The Greatest Commandment

Transcript

GR 722
9/29/1985
The Greatest Commandment
Matthew 22:34-46
Gil Rugh

The Gospel of Matthew and the 22nd chapter. The section that we'll be considering this morning in our study together will be covering: some very basic and foundational matters to Christianity, to a personal relationship with God, and to the faithfulness of our walk with Him. And these matters seem very basic to us as believers, but it's interesting to me that it's in these very basic areas that Christianity is being undermined today. The philosophy of the world is directly opposed to what Jesus Christ has to say. And the danger to us as believers is that that philosophy of the world is being picked up even by Christians. Some of the things we're going to have to say relate to matters that are being taught by professing believers and promoted over television and radio and through printed materials, the result of which, many Christians are being caught up in their philosophy without recognizing its roots and its dangers.

The setting for the section we're going to be looking at in Matthew 22 is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is only a couple of days away, and the enemies of Christ are marshalling their forces in an attempt to undermine His effectiveness with the people and to find an occasion to discredit Him so they night have Him arrested and executed. The various groups in Israel have come to challenge 14im--the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, the Herodians. They have all come and looked for opportunity to discredit Him before the people but unsuccessfully they keep throwing out question after question, hoping that He will answer one of them in such a way that they'll be able to take hold of that answer and use it as an accusation against Him.

Now it's important to see what Matthew is doing in light of the impending crucifixion. The Old Testament said that an animal that was offered for sacrifice had to be without blemish and without spot. Now that animal sacrifice was anticipating the coming of the Lamb of God. You remember that John the Baptist introduced Christ to the nation in John 1:29, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Peter writes in his first epistle in chapter I that "we are not redeemed with perishable things that we inherited from our parents, but with the precious 'blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot." What is being accomplished in all of these challenges and all of the questions being addressed to Christ is He is being demonstrated as the One who is without sin. He is the perfect unblemished Lamb of God, so that the nation and the leaders of the nation are driven to the realization that He is without sin. The conclusion that Pilate himself comes to in John 18, "But I bring Him out to you that you may know that I find no fault in Him." A declaration, even from His enemies, that He was the pure and undefiled and spotless Lamb of God.

These challenges to Christ are now brought to the fore by the Pharisees again. They had approached Christ shortly before in the person of their disciples along with the Herodians, and Christ had answered them brilliantly. Now they gather around Him again, and Mark 12 gives us an elaboration of what Matthew records here. We're told the Pharisees are gathered around Him asking Him all kinds of questions, and He is answering every question with great wisdom and perception. And in the midst of this environment, a lawyer comes up. And a lawyer was an expert in the Mosaic Law, who himself is one of the Pharisees and perceiving the wisdom in Christ's answers, he raises a question to challenge Him. And it's interesting that Mark in his account puts this young lawyer in a very favorable and positive light. In fact, at the end of this discussion, Jesus addresses this lawyer and says to Him, "You are not very far from the kingdom of God." So even in the midst of the antagonism and opposition, here comes one who perceives the wisdom and character of Christ in the answers He has given.

We read in v. 34, "But when the Pharisees heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence, they gathered themselves together." What they do is gather together around Christ. This was probably a mixed bag for the Pharisees. There had to be a certain amount of glee in their seeing the Sadducees silenced by Christ. He brilliantly dealt with the issue of the resurrection of the dead from the Law that even the Pharisees accepted as from God. He had demonstrated that a God would be no God who would be a God of the dead. He is the God of the living, therefore, emphasizing the fact that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are among the living anticipating the resurrection of the dead. But it also puts an added burden on the Pharisees. They are still without an occasion to discredit Christ. And in the midst of this, the lawyer raises the question in v. 35.

"And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, And the question is going to focus on the matter of the Law and the commandments in the Law. Jesus is going to use-this as an occasion to drive home what is the great responsibility of a man before God. What does God require of an individual? He asks, "What is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Now the rabbis had broken the Law down into 613 individual commandments. They went further than that. They said there were 233 positive commandments, and 365 negative commandments. Now they had some little boxes that they had put themselves in because they had some conflicts among their breakdowns and with their breakdowns they had made it a law. But nonetheless they had categorized it thoroughly. 613 commandments. Now which is the greatest? You put equal weight on all these commandments, how are you going to know if you're keeping them all, how do you pursue through them, is their any priority? Do I make a checklist every day of all 613 commands and try to evaluate every day in light of that? I wouldn't get anything else done. So the challenge comes, and one that the Pharisees wrestled with, What is the greatest of the commandments that God has given?

Christ answers very simply. You summarizes all the commandments of the Mosaic Law in one word, and that word is "Love." All that God commanded through Moses, all 613 commandments can be summarized in one simple word, "Love." And it's love directed toward God, love directed toward other people. So the command, "Love" in two parts-- love God and love people. That summarizes everything God has said in the commandments of the Law.
Note how Christ responds. Verse 37- Christ responding to the lawyer, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." Note those three all's repeated--all, all, all! There is a totality of my being to be involved in my loving God. "You shall Love the Lord your God," in effect, with all that you are, with the totality of your being. The quote is from Deuteronomy 6:5. Turn back there, because the context of the commandment is important. In fact, in Mark's account, Mark 12, we are told that Christ included the verse before the one quoted by Matthew as well. Matthew simply limits it to the one verse for his purposes, but Christ does emphasize the context. And this commandment to love God can only be under- stood within the framework in which it was given. Note verse 4 of Deuteronomy 6. "Hear, 0 Israeli The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." Now note. There is only one God, and you are to love Him totally. Now the command to love God must be seen in that context. There is only one God, so there is only One being who is worthy of the totality of my commitment of my love.

Look over in chapter 4 of Deuteronomy for this emphasis again. Deut. 4:35, "To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord, He is God- there is no other besides Him." Verse 39, "Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other." Then to chapter 6:4, "Hear, 0 Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!" There is only one sovereign God, only one true and. living God. That being the case, we are to love Him with all that we are. There's no room for a divided love. There are not two Gods or four or multiple Gods. There is one God, and He is to be the object of our total love and total commitment. Now we know from other developments of Scripture that this one God exists in three persons--Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There's going to be an emphasis on the deity of the Son in the same context in which Jesus is talking in Matthew 22.

Come back to Matthew chapter 22. Note this emphasis: "You shall love, the Lord your God with all your heart." If we try to divide these various expressions down--all your heart--the heart often refers to the total self. My whole being, then dividing it perhaps into two parts--,My soul which is some- times used to refer to the emotional part of my being-- and my mind, the intellectual part. So love the Lord with all your being--all of your emotions, all of your thoughts, everything you are. There is to be a focus, a narrow focus on the one true and living God, and you are to love Him. So two simple points: there is one God, and we are obligated, commanded, to love Him above everything el5e. That is the most important commandment that God ever gave to man--to love God. Now in light of that, if this is the most important commandment, that God has ever given where would you expect Satan, the enemy of God, to strike in his opposition against God? It would be natural that you would strike at that which is most important and most significant. The uniqueness of God as the only God. And that's exactly what's going on in the world today. Now that ought not to surprise us, but the influence that is creeping into the Church ought to be very disturbing. There's an emphasis that's about in the world today which stresses the Deity of mankind as a human being. A stress on loving yourself. The stress that you have all the powers and prerogatives of a god. You, in effect, are a god as a human being. Now the eastern religions with their gurus (no relation to Gil Rugh!), and we're familiar with them because they have infiltrated western society. You have a- number of leading eastern mystics and cultist leaders residing in this country with large followings. Now their concept of God is vastly different than the biblical concept. Their emphasis is that you can become a god by the developing of your powers and abilities to control and determine destiny and events. So these gurus set people up to what? To teach people how to meditate, how to get into themselves, how to cap the power that is within your own mind and your own being. And the appeal of that is, "You can become a god like Lhave become a god." I am amazed when reading how many men of scientific background have committed themselves to this eastern mysticism with the concept that you can learn to become a god from this god-man.

Now you say, "That's not surprising," and that's true. It has always been the desire of man to be God. How did Satan tempt Eve in the garden? "You shall be like God." Now that the world has this emphasis is not surprising. The thing that concerns me is that it has made its way into the Church of Jesus Christ, and even among believers who have professed to trust Christ and trust the Word of God, there is a growing acceptance of this concept without realizing perhaps what they are really saying.

Let me read you some quotes from some professing Christians, and I won't tell you who they are. Some of them you would recognize. I'll tell you on some of them what their position is. Here's one: "Mission: To find God. Method:
By finding oneself." You see that? The mission that we have is to find God, and the method to finding God is finding yourself. You see, instead of being turned out to one true and living God who is distinct and separate and apart from you, you turn in to look to yourself to find God. The quote goes on: "To under- stand God is finally to realize one's own godhood." then you understand God you find out that you have deity; you understand your own godhood. Now that man is not an eastern mystic--he is the pastor of a large Baptist church on the west coast. A book that has been published and accepted by some believers.

Another quote, and this man is a pastor. Again, not out of the way little sects that we think are tucked away in the holler some place. These are major centers of influence. The name "Christian" even appears in the title of this church. He says "I am an exact duplicate of God. When God looks in the mirror, He sees me. When I look in the mirror, I see God. Oh, hallelujah." Now that's blasphemy! You see what it's doing? It's taking a concept that for millenniums has been true in the mystic religions and the occult world, and now putting it in the framework of Christianity and saying that I have godhood within me. I am a God. A well-known television preacher says: "You don't have a God living in you, you are one." This is a well-known charismatic preacher. That's blasphemy. Now the natural follow- through . . . how does this come about, where does this emphasis come from? Well, if you are deity, then you have endless power. What you need to do is tap the power that is within you-, and here you see the root of this positive thinking movement--the power of positive thinking. That you have power within you, power to control, power to make things happen, power to control your destiny. How many management seminars are sponsored by large corporations with -the goal of developing a positive, mental image? The ability to see yourself -positively and to carry yourself positively? That's become a religion. That's not a form of successful management, that's a religious philosophy. It says, within you, you have unlimited power, untapped potential, and by turning within yourself and recognizing that power and potential , you can by exercising your mind control your destiny, control even those around you. Very appealing. In effect they're saying, You can be a god. You don't need a god outside of yourself controlling your destiny and controlling your world, YOU can control it. You, yourself. Look in the mirror and see yourself as you really are. It's blasphemy! Yet how many Christians are reading books on positive thinking and not realizing that this emphasis comes from the fact that we have death within ourselves.

But you note, the greatest commandment that God has given is that He is unique! He is God and there is no other! He's not God, and I am too! There is only One true and living God! He is the Sovereign Creator. He is the Sovereign Controller. And the destiny of mankind does not reside within man's minds, it resides in the hands of that eternal God! He controls; you don't and I don't! Man likes to think of himself as in control. As a god, he can control all events.
A failure to come to grips with this basic doctrine and to sift everything through what God has said in His Word is resulting in a doctrine that is so blasphemous that it's hard to believe it could infiltrate the Church and believers getting involved in it. You look at the titles of some books published by Christian publishers and read the content of it, and it's shattering. They are presenting a philosophy of pantheism where we are all deity, all gods. Is it any wonder there is confusion in the Christian church?

That's the greatest commandment God has given, and that's where Satan focuses his attack. "There isn't one true God, sovereign and lord. that you must worship. You are a god! You have a limitless power to control your world, your events. You have limitless power if you will exercise your mind to make yourself wealthy and well."

He goes on to the second commandment. What's the second greatest commandment? Verse 39 of Matthew 22, "The second is like it, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." So the great commandment is love; the greatest commandment is love God and the second greatest is to love your neighbor as yourself. That's a truth from Leviticus 19:18. Now again we see the philosophy of the world encroaching. This command has been twisted now. What does Christ say? " Love God." What does the world say, "You are a God. Look at the power you have with- in you. Just learn to tap that power and utilize for the accomplishing of your own purposes." The second greatest commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself." What does the world say? "You can't love your neighbor until you learn to love yourself." So Christ must have missed the point here? How many books and messages have been presented under the guise of Christianity with the idea you need to learn to love yourself? You need to develop self-esteem. You need first to build yourself up. Christ says, "Love your neighbor as yourself." That's a given. It is a characteristic of fallen human beings that they are self-centered. You know what? I never had to learn to love myself. I've loved myself since the day I came into the world squalling and kicking. My world centered around me. That's characteristic of fallen, sinful humanity that it loves itself. It's self-centered. If you don't believe it, God says it clearly. Ephesians 5:29, ",'4o man ever hated his own flesh." That's God's evaluation. No man ever hated himself.

I was interested in reading this week that a person who keeps putting himself down are the most self-centered people. Just sit and listen to them. They'll tell you all about themselves as they put themselves down. Pre-occupation with self is characteristic of fallen, sinful humanity. The Bible says you need to turn yourself away from yourself to God! What does Paul say when he writes to the Philippians? "Let each of you esteem others as better than yourself." What does that do to my self-esteem? The world tells me the starting point is to consider yourself better than others. If you want to get ahead in the world, you have to realize how much more important you are than they! How much more ability you have than they do. How much more you can accomplish than they can. And then I come to the Word and it says to think of others as better than yourself. Then you think you have a conflict? Who I am going to believe? The tragedy is that multitudes in the Church today are believing the world. So you have Christian psychologists and psychiatrists writing books telling you how to develop self- esteem. I can go and get a secular book from a secular bookstore and read about that. We've just taken it over now into the church and put it under the guise of Christianity. What's the emphasis in Scripture? Your pride is standing between you and God. You are a rebellious sinner under condemnation, and unless you will be humble yourself before Him and see yourself as the guilty, deserving condemned sinner that you are, there is no hope for you through all eternity. That's different from the message of the power of positive thinking Turn in and see yourself as wonderful. Turn in and look at all your wonderful traits. God says, "Turn in and see a defiled, sinful human being with a heart that is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things. Turn in and see one who does not do good; who is not righteous." The world says, "Don't see that! No, no.” It denies the reality of what God says about me. And you know what that makes me do-? I make myself god. God says I'm a sinner, wretched, and in rebellion against Him. The world says I'm wonderful and you should see yourself as wonderful. When I take the world's evaluation, I set myself up as god against God. And you see how Satan has subtly lured us as believers into his position where we set ourselves up as gods even though we claim to believe in the living God. "Love your neighbor as yourself." I look after myself, I take care of myself-, and we all do. Every single, last, fallen, sinful one of us do. God says there's never been a man who doesn't love his own flesh, love himself. We manifest it sometimes in strange ways. But that's the given Jesus is talking about "Love your neighbor just as you love yourself. Give yourself to your neighbor, do what is best for him." The world's idea is "Do what's best for you. Look out for #1." Jesus said the second greatest commandment God ever gave is to concentrate on giving of yourself to other people.

In Philippians 2 the example is Christ who willingly humbled Himself and gave Himself on our behalf. I'm very concerned that the twisted, distorted anti-God, anti-biblical theology is infiltrating the Church under various dress, and believers are gullibly adjusting, having classes in the church on how you can think more highly of yourself. We
ought to have classes in the church on how to think more wretchedly of yourself. What a truly wretched sinner you are. God has not called us to make sinners feel good about themselves, but to make sinners realize they are guilty and can be forgiven only by turning from themselves to God! We're in the process of making them feel better about themselves. Is it any wonder they have a resistance, then, to submitting themselves to God? I’m in control of my world, why do I need to submit myself to God?

Look over to Romans 13.' Christ speaks of loving your neighbor, and Paul amplifies it in Romans 13. Verse 8, "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law." You see, there's a debt I can never repay and that is, I am obligated to love you all the time. Which means I am willing to give myself for you, to sacrifice myself on your behalf, do what is best for you. "For this, 'You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,' and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself, Love does no wrong to a neighbor, love therefore is the fulfillment of the law." Love is doing what is best for the other person. So could I steal from you if I'm loving you? When I feel for you I am looking out for me. Do I covet what you have? Then I want it for myself and my attention is focused on me, not on you. So if I am functioning in love toward you, that takes care of all the other commandments because I am constantly doing what is best for you, looking out for your good. Not looking out for #1, as the world says, but looking out for you. That's God's perspective. You cannot have more complete opposites, and you see just how far Christians have wandered from the truth of the Word of God when they are accepting that kind of garbage. What's the problem? They don't take it and carefully sift it through the Word. Is that what God said? Where does God say in the Word, "Learn to love yourself. Build your self-esteem. . " Where does God say in the 1,4ord that you can control things by your own mind and the power of positive thinking? He tells me to set my mind on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. He doesn't tell me to set my mind on wealth, and by my setting my mind on wealth I can acquire wealth. You listen to the faith healers and see how they use this? It's through the mind and you're going to control events and you're going to make somebody well by thinking them well. Even medical doctors are now using these techniques which move them into the realms of witch craft and the occult. I don't doubt the supernatural happens, but I know it's not from God because that's not the focal point God gives me. The Word of God must be the standard!

Now within this framework, we must look at what Christ says at the end of chapter 22 because it fits in the context of what He has been talking about. The Pharisees are impressed. This lawyer, when he. hears this answer 'Mark 12, tells us, he tells Christ He has answered brilliantly. That is exactly the truth! And Jesus commends him saying, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."

But now Christ has a question for His questioner. He's been answering question after question, so now He turns to them with a question. Matthew 22:41 , "flow while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?'" This is one of those Bible quiz questions you like and the Pharisees love it. "Whose Son is the Messiah?" And the Pharisees answer, "The Son of David."
Second question, "In light of that fact, then how does David say in Psalm 110:1 (note verse 43) "Then how does David in the Spirit" and just underline that. You note Christ accepted the inspiration of tire Old Testament, that David wrote Psalm 11,0 under the control of the Holy Spirit of God. "How does David in the Spirit call Him Lord, saying, 'The Lord said to My Lord, sit at My right hand; until I put your enemies beneath your feet?' If David then cal Is Him 'Lord' , how is He his son?" Psalm 110, the most often quoted Psalm in the New Testament. Thoroughly saturated with references to the Messiah. It is Psalm 110:4 that tell us that the Messiah will be a priest "forever, after the order of Melchizedek."
The Melchizedekian priesthood of Christ. But in v. 1, "How could David say, 'The Lord said to My Lord, "Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool."?'" If He's Son of David, how is He the Lord of David? The Adonai. How can He be the God of David and the child of David? That's the question. How could He be the human son of David and the divine Lord of David? And they don't have an answer for that. We are told in v. 46, "No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on ask Him a question."

Now isn't it amazing that here is a Psalm that the Jewish leaders acknowledge is a Messianic Psalm referring to the Messiah. They recognized that it was the Son of David who would be the Messiah and they recognize that David is talking about that descendant when he says, "My Lord." You would think the Pharisees would now have opportunity to say, "We give up. Tell us." But they don't. They just keep quiet. You know the answer? There is a God-Man. The emphasis that has pervaded eastern religions for millenniums that is becoming prevalent in our own society has an element in it that is truth--there is a God-man. But the emphasis of Scripture is that He is totally unique! We are not all able to be gods. But the God who exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit at a point in time broke into the human race and God the Son became the God-Man Jesus Christ. So He was not only the physical descendant of David, true humanity; but He was and has been for all eternity been deity. And you have a unique event occurring. You have God becoming a man! Not seeking to be deity, but now being deity in a human body.

So Paul wrote to the Colossians and said, "In Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form." So this whole emphasis that you can become a god--and I'm interested in how much of it attacks the Person of Christ, because they're saying you can be just like Christ, and that's a lie from hell! Because Jesus Christ was the unique God become a Mad, and there is an inseparable chasm between the eternal God and His creation. Jesus Christ was unique and He is the only God-Man who has ever been and the only God-Man who ever will be! And this concept that you can become a god by meditating within yourself and developing those powers is the same lie Satan started out with--"You shall be like God." And sinful, proud, rebellious man latches on to it, because "that's what I've always wanted to begin with. To be God in my own world and have that sense of power! Of being in control. And not have to bow the knee to anyone. To emphasize my own worth and value. To concentrate on my own importance and asserting myself over others. That has always appealed to fallen, sinful humanity and the emphasis and method of God has always been, I am the true and living God.

In grace He manifested Himself to mankind through the supernatural intervention of His Son, Jesus Christ, who became the God-Man, totally unique, that He might provide redemption for fallen, sinful, human beings. The message of Scripture is not “You are a wonderful being. You are of infinite value. You have limitless potential.” The message of Scripture is: “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no not one. There is noen that do good. All have turned aside.” We are in rebellion against God, and the only hope is that we come to recognize there is one true and living God, and His Son, Jesus Christ, has become a man and died on a cross to pay the penalty for sin. The only hope for fallen, sinful humanity is to start by recognizing their sinfulness—the exact opposite of the starting point of the world. May God plaque those Christians who are saying you need to start out by recognizing your worth. That is a lie that builds a barrier between an individual and God because only when you come to recognize that you are sinful, your wretchedness, unworthiness, the reality of your guiltiness before God can you come and humble yourself before Him and acknowledge you are a sinner, and cast yourself upon His mercy and grace and trust His Son, Jesus Christ who intervened by the grace of God to take your place to pay the penalty for your sins that you might be cleansed and forgiven and made whole.

Isn’t it amazing how we come to the basic commandments that God has given in His Word. To summarize all the commands He has ever given—Love God and love others, and we find the world has twisted and turned them around to say, love yourself as God, exalt yourself above your neighbor. And those who profess to believe the Word of God and to honor Jesus Christ are getting in line with the world that opposes Him. Is it any wonder there is confusion and disaster in the Church of Jesus Christ?

What is your relationship to God? Have you really come to recognize that He is the only true and living God? That He has become a man? That Jesus Christ was the eternal God become man? That there was a God-Man, there is a God- Man, that He is totally unique and special? He has provided redemption for sinners like you and me? The beautiful message of Scripture is, you are not wonderful, you are not beautiful, you are not lovely. You are filthy, vile and wretched, but by the grace of God you can be cleansed. I can be cleansed. I can be forgiven. I don’t have to play mind games to make my own fantasies to live in an unreal world. I can accept Gods evaluation of me and submit to the gracious salvation He has provided in Jesus Christ and know what it means to enjoy a personal relationship with the one true and living God.