The Greatest Commandment

May 25, 2014 Background Scripture: Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 4:35; 6:1 – 9; Mark 12:28 – 34 Lesson Passage: Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 6:4 – 9; Mark 12:28 – 34 Sometimes when we are having our internal theological debates among Christians, there are people on the outside who have much more pressing questions. Of course the situation with some on the outside is that they have questions but they refuse to accept our answers. I listened attentively as a person who was a professed Christian struggled to the point of frustration trying to give “church” answers to a non-Christian who had questions but yet was very opinionated about “church” answers. The questions were good questions with known biblical answers. What is the bible? What does the word bible mean? Did man write the bible? Since the bible is written using metaphors and it contains contradictions, why should I believe anything that’s written in it? One lesson to be appreciated from the conversation is that all questions are not in search of answers. Such was the case in our lesson today. Jesus was asked a question by a teacher of the Law who was not seeking information concerning the question but rather publically testing Jesus to see if he truly understood the doctrine of the Old Testament or the Jewish Torah specifically. Jesus’ answer to a question of Jewish theology caught the attention of a nearby scribe who obviously saw himself as an expert in the Holy Scriptures. The scribe did not give Jesus a make believe scenario to see how he would apply scripture to the situation. The scribe asked a direct question and the answer to the question is perhaps the cornerstone of Jewish theology and faith. Which is the first commandment of all? Put another way, if all of the commandments were prioritized in order of importance, which commandment would be first on the list? Being that there are over 600 commandments identified in the Old Testament, only a person well-versed in Jewish theology could properly answer the question. Jesus went a step further. Jesus named the first and the second commandments in sequential order and declared that the rest are subservient to these. Without doubt, there is no commandment greater than to love God with all of one’s being. God is preeminent and nothing comes before Him. Until a person can seek God first, above all else, there is no eternal salvation possible. To even be given the privilege to seek God for salvation speaks to the character of God. Just knowing this also represents the greatest challenge to evangelism. Seeking God requires faith. If a person does not believe that he or she is a sinner in need of the grace and mercy of God, there is little incentive on their part to change their disposition towards divine judgment and eternal life. When a person comes to a state where he can give an accurate assessment of himself spiritually, then the word of God can provide the guidance that is needed to accept God’s saving grace. Access to spiritual awareness is only given through the grace of God. Some people believe that treating others fairly is the ultimate goal of all religions. It is easy to see why they will equate their spirituality with how they treat others. This way of thinking leaves no need or room for an all-powerful God to guide them and save them from their sins. When God is left out of a person’s thinking, that person will always be confused and lost. So the commandment to love God puts everything else into proper perspective and this is the greatest commandment of all. Robert C. Hudson May 15, 2014