Matthew 22:34-46 – Loving God….loving my neighbour

Bible scholars tell us that Moses gave the children of Israel 613 laws. These laws range from the worship of God, the temple ceremonies, even to the settlement of disputes amongst neighbours. Because there were so many laws, they was always a dispute amongst the religious teachers as to which of these is the most important. To some keeping the Sabbath was important while to others the sacrifices were non-negotiable. In answering the questioner, Jesus not only succinctly condensed the laws into two fundamental categories: Love God with your total being and love your neighbour as yourself, He also showed what the true spirit of law is.

 

If you notice in the text the Pharisee, an expert in the law, asked Jesus the question not because he was sincerely seeking an answer but rather to put Jesus into a test or a trap. And the reason for doing so was because to the Pharisee, keeping the law was the way to find favour with God and they worked diligently at it. They kept the Sabbath, they fasted, the tithed and did everything to the letter but they failed to really understand the spirit of the law and why it as given in the first place. If Jesus had taken the bait and said that a particular obligation was preferred he would have caused a division amongst  the pharisees and in doing so, possibly bring a disruption to His short ministry on earth. But Jesus brilliantly defused the interrogation and further confused and bewildered the religious sects with his cleverly crafted question, “if then David calls him Lord,’ how can he be his son?” The vindictive mob was left clueless.

 

In a deeper analysis, the implication Jesus was trying to tell this expert of the law, and to all of us in the audience, is that keeping the rigours of law does not find favour with God but rather one’s obedience to the law is a result one’s total love and devotion to His Lordship.

 

And the outworking  of the first  submission is manifestly evident in the relationship one has with his neighbour. Jesus calls it  “love your neighbour as yourself”. For the pharisee this was totally alien as seen in the parable of the Good Samaritan. For them keeping the law was more important than healing the sick or helping someone in need during the sabbath. 

 

I don’t know about you but for me the way Jesus condensed the commandments is virtuosity at its peak. The master teacher with a simple exposition defined the whole scheme of the law and its true intent. 

 

During His short earthly ministry, Jesus amplified both these imperatives in His own life. John 17 details the love relationship Jesus had with His Father and because of this relationship Jesus said in John 14:31 – I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.  It was this love for God that eventually fulfilled John 3:16, to the extend, “ the good shepherd gives his life for His sheep”- John 10:11 9 (love God…love your neighbour).

 

As we look towards Calvary this season, let’s recognise the love that God has for us. The love that drove Him to Calvary so that we can become His sons and daughters and have this wonderful unique relationship with God the Father. We have already been made right with God by sheer grace – Ephesians 2:8. And we love Him because He first loved us. And because we love Him, we want to keep His commands. For the pharisees it was the reverse and in doing so missed the whole point.

 

Loving God in the way Jesus defines it, is to love God with our total being, there are no silos or “no-entry zones” in our relationship with God. Every part of me in totally commitment to Him and Him alone. Everything else is secondary.

 

We need to ask ourselves some very pertinent questions. Do I really love God will my total being or is my love for Him  half baked, divided, sometimes perfunctory or a religious necessity. Loving God is not just an act of outward obedience but rather it is a matter of the heart where I am totally surrendered to Him, to His purposes and to His bidding. If that is true then I will say like Jesus said, “I do what my Father tells me to do”. Secondly can my love for God be seen in the way I love my neighbour?  Is there a connection or is there a detachment? The best way to love my neighbour is to be the salt and the light of this world and let them know there is God who loves them to bits. Any detachment from the second makes the first non-existent or merely superficial at most..

 

Prayer

 

Lod help me to love you with my total being and do what you want me to do. May my obedience be an act of worship in response to Your love for me.  Help me to be the salt and light in this world and let people know that you are the true living God. In Jesus name, Amen.