Good evening. Great is His faithfulness.
Matthew 22:34-40
The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All?
34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment.39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
The Pharisees were hypocrites who expected more from the people of Israel than what God expected out of His people. The Pharisees found 613 commandments in the Scriptures and would debate over which ones were central. Jesus comes and sets forth the FIRST AND THE SECOND, and these constitute a grand summary of the LAW. The lawyer came with malice to test the Lord, we know from St. Mark's account that this man is converted by Christ's answer - (Mark 12:28-34).
Mark 12:28-34
The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All?
28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, [a]perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the [b]first commandment of all?”
29 Jesus answered him, “The [c]first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ [d]This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, [e]with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
But after that no one dared question Him.
As we see here in Mark, the response of Jesus to ONE OF THE SCRIBES, our Lord quotes - Deuteronomy 6:4, 5, the greatest confession of faith, called shema' - (meaning "hear", the first word of the confession). See v. 31, here He quotes Lv 19:18, He is combining what is already present in the OT to create a new understanding: love of NEIGHBOR is an expression of love of GOD. see Matthew 22:35-40 as another source.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5: 4 “Hear, O Israel: [a]The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Leviticus 19:18: You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Prayer Focus from the Devotional
Thank Him for the privilege of being able to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind. Ask Him to help you respond appropriately... to the extreme. Thank Him for being willing and trustworthy to govern your every move.
Moving Forward Questions from the Devotional
Is your default setting "AVERAGE VILLAGER"? What is something you can do this week to help shift your focus from your daily life to your spiritual life? Aren't we all average to begin with. Let's be real here when compared to our Creator we are nothing but flesh we strive to do good but still come up short. In a way we are all "average villagers" trying to find our way. Ask daily for His mercy this is enough for your salvation, don't worry about the average part. The next answer to the next question is this we shift focus from daily life to spiritual life is by adding a little more study and prayer time this week is a good start.
Are there areas in your life where you tend to feed on things of this world? Money, entertainment, food social media, etc? How does this hinder loving the Lord with all your heart? Yes, one area of struggle for me is rude comments on social media they cause me frustration. This struggle is from social media, it does hinder me from loving the Lord, but it's something I need to work on so it doesn't create more spiritual warfare.
Are there sins you need to hate more than you do? Ask the Lord to reveal what you needs to change in your heart, soul, mind in order for you to love Him fully. We are all sinners and fall short missing the mark daily. Don't be discouraged by struggles, but relish in them with joy. We keep changing by staying on the path towards Christ because our faith is endurance and those who endure to the end will be saved.
Numbers 6:24-26
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
26 The Lord[a]lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.” ’
In Christ Jared W. Campbell
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