Matt. 22.34 thru 40 Exegetical
Matt. 22:34-40
Exegetical Work
- Lev. 19:18 “You will love your neighbor as yourself”
- Pharisees are trying to trap throughout previous texts but He is too sharp for them
- Chapt. 23 He will preach a scathing sermon
- 24 Predicts temple destruction
- then eschatological sermon
- 34
- Psalm 2:2 Great messianic psalm
- Rulers have “taking counsel together” against Yahweh as now against Yahweh’s Son!
- 35
- How is this a test?
- Are they still trying to entrap Him?
- 36
- “Which is a (semiticism=the greatest) great commandment of the law?”
- How is this a test?
- No answer is correct. 613 laws in the Torah not (just the Decalogue)! One is picked then one will be more important.
- Hopefully will confuse Him and He will pick the wrong one.
- 37
- You will love Yahweh…Deut. 6:5, Josh. 22:5
- Matt. Brings in mind as a conflation of both
- Is there any part of us that should not love Yahweh our God?
- Answer; No!
- 39
- “You will love your neighbor as yourself.”
- 40
- All the law of the prophets “hangs/depends” on these two laws.
· Mark has the guy answers, “You have answered well” and Jesus says, “You are not far from heaven.”
· Jesus emerges victorious-There is no way you can get around this answer again as a great answer.
· He can’t be trapped or defeated!
· Jesus is the gospel guy in Matthew so what does this mean
o Yahweh expects us to fulfill this law like Matt. 7:12 “do unto others as you would …”
o Sermon 1
§ Law
· Love your neighbor..
o You haven’t done this
§ Gospel
· He died for your sins…Amen
o Sermon 2
§ Response that Jesus is looking for is repentance
· If you Pharisees don’t fulfill the heart of your system of law then what?
o If people in the church feel that they have been fulfilling the law this will convict them.
o God continues to expect us to do this as we are in relationship with Him.
· We are not saved because we would do this but because Jesus gave His life for us and we are only in relationship because He did this for us!