The Greatest Commandment
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The Greatest Commandment
Good morning all!
I hope you have enjoyed the week, we had a 80 degree day and we all really enjoyed those temperatures.
God is good and it is wonderful to witness the changing of the seasons that God ordained for this world.
Soon those warm days will be upon us everyday...
Hard to imagine we are at the first Sunday of April, we will celebrate Easter, are most holy time of year for the Christian church.
I want to encourage you get your heart ready, be prepared so that your worship of God is un-hindered by the left over junk of life. So begin now preparing your heart each day.
I would challenge you to tell God why you are thankful for Easter, for this Son’s death, Burial and Resurrection as you pray each day this month. I think you will be blessed.
Now this morning we are gonna begin our time with verse 34 til the end of the chapter. I am gonna pass over the question of husband and wives in heaven in verses 23-33, it is pretty self explanatory.
Yes I believe we will know in the resurrection who our husbands or wives were, our children. The love for those people do not change, we will be together but our purpose changes. Our divine purpose is to live, worship and serve our Lord.
So with that being said, lets look at out text for today...
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
The religious leaders are challenging him, asking him questions time after time in hope of condemning Jesus, and thus arresting Him. But sadly, as they spoke with Jesus, this responses left them speechless, because they knew His teaching was the truth.
The Sadducees were some of the best people who studied and taught the law, and Jesus silenced them. They marveled at all He taught them…
Remember each moment leads us closer to the cross, the very purpose for which Jesus has come...
So lets begin this morning....
1. An Experts Question...
You know its interesting that the religious leaders were careful speaking to Jesus. Now I say that because you don’t find just anyone taking to Jesus.. no not at all. They pulled their best and brightest out there to square off against Jesus.
They wanted to get the upper hand, they wanted to be right so they might have some political power with the people and show that Jesus wasn’t anyone special.
So like we have seen so often over the last few weeks, they bring their expert to meet Jesus and so it begins...
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
What a question.... Which is the greatest commandment in the law?
In the scope of their law, and the law is huge, in value and size. Remember they have the Torah, the first 5 books of the Bible.
They have the 10 commandments that God gave to Moses and then they also have the Mishna, the oral laws and traditions. some 630 positive and negative interpretations of the 10 commandments
But here is the greater issue at had as well… they are asking about their own debate....
What do I mean… well there is a debate if you will among those inner circles of Jews about what is right.. hos is the law, those scriptural commandments of God ranked.
How is the law ranked… how can it be summarized and what is the most important.
Friends, they like so many tend to rank the laws of life, the rules for living according to how they tend to live. Think of it like this....
We could rank a list of 10 “wrongs or sins”- we might put murder at the top as the worst possible sin and taking a pencil from a neighbor as the least...
We are justifying sin according to what we think is good or bad.... but in truth God would say simply they are all wrong, murder is wrong and theft is wrong. Remember sin isn’t characterized by God, sin is sin
Humanity tends to do that to justify ourselves.
So this was the question they brought to Jesus my friends...
Here is a question for you friends, what do you think is the greatest point you are responsible for in front of Jesus?
And this brings us to our second thought for this morning...
2. A Divine Answer....
One truth I can tell you my friends is this…Jesus is never shy about telling the truth....
And this begins a time where Jesus speaks rather openly to those around Him.
This religious leader, a lawyer- meaning a expert in the law, namely a Scribe asked a question of Jesus and Jesus gave him a reply....
Lets see what Jesus said in verses 37 to 40...
37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
What has Jesus said to this man?
Well, He draws back to the Book of Deuteronomy, The 5th book of the Old Testament and in reality the last book of the Law, the Torah.
Jesus draws back to Deuteronomy chapter 6, verse 5
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
This verse falls in a greater portion of Scripture in Deut 6 that is referred to as the Shema.
The Shema is the centerpiece of the morning and evening prayers in Jewish worship. It is recited at the climactic moment of the final prayer of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, and traditionally as the last words before death. Traditionally, it is recited with the hand placed over the eyes.
It also reminds the people of the importance of the home and duty to teach their children well.
I am not going to read the entire Shema myself this morning, but it consists of Deut 6, verses 1-9…you can make note of this and read it later.
Now Jesus does make one change to the Shema as He recites it to the religious leader, In the Shema, Deut 6, verse 5 Moses uses the word “might” and Jesus uses the word “mind” in what he quotes in verse 37 from our text…
What is the difference: The word “mind” further displays the Whole hearted devotion one was to have in front of God.
Our devotion to God should encompass every portion of our life, the every entirety of a person. My devotion to God should speak to my rising in the morning and laying down in the evenings. It should be reflected in how I do my job, how I live in front of others, in the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my mind.
The Shema was to reflect who we are in front of God. We love Him, willing to serve Him and follow Him with every ounce of our beings.
This truth is the first part of the “Greatest commandment”.
But.... it doesn't stop there, Jesus brings out a second section that is equally important… Listen to what Jesus says...
37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
So verse 39, Jesus says the second is like this… You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Jesus is quoting Leviticus 19:18
18 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.
Listen… this is about treating each other right. When we hear the phrase… Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” we recognize it as the golden rule… Essentially it is the same things
God is always interested in how we live in in front of Him, but also each other. Consider the 10 commandments, the first 4 commandments speak to how we live in front of God.
1. You shall have no other gods before Me. 2. You shall make no idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Keep the Sabbath day holy.
And if you continue, the last 6 commandments deal with how we live in front of each other
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder. 7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal. 9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.
Do you see the parallel between the 10 commandments and the Greatest commandment?
Now...looking back at our text, Jesus says “…On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” verse 40
What does Jesus mean by that… What Jesus is saying is this… the rest of the commandments are summed up or contained in these two commandments which make up the “Greatest Commandment.”
This divine answer my friends teaches us to be careful, you cannot be in sin and love God or love your fellow man. Our responsibility each day is to live, love and be faithful to all that our Heavenly Father call us to0.
So a question must be asked and you must answer…not to me but to God.
How are you living in front of God…??? Do you consider yourself a Christian day in and out. You are doing your best daily or not? And if not then you have to change that be walk in a manner that is pleasing to God
How are you living in front of others? Do all around you see Jesus in you.
Think about those last 6 commandments and think, Am I doing that? And does the way I live reveal that I love my neighbor like I should?
Those are questions we must ask if we are going to live in front of God correctly and love each other like we want too...
Now just one more thought for today as we finish the text...
3. His Question for Them....
Finishing this last section, we find that while the religious leaders, and this specialist in the law are gathered there, Jesus asks them a question.
So in a sense, the roles have changed just a bit...
Look at the last text with me....
Verses 41-46
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,
44 “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?
45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
So consider this.... Jesus asks them, concerning the Christ, whose son is he?
Well, without a doubt the Scriptures tell us that the Messiah, the Christ is a son of David, from his tribe and family lines.
God had also promised David that one of his descendants would rule over the house of Israel forever...
Let me share with you 2 Samuel 7:12-14
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,
So the Pharisees have answer correctly, from David’s household would come one whose Kingdom would be established forever.
And upon answering that first question, Jesus poses a second question to them.
Verses 43…45
43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,
44 “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?
45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”
What say ye men, You are the religious leaders, what is the answer to my question...
You see, if the Messiah is merely the human offspring of David, then why does David himself speak to him as “Lord”
To be Lord means that he would be the Master, the Sovereign, above the one who is king of Israel, the highest human authority in the land...
Jesus is employing a rabbinic teaching technique here, basing His arguement off of Psalm 110, verse 1
1 The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
So when you look at that, the second word Lord here speaks to Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ. He would have to be the Messiah because He sits in a seat of power second only to God himself. At His right hand...
The Messiah, the Christ sits next to the Father’s throne and rules over all His enemies, including those who Jesus is addressing..
4 The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek.”
I love that phrase, a priest over, and the order of Melchizedek. remember Him, he was priest and king of Salem, the ancient name of Jerusalem. He pre-incarnate of Christ in the OT, He is Jesus the true King and Priest of all.
So Jesus wants them to him, how can Christ be merely a human descendant of David?
The Pharisees have no answer for Jesus, nor doesn anyone else.
The Christ can be a natural descendant of David because He is the God Man, Born of a woman but born of God.
Remember Mary herself is a descendant of David, so there fulfills the earthly lines, and the Son of God fulfills the Priestly, Messiah lines.
Jesus is the Son of God who came to offer His life as a ransom from sin, to redeem the world unto Himself.
Jesus is both Priest and King my friends...
But those religious leaders could not answer, they dared not ask him any more questions, all their traps had failed… in fact they have been trapped since they who are said to be students of the law, students of the Word and they cannot tell when God is standing in front of them.
Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ and our Savior.
Do you know Him?
Are you certain that you are saved?
Has God called you
What is He calling you too
Prayer