Once again the religious tag-team swapped places. The Sadducees retire holding their badly beaten heads, and the Pharisees stepped up again. Master, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Before we go on, or before you tune me out, thinking that this is only a Jewish question, let me correct you. This is as Twenty-First Century as any question those Jews ever posed to Christ. Jesus’ answer is as up-to-date as if He stood before us this morning, or if He tweeted or texted us a message straight from Heaven.
In order to help us in our Christian lives, let’s consider the Pharisaic question.
They came pretending just at smidgin of respect – “Master” – “didaskalos” – “teacher, rabbi.” This was the title that many of Jesus’ true disciples gave to Him – but for these people it had no meaning. I think that I know the tone that was in the spokesman’s voice, but I wish that I could verify it. (I will come back to this tonight.) For some or most of these Pharisees, there would have been a sneer in their question. For others, as we see in Nicodemus, there was some honest sincerity. “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” “What is the mega commandment? “What is the loudest, the biggest, the most preeminent commandment in the law?”
Not that it is important, but it might be interesting to know what was in the back of their minds. The Lord’s answer is going to be the same, no matter what the intent of the question. Some of them might have been asking, “Which is more important, the written law, or oral tradition.” I doubt that this was the thinking of the actual spokesman. Some might have been wondering, “Are the positive directives more important than the negatives?” I have read that the Jews say that there are exactly 613 commandments. The fact that they had a specific number of rules, tells us something about their religion. Beyond that, they declare that there are 365 negative and 248 positive commandments. I wonder for how many “Christians” their religion devolves into the number of their commands? Which of the two varieties is greater – the “do these things,” or is it the “thou shalt nots?” That might be a good question to ask yourself. But I don’t think that was the intent of this particular question. It was probably just as our scripture suggests – which of all is the most important? Some of the Pharisees declared that maintaining the Sabbath was the greatest of them all. And there are people calling themselves “Christians,” who say that this remains the most important. They condemn you and me as unholy heretics, because we are here today, rather than yesterday. But is “remember the Sabbath holy to keep it holy,” more important than “thou shalt not kill?” Other Pharisees were of the opinion that circumcision was the greatest of the commandments. But that was not even a part of the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. I wonder if Matthew 23 might not be an expose of various Pharisaic answers to the question – temple vows, tithing, ceremonial washings, religious defilement, etc.
I wish that in Matthew 29 or Acts 1.5 the disciples had approached the glorified Saviour. I wish that we had the voice of Christ answering a related “Christian” question – “Master, which is the greatest doctrine of the Christian Church? Lord, is it baptism? Is it church autonomy? Is it the sovereignty of God? Is it tithing and hand washing?” Whatever you think the answer should be, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Lord surprised you. Baptist churches split, reject and dis-fellowship one another over this one doctrine or that one doctrine, when I am quite sure that the Lord would do no such thing – but with a few exceptions. Proof of that is seen in the Corinthian epistles and the letters to the churches in Asia found in the Book of Revelation. There were some serious problems in those churches and yet the Lord continued to teach them, rebuke them and still blessed them. When churches can’t get along based on differences about one minor doctrine or even two or three, aren’t they falling into the Pharisaic mind-set?
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” Those men were expecting a single specific answer. And when they received it, I guarantee that they would have turned whatever it was into something for which they would try to condemn and kill Christ. For all intents and purposes, at least to them, there was no perfect or correct answer. But Christ did give them an answer – an answer in two parts.
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.”
As the Son of God – the infinite law-giver – Christ could have summarized all of the divine laws. And I suppose that is what He did. But despite what a great many people might think the Mosaic law did specifically command love to God. As Moses was nearing the end of his life, directed by the Holy Spirit, he encouraged the people. In Deuteronomy 30 he said, “And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.” Is this the verse to which Christ referred? How about Deuteronomy 11:1 – “Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.” How about Deuteronomy 10:12 – “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” Even more closely we have Deuteronomy 6:5 – “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
How easy is it to obey this law? How easy is it to obey the command, “thou shalt not kill?” Before we get into Christ’s explanation that to hate someone is to commit spiritual murder…. Before we get to that point – obedience to the command “thou shalt not kill” is easy. I don’t believe that there has ever crossed my mind a desire or intent to murder someone. We could probably take the Ten Commandments and rank each part in their order of difficulty, and for most of us, murder would be the easiest to obey. Adding to those ten, how difficult is it to “love the lord thy God?” How difficult is it to “love the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind?” The command is that we love the Lord with every part of our being – with all that we are. Has any fallen human being ever completely obeyed this command for a single hour in his life? Wouldn’t this be close to the top of our “easy and difficult” list? Gill explains this statement with these words – “We are commanded to obey God with all the powers and faculties of the soul, the will, the understanding, and the affections; in the most sincere, upright, and perfect manner, without any dissimulation and hypocrisy, and above all objects whatever….”
Despite what I might tell my wife, I am not an expert in the subject of love. Am I right in thinking that there is a difference between spousal love, and filial love? Can we love our spouse and each of our children equally while maintaining that essential difference? Is love toward God, the same as love toward our spouse? For some people I’m sure that it is, but I’m not sure that it is suppose to be. Can we “love the Lord our God with ALL our heart, and with ALL our soul, and with ALL our mind” and love our children in the same way or to the same degree? In my ignorance, it seems to me that as long as we abide in the flesh, we will find it easier to love our families, more than to love Jehovah. Is it even possible, in our fallen state to completely obey the Lord’s command? I am not sure, but I doubt it.
And that was true of these Pharisees. Despite their professions of love, and their professed adherence to the 613 laws of God, they were miserable failures at this command. The obvious proof was seen in their intent to kill the Messiah, the Son of God. And Christ even declared that in another scripture.
Let me remind you of something which most those people did not grasp. The purpose of the law has never been to give us a 613 point check list to review and initial every day. The purpose of the law has never been to give us a 613 digit code to open the locked door of Heaven. “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. “The scripture (the law) hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” Our miserable failure at keeping even the Ten Commandments should prove that we need a Saviour. The Ten Commandments cannot make us righteous, nor can they take us to Heaven. They condemn us to Hell and to the Lake of Fire for eternity. “This is the first and great commandment. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind.”
And we must not forget the second commandment.
“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Once again, it might be thought that Jesus was summarizing some of the Old Testament law. While that is true to some degree, this is also a direct quote. In Leviticus 19:18 the Lord commanded Israel to love their Israelite neighbors – “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.” Isn’t it true that the more that we know each other, the more inter-relational pressure there arises between us? It isn’t until we spend hours in fellowship with one another that we learn the little irritating traits that might separate us? How essential it is that we nurture some degree of love, so that we can bridge those potential problems. We do that with our spouse and with our children, but we often neglect that with our neighbors. And who is our neighbor? The man across the back fence? Our fellow church member? Leviticus 19:34 – “The stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” James calls this “the royal law” – the “basilikos (bas-il-ee-kos’) nomos.” In addition to “royal,” the word “basilikos” (bas-il-ee-kos’) is translated “the king’s country” in Acts 12:20. In our King’s country it is the law that we love one another – that we love our neighbor. This is the second greatest law in the Kingdom of God. Doesn’t that make it obligatory? Paul says in Galatians 5:14 – “For ALL THE LAW is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour AS THYSELF.” Obviously, at this point we must be careful because self-love can become a poison. Some people out of self-love commit some heinous sins and crimes. On the other hand, the Lord seems to approve of some variety of self-love. We may think of other reasons, but when we visit a buffet, why do we eat our more favorite foods? Do you prefer steak or liver? Chicken breast or chicken gizzards? Corn or Brussels sprouts? Sure we may insert some healthy things – but it is only the healthy things that we prefer. When given a choice we eat our favorite foods, because they please us – it’s out of self-love. And when we start to feel sick don’t we try to take steps to throw off the upcoming cold or pain? Isn’t that a good part of self-love? I don’t know for sure, but I think so.
“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” The Lord’s command is to give the other fellow the same consideration as what we might give ourselves. If his life is in danger, we need to be concerned and helpful. If he could use some of our steak or chicken, then we should share it with him. His eternal, spiritual is just as important as your own. I know that the equation gets complicated by a variety of factors, but generally speaking it is quite clear.
Luke 10 appears to describe an event in Jesus’ life which was different from this in Matthew 22. But there were several similarities. “Behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering” gave to him the story about the Good Samaritan which we read earlier.
Doesn’t the fact that we are quick to pass the buck and deny our neighbor – proof of the wickedness in our hearts? These two statements – love God and love your neighbor – prove our native wickedness. These two statements prove that we need new hearts and we need a Saviour who can give them to us. “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. “The scripture (the law) hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.”
I will deal with the man who posed this question in tonight’s message. At this point I’ll just mention that he walked away shaking his head at the genius of the Lord’s answer. But “genius” is not the proper word to describe the Lord’s answer. And slowly shaking one’s head is not the proper response. Walking away is not the answer.
Humble repentance is the proper response. Bowing at the feet of Christ is the way to deal with our sinfulness and guilt. We are born in need of new hearts – we need to be born again. We need forgiveness for our transgressions and true fellowship with Christ before we can keep these greatest of commandments. Have YOU ever come to the Saviour? Have YOU been born again? Repent before God and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t be like these Pharisees with your laws but still lacking the great commandment in the law.