The Greatest Commandment Matthew 22:34-40
34But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. There is a legend handed down from the early church about John, the beloved disciple of Jesus. Of the twelve original apostles, only John is said to have lived to be a ripe old age. In his later years not only his body but also his eyesight and his mind began to fail him. Eventually, according to the legend, John’s mind had deteriorated to the point that he could only speak five words, one sentence which he would repeat over and over. You can imagine the high regard in which the early church must have held the last surviving apostle of Jesus. The legend says that every Lord’s Day, John would be carried into the midst of the congregation that had assembled for worship in the church at Ephesus, where John spent the last years of his life. Total silence would fall over the congregation, even though they already knew what John was going to say. Then the old man would speak the words, "My children, love one another." Over and over, he would repeat them until he grew tired from talking, and no one yawned or looked at their watch or gazed off into space absentmindedly. They listened as John preached his five-word sermon over and over: "My children, love one another." That was the essence of the gospel for John. It ought to be the essence of the gospel for us, too. Before we go any further, we should remember that in Matthew’s description of this encounter, the one who asks Jesus this question, "Which is the greatest commandment in the law," probably has an ulterior motive for asking it. This question about the greatest commandment is most likely another test, a trap, a trick question designed to get Jesus into trouble. You would think Jesus would be able to see through these folks by now, wouldn’t you? You would think that he would just ignore the question and the questioner and go on about his business. But he doesn’t. In fact, the response Jesus gives to this particular question forms the basis of the early Christian community’s understanding of the gospel. All four gospels and the writings of Paul bear unanimous witness to the fact that Jesus’ response to this question defines what is expected of those who would be followers of Jesus. The question Jesus was asked that day deals with the Law, the commandments of God by which the children of Israel had been instructed to govern their lives. Now, when we hear commandments we immediately think of the Ten Commandments, which many of us may have committed to memory at an early age. Most churches today don’t require Sunday school classes to memorize them any more, if they ask their children to memorize any scripture at all. But the one who asked Jesus this question, "Which is the greatest commandment in the law?" probably had in mind something a little more challenging than merely choosing one of the original ten commandments Moses received from God on Mount Sinai.
By the time Jesus came along, the multitude of commandments listed in the five books of the Torah, the Law, dealing with everything from how to cut your food to the proper clothing to wear to a funeral, had been counted, numbered and systemized into 613 commandments, 365 of which were negative imperatives ("thou shalt not...") and 268 positive commands ("thou shalt..."). You thought it was hard to memorize TEN? So the spot on which the Pharisees tried to put Jesus with this question was this: out of all 613 of God’s commandments, which one would you say is most important? That’s sort of like asking someone which is the greatest sin, isn’t it? A sin is a sin, but, for example, is it more sinful to be a homosexual than it is to lie on your income tax return? If we were not already familiar with the answer Jesus gives, we might be hesitant to answer the question, "Which is the greatest commandment?" And rightfully so. After all, what IS the most important thing to remember in our relationship with God? We said earlier that different folks might have different perspectives on that. But I want you to notice that the text does not indicate that Jesus took even a moment to think about the question before giving his answer. He immediately quoted back to his listeners two of the positive, "thou shalt," commandments. Which two were they? They were two that begin with the words, "You shall love..." Deuteronomy 6:5, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." In other words, you shall love God totally, unconditionally, with all that you are and all that you have. And the second commandment Jesus selected, even though he was only asked for one, was from Leviticus 19:18, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." That is, you shall hold your neighbor in the same regard you have for yourself. Apparently, because Jesus listed these two commands in a "1a" and "1b" kind of format, you cannot do one without doing the other. Everything, not only in the Law but in life itself, revolves around the commandment, "You shall love..." That may sound simple, but you and I both know how difficult it can be. Sometimes, when life gets hard, when we lose a loved one, when a marriage shows all the signs of falling apart at the seams, it’s not easy to keep loving God unconditionally, is it? And, Lord knows, our neighbors can sometimes do things or say things that make loving them nigh onto impossible. But then, we also know that nothing difficult, nothing of lasting significance, is ever easy.
These words of Jesus put all 613 little rules and codes and buzzwords of our lives and church into perspective. If what Jesus says is right - that above everything else we are to love God and love our neighbor - then everything else is secondary. It’s great if you can be here every Sunday, and it’s great if you can contribute large sums of money to the church, and it’s great if you volunteer to work in various ministries of the church. But above all else, we are to love God and love our neighbor 1) Love God a. Love God as He is YOUR God. The word "your" denotes a personal relationship with God. God is not impersonal, far out in space someplace, distant and removed. God is personal, ever so close, and we are to be personally involved with God on a face-to-face basis. b. Love God with all your being! Heart: The seat of man’s affection and will (devotion). The heart causes us to devote ourselves to something. When Christ says to love God with all our heart…we are to focus our heart, our affections, and our will upon God. We are to love God supremely. "For where your treasure is (object of affection), there will your heart be also." Mat 6:21. Soul: The seat of man’s breath and life, or consciousness. We are to love God with all of our breath and consciousness, all of the life and awareness that we have. Mind: The seat of reasoning and understanding. God has given intellectual powers to man. Man thinks, reasons, and understands. Christ says our mind and thoughts are to be centered upon God. "and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…" Rom 12:2 c.
Love is man’s chief duty. Man is responsible for maintaining a loving relationship with God. Very practically, loving God involves the same factors that loving a person involves. A loving relationship involves commitment and loyalty. A loving relationship involves trust and respect for the person being loved. A loving relationship involves the giving and surrendering of oneself. A loving relationship involves knowing and sharing. Love Neighbor: Christ gave a second command to love thy neighbor as thyself. The lawyer had not asked for the second commandment, but the first commandment is abstract. It cannot be seen or fully understood standing by itself. There has to be a demonstration, an act, something done for love to be seen and understood. A profession of love without demonstration is empty. Love is not known without showing it. a. Love is an active experience, not inactive or dormant. In other words, love for God acts! Love acts by showing and demonstrating itself. It is ridiculous to say "I love God" then do nothing about it. If one truly loves someone else, they will gladly do things to demonstrate that love. b. The primary thing God wants from us is to LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS, rather than the doing of religious things.
Illustration: My friend pastors a beautiful church. They have some money and they want to spend it on new carpet, new pews, new sound system…etc. What a waste of resources. Why not Love God through our neighbors? "Love one another as I have loved you…By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples…" John 13:34-35 "If a man says he loves God but hates his brother, he is a liar…" 1 John 4:20-21 c. We are to love ourselves: There is a corrupt love that feels the world should center around oneself. This self-love wants all the attention, pushes self forward, insists on one’s own way, demands recognition, shows conceit and ignores others. There is a godly love for self that is natural and pleasing to God. It is a love that stirs a strong self-image, confidence, and assurance. This love comes from knowing three things: knowing one is a creation from God, knowing that one is actually the object of God’s love, knowing that one is actually a trustee of God’s greatest gifts. d. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. This is a command not an option. Who is our neighbor? See parable of the Good Samaritan.
A good neighbor is everyone in the world, no matter his status, condition, or circumstances. Every man is to be esteemed ever so highly and helped no matter who he is. No man is to be injured or wronged. Every man is to be esteemed better than oneself (Ph 2:3) e. To love our neighbor is a very practical command. It involves some very practical acts that are spelled out in Scripture. Love suffereth long (endures long, is patient) Love is kind Love envies not (is not jealous) Love vaunts not itself (it does not brag, does not boast) Love is not puffed up (arrogant, prideful) Love does not behave itself unseemingly (rudely, indecently, unmannerly) Love does not seek her own (is not selfish, self-seeking, does not insist on having one’s own right and way) Love is not easily provoked (not touchy, angry, fretful, resentful) Love thinks no evil (harbors and plans no evil thoughts) Love rejoices not in iniquity (wrong, sin, evil, injustice) but rejoices in the truth (justice and righteousness) Love bears all things Love believes all things (exercises faith in everything, is ready to believe the best in everyone) Love hopes all things (keeps up hope in everything, under all circumstances) Love endures all things (without weakening) Closing: Christ says that love includes and embraces all of the commandments. In fact, the term "the law and the prophets" is a term often used to refer to all of Scripture.
What Christ is really saying is that all Scripture hangs on love for God and love for one’s neighbor. In other words… upon these two hangers (love of God and neighbor) hang all that God has ever said. The sum and substance of all that God has ever said and done is love. And the sum and substance of all that God wants of man is love. Love of God and love of neighbor.
Author: Pastor Robert Phelps