Pentecost 23, 2005
Matthew 22:34-46
“The Greatest Commandment”
Grace, Mercy, and Peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Many things can happen when a group of people get together. I’m sure many of you have been a part of a group before. A Youth Group can do wonders for strengthening the faith of youth. A group of doctors together can help in the research of diseases. A group of builders can put up a building quickly. A group of volunteers can help in all kinds of different ways. Yes groups of people can have a great effect on others around them. As we see with the recovery of the Gulf coast groups are doing much good work.
Yet there are times when groups get together to do very bad things. Groups can start riots in cities. Groups can chaos in the streets. Groups can form gangs. Groups can harm individuals. Groups can get together to plan attacks. Even small groups of people that meet for a single cause are powerful enough to destroy buildings and landmarks.
In our text we hear that the Pharisees “got together” and met as a group. The reason for this meeting was the concern for this carpenter’s son…this Jesus that has all the people riled up and talking about the Messiah. This group met…and they were up to no good…in planning a way to trap Jesus…as the Sadducees had tried…and failed.
The Pharisees were all about God’s law…they had many that they supposedly followed. Confirmands…and all of you that have been in confirmation…if you thought learning the 10 Commandments were hard…you wouldn’t want to be a Pharisee. Along with the 10 Commandments the Pharisees had 613 laws to learn and follow. Imagine how confirmation class would be if you had to learn 613 commandments and their meanings… yikes!
So the Pharisees thought…the Law…that’s what we know best…lets question Jesus about the Law. “Teacher, they asked, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Love…is the greatest commandment? How can you command love? Really, look at our world. How many people out there truly show love to everyone? Love…isn’t just an easy thing to do. There are countless married couples that get divorces because they simply “fell out of love” with each other. How could this be the greatest commandment…for them…or for us…even if loving our neighbors as ourselves has come to be called the golden rule.
Love is hard. Loving others is hard. Even loving ourselves can be hard. We simply fail at love…all the time. Even when we try so hard…when we do our best…we still get into fights with those we love. You would think love would be easy to do. You can show a stranger love…by simply smiling at them or saying hello. Why is it…we fail so miserably at loving others?
We fail because we put other things first before God. We fail because we are selfish. We think of ourselves first. We think that our decisions only affect us. We fight with those we love because we do things on our own not thinking about how it would affect our loved ones. We work late all the time. We sneak out to go hunting, fishing, or golfing. We buy things here and there that we don’t really need…but wanted so bad. I may not be married…but I sure am learning how little things certainly have an affect on those you love. Even things we do that we believe are wonderful. Even things we think will be a hit with those we love.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart…is it even possible. Love your neighbor as yourself…but what if we don’t love ourselves. There are times when we don’t love ourselves…heck…we don’t even like ourselves. Sometimes its hard to look in the mirror. We know the sins we have committed. We know the hurt we have caused. Could our Lord be making a mistake here? No. Our Lord even supplements this commandment with “Love your neighbor as I have loved you.” See…this shows that Jesus made a mistake. No…for both of these commandments find their reason and cause in Christ. Love…whether it is loving yourself, your neighbor, your wife, or your God comes from God Himself. Love comes with faith…and faith comes from God.
Our Lord is speaking about the 1st Commandment. “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Yes, to “Love the Lord your God…” is the 1st commandment. Remember last week we were talking about coins…and I showed you a quarter. By loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind…we are following the 1st commandment. If we could keep God first in our lives…we would be able to keep everything in proper order…we would be able to love perfectly and correctly. If we could keep the 1st commandment perfectly we would have no sin.
Our love may fail…but God’s love does not. “God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God and God remains in him.” (1 John 4:16). “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) Something that I try to remember when planning my own wedding and married life…and something I try to tell couples that I marry… is that our love… the love that we share comes from God. Yes, our love is tainted but is made perfect in Christ Jesus. Our Lord has certainly showed us what true love is… “While we were still sinners, that is enemies of God, Christ died for us.”
Truly, to know Christ by faith is the door to love. To love God with all our being means to trust in Him and His promises because Jesus died for us. Faith and Love makes a person spiritual and causes him to walk in the Spirit. It is truly amazing to think about the gifts that God gives to us. We may even think of the fruits of the Spirit… “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” (Galatians 5:22-26).
God certainly is amazing. God gives us commandments and laws…and then gives us what He commands in Christ Jesus. God commands that we Love Him and trust in Him. God commands that we live a perfect life. God commands us to believe only in Him. And when we couldn’t keep any of these commandments…God gives us Christ.
One day a meat packer was asked, “What is your business?” He answered, “I am a Christian.” Rather puzzled and perplexed over the answer the inquirer continued, “Sir, you evidently did not understand me. I mean, what is your daily business in life?” “My daily business is to be a Christian. I pack meat to pay the expenses.”
Whenever you feel like you’re a failure and can’t look at yourself in the mirror. Whenever your marriages hit bumps in the road…and may even seem beyond repair. Whenever you and your children can’t seem to live under one roof. Whenever you feel guilty for not stopping to help the person on the side of the road. Whenever you see disasters or feel pain…remember that Jesus has taken all of these burdens onto His own shoulders. Jesus will not fail you now or ever. Jesus is love and has given you love to share with all those around you. Let the world know you are Christian by your love. Your love is your witness of faith and can touch many a persons heart.
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