Read Matthew 22: 24 - 46
By Jesus' day, the scribes and Pharisees remained in continual discussion and debate over how to prioritize the laws of God from the Pentateuch. They had boiled them down to 613 laws ... 248 were positive commands and 365 were negative. But still that is a mountain of things to remember! Perhaps this was what was in the mind of this lawyer. Perhaps he was asking Jesus how he would prioritize the laws.
We listen as Jesus pulls from the Old Testament scripture to answer. He quotes:
Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Leviticus 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
The lawyer had not asked for the top two. He only asked for the top one. I wonder if Jesus included the 2nd in light of what he knew these religious leaders were about to do to him! And yet these two are closely related. Love God first ... then let that love spill out, like an overflowing cup, onto those around you.
God is love. Love is at the core of worship ... love is the foundation of service ... love is the transforming power in a life ... love is the only antidote strong enough to deal with our addiction to 'self'. God is love.
The nineteenth century novelist and poet, George MacDonald wrote to his daughter, Mary ...
I suggest that when we cannot love the "other" as we love ourselves ... the primary issue is our lack of love for God. That hurts! So when we find ourselves unable to 'love your neighbor' ... perhaps we need to pray a prayer of confession to God about our lack of love for Him. It is at its root a love issue.
The final verses in the chapter, verses 41 - 46, turn the tables. Now Jesus asks a question ... and it is a question of identity. He no longer needs to veil his true identity. He no longer needs to keep the animosity at bay. So he challenges the questioners with a theological question of his own. Who is "Messiah"? All good Jews would respond as they did ... Messiah will be son of David. Jesus takes them fully into the mystery of the identity of the Messiah. Son of David? Yes ... physically. But LORD. Son of God. Divine.
And the antagonistic questioners are silenced.
We listen as Jesus pulls from the Old Testament scripture to answer. He quotes:
Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Leviticus 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
The lawyer had not asked for the top two. He only asked for the top one. I wonder if Jesus included the 2nd in light of what he knew these religious leaders were about to do to him! And yet these two are closely related. Love God first ... then let that love spill out, like an overflowing cup, onto those around you.
God is love. Love is at the core of worship ... love is the foundation of service ... love is the transforming power in a life ... love is the only antidote strong enough to deal with our addiction to 'self'. God is love.
The nineteenth century novelist and poet, George MacDonald wrote to his daughter, Mary ...
God is so beautiful, and so patient, and so loving, and so generous that he is the heart and soul and rock of every love and every kindness and every gladness in the world. All the beauty in the world and in the hearts of men, all the painting, all the poetry, all the music, all the architecture comes out of his heart first. He is so lovable that no heart can know how lovable he is - can only know in part.
I suggest that when we cannot love the "other" as we love ourselves ... the primary issue is our lack of love for God. That hurts! So when we find ourselves unable to 'love your neighbor' ... perhaps we need to pray a prayer of confession to God about our lack of love for Him. It is at its root a love issue.
The final verses in the chapter, verses 41 - 46, turn the tables. Now Jesus asks a question ... and it is a question of identity. He no longer needs to veil his true identity. He no longer needs to keep the animosity at bay. So he challenges the questioners with a theological question of his own. Who is "Messiah"? All good Jews would respond as they did ... Messiah will be son of David. Jesus takes them fully into the mystery of the identity of the Messiah. Son of David? Yes ... physically. But LORD. Son of God. Divine.
And the antagonistic questioners are silenced.
Lord, forgive us for only wanting to love the people we like. Forgive us for only caring about the people that are like us ... look like us, think like us, are like us. You created all mankind. You love all mankind. Grow our love for You so that we can love the "other". It begins with loving You. We do love You ... help us in our limited love ... expand it ... grow it. YOU ARE LOVE. And we worship ...
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