Friday
How would you spend your last week on earth? If you knew you were going to die… what would you want to do that would leave the most lasting impact?
Jesus spends these last few days, teaching. He tries to help the people understand that He is the Savior come to save… the long-awaited Messiah. In our opening verses Jesus is teaching by using His now familiar technique of parables. He is telling the leaders, God has sent prophets and teachers and leaders to show you the way, but you have rejected them. Some you beat up, others you executed and so now, the Son must come. Only you will treat him no differently than the others. He’s not making them very happy. But then again, the truth is hard to hear when you are the one being corrected.
We go through a few more teaching moments with Jesus, first from the Pharisees, the question of taxes, then from the Sadducees, the discussion about resurrection and also a question from a teacher of the law, who asks Jesus to identify the most important commandment.
Do you notice a distinct difference in the exchange of words? This teacher of the Law, I feel, is honestly seeking an answer to his question, not trying to trip up Jesus into saying something that is false, like the others.
So if you had the opportunity (like this teacher of the Law) to ask Jesus a direct question, what would you ask? We can see from Jesus’ response that he is impressed with this man and with his question. This question gives Jesus an opportunity to share a very important insight and one that is based upon the Law. How simple and uncomplicated Jesus has made how we should live our lives. Jesus quotes, Deut 6:4 (known as the Shema, which means “hear” – which happens to be the first word of this passage of scripture.)
“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
This was a core prayer learned at a very young age. And at the heart of our relationship with God. The second part Jesus quotes Lev 19:18, that commands us “to love our neighbor as ourselves.” Do you see how Christ has summed up the Ten Commandments for us? The first 4 commandments are to Love God and the last 6 are about our relationship with each other. If we follow these two commands, all other commandments fall into one or the other category. How exciting to see that this Teacher of the Law understood. Worshipping God is more about relationships than it is about sacrifice.
If we love, truly love… how different will our actions be towards each other? Towards God? Will we have to worry about following the letter of the Law, or pay more attention to the purpose of the law? What is intended?
Loving God and Neighbor
Pastor Kathy