There are some things I don’t think twice about…until I do.
We tend to get so comfortable and so familiar with things that our brains can skip over them, filling in the gaps of what “we know” is there. That is, up until the point, for some reason, you stop and think about it and then it’s a case of “wait, what?”
This was the case for me with one of the most famous Bible passages from Matthew 22.
Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
Very good, we think. Very wise, so godly. Classic Jesus.
And in the back of my mind somewhere, I guess I thought those commandments must be in the ten commandments somewhere because, you know, they’re the greatest ones of all, right?
Except they don’t.
The greatest commandment
The first one comes from Deuteronomy 6:5, after the ten commandments and part of what is called the shema. The shema is a statement of faith and a prayer that is recited twice a day. It affirms the one and only God, and exhorts the people to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deut. 6:5).
In typical Old Testament fashion, the people after this make and worship the golden calf after which the stone tablets of the Law are broken and Moses has to plead with God to save the people. The stone tablets are once again made and the shema is partially reaffirmed in Deut. 11:13: “faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
It is reaffirmed again in part in Numbers 15:37-41 and interestingly, both the Deut. 6 and Numbers 15 iterations are about remembering:
Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deut. 6:7-9)
Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them. (Numbers 15:38-39)
Jesus says in the New Testament this is the first and most important commandment and from the Old Testament we see that, based on the context, it’s the first and easiest one to forget.
The second commandment
The second, Jesus says, is like it. Love your neighbour as yourself. This actually comes from Leviticus 19 (which is why you may have missed it….). Leviticus generally sets out the sacrificial system, showing the Israelites how to be right with God so that they might be in his presence. It also has numerous laws and regulations to ensure the holiness of his people.
In this chapter, it starts with “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” and is followed by upwards of 35 different commandments and interspersed between them are the words “I am the Lord” or “I am the Lord your God” 16 times – more than in any other chapter in Leviticus. This repetition does several things. It keeps the focus on God. As in, it’s not about the commandments per se (lest we become the whitewashed tombs of those who practice religion but don’t change our hearts), its about God who requires this faithful obedience from us. It also is a reminder that it’s not a “to-do” list. These are the requirements of God himself. Not a shopping list of nice-to-haves. The repeated phrase also, as put by Jerry Bridges in The Fruitful Life “reminds the people of Israel that their obedience to His laws and regulations is to flow out of a reverence and fear of Him.” We revere God because he is awesome in power and mighty and sovereign. We fear God, not because we are scared of him, but because of three factors (noted by Rev. Albert N. Martin and also quote in Jerry Bridges book):
- correct concepts of the character of God
- a pervasive sense of the presence of God, and
- a constant awareness of our obligation to God.
The repetition of “I am the Lord” reminds us to act out of reverence and fear – and we fear God in the sense that we understand his character, know that he is present and are aware of our place before him in what he has done. It is in this context that we see “Love your neighbour as yourself”.
It is no surprise that Jesus says all the Law and prophets hang from the these two commandments. Love God, love others.
It is staggering to me, that out of all the commandments that Jesus could have cited, he pulled out these two. The first is more ever present in the Jewish world as part of the shema. The second, perhaps forgotten in favour of a more self-interested approach to religion that he condemns the Pharisees for.
The first is easily forgotten – so much so that it needed to be taught to the children, talked about and written on the doorways. The second is easily forgotten because we are, by our sinful natures, prone to think of self first.
And Jesus pulls these together and encapsulates the whole Law and the Prophets in this – Love God, love others. It is a beautiful truth to meditate on. So much of what we see in Jesus’ teaching is that if we truly love God we will love others. I am not saying that if you don’t give everyone the shirt off your back then you don’t love God! I am saying that this is not something that we can know and just keep knowing without thinking about it too much. It is something that is not natural to us in our sinful state and is therefore something we must re-remember every day. Remember:
Love God, love others. When we wake up and stagger to the bathroom to brush our teeth.
Love God, love others. When we’re sitting in traffic trying to get the kids to school on time.
Love God, love others. When we’re juggling ten bags of groceries before we get the laundry on.
Love God, love others. When we go to church and Bible study.
Love God, love others. When we are getting ready for bed.
What would our day look like if we remembered and re-remembered this frequently through every day?
Love God and love others. Because while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Love God and love others, because he first loved us.