THE GREATEST COMMANDMENTS
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THE WISDOM of the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ is seen firsthand over and over again in the gospel records, as well as in the Spirit-inspired epistles that follow. Whether it is the Sermon on the Mount, any of His profound teachings during his ministry, or how he handled the questions of his insincere inquisitors that last week leading up to his crucifixion, our reaction is the same. Like the people back then, we never cease to be amazed (Matthew 7:28; 13:54; Mark 1:22; 6:2; 12:28,33; John 7:45,46; etc.)
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One question in particular that was thrown at Jesus that last week gets our attention for this writing. On the heels of the others with their feigned sincerity, trying to trip up Jesus, one of the scribes (lawyers) asked Jesus a question about the greatest commandment. "Then one of them which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus 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 first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:35-40).
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The greatest commandment involved loving God, and so that the whole picture could be seen, the Lord also told which was the second greatest commandment, loving one’s neighbor. We believe this twofold answer is very significant. It not only sums up "the law and the prophets," but also anticipates the New Testament where we find parallel thought and applications, only in a more amplified way. These are the twofold categories of love in which we are to exercise ourselves.
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The Commandments
And Their Practical Outworking
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In pointing out the greatest commandment, Mark’s account (Mark 12:29,30) more exactly identifies the Old Testament Scripture alluded to. It is Deuteronomy 6:4 and 5. The command to "love the lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might," is preceded with, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one lord." What is the significance of this statement? Even as God is one, (there is no other), their devotion to Him should be singular. He was/is the Supreme Deity. There are no others. He is everything. Therefore, they were to love Him with ALL of their heart, their soul, their might, etc. (their whole being). He was the supreme object of all of their love.
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The practical outworking of this commandment is implied in Exodus 20:1-17 in the giving of the Ten Commandments (and seen in Deuteronomy 10:12 and 13). Here God assertively identified Himself before giving the Commandments. This seems to be parallel in thought to Deuteronomy 6:4. The lord their God was one, singular, and obedience to the Ten Commandments should be accordingly. Now notice Deuteronomy 10:12 and 13. "And now, Israel, what doth the lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for good?" Loving God with all of their hearts would produce obedience to all of the other commandments of God. Therefore, in relation to the others, this commandment would be the greatest.
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The Ten Commandments can be broken down into two categories, the first directly involved God and the second, man. We have already noticed that the greatest commandment about loving God would produce obedience to all of the other commandments. The second great commandment, loving one’s neighbor as self (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39)), likewise would produce obedience to the other commandments that involved their fellowman. If they loved their neighbors as themselves, they would not kill, commit adultery, steal, lie, or covet, etc. They would treat them as they would want to be treated themselves. Thus, the second category of the Ten Commandments would be accomplished. So, we can easily see why the Lord would say this was the second great commandment. What great wisdom!
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An Amplified
New Testament Parallel
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As we turn to the New Testament proper, the injunction to love God and our fellowman are still intact, but only more so, expanded and amplified by greater spiritual depth and meaning. God is still the One Supreme Being who is to be the object of our undivided devotion. We still are to love our neighbors as ourselves. But Christ, the Son of God, enters the picture. In a sense now more fully revealed, we see that God is love, and God is our loving heavenly Father. As reclaimed children of God, we love our Father, and consequently love our brothers and sisters who are likewise children of the heavenly Father. Love of the brotherhood is inseparable from the love of the Father and the fatherhood of God. Loving the Father comes first, and all other love emanates from this. The apostle Paul calls love the "greatest" (I Corinthians 13:13), resonate of the words of the Lord Jesus. Further emphasizing the priority of love, Paul admonished, "And above all these things put on charity [love], which is the bond of perfectness" (Colossians 3:14).
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The apostle John makes it plain in I John 4:7–5:3 that love and love’s practical outworking come from the Father, who is love. John asserts, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." Jesus had said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). (On the day of Pentecost, "they that gladly received his word were baptized," Acts 2:38-41, and then "they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine," verse 42). John further elaborates, "But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him" (I John 2:5). Also, the practical outworking of the love of God is seen in loving our brothers and sisters. John questioned, "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?"(I John 4:20) Then he states, "Every one that loveth him that begat [God] loveth him also that is begotten of him" (I John 5:1). Paul says that we are "to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law" (Romans 13:8-10). Consider the 13th chapter of I Corinthians.
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YES, loving God with all of our hearts and loving our neighbors as ourselves are the greatest commandments, whether looking at it from the viewpoint of the Old Testament or the New Testament. From God’s perspective, the purpose of true religion will be accomplished when we do this. The commands are all inclusive. It will find us right with God and submitted in loving obedience to His will for our lives. What Divine wisdom! Truly this is a subject deserving of much study. Let us love as He would have us love, even as John admonished, "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth" (I John 3:18). May our love be real. Amen!
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