Great Commandment
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. … Love your neighbour as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matt 22:37-40)
Towards the end of his life on earth, Jesus Christ received lots of challenging puzzles and questions from his rival leaders religious and political, in order to ensnare him and land him in fatal trouble. He not only beat them hands down but also used this opportunity to further advance his message: The opportunity for Jesus to teach about the great commandment came when a Pharisee expert in the Law tested him with the question: ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?’ A case of weighing the Law; we will also encounter Jesus and the Law, Love in the Law and Grace for the Law.
Is it possible to determine which sin is greater than the other, or which law is greater than the other? Which is the worse evil: idolatry or dishonouring parents? Bearing false testimony or murder? Weighing the law has been a common human dilemma even before Jesus’ time. The above question that the Pharisees asked was both for serious testing and for understanding. They came to the right man indeed: When we read the gospels and consider Jesus and the Law, we can competently conclude that Jesus is the perfect interpretation of the Law. In his earlier teachings he explained and brought fresh meaning from many laws the Jews had always held religiously. Here again he answers wisely regarding the greatest commandment: Love the Lord your God… Love your neighbour.
Love in the Law: though it had become such a burdensome task, the Law in its original version had always been full of love – Jesus quoted from Deut 6:5 and Lev 19:18 to form the Great Commandment. More so, God introduced himself to Moses as: “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.” (Exod 34:6-7) This love demands our greatest meditation and commitment. The Love Commandment is not just the greatest (as though there were lesser laws as compared to this); rather it is the summary: “These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt 22:40 AMP) ‘The Law and the Prophets’ is a representation of almost the entire Old Testament!
But how can we keep the Law faultlessly? Simple answer: Grace for the Law. Francis Frangipane notes this: ‘If you hear a teaching and feel as though it were unattainable in your condition, you have only heard half the message. You missed the grace that is always resident in the heart of God’s truth. Truth without grace is only half-true. What God’s truth demands, His grace will provide.’ As we pay attention to the Great Commandment, renew your commitment to and continue always in this Love.
God bless you.