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Matthew 22:34-46
Good News Translation (GNT)
The Great Commandment
34 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had
silenced the Sadducees, they came together,
35 and one of them, a teacher of the Law, tried
to trap him with a question.
36 "Teacher," he asked, "which is the greatest
commandment in the Law?"
37 Jesus answered, "Love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with
all your mind.
38 This is the greatest and the most important
commandment.
39 The second most important commandment is
like it: 'Love your neighbour as you love
yourself.'
40 The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of
the prophets depend on these two
commandments."
The Question about the Messiah
41 When some Pharisees gathered together,
Jesus asked them,
42 "What do you think about the Messiah?
Whose descendant is he?"
"He is David's descendant," they answered.
43 "Why, then," Jesus asked, "did the Spirit
inspire David to call him 'Lord'? David said,
44 'The Lord said to my Lord: Sit here at my right
side until I put your enemies under your feet.'
45 If, then, David called him 'Lord,' how can the
Messiah be David's descendant?"
46 No one was able to give Jesus any answer,
and from that day on no one dared to ask him
any more questions.
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Taken from 'word-on-the-web' supplied by
Scripture Union
The Greatest Command
We expect the final question posed to Jesus to be the most explosive, the one that demolishes his claim to who he is.
The Pharisees even bring out their key player, their top expert, to challenge him. Yet in the end this is no harsh test for Jesus. His answer is orthodox: the greatest commandment is that given in Deuteronomy 6:5 - to love God with your whole being.
When the Pharisees asked Jesus which was the most important of God's Laws (v 36), they were not just thinking of the Ten Commandments.
Orthodox Jews are expected to observe 613 mitzvot or commandments (which comprise the Law of Moses), as well as thousands of 'fence laws' that elaborate on them.
It was a trick question, but Jesus silenced them with a reply that was both simple and complex (vs 37-40).
These words were repeated daily by Jewish people as part of the Shema prayer.
God must come first.
What Jesus does that is interesting is that he immediately links this to human behaviour.
'Love your neighbour as yourself' (Lev 19:18) completes the dual focus of a life of faith.
Everything is summed up by these two commands.
Augustine's words 'Love God and do as you please' works for me as a philosophy for life.
Similarly, posing the question 'What would Jesus do?' helps when I'm faced with a quandary.
If I could see the world through God's eyes, if Jesus were to step into my situations, then I would know how to follow.
As it is, it is only through offering the whole of my being to him - my emotions, my spirit, my intellect - that I can begin to glimpse what life would be like with him in charge.
So to live with the nuts and bolts of acting lovingly towards those I meet and those whose lives I affect in a wider context must start with knowing God himself and his revelation to me in Jesus.
Finally, Jesus poses his own question: 'What do you think about the Messiah?' (v 42).
It is now the Pharisees who beat the retreat.
Without a word being said, it is clear that here is someone who offers them the biggest challenge to their authority that they have ever faced.
(Brian Radcliffe)
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