The Bible is a big book. Those who commit to reading through the whole Bible usually take about a year to do so. It is not something one can do in just a couple of days. Considering all of God’s laws and rules contained therein, it is easy to understand why one of the scribes asked Jesus which of these laws of God were the most important ones. Our Scripture today gives the answer that Jesus told him.
Our Scripture takes place shortly after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and just a few days before His crucifixion. His enemies were gathering together to try and find a way to entrap Jesus into saying something that they could arrest Him for, and then hopefully execute Him over. After Jesus told the parable of the wicked vinedressers in response to the Pharisees comments, also wisely responding to their trick question about paying taxes to Caesar, and then gave a good answer to the Sadducees hypothetical question about the resurrection, a scribe came up to Jesus with another question, hoping to entrap Him in His words. He asked Jesus that out of all the many laws and commandments given in the Scriptures, which one was the most important (vs. 28).
Jesus’ response comes from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, where it states that the Lord God is one, and to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (vs. 29-30). Jesus also then added a second great commandment, that we need to love our neighbor as yourself (vs. 31). Though, like the others, this scribe was probably trying to trip Jesus up with His answers, he knew that Jesus answered correctly, and that there was nothing that could be brought against Him with this answer (vs. 32-33).
Let’s look at the first of the two commandments that Jesus said were the greatest ones. It reads “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” How can one show that they love God? Jesus gives us the answer when He gave His discourse to the disciples right before the Last Supper. He told them that if they love Him they will keep His commandments (John 14:15). In other words, if we genuinely love God we will obey the Bible, God’s Word, which is where we would find His commands. Jesus didn’t say that if we love Him, we will only obey those commands that we happen to like or agree with, or only those which align with the current world’s view and philosophy. He said that we will keep or obey His commandments if we truly love Him.
The second greatest commandment states, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus basically restated this in Matthew 7:12 where He gives us the Golden Rule, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. When someone had asked Jesus who their neighbor was, He gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan to show us who our neighbor really is (Luke 10:25-37).
Jesus did not give us any exceptions to this rule, either. He didn’t say to love only our nice neighbors, only those who agree with our opinions, only those of the same race or nationality as yourself. It also isn’t just the folks who live literally next door to us, but instead it is everyone around us, everyone we come in contact with.
This is a difficult one, as this might sometimes include loving our enemy. It means forgiving them the wrong that they have done to us. We all say that forgiveness is great until we have something to forgive, especially if it is something huge, like murder, abuse against a child, etc. Again, whether we like it or not, or whether we agree with it or not, Jesus said loving our neighbor, which includes our enemies, is the second greatest commandment.
These two commandments sum up the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses. The first four commandments have to do with our relationship with God, just as this first commandment does. The last six commandments have to do with our relationship with others, just as this second one does. We can only truly follow these two through the power of the Holy Spirit who indwells all true believers. Let’s commit to loving the Lord God will all of our hearts, minds, and strength, and loving our neighbor as we do ourselves.
Very nice devotion, Sarah. I’m going thru a Ray Vander Laan study now. It’s called “Discipleship - The Study”. During the very first lesson, we learned the Shema, an ancient Jewish prayer. It’s taken from Deut 6:4-5. The Shema is often recited in groups as a reminder that people need each other.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to extend a belated happy birthday. Actually, my birthday was yesterday also, Nov 8th! 😊. Have a wonderful day!