Mat 22:37-40 | KingComments | STEP | When the Pharisees hear of the Sadducees’ defeat, they meet in a crisis council. They must and will silence Christ. They try again, this time through a lawyer. He asks the Lord a question with the purpose of testing Him. He wants Him to choose which of the ten commandments ( ) would be the most important. He wants to entice Him to make a statement which he can use to accuse Him of detracting from the law. The Lord answers with two quotations from the law ( ; ). He quotes them fully to allow their power to sink into the lawyer. Then He says that what the law requires can be summed up in one word: love ( ). This love must go firstly to God and secondly to one’s neighbor. The commandment to love God is paramount. The second commandment, the love of one’s neighbor, is as important as the first, but the first is paramount. It is impossible to do the second without the first. That is why the first commandment is the greatest commandment. The second results from the first. The first without the second is also not possible, but the first does not result from the second. With His answer, the Lord has summarized the whole law and the prophets. His answer goes beyond the question. The lawyer is very limited in his thinking. He has ventured to challenge the eternal God. He has received his answer. This is where the interrogation ends. Everything has been judged and highlighted, both in terms of the position of the people and the sects among them. The Lord has reminded them of the perfect thoughts of God 1. about their condition: they are subject to the Romans ( ), 2. about His promises: He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ( ) and 3. on the essence of the law ( ).

‏ Matthew 22:37-40

The Great Commandment

When the Pharisees hear of the Sadducees’ defeat, they meet in a crisis council. They must and will silence Christ. They try again, this time through a lawyer. He asks the Lord a question with the purpose of testing Him. He wants Him to choose which of the ten commandments (Exo 20:1-17) would be the most important. He wants to entice Him to make a statement which he can use to accuse Him of detracting from the law.

The Lord answers with two quotations from the law (Deu 6:5; Lev 19:18). He quotes them fully to allow their power to sink into the lawyer. Then He says that what the law requires can be summed up in one word: love (Rom 13:10). This love must go firstly to God and secondly to one’s neighbor. The commandment to love God is paramount. The second commandment, the love of one’s neighbor, is as important as the first, but the first is paramount. It is impossible to do the second without the first. That is why the first commandment is the greatest commandment. The second results from the first. The first without the second is also not possible, but the first does not result from the second.

With His answer, the Lord has summarized the whole law and the prophets. His answer goes beyond the question. The lawyer is very limited in his thinking. He has ventured to challenge the eternal God. He has received his answer.

This is where the interrogation ends. Everything has been judged and highlighted, both in terms of the position of the people and the sects among them. The Lord has reminded them of the perfect thoughts of God

1. about their condition: they are subject to the Romans (Mt 22:15-22),

2. about His promises: He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Mt 22:23-33) and

3. on the essence of the law (Mt 22:34-40).