A Lawyer Questions Jesus in the Temple Courtby CBPepper
22:36Matthew 22:36
Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
A hostile legal expert asked which commandment outranks the rest, hoping to twist the reply into a charge, at a time when the first four duties were set above the last six as if obedience could be divided. He answered with plain authority that wholehearted devotion to God is the first and greatest duty and that caring for one's neighbor as oneself is the like second, and that the entire law and the prophets rest on these two. Together they hold every principle of the Ten Commandments and the whole duty of fallen humanity, the first four defining duty to God and the last six defining duty to people, so that neither love can be kept while the other is broken. Love for God is not mere acknowledgment or outward worship but a living principle of willing obedience with the heart's highest affection, which rules out every idol and makes it impossible to claim full love while breaking the Sabbath command at the center of the law. The answer therefore calls every soul away from formalism to practical godliness, to deeds of mercy, tender courtesy to the burdened, and words of hope that reach the ignorant through sympathy, with obedience rendered as children in filial love rather than slavish fear.
Setting and Spoken Answer
The question was put by a learned lawyer and scribe as part of an artful attempt to entangle Jesus and turn His answer against Him in order to find grounds to accuse Him. It arose at a time when the first four commandments were ranked above the last six, treating the commandments as competing and unequal duties rather than as a united whole.
Christ met the ensnaring question with a plain and intelligent answer that brought precious light to the people and sowed seeds of truth among them. That plain utterance stands as the voice of God to every soul.
He answered that love for the Lord God with all the heart and soul and mind is the first and great commandment, and that love for one's neighbor as oneself is the second like unto it. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Together they contain every principle of the Decalogue and the whole duty of fallen humanity.
That answer repeated the requirement God had given to Israel centuries before. From age to age He had repeated it by His servants to those in danger of falling into formalism and forgetting mercy.
Twofold Love Fulfills Law
The two commandments named in answer to which is greatest together hold every principle of the Ten Commandments and the whole duty of fallen humanity, and supreme love to God with unselfish love to people displays the perfection of human character. The Ten Commandments proclaimed at Sinai are the standard of obedience defining that duty. Their first four precepts set forth duty to God and their last six set forth duty to fellow people.
Every commandment is bound to the others, so to break one is to violate their united principles. Neither of the two great principles can be kept while the other is broken, for love to God cannot live alongside hatred of one's brother. Faithful love to God leads on to keeping the duties owed to others. That love to God is more than acknowledging His power or rendering outward worship; it is a living principle seen in willing obedience to all His requirements and in giving Him the heart's highest affections. As such it shuts out all idolatry, including putting self, the world, or any created thing before Him.
The two principles carry the binding force of the whole law and of all the moral precepts in the prophets, so that wherever they are brought into the gospel all that hangs on them is brought into the gospel. Belief alone is therefore not enough; a person must be a doer of the law. Love to God is shown by obedience to His commandments, and it is impossible to love Him with the whole heart while breaking the fourth commandment. That precept stands in the center of the Decalogue.
Call to Practical Obedience
The question about which is greatest was answered by love to God with the whole heart and soul and mind as the first and great commandment, and love to neighbor as self as like it, on which hang all the law and the prophets. That answer turns people away from formalism toward practical godliness, mercy and love. It repeats the requirement given to Israel centuries before and repeated from age to age to those in danger of falling into formalism and forgetting mercy. Its substance is just, merciful, humble, wholehearted love and obedience.
As the voice of God to every soul, the answer calls for losing no opportunity to perform deeds of mercy. It calls for tender forethought and Christian courtesy for the burdened and oppressed. It calls for speaking words of courage and hope to those unacquainted with God, who are reached most easily by sympathy and love.
Love is the central light of God's commandment, and in the light of that love the gospel is clear. True disciples receive Christ's pure, unselfish love and therefore do not deceive others or act for personal advantage to their distress. Unless minds and hearts are filled with that sanctified love, they are vulnerable to self-deception and Satan's temptations.
Love to God is shown by obedience to His commandments, and it is impossible to love God with the whole heart while breaking the fourth commandment, which stands in the center of the Decalogue. The call is to obedience as a family of obedient children with filial and not slavish fear. When duty is pointed out the light must be walked in, for probation is given to test willingness, and God will not compel obedience but requires harmonious walking with His requirements. To claim to love Him without obeying shows His love not perfected in the claimant, and to decree His law not worthy to be kept makes one His enemy. Obedience fits for eternal life, with reward promised to the obedient and punishment to the disobedient.
A hostile legal expert asked which commandment outranks the rest, hoping to twist the reply into a charge, at a time when the first four duties were set above the last six as if obedience could be divided. He answered with plain authority that wholehearted devotion to God is the first and greatest duty and that caring for one's neighbor as oneself is the like second, and that the entire law and the prophets rest on these two. Together they hold every principle of the Ten Commandments and the whole duty of fallen humanity, the first four defining duty to God and the last six defining duty to people, so that neither love can be kept while the other is broken. Love for God is not mere acknowledgment or outward worship but a living principle of willing obedience with the heart's highest affection, which rules out every idol and makes it impossible to claim full love while breaking the Sabbath command at the center of the law. The answer therefore calls every soul away from formalism to practical godliness, to deeds of mercy, tender courtesy to the burdened, and words of hope that reach the ignorant through sympathy, with obedience rendered as children in filial love rather than slavish fear.
Setting and Spoken Answer
The question was put by a learned lawyer and scribe as part of an artful attempt to entangle Jesus and turn His answer against Him in order to find grounds to accuse Him. It arose at a time when the first four commandments were ranked above the last six, treating the commandments as competing and unequal duties rather than as a united whole.
Christ met the ensnaring question with a plain and intelligent answer that brought precious light to the people and sowed seeds of truth among them. That plain utterance stands as the voice of God to every soul.
He answered that love for the Lord God with all the heart and soul and mind is the first and great commandment, and that love for one's neighbor as oneself is the second like unto it. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Together they contain every principle of the Decalogue and the whole duty of fallen humanity.
That answer repeated the requirement God had given to Israel centuries before. From age to age He had repeated it by His servants to those in danger of falling into formalism and forgetting mercy.
Twofold Love Fulfills Law
The two commandments named in answer to which is greatest together hold every principle of the Ten Commandments and the whole duty of fallen humanity, and supreme love to God with unselfish love to people displays the perfection of human character. The Ten Commandments proclaimed at Sinai are the standard of obedience defining that duty. Their first four precepts set forth duty to God and their last six set forth duty to fellow people.
Every commandment is bound to the others, so to break one is to violate their united principles. Neither of the two great principles can be kept while the other is broken, for love to God cannot live alongside hatred of one's brother. Faithful love to God leads on to keeping the duties owed to others. That love to God is more than acknowledging His power or rendering outward worship; it is a living principle seen in willing obedience to all His requirements and in giving Him the heart's highest affections. As such it shuts out all idolatry, including putting self, the world, or any created thing before Him.
The two principles carry the binding force of the whole law and of all the moral precepts in the prophets, so that wherever they are brought into the gospel all that hangs on them is brought into the gospel. Belief alone is therefore not enough; a person must be a doer of the law. Love to God is shown by obedience to His commandments, and it is impossible to love Him with the whole heart while breaking the fourth commandment. That precept stands in the center of the Decalogue.
Call to Practical Obedience
The question about which is greatest was answered by love to God with the whole heart and soul and mind as the first and great commandment, and love to neighbor as self as like it, on which hang all the law and the prophets. That answer turns people away from formalism toward practical godliness, mercy and love. It repeats the requirement given to Israel centuries before and repeated from age to age to those in danger of falling into formalism and forgetting mercy. Its substance is just, merciful, humble, wholehearted love and obedience.
As the voice of God to every soul, the answer calls for losing no opportunity to perform deeds of mercy. It calls for tender forethought and Christian courtesy for the burdened and oppressed. It calls for speaking words of courage and hope to those unacquainted with God, who are reached most easily by sympathy and love.
Love is the central light of God's commandment, and in the light of that love the gospel is clear. True disciples receive Christ's pure, unselfish love and therefore do not deceive others or act for personal advantage to their distress. Unless minds and hearts are filled with that sanctified love, they are vulnerable to self-deception and Satan's temptations.
Love to God is shown by obedience to His commandments, and it is impossible to love God with the whole heart while breaking the fourth commandment, which stands in the center of the Decalogue. The call is to obedience as a family of obedient children with filial and not slavish fear. When duty is pointed out the light must be walked in, for probation is given to test willingness, and God will not compel obedience but requires harmonious walking with His requirements. To claim to love Him without obeying shows His love not perfected in the claimant, and to decree His law not worthy to be kept makes one His enemy. Obedience fits for eternal life, with reward promised to the obedient and punishment to the disobedient.