive when the Lord Jesus returns. And on that day…You WILL bow.

Philippians 2:9–11 (NIV)

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The day is coming when ALL…that includes ALL of us - will bow our knees and confess with our mouths that Jesus - not YOU or ME, no other false god - but JESUS is Lord.

That IS going to happen. The only question is...

BIG QUESTION: Will You Bow NOW?

Are you confident that you are a forgiven follower of Jesus?

We want to help you - STAFF or DEACONS/WIVES

Would you turn from your sin and trust Jesus with your SOUL?

If you already FOLLOW Jesus, may we put our FEET2FAITH and live out our what it means to…

Love God & Love People.

PRAY

________________

Brad H. Young, Meet the Rabbis: Rabbinic Thought and the Teachings of Jesus (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2007), 190.

Bernard Ramm. Protestant Christian Evidences. (Chicago; Moody, 1953], 166–75.

Discussion Questions

Read Matthew 22:35-40. What are the 2 greatest commands and can you give examples how all the commands of God hang on these 2?

Take some time to share what it should look like to 1) Love God 2) Love People. Consider looking at the FEET2FAITH challenges for some ideas.

Did you know that “love you neighbor as you love yourself” came from the Old Testament (Lev 19:18)? How did hearing the context of that passage (Lev 19:9-18) give insight into what it looks like to really love your neighbor?

Read Matthew 22:41-46. Why does Jesus’ question stump the religious leaders? How does King David’s response (Ps 110:1) to the Messiah model what OUR response should be to the Messiah? How does this passage demonstrate that the Messiah - Jesus - was more than just a special man?

What criteria did Bernard Ramm propose for identifying the Messiah, and how does Jesus fulfill these criteria?

Read Philippians 2:9-11. As you read this text, does it excite you or concern you? What does it cause you to think about friends & family who have yet to bow their knee to Jesus?

What does God want YOU to do with what we studied today?

How can we pray for/care for one another this week? (Pray for one another.)