“The Greatest Commandment”

(Mark 12:28-34)

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              In the materialistic and capitalistic society in which we live, it is easy for us to become captivated by the pursuit of money, power, prestige, fame and fortune.  Sometimes these pursuits create internal conflicts deep within us.  These conflicts can eventually cause us to become torn between loving God and the things of the world.  The love for God is often times given second or third place within our hearts.  Loving God then becomes a jargon we use in our conversations to appear truly spiritual.  In other words, our lips may say “I love God” but our actions, attitudes and lifestyles may not reflect this statement.

            However, God expects us to love Him with the totality of our being.  Similarly, God expects us to love our neighbour as we love ourselves.  We can not truly love our biological family, church family and secular community until we truly love God.

            Let me draw our attention to a passage of Scripture which clearly tells how we should love God and our neighbours.  Jesus was under constant scrutiny by the Pharisees and Sadducees.  These two religious sects constantly attempted to entrap Jesus so as to accuse and charge Him for various legalistic offences.  Jesus being part of the Trinity and very God knew their thoughts and intentions.             The Pharisees and Sadducees knew the Mosaic Law.  They were indoctrinated in the Law from the age of twelve.  The Sadducees were one of the Jewish sects.  The Sadducees were located largely in Jerusalem and made the Temple and its administration their primary interest.  This sect exerted powerful political and religious influence on the general population.  They regarded the books of Moses as canonical Scriptures and interpreted the Mosaic Law more literally than did the Pharisees.  Jewish rabbis and teachers counted 613 individual statutes in the Mosaic Law.  They attempted to differentiate between the “heavy” (great) and “light” (little) commandments.  To them, some were more important than the others.

            Therefore, in the text, we see one of these pious leaders asking Jesus a simply question, “Which is the first commandment of all?” (vs. 28, NJKV).  Perhaps the leader intended on asking the question this way, “Which is the most important commandment of all?”  Jesus answered the leader:  “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no other commandment greater than these.” (vss. 29-31, NKJV)

            Jesus knowing the commandments of Moses, began by quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which formed the beginning of the Jewish daily prayer, known as the “Shema”.  The prayer was named after the first word of Deuteronomy 6:4; in Hebrew it is “shama” which means “hear”.  The “Shema” became the Jewish confession of faith and affirmed the absolute sovereignty of God in all areas of life.  The “Shema” reveals how we should love our God.  God expects total response and commitment from those who claim to love Him. 

            According to the Scripture text we should love the LORD our God in four fundamental ways:

1. With all your heart – emotionally
2. With all your soul – spiritually
3. With all your mind – intellectually
4. With all your strength – physically

            These four fundamental ways indicate totality of one’s being.  Why?  We are a combination of all the above.  If we fail to love God in any particular area, it creates a void in one’s relationship with Him.  Love for God is only possible since as Christian Believers we have responded to God’s ultimate act of love – Jesus Christ His Son dying for our sins. 

            Our love for God is a result of an expression of faith, both for the individual Christian Believer and the Church community.  The Holy Spirit enables the Christian Believer to exercise love to their God and their neighbour.  The total love for God must be completely actualized in the life of the Believer.  It is almost impossible for us as Believers to love God in totality and not being committed to Him.

            In responding to the leader’s question, Jesus also quoted from Leviticus 19:18.  The Scripture emphatically states:  “…but you shall love your neighbor as yourself”.  The love for our neighbour is a natural and logical outgrowth of love for God.  It is hypocritical for a Christian Believer to claim to love God and do not love their neighbour.  Love must not be concerned with self-elevation and boasting, but to identify and trying to meet the needs of others.  Love is showing consideration for the “least among us”.

            So, it should be apparent that the basis of the greatest commandment must be love.  Having ascertained this truth, let me solidify what our responsibilities are, through a series of questions, to which we must personally provide the answers.  Who are our neighbours?  (Might I strongly suggest that these are the people whom we meet every day in our places of abode, in the streets and in the marketplace)  Do we love them enough to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them?  Are we too busy loving ourselves and ignoring those for whom Jesus Christ died?      

            Finally, I encourage us to love God and do not neglect loving our neighbours.  After all, to love God and our neighbours “…is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (vs. 33b) 

 Pastor Frank Douglas