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Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copies and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
LOVE IS THE KEY TO THE KINGDOM
Mark 12:28-34, "And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question."
Since the beginning of creation mankind has searched for answers to all of his problems. We have created institutes of higher learning in a quest to those things that we can do to create a Utopia, a place of perfect peace and rest for all people. We have established our “Think Tanks” where the elite of our most intelligent minds come together to do nothing more than continual research in pursuit of that elusive peace that we all desire so greatly. Yet, for all our research, our skills and our attempts to better the lives of every man, peace seems further and further from becoming a reality with each passing day.
The hunger, suffering and killing continues to grow in its intensity around the world. Social unrest is ever on the rise. Just below the surface of the seas of people lies a seething, boiling anger that we can see erupt into violence, murder and wars at hotspots all over the globe.
What is the answer to all of our social ills? What can we do to bring a solution to all of these problems?
These are the questions that man has tried to answer but has been unable to because we continue to look in the wrong places and trust in the wisdom of those who have no understanding of God’s Word which is the only source of truth we have.
Just as it was in the time that Jesus walked upon the earth along the shores of Galilee, mankind continues to question whether the truth of God’s Word is really truth or not. We refuse to accept it as the only standard for peace and as the only guide into the reality of perfect peace.
In our scripture portion we can see that Jesus is once again being questioned as the religious leaders of the Jews are trying to discredit him before the people. The events of this message are happening just two days after Jesus had entered Jerusalem riding upon the donkey in what we now call the “Triumphal Entry”. We celebrate that ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Within four days these same religious leaders who are now questioning Jesus would be the ones to condemn him to die upon the cross.
This day, like every other was to be a day of harassment from all sides. The proud religious leaders were determined to destroy Christ and they were relentless in their pursuit of Jesus, using every occasion to try to force him to commit a crime punishable by death.
First, it was the Chief Priests (those who stayed around the Temple and cared for its vessels and took part in all of its ceremonial activities), Scribes (those who studied and interpreted the Law of Moses and who did all they could to force the Jews to live according to that Law by imposing stiff penalties) and the Elders (those who held positions of leadership in the government of the Jews) who came to Jesus to challenge him.
Jesus was walking through the Temple like he owned the place. The Temple was sacred ground to these Priests, Scribes and Elders. No one was allowed to just wander around the Temple like it was a tourist attraction. The walls, gates and guards were supposed to keep people out lest they enter into the Holy Place or desecrate the vessels that were used in all the sacrifices and times of prayer. Entrance into the Temple complex was very limited to only those who had been “sanctified” to enter there.
These Priests, Scribes and Elders were angry because this man called Jesus, who they considered as a heretic was just wandering around the Temple without anyone stopping him with a group of twelve of his followers and teaching them. What gave him the right to be in the Temple and to lead these unworthy men who were unclean according to the ceremonial law and handle the Temple vessels?
There are a lot of preachers and self righteous people in the church world today who act the same way that these elders did. They are more concerned about maintaining the appearance and the perfection of the church furniture and the holiness of their “sanctuary” than they are about allowing God to move in the hearts of people.
I believe in respecting and reverencing the House of God just as much as anyone but when we have more concern for this building and the things that we have bought to put in it than we are about the souls of people who enter the doors to worship God, then we have our priorities all wrong.
Jesus was far more concerned about the heart of his disciples than he was about the altar, the vessels and the obedience of any laws of man.
We surely can’t allow anyone to misuse or abuse the things of the church but our desire should be to reach out to their spiritual needs more than to keep them off the platform. This church building is God’s House. It is a place where we come together to meet with our Father in Heaven through the presence of the Lord and the outpouring of his blessings and the moving of the Holy Ghost in the hearts of people. Everyone who enters the door should be able to come in and feel at home. We should not make them feel like a visitor in the White House, where they are afraid to touch anything or do anything, but as a child in our own home. Just as we can’t allow children to destroy our own homes, we can’t allow that here either. But, at home we allow our children to be children and our family to have freedom to enjoy our and that’s the way we must allow God’s children to enjoy God’s house.
Jesus refused to tell these leaders why he was so free to move about the Temple. They would not have accepted his answer and he knew it. This was God’s house, the place that they had built to worship God. Jesus is God, therefore it was his own house, so why shouldn’t he have freedom to move about as he wished? But, it he would have said so, it would have been blasphemy and they would have tried to stone him right then and Jesus knew that he had to die on the cross!
Jesus’ refusal to answer the Priests, Scribes and Elders angered them to the point that they desired to kill him but they were afraid of the crowd so they went away to plan their next attack.
They decided to send in some heavy armor this time. They called upon the Pharisees and the Herodians this time. Maybe Jesus could manage to escape from the trap of those who weren’t well versed in the Law but he would certainly be caught by these men.
The Pharisees were perfectionists in obedience to the Law of Moses and they knew every religious angle to catch Jesus if he was to make any mistake or say anything that would condemn him according to the Jewish Law.
The Herodians were of the household of Herod, the Roman Governor, and they were extremely knowledgeable in the Roman Laws and they would be ready to see if Jesus were to do anything against Rome and against Herod’s commands. They just knew that they had Jesus now because they came up with the perfect question. No matter how Jesus answered this one, he would be in trouble.
Have you ever felt that you were caught in a trap between two groups of people who were trying to see everything you did wrong? On one side we have the legalistic minded people of the church world who condemn everything you say, everything you do, everywhere you go and you can’t seem to do anything holy enough or good enough to suit them? On the other hand, if you attempt to appease these “self righteous” “holier than thou” “legalistic religious people”, you will get shot down from the worldly crowd for thinking that you are better than them. They will accuse you of being a “Holy Roller” or a “Jesus Freak” or a “Church Fanatic”. It just seems that you can’t please any of them and that someone is always pointing an accusing finger at anything you do.
Do you know why it’s that way? It’s because they are a long way from the Kingdom of God and their attitude stinks because they don’t really know what the Kingdom of God is all about.
God’s Kingdom isn’t about legalism to please the religious crowd. It isn’t about mixing with the world’s crowd to please them. It isn’t in trying to obey every law of religion and of the world, it’s about Loving God and Loving your fellowman. We will discuss this further later on.
Jesus quickly stopped their attacks too. They could not believe how easily Jesus overcame them and how quickly he was able to escape their well planned trap. How would they ever catch him to condemn him?
Then came the Sadducees. Now it was their turn to try to catch Jesus in a mistake that would cost him his life. Many of those who were a part of the Sanhedrin Council were also Sadducees. They were called hypocrites and “wicked and adulterous” in two places in the Book of Matthew when they confronted the Lord. They did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. They did not believe in the existence of angels. They were the skeptics of all things religious and, even though they believed in God, they didn’t believe that God had anything to do with the affairs of men and everything was governed by reason and nature.
Their question was designed to trap Jesus into giving an answer that would be absurd and immoral according to Jewish Law. One woman was married to seven brothers who each died, one by one. None of these marriages brought forth any children and finally the woman died also. Now, in this so-called resurrection that is supposed to happen, whose wife will she be then. According to the Law of Moses she was legally bound to each one and yet she could not have more than one husband. No matter how Jesus answered he would be guilty of violating the Law of Moses and punishable by death.
Jesus easily overcame this argument too. In the resurrection that will come, there will be no marriage at all but we will all be as the angels without fleshly needs or desires so that we may live together in perfect love that is not conditional upon gender or any other limitation. We will loved and be loved equally as Jesus loves us, without condition.
Not only those who are self proclaimed scholars of the Bible but also those who consider themselves as above everyone in intelligence, are often so self conceited that they are convinced that man has all of his own answers. There are many of these people in the earth today who have the same attitude as the Sadducees. They acknowledge the existence of God but that’s as far as they will go. They will call you a simpleton for believing that God rules in the affairs of men. They will try to convince you that Mother Earth determines our destiny or that man can solve his own problems and build his own Heaven through reason and sheer will power. They look upon the church as a useless entity and upon those of us who trust in God as people who don’t have the intelligence to do anything for ourselves. In other words, they think that every born again, child of God, who lives for the Lord and is faithful to attend the House of God are nothing but a bunch of ignorant “red necks” who can’t think for themselves.
If that’s what they want to think, then I just want to thank God that I am and “Ignorant Red Neck”!
Jesus had quickly and skillfully struck down every attempt at the religious and governmental leaders to trap him, but there was one more attempt yet to come. This time it would come in a different manner. This time it would be from a Scribe who seemed to agree with Jesus and yet was trying to trap him in a different manner.
This Scribe had been standing at the side, listening to all of these arguments and attempts to trap the Lord and he had been impressed with the way that Jesus was able to avoid being caught. He thought that he would give it a try once again but in a more sly manner.
He asked Jesus questions concerning the 10 Commandments as though he were really desiring to learn something. He commended Jesus in giving such clear and good answers. He almost seemed to be on Jesus’ side, but Jesus knew his heart.
Luke 6:26, "Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets."
Jesus was saying to you and I that when all men speak well of you that may well mean that you have lost touch with God and now you have become a pleaser of men instead.
I begin to worry when someone I don’t know comes up and begins to give me too many compliments. What is their ulterior motive? Are they trying to butter me up to get something out of me? Are they fishing for something to bring against me? Are they being honest or are they being sarcastic? These are the people you really have to be on guard against. It’s easy to defend yourself against those who attack you openly but not so easy to defend yourself against those who come at you from your blind side or your back.
Remember this, Jesus is not a friend of this world, and you shouldn’t be either. When the world begins to praise you and all the religious crowd begins to agree with you, you’re in trouble. You cannot be a friend of this world and of the unrighteous religious crowd and be a friend of God at the same time.
Even though this Scribe was attempting to trap the Lord, he was much closer to discovering the truth and entering into the Kingdom of God than all of the other members of the Sanhedrin Council. At least this Scribe had an understanding that there was something far more important than obeying the legalism of the Law of Moses, or the Laws of Rome or agreeing with the arguments of nature and reason.
He was closer to the Kingdom of God because he understood what Jesus meant by Love God and loving your neighbor as yourself.
Those who truly Love God with all their heart will keep God in their heart and there will be no room for hatred or attacks against anyone else.
Those who truly Love God with all their soul will be ever thankful that their soul is destined to spend eternity in Heaven. They will ever be aware and acknowledge the fact that, if were not for the mercy, grace and love of God, that there soul would be forever condemned. They will desire that every soul of man find that same place of peace and grace.
Those who love God with all their mind will have no time to fill their minds with thoughts of getting even or hurting anyone else. Their every thought will be on how we can best serve God, how they can learn more about him, and how they be of service to their fellowman who is made in the image of God.
Those who love God with all their strength won’t have energy to spare to use in attacking another man. Their whole purpose will be in serving the Lord, every minute of every day. They will ever be searching for ways to be of service to Jesus Christ and they won’t have the time nor the energy to get involved in backbiting, gossip, religious arguments or any such thing.
That’s the result of the first commandment – to Love the Lord Jesus Christ with everything that is within you.
If we obey that commandment, the second one, concerning the love for our neighbor, will happen automatically. How can we love God, serve God, and live for God and be hateful to people at the same time? It just doesn’t work that way.
Jesus told the Scribe that he was very close to the Kingdom of God! What does that mean?
It means that God is Love and if we are going to serve God then we will also show his Love.
John 13:35, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
Mere knowledge of this truth, that the Love of God is the most important factor of all and that the love of all people is equally important, did not mean that this Scribe was getting close to being saved. His heart was still engaged in trying to trap Jesus. When Jesus told that Scribe that he was close to the Kingdom of God it meant that he was close to understanding what the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was all about.
The Kingdom of God is all about loving one another. It is all about the Love of God that sent his only begotten Son to die on a cross for you and I. It is all about God’s Love for fallen man and his gift of salvation that brings the Love of God alive in your heart and soul so that we, in turn, can show the Love of God to other people.
So the question is, how close are you to the Kingdom of God? Have you come to realize that it is not the legalism that saves men’s souls and draws them to the Lord? Have you begun to understand that it is not whether you please men but whether you please the Lord that will make your life count for Christ? Has the knowledge of the Lord gone past your head and entered into your heart so that now you love people instead of finding fault with everything they do?
Are you past the attitudes of the Scribes, the Pharisees, or the Sadducees? Have you reached the place in your walk with the Lord that you are more concerned about the condition of the heart and soul of a man than in whether he does what you think is right or not.
We can either be condemning and judgmental or we can show forth the Love of God but we can’t do both. It’s time we draw near to the Kingdom of God and begin to show the Love of God through our love for God and for our fellowman.
All of our “burnt offerings” of trying to please men and to live according to the standards of holiness won’t mean anything unless we have the Love of God within us for those who make mistakes. All of our “sacrifices” of being a holy people are for nothing if we use our holiness like a hammer to beat others into the ground or have a prideful spirit because we think that we are better than anyone else.
I believe in living Holy. I believe in standards of holiness and righteousness. I believe that we must live a sanctified, holy life if we are going to be a part of God’s Kingdom. I know that without holiness no man shall be a part of that Kingdom.
But God help me to love people who make mistakes. Help me to love them through it and help them to overcome it rather than to condemn them. If I must err in being too much of either allowing men to do what they want or in pressing and demanding a strict standard of holiness, let it be that I show forth the Love of God. Jesus loved me while I was still a sinner. He saved me when I was not deserving of His love. He lifted me out of the miry clay when I could not seem to lift myself out. May the Lord help me to be compassionate and loving enough to do the same for someone else. Yet, may I love the Lord so much that it always pains me to see those who refuse to obey his laws of holiness and righteousness. Love has to be governing factor if we are going to make Heaven our home or if we are going to be a useful vessel in the Kingdom of God to win souls to Christ and help build his Kingdom in the hearts of men.
How close are you to the Kingdom of God? Are you as close as the scribe? Let’s get closer than that by allowing the Love of God to rule in our lives. Let’s love God above all and love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves.
