Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.

Matthew 22:34-23:12 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. ³⁵ And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the great and foremost commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”

⁴¹ Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: ⁴² “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” ⁴³ He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, ⁴⁴ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies under Your feet”’? ⁴⁵ Therefore, if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” ⁴⁶ No one was able to offer Him a word in answer, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him any more questions.

23 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. ³ Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and comply with it all, but do not do as they do; for they say things and do not do them. ⁴ And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger. ⁵ And they do all their deeds to be noticed by other people; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. ⁶ And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues, ⁷ and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by the people. ⁸ But as for you, do not be called Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ And do not be called leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ. ¹¹ But the greatest of you shall be your servant. ¹² Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Colossians 2:24-25 says: Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. In today’s text it says: When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”  All that we do for the Lord comes as a result of our love for Him. In truth, we do it not for the reward we will receive, but rather because of the reward we have already received, His love for us.  In John 14 :15 Jesus says: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”  We cannot claim to love God, if we do not keep His commandments. 1 John 4:19 says: We love, because He first loved us.  We can neither love God or love others if we do not first accept and receive His love for us.  Nothing else that we do really matters if it is not based on the foundation of love for God and others. All of our knowledge of scripture and even all that we do in Jesus name is meaningless if it is not based in love and obedience to His commandments.  1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says: If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory, but do not have love, it does me no good.

Today’s text says: Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and comply with it all, but do not do as they do; for they say things and do not do them. And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger. And they do all their deeds to be noticed by other people; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues, and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by the people. But as for you, do not be called Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest of you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” If we truly love God with our whole heart, soul and mind, we will have humility toward others. We will recognize that God’s love, the love that is the foundation of our love is undeserved. Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We then should recognize that those who are still in their sin are still those whom Christ died to redeem from that sin. Here is the thing, the world will call those who are in Christ hypocrites if they do not show love to others. Jesus agrees that love for others is foundational. It is what all that we do for the Lord should be established on. What the world gets wrong is that to love them does not mean that we accept or embrace their sin. If we love them as we love ourselves, our love for them is based in the fact that He first loved us, and that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 12:9 says: Love must be free of hypocrisy. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.  If our love for others is truly free from hypocrisy, we will detest all that is evil. We will see others as Jesus does, from the perspective of the cross, and we will join Him is saying: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)    

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, may I truly love You with my whole heart, soul and mind. May my love for others be without hypocrisy, humbly coming from the fact that You first loved us and that You died for our sins. May I not embrace the sins of the world, but rather may I encourage them to look to the cross, where they will see Your love demonstrated and hear You say: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”  May Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven… For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.