The Greatest Commandment Bible Study #1

I invite your attention this morning to Mark's Gospel 12 Thanks for the invite to be Bible Study Teacher - It is a great honor to teach the Word of God. - So good to see so many of my friends here today. This camp we are going to look at "The Greatest Commandment" Mark's Gospel 12:28-34

Mark 12:28 begins -

Humanity is obsessed with the best and the greatest.

We spend millions on procuring the best

The best surgeons, The best artists, The best singers, The best celebrities. We compile weekly, monthly, yearly top 10 top 20 singing charts. People are paid big bucks to scour the globe for the newest and greatest talent sometimes airing these auditions and performances on live television.

But only once can I find in the Bible where the question is asked what is the greatest or first commandment?

The question is housed in a series of questions compiled to trick and confuse Jesus. The endeavor was an epic failure but we have within the recorded words of Jesus a tremendous teaching on the essence of Christianity.

I will primarily use Mark's version for this study as it gives the fullest details in my opinion.

This passage gives us three vicious attacks challenging the authority of Christ by religious leaders. Their intent was to confuse and trap Jesus.

This series of verbal encounters with Jewish leaders takes place on Tuesday of passion week.

We are given three different attempts by religious leaders to confuse and trap Jesus.

These deal with

1.) Responsibility

2.) Eternity

3.) Priority

The First Question was by the Pharisees and the Herodians on RESPONSIBILITY - Matt. 22:15-33; Mark 12:13-17 Luke 20:20-26

To show us how serious this verbal battle was Matthew and Mark both tell us the first round was when Jesus was approached by the Pharisees and the Herodians. For the Pharisees and the Herodians to unite and work together in a common cause was very unusual. The Pharisees were resentful of the Roman Occupation while The Herodians strongly supported the Roman presence in the land, because this was the source of power by which the Herod family ruled. Their question dealt with the issue of Church and State - Do we pay taxes to Caesar - Jesus simply asks for a coin and whose inscription was contained on it? And then stated "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's."(Mark 12:17, Matthew 22:21, Luke 20:25) It was such a great answer that all three Gospels record that they "Marveled at His answer"

The Second Question was proposed by the Sadducees and concerned ETERNITY Matt. 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-40 This verbal affront questions the validity of resurrection. Jesus promptly answers in a way they are not able to By proving to them that, "God is not the God of the Dead but of the Living!!!" The Third Question was brought to Jesus by the Lawyer (or Scribe) dealt with PRIORITY - Matt. 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34 - Deals with the issue of The Greatest Commandment. We will be dealing with this issue for the duration of our Bible Study this camp meeting. Rabbis over the years had determined that, "just as there were 613 separate letters in the Hebrew text of the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments, in the book of Numbers, there were also 613 separate laws in the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses. These 613 laws were divided into affirmative (248) and negative (365)groups (One for each day of the year)

These were also divided into heavy and light, the heavy ones being absolutely binding and the light ones less binding. There was no unanimity however, as to which laws were heavy and which were light - rabbis and scribes spent countless hours proudly debating the merits of their particular divisions and the rankings of laws within the divisions. (MacArthur 337-338) There is an example of a similar question in Jewish history, posed to Hillel the Elder (40 B.C. - 10 A.D) He was a Jewish religious leader who was born in Babylon and lived in Jerusalem during the time of King Herod. He is one of the most important figures in Judaic History and was the ancestor of a long line of rabbis.

Hillel however, gave a very different answer when a Gentile asked him to summarize the law while standing on one leg. His answer was, “What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah, while the rest is the commentary thereof.” No doubt this unnamed gentleman a Pharisaical Lawyer (Scribe) had waded through this theological swamp before. He was no doubt an extremely educated religious leader, but was also very observant. Mark tells us that he had been watching and listening to the others bring their "sure to trap Jesus" questions and leave disappointed. Some commentators go so far as to assume that this scribe was really an unwilling participant in this debate and was really asking out of the sincerity of his heart.

By the word, "first" the Scribe is asking for priority not chronology. Which commandment is most important or greatest. I would also like to point out the interesting nuance between the word "command" and "commandment" Michael Card in his recently released book "Hesed and the Mystery of God's Lovingkindness" points out;A commandment implies a covenant agreement. If it is violated, there are penalties that automatically come into play, even as there are blessings that accompany obedience to the covenant. A command, on the other hand, connotes the presence of a person, a lord, who issues an order. If it is violated, the one who gave the command is disappointed. A relationship has been violated. The penalty, if you can call it that, is disappointing someone you revere. The Response of Jesus is in two partsMark 12:29-30 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, (Matthew 22:28 includes "this is the first and great commandment" ) Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Mark 12:31 (KJV) 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

The Simplified or tweetable version is Love God, Love Others

I want to spend some time on this first or greatest commandment - Loving God - Jesus goes directly to an extremely familiar part of scripture or commandment to the Jewish people - The Shema

The Shema - A Jewish prayer and confession of faith.

In its entirety, the Shema consists of three paragraphs:

Deuteronomy 6:4–9, Deuteronomy 11:13–21 and Numbers 15:37–41.

We will just concern ourselves this morning with the first two verses found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5

It is called "The Shema" because "Shema" is the first word in the passage.

"SHEMA" means to hear or listen. It is a very common word in the Hebrew Bible. But it can also mean to focus or pay attention.

I can remember all to vividly when I would be in trouble getting a talking too from my mother she would often end with, "YOU HEAR ME???" She wanted to make sure I not only heard the sound waves emanating from her mouth, but that my mind fully grasped the concept of what she was saying.

But not only does Shema mean to focus on or pay attention to, but it also includes the concept of obedience. In fact there is no separate Hebrew word for listen and obey. In Hebrew to listen and do are two sides of the same coin.

The Shema is found inside the "TEFILLIN

The Tefillin are two small leather boxes containing the scripture. They are strapped to the left arm and the forehead as a constant reminder that God is in their minds and their hearts. (Sometimes called a phylactery although that is from the Greek and most Orthodox Jews detest that term, it is the word used in the New Testament) The Shema is also found in the Mezuzah a piece of parchment paper which has the Scripture printed on it, housed in a decorative case. It is placed on every door post of a Jewish house except the bathroom. When the Jews pass the Mezuzah they kiss it. The Tefillin and the Mezuzah are the Jews way of taking literally what God says in,

Deuteronomy 6:8-9 (KJV)

8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

The Shema is memorized as a child and recited at least three times a day. Morning, evening and right before retiring for bed. It is traditionally the last thing said on a Jewish persons lips before death

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (KJV)

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Traditionally A Jew will cover his eyes with his right hand and say…

📷

Maybe you would like to say this along with me.

Take the card you were given or use the picture on the screenRead from right to left, the transliteration in the middle row.

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (KJV)

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

What is this saying? Three things - 1. Listen, 2. Learn, 3. Love

Listen - "SHEMA!" Hear, Obey, & Propagate. - Israel - Notice Jesus does not give a national designation -

bringing the commandment into the New Testament era

Making it a universal principal that extends even to us today.

Not only is the SHEMA and the 'Greatest Commandment of Jesus' saying Listen but it is also saying Learn - I have something to teach you.

Learn - To learn about God!!! The Lord our God is One - This was and is a strong belief of the Jewish nation. In fact it was one of the points they butted heads with Jesus on again and again. By saying there is one God we do not negate the doctrine of the Trinity at all. While the word Trinity cannot be found in the Bible I believe there is sufficient evidence to say that God has revealed Himself to us through a Trinitarian Manifestation. There are many ways of illustrating the Trinity although no illustration is perfect. There are also several different schools of thought on the Trinity. Due to time's sake I will briefly teach how I see the Trinity in the Bible. A few scriptural examples of The Trinity Genesis 1:1-2 1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. John completes this for us -

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Giving us A Triune God We can take this a little farther and ask, "How did God create? How did each The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit participate in creation? 1. The Father works through His Word (Jesus) and His Spirit (Holy Spirit)Hebrews 1:1 God ... (2) Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by (dia) whom also he made the worlds;I Corinthians 8:6 But to us [there is but] one God, the Father, of (ek) whom [are] all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by (dia) whom [are] all things, and we (dia) by him. The word by (dia) means "through" - not "by" in the sense of "hands-on" activity.Greek word ek means "from" in the sense of origin, source.Creation proceeds from the Father through the Son. The Son is the mediate agent of creation Colossians 1:16 For by (en) him [Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by (dia) him, and for (eis) him: (17) And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. The Holy Spirit is the immediate agent of creationPsalms 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. (30) Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. Psalms 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth [Holy Spirit]. Job 33:4 The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. Conclusion: God the Father purposes and plans, Jesus Christ is the channel through which the purposes and plans pass, The Holy Spirit is the instrumental means of creation.It is correct to say: God the Father created ... Jesus created ..... the Holy Spirit created. You can't forget the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist - where Jesus the Son was in the water, The Father spoke from heaven, and the Holy Spirit in a form like a dove came down. (There are many other examples but this will suffice)

Dr. Bird of GBS illustrates the Trinity by the idea of the universe. The entire physical universe (uni = one) consists of three and only three aspects Space - Time - Matter. If you were to take away any of these three, you would no longer have a universe. Each of these three also consists of three aspectsSpace - consists of length, width, height (take away any you no longer have space)Time - consists of past, present, futureMatter - energy in motion producing phenomena three in one What are we saying the Bible is teaching about the Trinity? I think it clearly affirms that "God is one in essence and three in person." I appreciate and agree with our Bylaws on this: "There is but one God, holy, eternal, immortal invisible, of infinite power, wisdom and justice: the creator of all things that are in heaven and in earth visible and invisible: the preserver of all creation.

In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons of one substance, equality, and divinity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Gen. 21:33 Mal. 3:6 John 4:24 1Tim 1:17 James 1:17"

Not only does the Shema and the 'Greatest Commandment' want us to Listen, to Learn it also teaches us to LOVE -

Love - Jesus made love the most important thing in life, Paul says in Romans 13:8-10 (KJV)

8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

If we love God, we will experience His love within and will express that love to others. I think Warren Wiersbe who just recently passed away got pretty close when he wrote, "We do not live by rules but by relationships, a loving relationship to God that enables us to have a loving relationship with others."Bible Exposition Commentary - Bible Exposition Commentary – Be Diligent (Mark).

What is this "LOVE"

Sammy Fain and Paul Webster wrote several years ago:

Love is a many splendored thing It's the April rose that only grows in the early Spring Love is nature's way of giving a reason to be living The golden crown that makes a man a king.

Fain and Webster was thinking of "love" in terms of feeling and what it does for me.

Joseph Fletcher was even worse in his treatment of the concept of love. In a book he wrote in the 1960's titled "Situation Ethics" the Anglican minister basically says,

It was okay to commit adultery, lie, steal, kill. Whatever you had to do just do it lovingly. Do it because you have a loving goal in mind. Do it because you are going to help somebody.

Again What is "Love"

LOVE: a word that is nearly impossible to define.Michael Card writes so beautifully and eloquently,

"We can theorize about words and how they work. We can task the greatest minds with listing and outlining and defining them. We can analyze the structures we use to put them into language, but in the end the way words work is an inexpressible mystery. Almost without our awareness they do their thing, lighting up the neural pathways in our brains. We use words to define other words because words are all we have. But ultimately they are only clumsy bricks. Words are, in one sense, beyond words; even the simple ones are often indefinable. Indefinable words—words that require paragraphs and parables to provide even a hint of all they might possibly mean. Love is one of the most obvious examples… It's meaning cannot be contained by syllables, cannot be fully expressed by the sounds we make with our voices. Groups of letters hint at the inexpressible; they are sounds we put to mysteries…"

- Excerpt From: "Inexpressible: Hesed and the Mystery of God's Lovingkindness" by Michael Card.

Simply put - you can't really define love.

The Greek verb used for the love we will primarily be covering in this study is agapaō and simply means - love, especially love as based on evaluation and choice, a matter of will and action.

The word occurs 110 times in the New Testament, specifically for behavior between people. 63 of those 110 are found within the Gospels.

It is an action oriented love - a love that is unconditional and self-sacrificial. (Think 1 Corinthians 13 the word Charity actually is a derivative of this word. )

This kind of love is used in the Bible in at least five different ways Love for things - Usually in a negative sense -

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 Jn. 2:15 KJV) John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Love for one another - we will talk about this in a few days when we get to the second part of Jesus' answer "to love our neighbor as ourselves."

Love for God/Christ - which we will look at in greater detail in future lessons - God's Love for man - which we will look at tomorrow - KJV 1 Jn. 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

God's Love for Each Other - This is a powerful thought - that we mentioned just a few moments ago that "In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons of one substance, equality, and divinity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." There is also a tremendous love and relationship between the Godhead. Have you ever thought about the Love that exists between them? Listen to this - KJV Jn. 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. KJV Jn. 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. KJV Jn. 17:26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.And look at the term, "beloved" recorded at least twice When he was baptized the Father from heaven greeted him as, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. At the transfiguration - "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." John 14:31 (KJV) Jesus says,

31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

Again, Jesus in this passage, has made love the most important thing in life.

In fact Matthew's Gospel records Jesus as saying;

Matthew 22:40 (KJV)

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

- I think the Gaither's got it pretty close a few years ago when they wrote a song that tried to press this point -

Loving God, Loving Each Other

Gaither Vocal Band

They pushed back from the table

To listen to His words,

His secret plan before He had to go.

It's not complicated;

Don't need a lot of rules,

This is all you'll need to know.

Loving God, loving each other,

Making music with my friends;

Loving God, loving each other,

And the music never ends.

We tend to make it harder,

Build steeples out of stone,

Fill books with explanations of The Way,

But if we'd stop and listen

And break a little bread,

We would hear the Master say

Well, I don't know - if you are like me - love is still something that is far beyond my full mental grasp. Something I have trouble comprehending. Putting into words -

So often I'm like the little boy in the recitation my mother used to give in church now I can't recite it but let me read it to you;

In the city of Chicago, one cold, dark night, a blizzard was setting in. A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner. The people were in and out of the cold. The little boy was so cold that he wasn't trying to sell many papers.

He walked up to a policeman and said, "Mister, you wouldn't happen to know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep tonight would you? You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and down the alley and it's awful cold in there for tonight. Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay."

The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, "You go down the street to that big white house and knock on the door. When they come out of the door you just say 'John 3:16' and they will let you in." So he did.

He walked up the steps and knocked on the door, and a lady answered. He looked up and said, "John 3:16."

The lady said, "Come on in son." She took him in and she sat him down in a split bottom rocker in front of a great big old fireplace, and she went off. The boy sat there for a while and thought to himself: John 3:16......

I don't understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm.

Later, she came back and asked him, "Are you hungry?" He said, "Well, just a little. I haven't eaten in a couple of days and I guess I could stand a little bit of food." The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn't eat any more. Then he thought to himself: John 3:16..... boy, I sure don't understand it but it sure makes a hungry boy full.

She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bathtub filled with warm water, and he sat there and soaked for a while. As he soaked, he thought to himself: John 3:16..... I sure don't understand it but it sure does make a dirty boy clean.

You know, I've not had a real bath in my whole life. The only bath I ever had was when I stood in front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out. The lady came in and got him. She took him to a room, tucked him into a big old feather bed, pulled the covers up around his neck, kissed him goodnight and turned out the lights. As he lay in the darkness and looked out the window, at the snow coming down on that cold night, he thought to himself: John 3:16.... I don't understand it but it sure makes a tired boy rested.

The next morning, the lady came back up and took him down again to that same table full of food. After he ate, she took him down again to that same big old split bottom rocker in front of the fireplace and picked up a big old Bible. She sat down in front of him and looked into his young face.

Do you understand John 3:16?" she asked gently. He replied, "No ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever heard it was last night when the policeman told me to use it."

She opened the Bible to John 3:16 and began to explain to him about Jesus.

Right there, in front of that big old fireplace, he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there and thought: John 3:16. I don't understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe.

You know, I have to confess I don't understand it either, how God was willing to send His Son to die for me, and how Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I don't understand the agony of the Father and every angel in Heaven as t hey watched Jesus suffer and die. I don't understand the intense love for ME that kept Jesus on the cross till the end. I don't understand it, but it sure does make life worth living.

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

I don't understand God's love either - and tomorrow I want to talk about how God's love motivates us to Love God and Love Others.

Tomorrow I want to explore our Motivation for Love.