Sermon Tone Analysis

Slide, Psalm 119:105:

Introduction

Attention:

How many of you have to deal with “Protocol” in your job?

Any of you really good with AF protocol?

Alrighty, those who haven’t gotten into this yet but soon will—look at those hands…

Protocol is definitely big business with the AF, they devote an entire full-time paid position to it!

But it isn’t just the AF that cares about this, is it?

In international relations protocol is also a big deal!

Diplomatic protocol training will train people with the right attitude, manners, self-presentation, dress code, way of speaking, social etiquette, common blunders to avoid, and such, necessary to actually accomplish their mission!

The word Protocol comes from the Greek word protokollon, which means “First” (proto) “Glued” (Kolla)

This came from the early practice of forming scrolls where they would glue pieces of papyrus together

The protocollon was the first glued sheet on the document; It was...

the key to understanding the rest,

the page that framed an understanding of everything that would follow

While the term is applied to many areas today, knowing the etymology can help us understand that

Protocol is that first thing you should do before anything else.

You want to plan a retirement ceremony?

Have a squadron change of command?

Follow the protocol first, then add in the extra things that fit within that

The Protocol is that which we do first, before anything else

It is that which frames everything else to come

Big Picture:

Did you know that the Bible gives us protocol for our life?

God’s Word actually tells you that which must come first in your life, within which everything else must fit

It tells you that which should frame all aspects of your life (from how you think, speak, & live)

Slide, Title1: And this is what we are looking at today—God’s Protocol for your Life

This is what must come first in your life

This is what must frame all aspects of your life!

Any guesses out there as to what this is?

What must come first in your life?

What must frame all of how you live? (Hint: It is actually something that captures all of God’s commandments…) Allow responses…

Slide, Title2: Love!

To see this we are going to look at a discussion Jesus had with one of the Pharisees of his day

Slide, Thesis: As we do so, I hope that you will see…

We were designed for the “love of God” to frame & direct our entire life.

It is what we do first, before anything else & all other things need to fit within it!

Transition: Now, let’s begin to see what God’s Word has to say to this.

Verses

The confrontation between the Jewish leaders (Scribes, Pharisees, & Sadducees) & Jesus has risen to an extreme level

It was actually as early is Matthew 12:14 that you first see the Pharisees conspiring against Jesus, considering how to destroy Him.

And in just a few days, Matthew 26:4, you see the chief priests, elders, & scribes conspiring on how to stealthily arrest and kill Jesus

They aren’t quite at the killing point yet, in Matthew 22 they are actually just trying to publically disgrace and discredit Him by getting Jesus to say something that will get Him in trouble either with the Roman authorities or the Jewish people.

In Matthew 21 the triumphal & cleansing of the temple entry took place (Palm Sunday)

After spending the night in Bethany Jesus returns to Jerusalem the next day and enters the temple to teach

While there, the chief priests & elders of the people come to Him and question His authority.

This begins a dialogue where Jesus continues to teach through parables & interact with questions posed to Him in an attempt to discredit & disgrace Him

Just prior to today’s verses the Sadducees tried to outwit Jesus, but His answer to them bested them & effectively silenced them from any further attempts

Just after today’s verses, though, (spoiler alert),

Jesus turns the tables again on these leaders and asks them questions about the Word of God that draws attention to their false beliefs and hypocrisy!

And so we find this verse at the end of the chapter, “No one was able to answer him at all, and from that day no one dared to question him anymore.”

(Matthew 22:46, CSB)

2 Slides, Passage: But now let’s look at this small interchange before that—where a Pharisee scribe, seeming impressed by Jesus’ answer to the Sadducees (Mark 12:28-34), poses a theological test to Jesus; join me in Matthew 22:34–40,

Transition: In these verses we see...

Slides, Main Point 1a:

The protocol for our life: Loving God

Explain: Before we look into the meaning of this command, let’s consider the significance of the command…

MP1b: The Jews in Jesus’ day numbered all of the biblical laws to be 613 in total; they had a bit of a debate concerning which of these laws was “greatest,” as this questioning Pharisee asked (v36)

In Greek that word is “mega,” a word meaning, “the upper range on a scale of extent”

It showed “the intense, highest degree of one thing over all others of the same category”

Jesus shares that loving God with your all (a quote from Deut 6:5) is the mega command, the command of a higher degree than any others

MP1c: Jesus goes on to say that loving God is not just the greatest command, it is also “the most important”

This is the Greek word proto, meaning the ‘first in a series of 2 or more’

In our opening talk we heard that this is a root of the word prototype

MP1d: This means that all other commands or moral rules are defined by it & must fall under & within it.

So, if you want to live a life obedient to God…

MP1e: Loving God must direct every life decisions!

It must come first in all parts of our lives!

Furthermore, at the end of sharing this mega-proto law & its companion, Jesus shares that “All the Law and the Prophets depend (or “hang”) on these two commands.”

(v40)

MP1f: In other words, following this command fulfills all of the Old Testament requirements…

From the Law, to the History, to the Major & Minor Prophets!

The commandments of God can only be truly observed when we love God & others as Jesus so says here.

Seeming to follow the other laws without a love of God would simply be external legalism & not the truly transformed life that God has called us to!

Video, Illustration: There is an excellent organization out there known as “The Bible Project” that will help take concepts like this & break it down for us

I invite you to watch this short clip as they help us realize the significance of this law…

Show The Bible Project’s video, “The Law” (5:30), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BGO9Mmd_cU

Expand: So, we are to be men & women of love—let’s consider, What does it mean to “love?”

Slides, Main Point 1g: As you know, love can have a wide variety of meanings

I love Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese, my job, & days off; yet I also love God, my parents, my children, & my wife!

Hopefully I love these things in different ways!

MP1h: The Hebrew word in Deuteronomy 6 for love is “‘ahev”

This love generally means “to like, have delight in, or be endeared to” the other

It is used to show the affection between two individuals like parents & children, husbands & wives, or God & His people

MP1i: It also describes a commitment that results in obedience; because I love God, I obey God

MP1j: The Greek word that Jesus uses to focus this concept is “agape”

This love generally means “To cherish, have a warm regard for, affection for, & interest in another”

It includes having a high esteem for or satisfaction with that one; taking pleasure in him/her

MP1k: Interestingly it describes a form of love that proceeds from a deliberate choice based upon moral principle or duty, rather than a mere feeling (e.g. of attraction)

To agape someone is to love that one regardless of how ‘deserving’ that one is of your love

It is a love that keeps loving through disappointment & rejection

And yet it is a love that is not ‘cold’ or ‘stoic;’ it actually brings along the warmth of kindness & care, affection & delight!

MP1l: Finally, this love, while a matter of will, results in the actions of putting this other one first, even before yourself!

This love is a verb, it is seen in actions of kindness & compassion toward its object

This is the form of love that Jesus calls on us to have for God!

And note that it is not just a small element of our life, or a ‘just on Sundays’ type of thing

Jesus says that we are to have this love for God with… what?

“All your heart, … soul, …mind.”

At another time Jesus is recorded as saying ‘Strength” as well

These different terms aren’t meant to compartmentalize our beings, but rather to emphasize that...