Scripture: Matthew 22:34-40
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him. 36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37 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. 38 This is the great and first commandment.39 And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."
Meditation: What is the purpose of God's law and
commandments?
The Pharisees prided themselves in the knowledge of the law of Moses
and the ritual
requirements of the law. They made it a life-time practice to study the
613
precepts of the Torah – the books of the Old Testament containing the
Law of Moses – along with the numerous rabbinic commentaries on the
law.
The religious authorities tested Jesus to see if he correctly
understood the law as they did.
Jesus startled them with his profound simplicity and mastery of the law
of God and its purpose. Jesus summarized the whole of the law in two
great commandments found in Deuteronomy 6:5 – "You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all
your might" – and Leviticus 19:18 – "you shall love your neighbor
as yourself".
What does God require of us? Simply that we love as he loves! God is love and everything he does flows from his love for us. God loved us first and our love for him is a response to his exceeding grace and kindness towards us. The love of God comes first and the love of neighbor is firmly grounded in the love of God. The more we know of God's love and truth the more we love what he loves and reject what is hateful and contrary to his will.
What makes our love for God and his commands grow in us? Faith in God and hope in his promises strengthens us in the love of God. They are essential for a good relationship with God, for being united with him. The more we know of God the more we love him and the more we love him the greater we believe and hope in his promises. The Lord Jesus, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, gives us a new freedom to love as he loves. Do you allow anything to keep you from the love of God and the joy of serving others with a generous heart? Paul the Apostle says: hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us (Romans 5:5). Do you know the love which conquers all?
"Lord Jesus, your love surpasses all. Flood my heart with your love and increase my faith and hope in your promises. Help me to give myself in generous service to others as you have so generously given yourself to me."
Psalm 107:1-9
1 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love
endures for ever!
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from
trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell
in;
5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them
from their distress;
7 he led them by a straight way, till they reached a city to dwell
in.
8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wonderful
works to the sons of men!
9 For he satisfies him who is thirsty, and the hungry he fills with
good things.