The Greatest Command Series

INTRODUCTION

- What is the most important moral issue to God?

- Is it abortion?

- Immigration?

- Spending?

- Hunger?

- Human rights?

- Depending on who you ask, you will get various answers depending on the bias or experience of the one you ask.

- Jesus was asked this question a couple of times during His ministry; the last time was in the passage we will examine today, and the first time was about a year and a half earlier, and that question was recorded in Luke 10:25-31.

- I want to give a little context for what we are reading today.

- Throughout Mark 12, Jesus is being questioned by the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Herodians as they sought to trap with what He said.

- Well, let’s say it was not going too well for any of the groups, as Jesus was administering a verbal beating to them.

- These “leaders” were no match for Jesus; however, a scribe expert in the Law was in the crowd.

- Some versions called this man a Lawyer, which would have been another name for a Scribe.

- A Scribe would have been skilled in the Law of Moses.

- It appears this Scribe was impressed enough by Jesus to give Him a fair hearing.

- Based on the context, it appears this man was seeking an answer to a sincere question.

- So here is a professional man regarding the Law of Moses; he will ask Jesus an important question.

- Here is the question.

Mark 12:28 (NET 2nd ed.)

28 Now one of the experts in the law came and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

- This seemed like a difficult question, given that the Jewish Bible records 613 commands (10 big ones and 603 clarifications).

- The question is good because it goes right to the heart of God.

- God gave the Ten Commandments, in a sense the question is, WHAT IS AT THE CORE OF THE COMMANDS?

- If one does not grasp the underpinning of the Law, one will never understand Jesus or God.

- When Jesus was asked the same question in Luke 10:25-28

Luke 10:25–28 (NET 2nd ed.)

25 Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?”

27 The expert answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

- The expert in religious Law gives the same answer as Jesus will when He answers the question.

- What is interesting is that the first part of the answer from the expert in the Law, Jesus, is found in the Old Testament.

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 (NET 2nd ed.)

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!

5 You must love the LORD your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength.

- Let’s move to our text this morning.

- We will see what the most important moral issue is from God’s perspective.

Mark 12:29–31 (NET 2nd ed.)

29 Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

31 The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

SERMON

I. What is love?

- The answer to the question of what the greatest command was originated from is in the greatest command Old Testament.

- We read the passage in Deuteronomy 6:4-5.

- The passage was known as the SHEMA, the Hebrew word for HEAR or LISTEN.

- This passage was used in every synagogue service.

- It is written on small papers and put in the phylacteries the Jews wore and on the doorposts of their homes.

- When we are told to love God, what does that mean?

- What does it mean to love God?

- What is love?

- There are songs and poems written about love.

- Love is the focus of art; love is the subject of many movies, many of which are terrible examples.

- The word love is used and abused daily.

- People fall in love, out of love, and sometimes simply fall.

- Love is the source of both romance and war.

- When you tell someone you love them, what are you saying?