Daily Service: The greatest commandment(1)

Posted on January 5, 2023 by brucesbiblepage

Updated for Volume 18

I am doing this in 2 days because I want you to consider both of these commandments carefully. Jesus condensed the Law (500 plus individual requirements) that was condensed to the 10 commandments Moses carried down the mountain to just 2 that sum up all of them. So here is the whole passage and then we’ll talk about the first one.

Matthew 22:34-40 (ASV) But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, gathered themselves together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, trying him: Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets.

The main point I want to make about the first commandment is the setup in the verses before it. The lawyer didn’t really want the answer, they were trying to trap him with his words. But as before Jesus knew their hearts, and His answer pricks them. Love the Lord thy God with ALL your heart, ALL your soul, ALL your mind. No double-mindedness here. He is judging their motive and actions. Like the rich young ruler, they are condemned because they will not change.

And if you take the 10 commandments and split them in half, these two verses cover all 10.

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