The Necessity of Love Matt 22:34-40 SS Lesson for 04/18/2010

Transcription

1 The Necessity of Love Matt 22:34-40 SS Lesson for 04/18/2010 Devotional Scripture: 1 Cor 13:4-13 OUTLINE INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW AND APPROACH TO LESSON LESSON INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND From the NIV Standard Lesson Commentary From the Bible Expositor and Illuminator MAJOR THEME ANALYSIS LOVE THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT (MATT 22:34-36) The greatest commandment is sometimes tested (34-35) Testing of our hearts to ensure they are full of love for God (Deut 13:3) Testing of the sincerity of our love (2 Cor 8:8) Testing of our hearts to humble us (Deut 8:2) Testing of our love to refine us (Ps 66:10) Testing of our love through trials (James 1:12) Why love is the greatest commandment (36) Greatest because we should never neglect love (Luke 11:42) Greatest because it is the greatest virtue (1 Cor 13:13) Greatest because without love we gain nothing (1 Cor 13:2-3) Greatest because it is the only things that counts (Gal 5:6) Greatest because love binds all things in unity (Col 3:14) Greatest because it is God's command from the beginning (2 John 1:6) LOVE FOR GOD (MATT 22:37-38) Loving God with all the heart With all the heart through rejoicing (Ps 13:5) With all the heart through writing it in our hearts (Prov 3:3) With all the heart through being united in love (Col 2:2) With all the heart through a pure heart and sincere faith (1 Tim 1:5) With all the heart through obedience to God's truth (1 Peter 1:22) Loving God with all the soul With all the soul because God knows our afflictions (Ps 31:7) With all the soul through trusting God and being guided by Him (Ps 143:8) With all the soul through delighting in God's salvation (Ps 35:9) With all the soul through putting our hope in God (Ps 42:11) With all the soul through glorifying God (Luke 1:46) With all the soul through not forgetting God's benefits (Ps 103:2) Loving God with all the mind With all the mind because of what God has prepared for us (1 Cor 2:9) With all the mind by being united in love (Phil 2:2-5) Loving God with all the strength With all strength because God is our strength (Ps 18:1) With all strength because God is our help (Ps 28:7) With all strength because God is our stronghold (Ps 59:16) With all strength because God sustains us (Isa 40:31) With all strength through serving others (1 Peter 4:11) The Necessity of Love Page 1 of 10 SS Lesson for 04/18/2010

2 LOVE FOR OTHERS (MATT 22:39-40) How to love our neighbor (39) Love by not seeking revenge (Lev 19:18) Love by doing right (James 2:8) Love by building up our neighbors (Rom 15:2) Love by praying for others (Matt 5:44) Love through the power of God (1 Thess 3:12) Love because God has commanded us to (1 John 3:23) Love by doing good to others (Gal 6:10) Love fulfills the Law (40) Love fulfills the Law by summing it up (Gal 5:14) Love fulfills the Law through obedience to the golden rule (Matt 7:12) Love fulfills the Law through having a debt to love others (Rom 13:8) Love fulfills the Law through doing no harm to our neighbors (Rom 13:10) CONCLUSION AND OTHER THOUGHTS CONCLUDING THOUGHTS FROM THE NIV STANDARD LESSON COMMENTARY CONCLUDING THOUGHTS FROM THE BIBLE EXPOSITOR AND ILLUMINATOR PRACTICAL POINTS FROM THE BIBLE EXPOSITOR AND ILLUMINATOR HEART OF THE LESSON FROM THE BIBLE EXPOSITOR AND ILLUMINATOR Reason for the question (Matt. 22:34) Asking the question (Matt. 22:35-36) Answer to the question (Matt. 22:37-40) The Necessity of Love Page 2 of 10 SS Lesson for 04/18/2010

3 Introduction Overview and Approach to Lesson The concept of the lesson's outline came from The Bible Expositor and Illuminator. The lesson examines Love and the necessity of it. The study's aim is to affirm that without love we cannot keep the commandments. The study's application is to show that when we love God and our neighbors, we fulfill the law of God. Lesson Introduction and Background From the NIV Standard Lesson Commentary Broken Connections We live in a world of broken connections. Some of it is caused by failures of technology. Cell phones drop our calls; work stops when the network is down; a power outage interrupts our access to entertainment. These kinds of broken connections are relatively new in the timeline of history. Other kinds of broken connections are very old. Think of the inequities in society. Sometimes these are holdovers of racism; such may continue long after prejudicial laws have been revoked. Sometimes there is misguided nationalism, with hostility directed indiscriminately toward foreigners. Sometimes there is a great divide between the rich and the poor. The worst of the broken connections are very personal. Broken marriages set the partners adrift and put children in limbo. Old animosities fester against the boss, against the neighbor, against the inlaws. Many people just feel alienated from their own world, longing to connect with someone anyone! Jesus taught about two great laws that fix broken connections. The first law is to love God. Making peace with our Creator is the most important reconnection of all. The second law is to love our neighbor, whoever he or she may be. When people live out this kind of love, one by one the old breaks in life s connections can begin to disappear. Lesson Background During the second century BC, the influence of Greek culture began to infiltrate the lives of God s people in Judea. Many of them began to compromise their convictions, no longer keeping distinctive Jewish laws regarding food, circumcision, the Sabbath, etc. In order to call their nation back to God s ways, a group arose that called themselves the pious ones. This group tried to set a high standard of obeying every detail of the law as an example for the rest to follow. When they prayed, they prayed very publicly. When they tithed, they called attention to the fact that they even gave a tenth of what their herb plants produced. When they fasted, they made sure that people noticed. We know these pious ones better by their biblical designation Pharisees. They no doubt meant well in the beginning, but by the time of Jesus they had become self-righteous and hypocritical. Five times in Matthew 5 Jesus drew attention to the inadequacy of keeping the Law of Moses in a merely formal way, as the Pharisees did. Jesus gave an example of how true righteousness was more than mere legalism each time he said You have heard but I tell you. God was calling his community to something higher than mere outward compliance to a list of rules. In the final week before his crucifixion, Jesus successfully answers a number of challenges to his teaching. One of those challenges comes from the Sadducees, a sect of the Jews that does not believe in resurrection. They create for Jesus a question that shows their contempt for that concept: If a woman has been married seven times, they ask, which man will be her husband in Heaven? Jesus easily handles their challenge, explaining that in Heaven people will not be paired off in marriage (see Matthew 22:23 33). That is the immediate backdrop to our passage. Mark 12:28 34 is parallel. From the Bible Expositor and Illuminator The simplest reason for asking questions is to get information. The young child bombards adults with all kinds of "why" questions and never seems completely satisfied. The do-it-yourself handyman seeks as much The Necessity of Love Page 3 of 10 SS Lesson for 04/18/2010

4 information as he can to make sure his project will turn out right. The math student asks her teacher to explain a procedure again so that she can understand how it works. The patient asks the doctor about side effects of medication to avoid future problems. Another reason for asking questions is to make someone think. The skilled teacher, like Socrates of old, plies students with provocative and unsettling questions to help them think more deeply about things they have always taken for granted. There are also less worthy motives for questioning. Some students seek, by the nature and tone of their questions, to show how much they already know, showing off their knowledge. Opinionated people ask questions to get others to agree with them. Salesmen manipulate potential buyers through a series of leading questions. Then there are questions designed to trap and discredit a person. Jesus' critics often tried this technique with Him. Let us see how He responded. Jesus spoke to the religious leaders, in this case it was the Pharisees, and showed them that all their show of religion meant nothing because it lacked the underlying expression of love in all that they did. It is love, and love alone, that gets God's attention. He looks at the attitude of the heart. Incidentally, it is this same characteristic that also draws others to Jesus through us. As Christians, we often wonder about our faith and what is most important for us to do and to believe. Our lesson this week breaks things down for us and gets to the foundation of our faith, which is love. Love is absolutely necessary if we are to be the Christians we are called to be. Modern-day Pharisees in our churches seek to be righteous before God by scrupulously following all His laws and ordinances to the last detail. While we can admire them for their diligence, often we also see that such people lack the grace and love that we expect from those who are so active in church. As a result, sometimes we are turned away by that kind of show of faith. It smacks of legalism and lacks the element of love that stems from the heart of God. Major Theme Analysis (Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV) Love the Greatest Commandment (Matt 22:34-36) 34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" The greatest commandment is sometimes tested (34-35) Testing of our hearts to ensure they are full of love for God (Deut 13:3) 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. Testing of the sincerity of our love (2 Cor 8:8) 8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. Testing of our hearts to humble us (Deut 8:2) 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. Testing of our love to refine us (Ps 66:10) 10 For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. Testing of our love through trials (James 1:12) 12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. The Necessity of Love Page 4 of 10 SS Lesson for 04/18/2010

5 Why love is the greatest commandment (36) Greatest because we should never neglect love (Luke 11:42) 42 "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. Greatest because it is the greatest virtue (1 Cor 13:13) 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Greatest because without love we gain nothing (1 Cor 13:2-3) 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Greatest because it is the only things that counts (Gal 5:6) 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Greatest because love binds all things in unity (Col 3:14) 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Greatest because it is God's command from the beginning (2 John 1:6) 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. Love for God (Matt 22:37-38) 37 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and great commandment. Loving God with all the heart The meaning of this is, thou shalt love Him with all thy faculties or powers. Thou shalt love Him supremely, more than all other beings and things, and with all the ardor possible. To love Him with all the heart is to fix the affections supremely on Him, more strongly than on anything else, and to be willing to give up all that we hold dear at his command. With all the heart through rejoicing (Ps 13:5) 5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. With all the heart through writing it in our hearts (Prov 3:3) 3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. The Necessity of Love Page 5 of 10 SS Lesson for 04/18/2010

6 With all the heart through being united in love (Col 2:2) 2 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, With all the heart through a pure heart and sincere faith (1 Tim 1:5) 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. With all the heart through obedience to God's truth (1 Peter 1:22) 22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. Loving God with all the soul Or, with all thy "life." This means, to be willing to give up the life to Him, and to devote it all to his service; to live to Him, and to be willing to die at his command. With all the soul because God knows our afflictions (Ps 31:7) 7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. With all the soul through trusting God and being guided by Him (Ps 143:8) 8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. With all the soul through delighting in God's salvation (Ps 35:9) 9 Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in his salvation. With all the soul through putting our hope in God (Ps 42:11) 11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. With all the soul through glorifying God (Luke 1:46) 46 And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord With all the soul through not forgetting God's benefits (Ps 103:2) 2 Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits Loving God with all the mind To submit the "intellect" to his will. To love his law and gospel more than we do the decisions of our own minds. To be willing to submit all our faculties to his teaching and guidance, and to devote to Him all our intellectual attainments and all the results of our intellectual efforts. With all the mind because of what God has prepared for us (1 Cor 2:9) 9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" The Necessity of Love Page 6 of 10 SS Lesson for 04/18/2010

7 With all the mind by being united in love (Phil 2:2-5) 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus Loving God with all the strength With all the faculties of soul and body. To labor and toil for his glory, and to make that the great object of all our efforts. With all strength because God is our strength (Ps 18:1) 18 "I love You, O Lord, my strength." With all strength because God is our help (Ps 28:7) 7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him. With all strength because God is our stronghold (Ps 59:16) 16 But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold And a refuge in the day of my distress. With all strength because God sustains us (Isa 40:31) 31 Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. With all strength through serving others (1 Peter 4:11) 11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Love for Others (Matt 22:39-40) 39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." How to love our neighbor (39) Love by not seeking revenge (Lev 19:18) 18 "'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. Love by doing right (James 2:8) 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. The Necessity of Love Page 7 of 10 SS Lesson for 04/18/2010

8 Love by building up our neighbors (Rom 15:2) 2 Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. Love by praying for others (Matt 5:44) 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Love through the power of God (1 Thess 3:12) 12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. Love because God has commanded us to (1 John 3:23) 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Love by doing good to others (Gal 6:10) 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Love fulfills the Law (40) Love fulfills the Law by summing it up (Gal 5:14) 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love fulfills the Law through obedience to the golden rule (Matt 7:12) 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Love fulfills the Law through having a debt to love others (Rom 13:8) 8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. Love fulfills the Law through doing no harm to our neighbors (Rom 13:10) 10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Conclusion and Other Thoughts Concluding Thoughts from the NIV Standard Lesson Commentary The Letter of the Law There are several reasons why laws are often inadequate. Some laws are written badly, such as those that prohibit a certain act but provide no means of enforcement. Some laws are unrealistic and are sooner or later repealed. Other laws are just bad to start with. Rosa Parks saw a bad law, a law that perpetuated racial barriers. So in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, she defied the order to move to the back of the bus. Her action sparked the Montgomery bus boycott and helped to propel Martin Luther King, Jr., to leadership in the American civil rights movement. Bad laws and broken connections between people just seem to go together. Even good laws do not seem to be enough to achieve the ideals that society wants. That may be why some claim that You can t legislate morality (see our previous illustration). The more we depend on the letter of the law, with all its fine print and clever definitions, the less we seem to be able to achieve our goals. There is something inherently wrong with living a life that is made up only of the letter of you shall and you shall not in contrast with the spirit of those laws. The Necessity of Love Page 8 of 10 SS Lesson for 04/18/2010

9 The Spirit of the Commands God s people have been called to live together in love. Broken relationships with God and with other people can be repaired. Jesus came not only to enable us to have peace with God (see Romans 5:1), but also to make it possible for us to live in peace with others (see Hebrews 12:14). Living for God is not primarily about following laws written with ink or chiseled onto tablets of stone, but of honoring the laws of love written on our hearts. We do not walk by the old letter of the law, for the letter kills but the spirit gives life (see 2 Corinthians 3:3 6). As we connect with God and with one another, we demonstrate that the greatest thing of all is love. Concluding Thoughts from the Bible Expositor and Illuminator Deuteronomy 6:5, is traditionally known as the first, or greatest, commandment. This is reflected in the beginning of the Westminster Shorter Catechism's answer to its first didactic question, "What is the chief end (purpose) of man?" The answer is "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever." The idea here is that man's whole and sole purpose, as the humble creation of God who therefore belongs to God entirely by right of sovereign ownership, is to devote his whole existence to glorifying God. In addition (as if grudging but steadfast service to God's glory could be any sort of acceptable purpose for a man's life), it is essential to man's purpose to find his ultimate joy and pleasure in glorifying God. Note carefully here that if either aspect of this purpose is left neglected (either the glorifying of God or man's enjoyment of doing so), man is not fulfilling the purpose of God for his life. He is living in futility. Life would have no significant meaning or purpose, leaving the heart, soul, and mind empty, groping in uncertainty. It is interesting to note the slight difference between Jesus' statement in our text and the content of Deuteronomy 6:5. Whereas Matthew 22:37 parallels Deuteronomy 6:5 in using the words "heart" and "soul," it varies from it in substituting "mind" for the original "might" (signifying riches or the abundance of one's life, including talents and special abilities). The parallel passages in Mark and Luke include both "mind" and "strength." Each term has its own revealing significance in what the working out of this greatest commandment actually means. When we read that we are to love God with all our heart, we may think primarily of making God the focus of our emotions. This indeed is essential to the meaning, both in Greek and in Hebrew. But there is more. The ancients were fond of using the idea of a person's internal organs as a metaphor for the central, genuine core of his character. Thus, as a symbol, the heart spoke not merely of superficial emotion, but of true, deep feeling. These would be profound, visceral emotions, not mere whims or dalliances. Next comes the love of the soul. Once again, in both Greek and Hebrew, the meanings are very close. This is the inner being of a person, as opposed to his mere physical, material existence. It is also the force that sets apart living beings from inanimate objects and, likewise, human beings from animals. It is virtually identical to the spirit of a person. As such, it is a love that transcends physical death. The most interesting aspect in Jesus' use of the greatest commandment is His inclusion of the love of the "mind." We are no longer limited to mere blind obedience to an unseen mystery. As the fullness of God's revelation of Himself, Jesus commands us to engage our full mental understanding and imagination in loving and glorifying the Lord. Practical Points from the Bible Expositor and Illuminator 1. Those seeking spiritual truth can find no better source than Jesus (Matt. 22:34-35; John 14:6) 2. No question is too difficult for Jesus to answer (Matt. 22:35-36; James 1:5) 3. Neither time nor men can change the truth of God's Word (Matt. 22:37; Deut. 6:5) 4. Loving God is both man's duty and his privilege (Matt. 22:38) 5. Loving one's neighbor is not a suggestion but a duty (vs. 39) 6. A person cannot fully love God without also loving his neighbor (Matt. 22:40; 1 John 4:20-5:3) The Necessity of Love Page 9 of 10 SS Lesson for 04/18/2010

10 Heart of the Lesson from the Bible Expositor and Illuminator Teachers know that occasionally a student will ask a question that stumps them. The student may do it because he is curious, or he may do it to embarrass the teacher. The religious leaders confronted Jesus with questions in hopes of discrediting Him. One such question led to Jesus' answer about our need to love. Reason for the question (Matt. 22:34) The Sadducees had tried to trap Jesus with a question about the resurrection but had failed miserably. The Pharisees then gathered together to formulate their own plan to attack Him with another question, one over which rabbinic debate had gone on for years. They had no desire to receive a helpful answer. Their goal was to trap Jesus so that they could have something to use against Him. Asking the question (Matt. 22:35-36) They chose to send a theological expert in the law. They thought that would be intimidating. The same thing still occurs today when experts start questioning someone who is not as proficient as themselves. Jesus, however, was more than able to handle any challenge to His teaching. The question about the greatest commandment was significant. The Mosaic law was categorized into 365 negative and 248 positive commands, for a total of 613. Rabbis debated how to synthesize them into easily manageable standards of obedience. Christians often do the same type of thing, wondering how to summarize the Christian life into a set of rules or practices to follow. Jesus' answer to the lawyer's question not only spoke to the hearts of the Jews but is also an answer for us today. Answer to the question (Matt. 22:37-40) Out of the three challenges to Jesus in this chapter, His answer to this question is the most direct. He began with a quotation of Deuteronomy 6:5 and asserted that this is the great commandment. Each one should love God "with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Matt. 22:37). This was part of the great Shema, which pious Jews recited twice each day. Deuteronomy frequently emphasizes the importance of loving God (cf. 7:9; 10:12; 11:1) and makes it clear that loving God results in obedience and reverence toward Him. Jesus was not asserting that love is higher than the law. Rather, He affirmed that loving God is the essence of the law. The lawyer only wanted to know what the great commandment was. When Jesus said he was to love God, the lawyer probably thought that was the end of the answer. However, to love God was not the totality of Jesus' response. Jesus continued by quoting from Leviticus 19:18: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matt. 22:39). Some people may think that Jesus was commanding self-love, but that is not the case. People naturally desire to serve and care and seek the best for themselves. Jesus commanded that they have the same desire for others. The first command, to love God, summarizes the first table of the Ten Commandments. The second, to love one's neighbor, summarizes the second table. However, this is still not the conclusion of Jesus' answer. Jesus completed His response to the lawyer by slating that "all the law and the prophets" (Matt. 22:40) hang on these two commands. The whole Old Testament is summarized in these statements. Paul agreed that these are the summary of God's requirements for the Christian life today (Rom. 13:8-10; I Cor. 16:22; Eph. 6:24), the life that each of us should live. The Necessity of Love Page 10 of 10 SS Lesson for 04/18/2010