LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD

Matthew 22:34-46

Key Verses 22:36-37

36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' "

Good morning. In today's passage Jesus teaches the greatest commandment: "Love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." We thank God who used the Pharisees’ wicked intentions to give us such revelatory teachings from Jesus. 

In our worship today, let’s open our hearts to the love of God. 

1. The Greatest Commandment (34-38)

Look at verses 34-36. “34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36’Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’” This was the third time in a row that Jesus was questioned. First about taxes, then about resurrection. This time it was by an expert in the law who belonged to the Pharisees. They really wanted to catch Jesus in his words and find a way to arrest him and shut him up. And they now asked Jesus a question about the law: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" (36) Law is one of the most difficult, trickiest subjects to cover. You'll want a good lawyer with you if you ever go to court. And it takes an incredible amount of time and hard work to learn the law well. One time I told M. Isaac that I was interested in studying law. He strongly advised me not to do so, saying that I would not have any time at all apart from studying. 

Jewish scholars say that there are 613 laws and 6,468 commands in the Old Testament. So it was not an easy task to pinpoint which of these was the greatest commandment. This was a very difficult question even for an expert. In July, California passed a law that banned cell phone use while driving, unless you can use the device hands-free. But it seems to me that not many people obey this law. Peoples feeling about the importance of individual commands and laws can be very relative. 

But how do we regard God’s law? Many think of God’s law as a long list of do’s and don’t’s, mostly don’ts. For example, in the 10 commandments, 8 of the commandments begin with a kind of negative sounding, “You shall not…” or “You shall have no…” So, many think a Christian’s life is about a lot of do’s and don’t’s, but mostly don’t’s. Of course, this does not sound like an enjoyable relationship under God. 

Now let’s see Jesus’ reply in verses 37-38. “Jesus replied: ‘ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment.’ ”

The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. The greatest commandment is not restricting or limiting or says, “You shall not…” In fact, the command says not to hold back at all, but love with “all” your heart and all your soul and all your mind.

To love the Lord your God is the greatest commandment. The first thing we notice is that the command says to "love" God. This is so beautiful. God’s law is a law of love. The Bible says that what every man desires is "unfailing love" (Prov 19:22), and this is not a sentiment that belongs to antiquity. This is still in our hearts. Have you seen the movie Moulin Rouge? The finale of the movie has a character declaring, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and to be loved in return." But where can we find this unfailing love? Proverbs continues by saying, “Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?” It is only in the Lord, which helps us to understand this command to love. 

God is not one-sidedly commanding us to love him, demanding from us and holding a punishment stick over our heads if we do not, like the cell phone law or like getting a speeding ticket. Actually, we know that demands or commands do not change peoples hearts.  

The command says, “Love the Lord your God…” We must first think about the one whom we are commanded to love. "The Lord your God." This phrase is repeated many times throughout the Law, and has great historical meaning that applies to us today, namely, because God has loved us first.

1) First, it tells us who he is. He is the "the Lord".

His name, the Lord, means in Hebrew, "I Am Who I Am." He revealed himself as the Eternal Creator, the Holy One. Although he is a personal God, he is not defined just by his work in your life or my life. He does not exist merely according to my experience or your experience. In fact, there is nothing on earth to liken to his being. By nature, by default, we, his creation, are made for his pleasure and glory. We are made to love him with all our being. We love him first because of who he is. He is the Lord. 

2) Second, it tells us what he's done. "your God".

The Lord is your God and my God. He is the God of Abraham and the God of the Israelites. How did the Lord become their God?

A few weeks ago we studied Exodus 6. In this chapter, the Lord revealed to the Israelites how he would become their God. Look at Exodus 6:6-7: “ ⁶Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. ⁷ I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.’” God displayed his mighty power and brought the Israelites out from the slavery in Eqypt. He completely destroyed Egypt to bring the Israelites out. At that time, the Israelites were not redeemed because they were better than anyone else. In fact, when we read the law we find a lot of laws that deal with very disgusting and addressing actions so morally low. Why did God tell them not to do these certain things? It means that they were already doing them. God redeemed them out of his love. He remembered his covenant with Abraham and he heard their cry in their slavery and had compassion on them. And he became their God when he showed his love first and brought them out with a mighty and outstretched arm. He took them from being so low, and made them into his very own people and he became their God. 

The way the Lord revealed himself and brought the Israelites out of Egypt is a picture of his work for all peoples today, for God is the same God today as he was in the day of the Israelites. How did God show his love for us? God showed his love in sending his One and Only Son, Jesus Christ for us sinners. 1 John 4:9-10 say, “⁹This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Throughout Matthew’s gospel, we’ve seen Jesus’ many example of love for God and for his neighbor. He healed all the sick that came to him, even the most untouchable people, like lepers and blind beggars, the demon-possessed and paralyzed. He was always willing to be with them and heal them. He had compassion on the large, 5,000 and 4,000 people crowds that came out to him and he fed them all by God’s power. He called tax collectors to be with him personally. He ate in their homes and raised them as his disciples and friends. He taught them the word of God day in and day out and he prayed constantly for them. Ultimately, he was going to the cross to lay down his life for this world.  Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection is God’s strongest demonstration of his love for us. And by the cross and resurrection of Jesus, who brings all of those who have faith in Jesus out of the land of slavery to sin and death, into fellowship with him as his own people and he becomes their God. So God became our God not because of us or our choosing, but through his Son Jesus. And so the apostle John says in verse 19, “We love because he first loved us.” Actually, love does not originate with us, but with God. We love because he loved us.

 “Love the Lord your God.” So we love because who he is and what’s he done. And loving means first receiving his love in Jesus Christ. The standard by which I am to love him is, “…with all our heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” It means this love comes from my entire being, from the heart, with soul and mind, to loving him as first priority. The words “heart”, “soul”, and “mind” tell us that this love is not just about outward obedience. This love refers to the truest, most sincere, highest degree of love that comes from the inner-most of our beings. It requires our full devotion, energy, passion, strength, and thought—our very life. This may seem overwhelming. And that can be a good thing in that our whole being is made to love the Lord our God. 

Love for God is our highest commandment. It is what God is looking for the most. It means he really wants to have a love relationship with us. Let us strive to accept and know his love in and through Jesus Christ who is the manifestation and demonstration of his unfailing love for us. As we know Jesus more and more, we know the love of God more and more and can love God in return. So, positively, we come to Jesus and strive to know him, obey his word, and accept God’s love. And then in and through Jesus, we love God in return giving all our heart and all our soul and all our mind. 

Look at verse 38 again. “This is the first and greatest commandment.” We should not be satisfied or deceive ourselves with just doing some good things or saying to ourselves, “At least I did this much…” We must aim for the greatest command and not settle for anything less. 

Love for God is most important. It is the “first” and “greatest” commandment. There are two real life examples that illustrate this well. The first is from the life of the Apostle Peter. While under Jesus’ discipleship training he had a big mouth, but was generally a good disciple. But finally when Jesus was arrested and crucified, Peter made the biggest mistakes and failures of his life. He denied Jesus three times. He became depressed and dejected and it seemed beyond recovery. But Jesus came to him and loved him. He found Peter by the seashore, cooked a warm breakfast for him. He showed his love for Peter and helped Peter to restore the direction and purpose of loving Jesus as first and greatest. When Peter accepted Jesus’ love he could love Jesus in return. As a result, he overcame his failures, his dejection, his pride and competition with the other disciples, his fear of the Jewish leaders, and he became a steady rock for the early church. But there was another disciple at that time who failed like Peter. It was Judas Iscariot. He betrayed Jesus, but later felt guilty. Rather than accepting Jesus’ love, he rejected it and killed himself because of the overwhelming guilt. That is the difference God’s love made in the lowest points of two disciples. 

2. The Second Greatest Commandment (39-40)

Don’t worry. There are only two commandments here. Moses gave 10 commandments, but Jesus only gave two. Look at verses 39-40. "And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Jesus added a second command to his answer, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  

This second command is closely connected with the first. 1 John 4:11 says, “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” And in verses 20-21 he says, “20If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” God created man in his own image and likeness. And God showed his love to us and to the whole world in Jesus Christ. God has in heart world salvation, that all nations would be blessed through Jesus Christ. In love we take on his concern as our own. 

So, Jesus teaches us that one of the most important ways to practically love God is to love our neighbor. The same Greek word for love is used in both commands. Agape, which means the highest form of love, a self-sacrificial love. Why is the same word used? To show the degree of love which we are to love God and then love our neighbors. How can I love my neighbor as myself? I don’t think about loving myself so much, it comes naturally. For example, when I am hungry, I eat—not because I love my stomach. When I am cold, I cover myself. So we can love others practically from the heart in this way. 

We must also note the order in which Jesus presents these commands. Loving God is first, and loving our neighbors is second. I think that most people today would put the second first, and the first second. It is the law of humanism and it has deceived many people into living a relative and godless life, pushing the love of God out of their hearts. 

This second command is not an easy one to keep because we cannot avoid people altogether. But as we build a church fellowship, as we aim to love our wives and husbands and children in a godly way, and as we sacrifice much for the sake of serving campus students, we have to remember that this command is not just a struggle to love others, but loving God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind. Jesus summarized the entire Old Testament scriptures based on these two commands. We have nothing without love (read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13). 

3. Whose Son is the Christ? (41-46)

Finally, Jesus asked them a question. Look at verses 41-45. “41While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42’What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?’ ‘The son of David,’ they replied. 42He said to them, ‘How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, call him “Lord”? For he says, “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” ‘ If then David calls him “Lord,” how can he be his son?’”

Jesus asked them a question about the identity of Christ. Specifically, whose son he is. Why did Jesus ask them this question? Even in the midst of being tested and questioned by them, he wanted to help them. He pointed out that they did not have the love of God in their hearts. Jesus’ question to them shows where they were lacking mostly. They didn’t know who the Lord is. The Christ is the Lord. He is the Son of God. The Pharisees should have loved Jesus. But instead they treated him like a guilty criminal or someone very suspicious and didn't listen to him. They called him demon-possessed. Even though they had all the knowledge of the law in their heads, they didn’t have the love of God in their hearts. All of that knowledge didn’t do them any good because they didn’t love God and they didn’t know who the Lord is. 

This means for us that Jesus himself is the direction and purpose and full revelation of God, so that he is our aim and object of love and worship. To love him is to submit to him, to listen to him and to give all our heart and mind and soul to him. He is the Lord who is worthy and deserves all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. And he is the one that we lead others to know and love. 

Based on today’s passage, let’s pray to:

receive God’s love in Jesus Christ

 love God in return

love our neighbor as ourselves

learn God’s deep compassion for people, especially students at our campuses

unity in love in building our church fellowship

One Word: Love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 

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