INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Imagine that you have lived your whole life with a particular worldview, then one person comes along and lets you know that your worldview is built upon a false premise?
• Today we are continuing our Diving Deep in the Word with Jesus.
• In Matthew 22, the chapter we will be looking at today, Jesus will be confronted first by the Sadducees with a question concerning the resurrection that was designed to trap Jesus.
• Well, Jesus turned the tables on them with His answer, so next up is a question from the one of the Scribes, who was an expert in the Law of Moses.
• From the parallel passage in Mark 12:28-ff, it appears that the Scribe’s question was a sincere question.
• The religious leaders were no fans of Jesus. They saw Jesus as a threat because He was shaking things up, He was working on getting people to understand the real focus that God wanted them to have in life.
• Whenever something or someone comes along that challenges one's current worldview, it can be unnerving, to say the least.
• One of the things that we need to grasp is the real place we are called to place our focus.
• In the days of Jesus, many of God's chosen people were placing their focus on things that caused them to miss the real point of God and faith.
• The religious leader were masters of the minutia, time and time again throughout the ministry of Jesus, they were angry at Him for violating one of the 613 commandments the rabbinic authorities had established to HELP the people keep the Law of Moses.
• By the way, of those 613 commandments, 365 were negative, and only 248 were positive in nature. That should tell you something.
• Yet today, Christians can fall into the trap of missing what is essential. We can easily place our focus on things that are not the main thing.
• We too can get so trapped in the “RULES” we make up for people to follow that we miss the main thing that God wants us to place our focus.
• When we become more zealous for keeping rules than we are focusing on the main point, our rule keeping really does not mean much because we are missing the main point.
• Please do not misunderstand what I am saying, OBEDIENCE to God is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT; however, obedience with the wrong focus misses the point.
• When I am OBEDIENT, but I am doing so with the wrong focus, I can become self-righteous instead of humbly serving the Lord. I can begin to look down on people instead of seeing them as God sees them.
• I will see people as my enemy instead of someone who God loves who needs salvation.
• Jesus used the Word to do many things, we should do the same. Today Jesus is going to use the Word in an attempt to get people to focus on LOVE!
• Let’s turn to Matthew 22:34-36
• SLIDE #2
• Matthew 22:34–36 (CSB) — 34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. 35 And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him: 36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. The question. 34-36
• As I said in the introduction, the Sadducees tried to trap Jesus with a question, and when the Pharisees heard about this, they were probably overjoyed, and so they thought maybe they could outsmart Jesus.
• So, one of the scribes approaches Jesus with a question.
• This scribe was an expert in the Law of Moses.
• Here is the question, and the question is a pretty good question.
• I also alluded to in the introduction, the religious leaders took the Ten Commandments and turned them into 613 commandments, of which 365 were negative in nature, and only 248 were positive in nature.
• On top of that, the rabbis differentiated between LIGHT and HEAVY commandments.
• So, given that background, one can see why the question was asked.
• We do the same thing at times. We kind of try to put God’s commands on a weight chart. We try to see what we think God will not care about and what He would care about.
• The question is found in verse 36.
• 36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”
• The religious leaders discussed the relative weight of the laws.
• This question reveals the ignorance of the nature of God and His Word. They were kind of looking for loopholes.
• SLIDE #4
• Psalm 119:151 (NET) — 151 You are near, O LORD, and all your commands are reliable.
• When we are looking for loopholes, we are looking for ways to be disobedient without being too disobedient.
• This is missing the point; however, Jesus is going to answer the question.
• Let’s look at verse 37.
• SLIDE #5
• Matthew 22:37 (CSB) He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
• SLIDE #6
II. The greatest command. 37
• The answer Jesus gives will make the Pharisees happy for the moment.
• Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:5.
• Jesus tells us the greatest commandment is to Love God.
• Love is more than emotion, it is hard to command emotions, love is a CHOICE!
• The free will that God blessed us with is to be directed toward loving God.
• Jesus also offers the depth at which we are to love God.
• When Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:5, the passage shows us how we are to love God completely.
• The heart, soul, and mind are not meant to be divided, but rather those three areas represent to total person.
• I am to love God with my whole heart, down to the depths of my soul, and on top of that, I am to love Him with my entire mind.
• In 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 we are told we are to take every thought captive to obey Christ!
• The religious leaders promoted a self-righteous way of living, they were obedient to earn their righteousness instead of relying on the righteousness of God.
• When we obey God to earn something, we gain nothing.
• Jesus told the religious leaders on many occasions that if they were doing what they were doing for the applause of man, that is all they will get out of it. Matthew 6
• Loving God is the greatest commandment because of the depth of our love for God will set the tone for all other areas of our life.
• We talked about this a little last week, when we look to God’s Word with a heart for God, we will not try to avoid doing what He has asked of us, nor will we try to justify the sin we are engaged in.
• This is where the church has to be the example, we have to love God enough to obey Him and when we sin, repent and get back on track. We have to quit excusing, explaining and justifying our sin.
• When God says something is sin, it is sin, END OF STORY.
• For those of us who belong to Jesus, if you are going to willfully sin, at least admit it and don’t try to justify the sin because doing so will drag other people down with you.
• Our motivation to live for Jesus should spring forth from our love for God.
• The first four of the Ten Commandments deal with our relationship with God.
• Our love for God will affect our next thought.
• SLIDE #7
• Matthew 22:38–39 (CSB) — 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.
• SLIDE #8
III. The second greatest command. 38-39
• Linked to the first commandment is an equally weighty and binding commandment drawn from Leviticus 19:18: Love your neighbor as yourself. Nowhere in Judaism are these commandments linked as having absolute priority among God’s commandments. Chouinard, L. (1997). Matthew (Mt 22:39–40). Joplin, MO: College Press.
• Yet here is Jesus tying them together.
• When you look at the Ten Commandments, one has to wonder why no one else had made this connection considering the last six commandments deal with our interactions with people.
• This second law focuses on “horizontal” relationships—dealings with fellow human beings. A person cannot maintain a good vertical relationship with God (loving God) without also caring for his or her neighbor.
• The Jewish leaders had a significant number of discussions as to who was their neighbor; however, once again, these arguments missed the spirit of what God was calling His people to do.
• God loves people, John 3:16 reminds us of how much God loves us and what that love led Him to do for mankind.
• The Jewish thoughts concerning who one's neighbor showed they had no clue how God sees people and what kind of heart He has for them.
• These folks were so focused on being righteous, they missed the mark. This is evidenced by Hosea 6:6
• SLIDE #9
• Hosea 6:6 (CSB) — 6 For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
• God desires for all people to be saved! 1 Timothy 2:4
• Let’s look at verse 40.
• SLIDE #10
• Matthew 22:40 (CSB) — 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
• SLIDE #11
IV. The significance of love. 40
• Jesus makes a point to these religious leaders by telling them that all of God’s commandments depend on or hang on these two commands.
• Obedience to commandments degenerates into mere legalism. (College Press Commentary, Matthew)
• Love for God necessarily entails the pursuit of the external welfare of others, regardless of race, class, or economic condition (=neighbor). Love, therefore, becomes the basis and guiding principle for understanding and applying the law in diverse and complex situations. Chouinard, L. (1997). Matthew (Mt 22:39–40). Joplin, MO: College Press.
• The way I treat my wife, my children, the checkout person at Fry's. The server at BWW MATTERS!
• Love is what Jesus was trying to get the religious leaders to place their focus, not on the rules.
• When we focus on loving God and loving others, we will not have a problem doing what God calls us to do.
CONCLUSION
• Why do you do what you do?
• Jesus says we should be driven by our love for God and our love for the people He sent His Son to the cross to die for so that they might have the opportunity for eternal life through Jesus!
• If we do what we do without a love for God and a love for others, we are doing it for the wrong reason.
• Love is the thing we need to place our focus, we are not to put our focus on loving self.
