What's most important in Life?

Larry Johnson

Middlebelt Baptist Church

Worship • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

Matthew 22:34–40

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Introduction:

Now

3 questions meant to entangle Jesus

-Several weeks ago we talk about the Great Commission, now we will discuss the Great Commandments

-Life has a way of getting away from us sometimes

-We get busy, we don’t slow down and self-assess

-Satan primary tool in a christian life is not killing and murder; it is just simple “distracting” us from our primary focus.

-All of us have been guilty of looking back over our life and saying “what was I thinking about for that 2-year period” …I let less important things distract me from what should be my highest priority

-Those who are most successful in the Christian life are those people who are able to cut through minor issues and problems, and keep their eyes on the bigger picture.

Thriving tradesmen are early risers, and thriving saints seek Jesus eagerly. Those who find Jesus to their enrichment give their hearts to seeking him. We must seek him first, and thus earliest. Above all things Jesus. Jesus first, and nothing else even as a bad second....Charles Spurgeon

-When we lose our way the best way to get back on course is to get back to the fundamentals.

-every human problem is ultimately relational… There are two most fundamental questions that every person must grapple with: What is the status of my relationship towards God? What is the status of my relationship to my fellow man?

Then

(No Support)

-This critical three question narrative starts in (v.15) and goes to (v.45)

-(v.15-22) The Herodians ask about paying taxes to Caesar

-(v.23-32) Sadducceas ask Jesus about Levirate Marriage question

Final Question

-(v.34) The Pharisees saw how Jesus just rip up the Herodian’s, and the Sadducees so they sent their very best to trip Jesus up and that was a lawyer (schooled in the law, logic & debating) this question was probable discussed among all the Pharisees but the Lawyer was the one who asked it.

What is the great commandment in the law?

-(v.36) What is the great commandment in the law?

What is the great commandment in the law?

-(v.36) In this question they were looking for Jesus to pick and choose what part of the law is important and what part of the law is less important. Then they would charge him with abolishing the law. Based on what Jesus said during the sermon on the mount

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Matthew 5:17–19 NASB95

17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

This is the great question in their minds that Jesus can’t answer without getting himself in trouble.

…..This is a great question….in their minds Jesus can’t answer this without getting himself in trouble.

-Jesus answers:

Matthew 22:37–40 NASB95

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 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

matthew 22:

Matthew 22:37–40 NASB95

Matthew 22:37–38 NASB95

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.

-Rather than pick and choose two commandments, Jesus summarized the whole thing in two principles. In other words, if you are proficient in these two, then you will have meet the standards of the whole Law.

matthew 22:3

“37And 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“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Always

-the OT law hinges on the principles that God is our highest priority and our neighbors are second.

I. God our First Priority

() “37And 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

Matthew 22:37–38 NASB95

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.

-The Pharisees were used to rules and regulations.

-They knew how to follow job descriptions, and they knew how to make everyone else’s follow the same rules….traditions

-They knew religion, but they did not understand relationships. They were very cold lifeless.

-They forgot that they were in the people business.

-Jesus says in (v.37) “you shall love”…..define love-agape…this is more than affection, emotions & feelings. This is a decision of the will.

Love according to the dictionary is: An intense feeling of deep affection

a. That word “love” according to a Western Society…is rooted in emotions & feelings. Technically there is nothing wrong with Love leading to emotions, but often Western understanding of love begins and ends with emotions.

Dictionary Defintion of

1. We love BBQ ribs, we love shopping, we love watching football, we love our children, we love our wives, we love our friends with all different varying intensity but we use the same word to describe them.

-This lets you know that the word Love can be poorly misused and misunderstood and it is imperative that we define it right as we look at this text…..Biblical Love involves tangible acts of proven love; it is something we demonstrate.

“8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8 NASB95

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

-The way Jesus is using the word is of the highest intensity that you can imagine….The human relationship that gets the closest is a marriage. This love is not a feeling; it is not primarily emotional. It is a decision of the will.

-(v.8) demonstrates-to set or place before or to cause something to be known by action.

-In this text Jesus is quoting a scripture that the Jews recited everyday it is in:

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Deuteronomy 6:4–9 NASB95

4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

-The Pharisees knew this verse, but they did not practice its principles.

-The Pharisees knew these verses, but they did not practice its principles.

-The Pharisees knew this verse, but they did not practice its principles.

a. The Pharisees knew this scripture in their head, but did not accept it in their soul….Love of God should supersede your love for anything else(Idols). Their Idols were religious control & money.

What was John the Baptist response to Jesus coming on the scene?

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John 3:27–30 NASB95

27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. 28 “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ 29 “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. 30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.

-I am going to get out of his way.

-(v.37) “You shall love the Lord with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” This command by Jesus is a challenge for us to commit our Hearts(emotions), Soul(will) and our Mind(intellect) to agape(love) the Lord…..Or simple put him first in all that we do.

-John responded like this because he was consumed with love for God, and he wanted his Son to be exalted. John put love of God over personal popularity or personal gain.

a. Emotion-As you grow in the Lord you will learn how to control your emotions to always give glory to God.

b. Soul-The soul or will is the place we decided to go forth into a direction against our feelings and emotions.

c. Mind-We are love to learn more things about our Lord, and to have our mind stretched by his immenseness.

Application

How does God measure our love towards him?

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Exodus 20:3–6 NASB95

3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

“3“You shall have no other gods before Me. 4“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments

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(Jesus) “15“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

John 14:15 NASB95

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

(Jesus) “15“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

-Heart, soul and mind love for Christ must infiltrate every area of our being. Our affections, our plans, our will, our mindset, and our heart should all be pointed to Christ

-Idolatry is a form of spiritual adultery committed against God, which takes our focus off Christ and places onto another lover.

You ever wonder why your passion for God is not there, or you don’t sense his presence?

-I can tell you with absolute certainty it can be because you are in love with something or someone else, God did not create you to be able to love two things with the same intensity.

I can tell you with absolute certainty it can be because you are in love with something or someone else, God did not create you to be able to love two things with the same intensity.

Love for Football as a Child and a College Student

Transition statement-Our Love for God should be of the greatest intensity, and then that love will spill over to all of our human relationships.

Transition Statement

-Right vertical relationship automatically leads to Right horizontal relationship

II. Neighbors our Second Priority

Matthew 22:38–40 NASB95

38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

matthew 22:38-40

-First look at (v.38), Jesus is putting a clear priority in the importance of the first and greatest commandment. He is setting a precedent.

a. Yahweh(God) must have the preeminence (v.38) you cannot rightly relate to others if he is not your first true love.

b. You shall have no other Gods before me (no created things shall be in between you and me)

-(v.39) Jesus then moves to the second greatest commandment and that is “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”

-The Pharisees understood how to make people obey laws and rules. They understood how to create societal hierarchy with them sitting at the top, but they did not know how to lovingly lead the people in discipleship towards a closer walk with God(relational). They only cared about their own authority. This is why they sought to kill Jesus because he was cutting the legs off their authority.

I'm cautious of Christians that care more about correcting believers than they do Making Disciples!!!

-The Law had become cold a set of rules and instruction to follow, and in case of any disobedience the Pharisees love to drop the hammer on the condemn….Look at the Second half of the Law and explain…

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Exodus 20:12–17 NASB95

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

-Jesus was clarifying what the Law’s original intent was, and that is freedom within the context of loving boundaries. The boundaries (rules) were set up for a person good, so that they may serve God and each other freely.

-Imagine a world where:

a. Everyone Honored their Father and Mother

b. Did not commit murder

c. Stayed sexually committed in their marriages.

d. No stealing of your neighbors possessions, ideas, or property

e. No jealousy of your neighbors possessions, relationships, nor successes.

Who is your neighbor?

Those who are closest to you should get the greatest intensity of your love. Just like a fireplace warms those that are closest to the fire. The closer you are to the fire the more you feel it’s warmth.

a. Wife/Husband---Children---your saved family members-----church family-----Unsaved family members, the world, and your enemies.

What happens when loving of a person collides with loving of God?

luke 10:38-42 support

-Jesus sets the precedent that the Law is built upon the principles of a Love relations starting with Jesus then flowing to those people closest to you and working their way outward.

Luke 10:38–42 NASB95

38 Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

What was the lesson taught?

-In that moment it was better to feed the soul than feed the stomach.

-This tells me that our bottom lines obedience to God supersedes our service to man.

-Jesus sets the precedent that the Law is built upon the principles of a Love relations starting with Jesus then flowing to those people closest to you and working their way outward.

OT & NT scriptures concerning loving your neighbor:

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---18You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:18 NASB95

18 ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.

-----“8Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

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Romans 13:8–10 NASB95

8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

“8Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

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- “35“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 13:35 NASB95

35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

“35“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

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----“20If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

John 15:12 NASB95

12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

“20If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

Application/Conclusion

Married folks besides God your highest priority should be your spouse.

2. Wives the word tells you “to respect” your husband. You are to treat your husband with the highest respect even when he does not deserve it.

Children besides God your highest priority should be to honor your Parents.

3. Children are you obeying your parents, which is the greatest demonstration of your love for them.

Church family besides God your highest priority is the person sitting next to you in the pews.

4. Church are we loving each other in Christ or are we just like the world. I love people who love me back.

Lets us esteem others more than ourselves.

4. Satan will bring problems in your relationship with God, because he knows that if you and God’s relationship is damaged that will automatically lead to broken human relationships.

6. Satan knows that if he can cause problems in your vertical relationship, then by default you will also have problems in your horizontal relationships.

5. If you are having problems in your human relationships, check your relationship with God first.

“It is a good rule never to look into the face of man in the morning till you have looked into the face of God; and equally a good rule always to have business with heaven before you have any business with earth.” Charles Spurgeon