Good morning. Today we conclude our series on the 10 Commandments, and then next week will be our Revival and the following week will be a youth Sunday with Kyle preaching. But for today, we are going to be looking at a different passage of scripture, but before we do that, let’s just read over out text of the 10 Commandments one last time. Turn with me to Exodus 20:1-17 if you will. Hopefully by now, we have a pretty good knowledge of the 10 Commandments and the proper order that they flow. Anyway, here in Exodus 20:1-17 it says, (Ribbon)
Let’s open with a word of prayer.
We have spent a week on each of these commands, and got down to the heart of each of them. Hopefully as we did that, you were able to apply each message directly to your own life or the lives of those around you. Today, we move to the New Testament to conclude things and wrap up our series of the 10 Commandments. If you want to go ahead and turn with me to Matthew 22:34, that is where we will start.
It is at this point in Jesus’ ministry that He is questioned by some leaders about the importance of the commandments. They want to know which one is the greatest. Let’s see what happened. Here in Matthew 22:34-40 it says, “1”
First, let’s start by Classifying The Law.
To start this passage, a lawyer approached Christ with a question about the Law. He asked, “What sort of commandment is the greatest in the Law?” Now this man did this because the scribes and Pharisees sought to classify the commandments by their importance.
Their scholars had determined that there were 613 commandments in the Law, as there were 613 separate letters in the Hebrew text of the 10 Commandments. They divided these into affirmative and negative commands. They thought that 248 were affirmative, or one for every part of the human body, as they counted them. And they believed that 365 were negative, or one for each day of the year.
However, after doing that, the “experts” realized that no one could be successful in fulfilling all the demands of this heavy legalism. So to make it easier, they identified some commandments as “heavy” or profound and others as “light” or unimportant. Some held that the law of the Sabbath was the greatest commandment, others contended for circumcision, the wearing of special apparel, or other teachings.
But then they went ahead and asked Jesus this question. Jesus’ reply is amazing. He knows that they are trying to make the commands smaller than what they are, so He approaches it in an amazing way. He will not concentrate on minors, but expresses the main point of the commandments by quoting 2 passages, one from the 6th chapter of Deuteronomy, and the other from a small corner of Leviticus chapter 19. Each expresses the principle of love. Loving God and loving one another is the way to fulfill the Law.
So again, Jesus’ response was, “1”
Now we have explored the 10 Commandments over the past several weeks. Now we must conclude by looking at the New Testament passage where Jesus responds to a scholar’s question, “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” He sums up the whole moral and spiritual law with one word: love.
First, He says, Love God.
Jesus says, “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.” He quotes from the Hebrew statement of faith known as the Shema. Every orthodox Jew recited these verses, beginning with Deuteronomy 6:4, on a daily basis. Devout men copied these verses on small pieces of parchment, and wore them on their foreheads and left arms in little containers known as phylacteries.
The Hebrew word for love used here, refers to love that expresses itself in acts of the mind and will. Emotion may be involved, but this love is notable for dedication and commitment. It cares for the welfare of others. This genuine love of the Lord involves thought and sensitivity, purpose and action. The text in Matthew differs slightly from Deuteronomy 6:5. In the original Hebrew language, Deuteronomy has “heart, soul and might.” Matthew substitutes “mind” for “might” while Mark 12:30 speaks of “heart, soul, mind and strength.” There is no real difference in any of these. Each passage, using various terms, calls for a total commitment of love for God. That is the main focus. We are to have a total commitment to loving God. Everything that we are is to be consumed by a love for God.
Now I have shared this illustration with you before, but it fits really well here. You may remember that General William Booth is the founder of the Salvation Army. He is a great example of this. When asked for the secret of his success, Booth replied, “From the day I got the poor of London on my heart and the vision for what Jesus Christ would do for them, I made up my mind that God should have all of William Booth there was; and if anything has been achieved, it is because God has had all the adoration of my heart, all the power of my will, and all the influence of my life.” You see, all his faculties—his heart, his soul, his mind, his strength, and everything he was—were obsessed with God. He refused to return God’s whole-hearted love halfheartedly.
To have a love greater than God’s is impossible. When He loves, He loves the whole world, and at such tremendous cost. In fact, Paul said in Romans 5:6-8 that, “2”
You see, He loved even those who were alienated from Him. Paul also wrote in II Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
Surely, our response to God’s love should be nothing less than wholehearted worship, love, and service. We could well cry out like in Romans 11:33-36, “3”
We should proclaim the message of, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
(2 Corinthians 9:15)
We should willing follow His example: “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2)
As recipients of the love of God, we must love one another. The Apostle John says it well: he writes in I John 4:7-11, “4”
So first, Jesus says that the first and greatest command is to love God, then He makes the transition to loving others. Jesus quotes Leviticus 19:18 when He says, “…the second is like [the first commandment]: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” This command resembles the first because it also requires love. You must receive and reciprocate the love of God before any other love relationship will be all that it can be.
The command to love in Leviticus is set in a context of practicality. Love must be demonstrated practically to people who may be unlovely and unworthy. In fact, in Leviticus 19:9-16 it says, “5”
God’s concept of “neighbor” was broad, extending to the poor, the disenfranchised, and the alien. The Pharisees tried to narrow that idea, limiting the command to those who were most like themselves. But Jesus would not allow it then, and He will not allow it today. We are to love others, period.
Whatever your view of his politics, few would disagree that Richard Nixon was not the most lovable of American Presidents. After his disgraceful resignation, Mr. Nixon lived in isolation behind the walls of his compound. As he struggled to recover from the deep emotional wounds of Watergate and his life-threatening illness, Nixon saw only his family and a few close friends. No one, other than gloating reporters, tried to visit him for nearly a year.
One man came, however. He was a member of the United States Senate, and throughout Nixon’s term, this man had opposed the President passionately. Now, in Nixon’s distress, Senator Mark Hatfield, an evangelical Christian, traveled twice to see Nixon without fanfare. He told Chuck Colson that his only reason was “to let Mr. Nixon know that someone loved him.”
God requires us to love one another. We have no option. We are to love one another no matter what or who they are. Love for God and obedience to His commands are inseparable. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 7:9, “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.” Jesus also said in John 14:15 that, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” You see, He set the example for us to follow. He was obedient even unto death. In love, from the cross, He pled with the Father to forgive those who crucified Him. Paul writes about His great example that He set for us, saying in Colossians 3:12-14, “6”
Hopefully, it is our love for God that inspires us to love one another. The Old Testament story of David provides an illustration of this truth.
When David became king he asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (II Samuel 9:1) “Find me anyone loved by Jonathan! If Jonathan loved them, I must love them too!” A crippled son of Jonathan’s was found. Mephibosheth was ushered into the presence of the king, who said, “Don’t be afraid, …for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan.” (v. 7) David invited him to live in the royal palace, and Scripture says that, “Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table, and he was crippled in both feet.” (v.13)
We love God and He lavishes His love on us. We should say to ourselves, “Is there anyone in the house of God, whom I may love for the sake of God?” As God’s people we have what Paul called the continuing debt to love one another. He said in Romans 13:8-10 that, “He who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not covet,’ and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
So we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. Now, how important are these commands that Jesus gives here in Matthew?
Well, these 2 commandments, “Love the Lord your God” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” encompass all the 10 Commandments that we have looked at already. The first 4 commands guide our relation to God.
These are: Have No Other God’s Before Me, Do Not Make Any False Idols, Do Not Misuse The Name Of The Lord, and Remember The Sabbath Day And Keep It Holy.
And then the last 6 deal with our relation to man. They are: Honor Your Father And Your Mother, Do Not Murder, Do Not Commit Adultery, Do Not Steal, Do Not Lie, and DO Not Covet.
So Jesus ends this passage by saying that, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” That is the priority of love. If you cannot love, then you cannot even being to fulfill these 10 Commandments in your life. You must love God and love others.
We have looked at each of the 10 Commandments. Each of them offers liberty and freedom, but love for God and for one another is the key to experiencing the fullness of liberty in these commandments. Surgeon Richard Selzer performed surgery on the face of a pretty young woman. He wrote these words shortly afterward:
“I stand by the bed where a young woman lies, her face postoperative, her mouth twisted in palsy. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her mouth, has been severed. She will be this way from now on…. To remove the tumor in her cheek, I had to cut the little nerve. Her young husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite side of the bed, and together they seem to dwell in the evening lamplight, isolated from me, private.”
“Will my mouth always be like this?” she asks. “Yes,” I say, “it will. It’s because the nerve was cut.” “I like it,” he says. “It’s kind of cute.” Unmindful, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth …. I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate hers, to show her that their kiss still works.”
Well we are to be the same way when it comes to Christ, and when it comes to others. We are to show them that the love that is supposed to be there really is there.
As we close this series out, I hope that you have really grown for taking a deeper look at the 10 Commandments, but out of all of the sermons over the past few weeks, this is the one I hope you apply the most. Because if you can love God and love others, then you are well on your way to fulfilling the other commands as well.
Let’s Pray |
