The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 22 Part 7 Jesus Showed What The Greatest Commandment Is

So far in this chapter of Matthew's gospel, Pharisees teamed up with Herodians to entrap Jesus on the subject of paying taxes to Rome.

When their efforts failed miserably, the Sadducees came seeking to entrap Jesus with a strange question about the resurrection and afterlife.

This too, failed.

Next, the Pharisees came again with a question about the commandments of God, seeking to entrap Jesus with His words.

Matthew 22:34  But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 

Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducees were now taking notice of Jesus' teachings and miracles, and they began to worry about losing power over the people.

It did not take long before the Pharisees heard how Jesus exposed false doctrine of the Sadducees and they came together to find another way to snare Jesus with His Words.

The words "put the Sadducees to silence" literally means to put a muzzle on their mouths which pictures them being unable to reply to the scripture Jesus cited.

We already understand that when the Pharisees gathered together, they were angry at their lack of success in entrapping Jesus with His words.

Matthew 22:34-36  But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 

A Pharisee who was a lawyer was the next person to question Jesus.

A lawyer in that context meant a Jew who was well trained in the law of Moses and were thought to be skilled interpreters of the law.

His question was designed to "tempt" Jesus.

The word "tempt" can refer to God allowing us to go through trials in order to bear more fruit for His kingdom or to purge out impurities from our lives.

Matthew 4:6-7  And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7  Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 

However, this same word also refers to tempting someone maliciously, with an  enticement to sin.

This is the same word Jesus applied to the Devil during his time of temptation in the wilderness.

Therefore, we must conclude that the lawyer who tempted Jesus had a malicious motive.

This lawyer is going to discover that he will be shut down by the scripture from Jesus just as the Devil was defeated by scripture.

The question asked of Jesus is "Which is the great commandment of the law?"

Remember that the law of God begins with the Ten Commandments and then expands to about 613 ordinances, statutes, and judgments from God.

In some ways, this question is foolish because all that God says to us in His Word is lofty and weighty, such that we must submit to His decrees in order to receive His blessing.

Jesus focused on the Ten Commandments in answering the lawyer.

In fact, Jesus focused upon the first four commandments that define having a right relationship with God, through repentant faith in Christ.

If we do not have a right relationship with God, then will will have other "gods" before the One, True God of heaven and earth.

If we do not have a right relationship with God then  we will make idols and bow down to them.

Remember that an idol in modern times is anything or anyone that we love more than we love God.

Thus, wealth, family, vocation, education, or possessions can easily take the place of an idol in modern life.

If we do not have a right relationship with God then we will not honor His name or keep the sabbath day as a holy day to honor God.

Matthew 22:37-38  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38  This is the first and great commandment. 

Jesus gave a twofold response to the lawyer's question.

He said the greatest commandment from God is that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind.

Jesus said that this is the first and greatest commandment.

This "first and greatest commandment" is the one that defines a man in a right relationship with Holy God.

Jesus' reply had a vertical orientation where we are focused upon God our Creator and Redeemer.

Because we are all born with a sin nature, we must be born again in order to enter a right relationship with God.

If this vertical, God focused relationship is not right, none of our other relationships and pursuits will be right.

It is of interest to notice that the very first commandment God gave Moses was that Israel was to have no other "gods" before Jehovah.

That is, God is to always be the highest priority of life for those who trust Him for salvation.

In order to love God  rightly we must come to know Him by hearing and responding to the gospel of Christ.

We can know God only through exercising repentant faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

When we are born again, God's Spirit comes to live in us and begins to work changing us into the image of Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 36:26-27  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27  And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 

God's Spirit gives us a new heart, a new spirit so that we can keep His commands and bear fruit for His kingdom (See Ezekiel 11:19-20; 18:30-32; Acts 2; Ephesians 1:12-14; Titus 3:4-6).

God's promise is clear. He will give a new heart that is tender and open to the things of God.

He will give His own Spirit to live in us so that we are enabled to walk in His holy ways.

God will do this for every sinner who repents of his or her sin, and calls upon Jesus Christ for salvation.

Now we come to the Old Testament texts that Jesus cited in the first part of His answer to the lawyer's question.

Deuteronomy 6:5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 

Deuteronomy 10:12-13  And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13  To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? 

Both of these texts speak about loving God with all our heart, soul and strength so that we can walk in His ways, and serve Him with all of our being.

Therefore, both texts are God's interpretation of what it means to have no other "gods" before Him.

Jesus stressed our priority for life is for God to be always in our thoughts, with His love flooding into our soul and shaping our heart for His purposes and glory.

Matthew 22:39-40  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

Next, Jesus added another aspect in answering the lawyers question.

By commanding us to love our neighbor as ourselves, Jesus focused upon the last six commandments that define how to have right relationships with other people.

If we do not love our neighbors and others as we love ourselves, then will not honor our parents.

If we do not love others as we love ourselves, we may steal, commit murder, we may speak lies, we may commit sexual sin or be covetous. 

Therefore, Jesus' answer to the lawyer's question was full and complete.

The Ten Commandments are summarized in this way.

Love God first as our highest priority.

Love others and care for them as God cares for us.

Mark 12:32-33  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: 33  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. 

Matthew was not guided by God's Spirit to record the lawyer's response to Jesus' answer, but Mark's gospel does contain what the lawyer said.

Mark called him a "scribe" and often the scribe was also a lawyer in that culture.

Here is what he said in response to Jesus' reply.

He called Jesus a "Master" which is used to designate a well regarded rabbi.

Then he said Jesus "Had said the truth" in His answer.

The scribe/lawyer fully agreed with Jesus' answer and endorsed what our Lord replied.

Mark 12:34  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. 

Jesus saw the sincerity in the lawyer's answer and He commended him, saying that he was not far from the kingdom of God.

One final note is that no one asked Jesus any more questions, because His answers were perfectly aligned with scripture.

This reminds each one of us that we must first of all be born again through repentant faith in Jesus Christ.

Only then can we begin to grow in our faith and understanding of scripture, so that we can learn to love God for who He is revealed to be in the pages of our Bible.

Second, we are reminded that if we do not have a personal relationship with God through faith in Christ, then our life will be a struggle.

Our desires, ambitions, and all relationships will not be right because we are not rightly related to God by faith.

Third, we must arise each day praying to God and reading His Word, giving Him the highest priority.

Then, we must ask God to help us love others more than we love ourselves.

Jesus gave us the path to a blessed, happy and productive life. Love God first, then love others more than yourself.

I pray that this will be the pursuit and desire of our heart each and every day that God gives us life.

Bob