Sermon Tone Analysis

ME (ORIENTATION)

What are the tv shows, movies, or books that you can read or watch again and again?

I swear I've watched Seinfeld through too many times.

I've watched the Pirates of the Caribbean over and over.

I listen to my playlist of Bob Marley several times a week.

There's a book called "Helping Those Who Hurt" that I've read multiple times.

I do this because 1) I like it, and 2) every time I read, watch, or listen, it doesn't get old, but in fact, I get more out of it.

We were talking in the Adult Sunday School class on Worship last week about songs that repeat, and as they repeat, the more we sing the chorus, the more meaning that often gets drawn out.

WE (IDENTIFICATION)

Especially with scripture: You don't read the letter of James once, and put it away and say I never have to read it again, no we read it, and study it, and read it again and again because each time we read scripture, more meaning is drawn out.

And it gets better than that too - the more we study scripture, the more meaning and influence it can have on our life.

God's word is deep, living and dynamic.

This sermon today is going to dive really deep into the language and culture of the Israelites - not because I want to show off that I went to school or that I'm smart.

Not because when you read and study the bible at home that you can't grasp the meaning of it, but because this passage that we are dealing with today has so much depth and meaning beyond the English that it if we can understand it, I promise you that God is going to do awesome things in your life.

Are you ready to put your big boy pants on?

Here we go.

GOD (ILLUMINATION)

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.’

31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

There is no other commandment greater than these.”

32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher.

You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.

33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mk 12:28–34.

Jesus was asked from one of the scribes, one of the experts in the law, one of the people who knew the Old Testament through and through, which commandment is most important of all.

In other words, the Scribe was asking one of the questions of the time - "What is the fundamental premise of the law on which all the individual commands depend?

Rabbis would attempt to formulate "the great principle" from which the rest of the law could be deduced.

He quotes a passage from Deuteronomy, chapter 6.

The Old Testament was crucial in the life of the early church - it was "THE SCRIPTUREs" as they knew it.

The New Testament writers relied on it heavily.

New Testament writers quoted the Old Testament somewhere between 933 to 1009 times.

Depending on the scholar and what they consider as a reference, the number fluctuates.

Think about it this way.

If I were to say "Seth's really into maidrite."

you guys know what I'm talking about and you know that Seth really enjoys what most of the country refers to just a dry sloppy joe.

If I were to post online on facebook that "Seth's really into maidrite" where most of the people who would see that post are either in Minnesota or Colorado, they would not understand what it was that I was talking about.

We have phrases and ideas that we understand given our context and time that others outside of our context and time do not.

In the same way, the New Testament has allusions to the Old Testament that the original audience would have noticed and understood that we do not.

For example, some scholars look at the gospel of Mark and they see it as one big allusion comparing Jesus' story to the Exodus.

For Example, Le Peau divides the Gospel of Mark as 1) The Liberator Arrives (Mark 1:1-8:27), 2) The Way to Jerusalem (Mark 8:22-10:52), and 3) Conquest in Jerusalem (Mark 11:1-16:8).

Le Peau also argues that in Mark, Jesus is presented as a new Moses comparing Mark 1-4 with similar scenes in Exodus and Deuteronomy.

No matter on the number of quotes or allusions, there is no doubt that the Old Testament is VERY Jewish, and that it is important for us today because it was the scriptures for the New Testament People.

So let's take a much more detailed look at what Jesus was referencing in Mark 12 when he answers the scribes.

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

(ESV, LEV.

19:18)

Here, we see that Jesus is referring to Leviticus 19:18.

When was the last time you've read through Leviticus or have done a bible study on it?

It is a THICK book.

I am working on reading the Bible in a year - and when I say a year, I mean on my own pace.....

And I am currently in Leviticus.

It's a hard read.

It is this huge list of laws and expectations for Israel.

It is God's expectations that HE had upon His people to be His people.

It sets Israel apart from all the other tribes and nations as God's people.

It makes Israel a Holy people.

One of the major themes was "Be holy, for I am Holy."

After Leviticus comes Numbers which continues the narrative from Exodus, and the final book of the Torah is Deuteronomy.

It is the passage in Deuteronomy that Jesus is ultimately quoting that we are going to spend the rest of our time.

Many scholars recognize Deuteronomy as a suzerain-vassal treaty.

A what?

A Suzerain-Vassal Treaty.

In Mesopotamian empires, the pattern of a Suzerain-Vasal treaty was commonplace, especially among the Hittites in the fourteenth century BCE.

(K.A.Kitchen)

Deuteronomy as a Suzerain-Vassal Treaty

1. Preamble: 1:1-5

2. Historical Prologue: 1:6-4:44

3a.

Stipulations: General: 4:45-11:32

3b.

Stipulations: Specific: 12:1-26:19'

4. Document Deposition: 27:1-10

5: Public Reading: 27:11-26

6. Blessings and Curses: 28:1-68

7. Solemn Oath Ceremony: 29:1-30:20

So what is a Suzerain-Vassal Treaty?

Well.

Let's break it down.

A Suzerain su·ze·rain - is a sovereign or state that has some control over another state that is internally autonomous.

AKA a feudal overlord.

A vassal was a person who was under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he has vowed homage, someone who has been granted the use of land in return for rendering homage.

So a Suzerain-Vassal treaty was a treaty or agreement or covenant between the sovereign who has control to a vassal who is under the protection of the sovereign and in the land or control of the sovereign.

Historical examples of Suzerain-Vassal treaties exist between the Hittites, Egyptians, and Assyrians as Suzerains to the Israelites and other tribal kingdoms in the Levant from 1200 to 600 BCE.

These agreements were written down in a common format

A Modern example might include the United States and the relationship to Indian tribes.

Article 1, Section 8 of the constitution states that "Congress shall have the power to regulate Commerce with foreign nations and among several states, and with the Indian tribes."

If Deuteronomy is to be recognized as a Suzerain-Vassal Treaty, it would be YHWH as the Suzerainty and Israel as the Vassal.

When the book of Deuteronomy is considered from the perspective of the form of the suzerain-vassal treaty, the command in 6:5 ("You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your strength') is placed immediately after the Preamble and Historical Prologue in the section providing the General Stipulations of the covenant.

It is, in fact, the first command given after material that is Repeated from Exodus 19-24 and is, therefore, the greatest command among the covenant stipulations: To be completely devoted and loyal to Yahweh.

This passage is the core expectation of what God expects of his people.

This passage became so important for Israel that it became a daily prayer that Jews would recite twice a day.

It was one of the core pieces that made up what it meant to be a Jew - an Israelite - a person chosen and special to YHWH the creator of the universe.

Wait a second.

We're American Christians.

Not ancient Israelites.

Why do we care?

Heritage is spiritual too.

I've recently been going through some stories from my ancestry.