The Foundation Of A Spiritual Life For Imperfect People
It is Wednesday, two days before Jesus’ death. The religious leaders are on a mission to discredit Jesus’ ministry ever since he wiped out the temple’s economy. But they are also afraid of the people because Jesus is massively popular with them. So the religious leaders try to get the crowd to turn on Jesus. And they want Rome to see him as a rebel against their government. So they set a trap for Jesus with their questions. The Pharisees’ and Sadducees’ attempts to discredit Jesus have failed so far.
Verse 28 When the Pharisees heard about Jesus’ silencing the Sadducees, Matthew 22:34 NLT tells us religious leaders in the Sanhedrin regroup with a meeting. (Remember the Sanhedrin is their Supreme Court made up of religious and law-abiding representatives). Their attempts to trap Jesus were counterproductive. It only showed off his wisdom more than anything.
Psalm 2 prophesied this would happen: “The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one.” Psalms 2:2 NLT
A Brave Rebuttal
One of the Pharisees who is also a lawyer (known as a scribe) overheard the squabbling between the Pharisees and Sadducees over Jesus’ answers. They were not looking for information, they were trying to trap him. Realizing Jesus answered their questions pretty well and possibly curious for himself, this scribe steps up to test Jesus with a question.
The Traditional Law vs A New Way
The Pharisees felt Jesus’ gospel was contrary to their legal teachings of the Law. They said that Jesus’ teachings were inconsistent with Moses and the Old Testament Law. The Pharisees had traditions and their own interpretations of the Old Testament and that became their Law. The Sadducees only took what was written in the first five books (the Books of Moses) as the Law. The two groups had their differences in what they believed but they both agreed those first five books were God’s Law.
The Magnificent Moses
Why was Moses so important to them? God communicated with Moses like no one else. First, it was in a burning bush, then it was face to face like a friend. (Exodus) The glory of God shone on Moses’ face after that meeting. God gave his Ten Commandments to Moses, and then restored them again. To the people, no one was more favored by God, no one was higher than Moses. And no one could be closer to God than Moses. There was no reflection or interpretation of the Word of God purer than and truer than Moses’. Not even Jesus.
What Is The Greatest Law?
With this question about the greatest commandment, they are hoping Jesus is going to try to put himself above Moses’ Law and give an opinion that is not written in those first five books (this would be called heresy). And the religious leaders think Jesus will do it because he teaches against what they believe. He’s attacked pretty much everything about their religion. If Jesus does go against Moses’ Law or elevates himself, the people will reject him as Messiah. And then Jesus would be a possible threat to the Roman government with his rebellious ideas.
What is the number one Law? This is the question the scribe asks.
Two Great Loves
Verses 29-30 Jesus answers from Deuteronomy 6, which is part of the Pentateuch (those first five books of the Bible). It’s a book that both parties, the Pharisees and Sadducees, can agree on.
Jesus affirmed what Moses recorded in the Word of God.
““Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5 NLT
First, there’s only one true God. In a world with many idolized images and worshipped gods, the Lord our God is the only one true God.
Second, we must love him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. To love the Lord with all of our hearts means to love Him with our thoughts, words, and actions. It is the core of who we are. We should love God with the purest, truest part of ourselves and guard the heart above everything else.
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23 NLT
Our love for God is our deepest identity.
To love God with all of our souls means with all of our emotions. And to love Him will all of our minds or might is all of our will, our intentions, and our purposes in life. And all of our strength is all of our physical energy.
We are called to love God with all of our intelligent love, emotional love, the willing and active love. It’s an all-consuming love. It’s an emphatic, comprehensive, whole-hearted love. It’s an all-in kind of love, not a half-hearted, on-the-fence kind of love.
Loving God is both the beginning and end of a relationship with God. Though we are imperfect in our obedience, we long for the day to live in His presence and love God perfectly. Heaven is filled with worship and perfect love for God.
Loving God is who we are.
We may love Him imperfectly but we seek to love Him perfectly. We long for the realization of that perfect love in the glory that is to come in Heaven.
Disobedience to loving God brings divine judgment and eternal punishment. Those who refuse to love God are why we have hell.
Loving and serving God leads to seasons of rain and harvests of grain. (Deuteronomy 11:14 NLT)
These are blessings in our lives. He will drive out our enemies. (Deuteronomy 11:23 NLT)
God tests our love for Him by allowing the world to tempt us with their gods (money, possessions, idolized people). (Deuteronomy 13:1-3 NLT)
When we love God with our whole heart, Deuteronomy 19:8-9 NLT says God will enlarge our territories, add cities, and give us the land He promised our ancestors. This means He will fulfill His promises in our lives and even expand His provision and blessings in our lives.
When we love God and live for God, He will have mercy on us. He will gather up what has been taken and restore it in our lives. (Deuteronomy 30:3 NLT)
We can’t do this on our own. Deuteronomy 30:6 NLT says God will change our hearts and the hearts of our descendants to love Him with all of our hearts and soul so that we may live. He will make us successful in everything we do. (Deuteronomy 30:9 NLT) God will delight himself in us (Deuteronomy 30:10 NLT) and we will live and multiply. (Deuteronomy 30:16 NLT)
The key to life is loving God which leads to obeying God. (Deuteronomy 30:20 NLT)
When somebody asks us, “What does it mean to be a Christian?” It means to love the Lord our God with all our entire being. He’s disclosed Himself to us in Scripture. He’s worthy of far more love than we will ever be able to give Him.
The apostle Paul reminds us to let our love abound more and more in all knowledge. (Philippians 1:9 ESV) Our love is in correlation to the revelation of God, which we know.
The more we know about God, the more there is to love Him.
But we can’t do this on our own. We need the Holy Spirit to help us.
The Pharisees had no interest in pleading for the ability to love God like that. They were selfish hypocrites of the worst kind. Outwardly, the religious leaders appear righteous to men, but inwardly they were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matthew 23:27 NLT)
Their family line killed God’s prophets. (Matthew 23:29 NLT) They were far from lovers of God.
The appearance of good works does not impress God. He demands inward love. That’s what Moses taught. If you want to be right with God and blessed by Him, you must love God with all your heart.
The Old Testament even refers to two types of people in the world; those who love God and those who hate God. Loving God is not about rituals or routines. It’s surrendering our lives to a Sovereign God in full trust He is for us.
“The descendants of those who obey him will inherit the land, and those who love him will live there in safety.” Psalms 69:36 NLT
The inheritance of those who love God is His promised blessing. If we want our lives to go well with us, to be a part of God’s glorious promised fulfillment, then we need to love His name above all else.
Loving God defines a believer.
“That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”” 1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT
“But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.” 1 Corinthians 8:3 NLT
If God knows you, if you have a genuine relationship with Him, it will be clear because you love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Loving Our Neighbors
Now here’s the second part of what Jesus echoed from Moses.
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:18 NLT
We don’t need to learn how to love ourselves more. We are consumed with taking care of ourselves. In fact, we probably need to learn how to love ourselves less. But this scripture is about putting as much care and effort into others as we do for ourselves.
All of God’s laws flow from these two commandments; love God and love others. In fact, all Ten Commandments rest in these two commandments. The first four of the Ten Commandments flow out of loving God. And the rest find their roots in loving and respecting others. Jesus can sum up every law with these two commandments; love me and love others. Even our enemies.
Verses 32-33 This scribe confesses Jesus got it right. Jesus can’t deny scripture. The enemy set a trap but Jesus spoke Truth.
Verse 34 Jesus sees this scribe answered correctly. He knew the Old Testament. Jesus tells him he’s getting nearer to the kingdom of God. He understands what Jesus is saying, and that’s the first step toward believing in Jesus. But near God isn’t “in” the kingdom. The only way to enter the kingdom is by faith in Jesus, his death, and his resurrection.
Jesus is the gateway to all the truly good things in our lives.
Prayer
Jesus, you are my gateway to the one true God, my Father. When I read Your Word, it activates my intellectual love, my emotional love, an active love, and ignites a flame inside. You are my core identity. I am all-in for you, Jesus. The more I know about you, the more I love you, Jesus. God, change my heart so that loving you and loving others is just who I am.
Your laws are my guide. Thank you for summing up every law in two very easy-to-remember laws to abide in. Etch your laws on my heart and help me live by these two truths. Seal your truth in my heart and use it to bring honor to Your Name. I want to love you even more than I do. Enable me, expand the revelation of your love in my heart so that by your power my love for you grows exponentially for your glory, Jesus. It’s in your name I pray, Amen.