- Lesson Two in the Connect360 unit “GC2 Strong: A Great Commandment and Great Commission Awakening”focuses on Matthew 22:35-40; John 13:34-35
The Pharisees saw Jesus as a religious threat to their movement, because Jesus was not legalistic.
Jesus was firmly committed to the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament of the Bible) but refused to paint the world as black and white.
Jesus viewed the world in color, as alive and vibrant and full of life. This frustrated the Pharisees, for the whole thrust of their movement was to become holy through merely obeying the law and Jewish tradition.
There was no room for variation, nor adaptation. Following rules and regulations became the controlling force of their lives rather than being connected to God by vibrant love and faith.
So, they phrased their question such that Jesus’ answer would affirm their commitment to rules and regulations.
Which is the greatest commandment in the law? Which commandment is superlative to all others?
They wanted the answer to be strict obedience as the magic pill that would ensure piety, holiness, and continued reliance upon the Pharisee’s example and interpretation of the law.
Jesus’ answer in Matthew 22:37-40 not only reveals his thorough grasp of Old Testament Scriptures, but it also demonstrates his ability to pull together commandments from two different books, then unite them as two halves of one whole law.
The first half of Jesus’ answer quoted in Matthew 22:37-38 is a quote from Deuteronomy 6:4-5: “Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
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This addresses man’s responsibility in our relationship to God. We are to love God with all we are, and all we have.
The second half of Jesus’ answer (from Leviticus 19:18), reveals man’s responsibility to “love your neighbor [other people] as [you love] yourself.”
Humans are created in the image of God. We are special to God, having the capability to have a personal relationship with him, and to have healthy personal relationships with other humans, whom God loves.
These are two sides of the same coin. If we love God, we will love those whom God loves—humans made in his image.
When we love other people because they are valuable to God, we are also expressing love to God who loves them and us.
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