I. The Greatest Commandment: Matthew 22:34-40
22:34 Now when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together.
22:35 And one of them, an expert in religious law, asked him a question to test him:
22:36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
22:37 Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
22:38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
22:39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
22:40 All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
II. Paraphrase: Matthew 22:34-40
“Not Who, But What’s the Greatest”
Despite having been stunned by Jesus after hearing how He had made the Sadducees speechless, the Pharisees had one of their religious law experts try to test His knowledge and comprehension of the entirety of Scripture by asking him which commandment was the greatest. Quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, Jesus responded by saying the first and greatest commandment is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And, that the second was like it, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” He told them that these two commandments form the basis for everything else Scripture has to say.
III. Teaching: Matthew 22:34-40
Not willing to say die, despite being stunned by Jesus’ answer about paying taxes to Caesar and despite the Sadducees being left speechless by Jesus’ interpretation of the what God said with respect to the resurrection in Exodus, the Pharisees put their best religious law expert up to testing Jesus’ knowledge and understanding of everything Scripture has to say by asking him what the greatest commandment was. He told them that everything in God’s Word is based on and held together by two commandments which are inseparable. He quoted from the Book of Deuteronomy (6:5) that the first and greatest commandment was to, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” And then quoted from Leviticus (19:18) that the second was to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
They were inseparable in that if you aren’t able to love your neighbor as yourself, then your heart hasn’t changed as a result of loving God with all of your self, e.g. the man who was thrown out of the wedding banquet celebration was thrown out because instead of loving God with all of his being, he feared God with all of his being as a result of his selfishness, i.e. thinking only of himself - not the king, the king’s son, or the king’s servants when he rejected the invitation to attend the king’s celebration - something that was clearly visible (in his not being dressed in wedding clothes).
IV. Principles: Matthew 22:34-40
A. First Century Readers
1. CIT Matthew told his first century readers that when the Pharisees tested Jesus’ understanding of Scripture, He told them all of Scripture was based on Love. vv 34-40
2. INT What did Matthew tell his first century readers Jesus told the Pharisees about the basis of Scripture? vv 37, 39
3. ANS Matthew told his first century readers that Jesus told the Pharisees the basis of Scripture was -
A. Loving God (with all of “Them Self”) - v 22:37
B. Loving “Them Self” - v 22:39
C. Loving Everyone (as “Them Self”) - v 22:39
B. Readers Today
1. CIT Matthew tells readers today that when people test the Truth of Scripture, Scripture tells them that everything (in It) is based on Love.
2. INT What does Matthew tell readers today Scripture tells people (who test “It”) about “Its” basis?
3. ANS Matthew tells readers today that Scripture tells people (who test “It”) that “Its” basis is -
A.Loving God (with all of “Our Self”) - Deuteronomy 6:5 - Changed Focus
(1)Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.”
(2)Deuteronomy 11:1 “Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.”
(3)Matthew 5:17 “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
B.Loving “Our Self” - Romans 5:5 - Changed Heart
(1)1 John 4:10 “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us…”
(2)John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
(3)Romans 5:5 “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
C.Loving Everyone (as “Our Self”) - Leviticus 19:18 - Change Life
(1) 1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us."
(2) Galatians 5:6b, 14 “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
(3) 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
(4) John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
No comments:
Post a Comment