When I used to be in college, I spent a little bit time volunteering with a ministry that was led by one other college student. The ministry was evangelistic in nature and was geared toward sharing the message of the gospel with area highschool students who lived near our faculty. There was also a discipleship component as well within the sense that one among our other goals was to assist students who already had faith in Jesus to walk with Him more devotedly.
Overall, I had a superb experience serving on this capability, but along the best way, it also became clear to me that it may be difficult to serve under this other student’s leadership.
One of the first tasks this student was asked to do was to prepare various events all year long. Some of those events can be in house events that didn’t require travel. Others were events that required us to supply transportation to outside locations.
During the time we served together, I watched him excel at organization and promotion, but because the events drew near, he would often get frazzled about something, hand me whatever he put together, and say, “I can’t do that straight away. You’re going to want to guide this for me.” Most often, this might occur on the day of the event.
As I observed this going down, it often stood out to me that he was neglecting a very powerful thing. Everything he did had value, but a very powerful part, the part he was primarily tasked with accomplishing, was leading these events. Because of his inability to accomplish that, he didn’t last within the role and was eventually replaced.
With that in mind, imagine you were a member of one among the outstanding religious sects that operated in the course of the time of Christ’s earthly ministry. One of those sects particularly, the Pharisees, made a practice of reading the Old Testament Scriptures and creating lists of laws, regulations, and commandments they present in God’s word. Eventually, they got here up with a listing of over 600 commandments, a few of which were actually present in Scripture and plenty of of which were derived from their very own theological interpretations and leanings.
As they developed this impossibly long list of commandments, they’d also debate amongst themselves where these rules ought to be ranked and which commandments they considered more essential than others.
Jesus’ Powerful Teaching on Love
It was within the midst of this context that a scribe or teacher from the Pharisees (Matt. 22:34-35) approached Jesus to learn the way He might answer the query as to which commandment was a very powerful.
“And one among the scribes got here up and heard them disputing with each other, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is a very powerful of all?” Jesus answered, “The most significant is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind and with all of your strength.’ The second is that this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There isn’t any other commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:28-31
Many of the questions Jesus received from the religious leaders were antagonistic in nature or geared toward setting a trap for Jesus (very similar to some reporters try and do when interviewing political candidates they aren’t particularly keen on.) The Pharisee who asked Jesus this query doesn’t come across quite as negatively as a few of his predecessors. Matthew’s gospel tells us that this man desired to “test” Jesus, but we may also see what appears to be an agreeable spirit in the person’s demeanor when Jesus answers him.
Love God, Love People
Matthew’s gospel also tells us that this man was a lawyer. He wasn’t afraid of debate or dispute. He also probably appreciated hearing a well-reasoned argument or defense, and that’s precisely what Jesus offered him.
In answering this man, Jesus began by quoting the Shema. The Shema is one among the first creeds within the Jewish faith and is taken into account a very powerful prayer. It was recited within the morning and the evening by the Jewish people. It will be read in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Jewish tradition has also added a portion of Deuteronomy 11 and Numbers 15 to form a three-part prayer that is meant to cover all points of the Ten Commandments.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your might. And these words that I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your kids, and shall talk of them whenever you sit in your own home, and whenever you walk by the best way, and whenever you lie down, and whenever you rise. You shall bind them as an indication in your hand, they usually shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your own home and in your gates.” – Deut. 6:4-9
The prayer known as the Shema because that’s the Hebrew word for “hear,” which is the primary word on this Scripture.
When Jesus answered the Pharisee, He can have surprised the person since the answer He gave was something this man apparently agreed with. If we were to summarize the response Jesus gave, we could accomplish that very simply. Love God with every aspect of your being, and love other people as you’re keen on yourself.
Just imagine what this world can be like if people actually did that. Would there be war in a world governed by those commandments? Would there be crime? Would there be conflict? But because we’re born with a sinful nature, the one way someone can truly live out these commandments is to be modified from inside. Through faith in Jesus, we’re given the grace to turn out to be a latest creation that honors Him and loves others.
Have you ever realized that the Ten Commandments will be summarized with the statements Jesus spoke? Love God. Love people. The first 4 commandments are all about loving God as the first object of our affection, and the remaining six are about loving the people God has placed in our lives.
The True Measure of Faith in Action
If we love God, we won’t use His name in vain. If we love God, we’ll put aside time for Him. If we love people, we won’t murder them. If we love people, we won’t covet their blessings and selfishly desire them for ourselves.
It’s apparent that this was something that the disciples of Jesus got here to understand as they learned to use the teaching of Jesus to their day after day lives. We see this illustrated several ways in one among the letters the apostle John wrote. In the book of 1 John, we read…
“Whoever says ‘I do know him’ but doesn’t keep his commandments is a liar, and the reality will not be in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.” – 1 John 2:4-5a
“And that is his commandment, that we imagine within the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love each other, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we all know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” – John 3:23-24
The Holy Spirit guided John to assist us understand that true faith isn’t just knowing details about God. True, saving faith involves genuinely knowing Him in a loving, trusting, relational way. Love for God is shown to be mature when it’s coupled with the real desire to honor what He says as an alternative of idolizing our own voice over His.
And if we all know the Father through the Son, Jesus Christ, we’ve got been united to Him and united to at least one one other. Being united to at least one one other as a family, redeemed by Jesus and indwelled by the Holy Spirit, ends in real love for each other. How could I, as one who’s indwelled with the Holy Spirit, not love one other brother or sister whom the Holy Spirit has also indwelled? It wouldn’t make sense spiritually or relationally.
The Pharisee Who Almost Found the Kingdom of God
“And the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he’s one, and there is no such thing as a other besides him. And to like him with all the center and with all of the understanding and with all of the strength, and to like one’s neighbor as oneself, is rather more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ And when Jesus saw that he answered properly, he said to him, ‘You should not removed from the dominion of God.’ And after that nobody dared to ask him any more questions.” – Mark 12:32-34
The Pharisee that Jesus was speaking with couldn’t deny the undeniable fact that Christ had given him the proper answer. The man even made a degree to summarize what Christ had spoken, showing that he really believed these words.
After hearing the Pharisee’s agreeable summary, Jesus said, “You should not removed from the dominion of God.”
Christ’s response to him at that time was each beautiful and tragic. It’s beautiful since it demonstrates the delight Jesus has when people experience spiritual reconciliation through Him. It’s also tragic since it illustrates that the person was still distant from the God he claimed to like.
Breaking Barriers to Find God’s Healing Love
When I have a look at a passage like this, I can’t help but think concerning the people in my very own life who’ve been blessed with access to the Scriptures, fellowship with the church, and accurate instruction to assist them understand the teaching of God’s word, yet they continue to be distant from God. Why?
Some individuals are highly entrenched within the philosophies and zeitgeist of the age. They have bought into the values espoused in popular media and certain educational settings. They may not think for themselves much and sometimes just parrot what they hear from those that influence them.
Some people have experienced severe trauma, and as they wrestle with their pain, they could not imagine God can heal a hurt that reaches so deep.
Some are feeling shame due to bad decisions or mistakes they made at an earlier season of life. In the midst of their shame, they feel intense guilt and since they struggle to forgive themselves, additionally they struggle to assume that anyone else, including God, could forgive them either. So, they proceed to live like exiles from God’s kingdom as an alternative of experiencing reconciliation with Him through faith in Jesus.
Their attitudes remind me of a line within the song “Winter Winds” by the band Mumford and Sons. The song states, “Oh, the shame that sent me off from the God that I once loved was the identical that drove me into your arms.” The arms of whom? In the song, the artist speaks of a girl, but holding onto shame can drive us into the arms of all types of false gods.
What about you? Are you able to honor a very powerful commandments to like God and love people? If so, it is advisable first accept the undeniable fact that you might be loved more deeply than your human mind could possibly fathom. The love of God has been shown to you within the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. As you trust in Jesus and accept the atoning work He has done in your behalf, He will empower you to like God and love people like humanity was originally designed to do from the start.
© John Stange, 2024 Originally published on Bible Study Headquarters. Used with permission.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Rawpixel
John Stange is the Lead Pastor at Core Creek Community Church and a professor at Cairn University where he leads the Digital Media and Communication program. He also leads an internet community called Platform Launchers where he helps people construct message-based online platforms.
John has authored over 30 books and presently hosts several podcasts on the LifeAudio podcast network. His shows have been downloaded thousands and thousands of times by listeners throughout the world.
You can learn more about John’s ministry, books, and podcasts at BibleStudyHeadquarters.com.
