The greatest commandment
- 1. WHAT MATTERS THE MOST Matthew 24:34-40
- 2. Matthew 24:34-40 “ But when the Pharisees heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence, they gathered themselves together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets ."
- 3. Matthew 24:34-40 “ But when the Pharisees heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence, they gathered themselves together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind . This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself .' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets ."
- 4. If we want to really understand the Bible then we have to read it in its proper CONTEXT
- 5. Verses often used out of context John 1:9 “I stand at the door and knock…” Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God” Matthew 18:29 “If two or three are gathered in my name I am in the midst of them”
- 6. I. What is happening here? Tested - The enemies of Jesus has only plan and that is trap him and eventually put him away for good. Opposed – The enemies would like bring down Jesus Being Trapped – expert in the Jewish law came up with a “question”
- 7. "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Exodus 20:1-17 The law is the basis of the relationship between God and His people Israel The Law is central to the Jewish consciousness
- 8. From 10 Laws, it was expanded to 613 laws, and it seems Jesus summarized everything into 2 Laws
- 9. II. What does it mean to truly love God? Jesus answered beyond what was asked.
- 10. Matthew 24:34-40 “ But when the Pharisees heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence, they gathered themselves together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind . This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself .' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets ."
- 11. II. What does it mean to truly love God? He wanted the people to understand beyond the letters of the Law “ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart , and with all your soul , and with all your mind .”
- 12. “ With all your heart” The average human heart, beating at 72 beats per minute, will beat approximately 2.5 billion times during an average lifespan .
- 13. “ With all your soul” The soul is the immaterial or the spiritual part of man that survives death Gen. 2:7: “…and the man came to be a living soul.”
- 14. “ With all your mind” Our relationship with God is not just an emotional experience but also choice. There are around 10,000,000,000 nerve cells
- 15. This means making God the FOCUS Of our Life and Existence
- 16. III. What really is the point here? “ You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” What an earthshaking commandments which tells us feel what others feel This means having the willingness to tear off our skin and wrap it around another person.
- 17. By Nature we are… self-preserving self-enhancing self-exalting self-advancing Very Selfish
- 18. For something very selfless to happen something SUPERNATURAL has to happen
- 19. Romans 8:4 “ in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” God has to do it through us !
- 20. Conclusion Jesus said something astonishing here “ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.“ Literally it means “hanging”
- 21. Conclusion Understand that true love involves the total person All the commandments can only be truly accomplished in the context of True Love Loving others is the external and the visible of what it is to really love God
- 22. Romans 13:8-10 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For this, 'You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,' and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.