Love Must Be A Priority
Mark 12:28-34
There was a man who only had an eighth-grade education. But this man wanted to be a soul-winner. God had laid a brilliant attorney on his heart. Obeying the Lord, he went to talk to the lawyer about Jesus Christ. But no sooner had he begun when the attorney used his legal training and brilliant mind to turn the man inside out. The man finally apologized for coming and for taking the attorney's time. He left with tears in his eyes as he said to the lawyer, "I just want you to know that I came here because I love you.
Dejected, he went home to his wife and said, "I don't want to be bothered. I don't want to talk to anyone the rest of the day. I just want to go to my room and be left alone; I feel like such a failure. About an hour later, the lawyer came and knocked on the man's door. He told the man's wife he would like to see her husband. She said, "I'm sorry, but he is not seeing anyone today." "Oh," he said, "I think he will see me. just tell him who I am." So the husband allowed the attorney to come into his room. He said, "Why have you come? Have you come to make fun of me? Have you come to argue with me again?. You know I cannot argue with you." The lawyer said, "No, I haven't come to argue with you. I have come to ask you to tell me how to be saved." The man replied, "I don't understand. What changed your mind? Every time I tried to tell you about Jesus you came up with an argument that I couldn't answer." The lawyer said, "Yes, I did. But you came up with an argument that I couldn't answer." This soul-winner looked at him and said, "What was that?" The lawyer replied, "When you looked at me and told me you loved me, I couldn't argue with that."
Love can do amazing things. Friends, love is essential in the life of a child of God! - 1 Corinthians 13:1 ¶Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
In Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy there are 613 laws given to men. There are some that instruct man to do certain things as well as some that forbid men to partake in certain actions. These laws formed the heart of Jewish belief and was the driving force behind the “Scribes & Pharisees” They would spend a great deal of their time debating these laws and seeking to identify the “greatest” among them.
Jesus takes the entire law and sums it up with two statements about one word “Love”
In verse 13 of this chapter we find that Jesus is among a deceptive group of people seeking to trip him up so to speak - v13 ¶And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.
1. The Pharisees asked about giving money to Caesar - v13-17
2. Then the Sadducees (who don’t believe in a resurrection) asked him about the resurrection - v18-27
3. Then comes one of the scribes - v28 ¶And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
I. The Explanation Of The Great Commandment - v29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Jesus answers the question “Which is the first commandment of all?” by inserting that man must love God above everything else in this world.
Jesus is quoting the "Shema." Found in - Deuteronomy 6:4 ¶Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
The Jews would quote this every day in their prayers. This was a personal reminder that there is no other God but Jehovah.We must make certain that God occupies the first place in our lives, ahead of every other love or allegiance!
Most Christians today will proclaim that God is first and then they place other things and people in front of him. Notice areas in which we are to love the Lord supremely:
A. All Of Our Heart
Jesus is saying is that we must love the Lord without pretense. Our love for Christ must be authentic... This is a love that goes beyond words and is seen in our actions! What if you told your spouse that you loved them and then ignored them, never spent time with them and didn’t seek to grow closer to them?When we truly love God and put Him first, it will be SEEN IN EVERYTHING WE DO!
B. All Of Our Soul
Here Jesus is referring to our emotions. We are not to love God in a nonchalant manner, but we are to be emotional in our love for Him. Our love for God should touch us at our most intimate levels. We are to love the Lord with all our emotional self. Our thoughts MUST center upon CHRIST. We should have a continual longing to draw closer to Him!
Ill. The men on the Road to Emmaus… “Did our hearts not burn within us as He opened up the scriptures?”
C. All Of Our Mind
Our love for God is not a mindless love! We are to love the Lord because we have considered Him, & meditated on Him and His greatness We must make a conscious choice to love the Lord. We shouldn’t love God because we were taught to or even because it is the right thing to do, but because of who He is and what He has done for us.Our thoughts should center on Christ!
D. All Of Our Strength
This refers to the fact that this love is not only in words but in actions of our physical body. We must love the Lord with every ounce of our being! If we truly love the Lord, He will have prominence in every area of our life! True love for Jesus manifests itself in every area of life. Do you love His people, His Word, His House, His Work, His world, His commandments, & His worship as you should?)
II. The Example In The Great Commandment - v31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
These two commandments are intertwined you cannot have one without the other. In the second part of His answer, Jesus quotes Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD.
This is a very simple statement. Jesus says that we are to love others in the same way that we love ourselves. We are to place others in such a position that we are constantly looking out for their best interests Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Can we go ahead and admit that we love ourselves? We go to great lengths to provide ourselves with the things that we need. We eat so that we don’t starve, drink so that we do not die of thirst, go to the doctor when things are wrong with us, we make sure that we are taken care of. There is nothing wrong with loving ourselves but we must love our neighbor in the same ways. We must seek to help and care for them as well.
In sixteenth century England, Oliver Cromwell ordered that a soldier be shot for his crimes at the ringing of the evening bell. But that night at the fateful hour, no sound came from the belfry. The girl who was to be married to the condemned man had climbed up into the tower and had clung to the great clapper of the bell to prevent it from striking. Brought before Cromwell to give an account of her actions, she only wept and showed him her bruised and bleeding hands. Cromwell was greatly impressed, and he said, "Your lover is alive because of your sacrifice. He will not be shot!”
This love manifests itself when we exhibit Forgiveness, peace, unity, compassion to others
a) Jesus Himself exemplified this – John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
b) There is a contrast to this type of love found in - 1 John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
It doesn’t get any clearer than that! If you say that you are a Christian and have hate in your heart, you are a LIAR! According to this verse it is impossible to do both!
In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, "Do not waste your time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less."
III. The Extent Of The Great Commandment - Thou shalt “love” thy neighbor as thyself.
There are four Greek words that mean love
1) Storgh – refers to the love of things - This word wouldn’t fit. Our love for things is often superficial. We love a new car for a while and then when it gets older or leaves us stranded, we are ready to trade it in and get another one. This may describe how you love your neighbor but if it is you are wrong!
2) Eros – refers to "erotic” or sexual love. - Obviously this Greek term wouldn’t fit, if you love your neighbor with “Eros” love you are headed for divorce or death!!!
3) Phileo - speaks of tender affection for someone.- Now this one sounds pretty good, but it leaves room for us to put conditions on this love. - With “Phileo” love we can love someone for a while, but when they fail we would be able to throw that person away. It is close but not close enough! Now we come to the actual Word that is used in our text and that word is “Agape”
4) Agape - refers to a never-ending, unchanging, all-consuming love for someone.- Agape love is not the kind of feeling that appears for a time than changes. Agape love is forever! It is a love that loves without regard for the worth of the object being loved. This is more that simple affection or some emotional feeling. It is a decision of the will!
One verse that illustrates “Agape” love is - Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
We have several members who drive a great distance to get to this church. Why is that? It is not for the preaching, there are many great preachers in this area… It is not for the singing, they drive by many churches with wonderful choirs… Why is it that people drive so far to come to this church? I believe the answer is …………LOVE!
Do you want to see this church continue to grow? Then love people enough to invite them and when they come in the doors, we must collectively shoe them love, People are longing to feel love. We must love them with the love of Jesus!
As we consider the extent of these commandments, I would like to look at what Jesus said in Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
1) If we love the Lord as we should, we will not sin against Him.
2) If we love our neighbor as we should, we will not offend them.
When we love in the manner Jesus described and exemplified, then we will treat everyone how they should be treated. It is natural to love those who le us, but it is supernatural to love those hate us. Jesus is telling us is that we can always be assured that we will do the right thing by God and by our fellow man if we will love the Lord supremely.
Conclusion: How is your love? Do you love God with all that is in you? Do you love your neighbor as yourself? If not then you have a lot to think about.
Jesus said “If you love me, keep my commandments” Is your love for Christ seen in how you treat your neighbor? The Great Commandment sums up the 10 Commandments. Let’s look to the “top 10” for a moment.
1. 'You shall have no other gods before Me.'
2. 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.'
3. 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'
4. 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.'
5. 'Honor your father and your mother.'
6. 'You shall not murder.'
7. You shall not commit adultery.'
8. 'You shall not steal.'
9. 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.'
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.'
If we “Love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength: -
We will not have any other Gods
We will not create any idols
We will not take His name in vain
We will remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy
We will honor our Father & Mother
Likewise, if we “Love our neighbor as ourselves” we:
We will not murder them
We will not commit adultery with their spouse
We will not steal from them
We will not lie against them or covet what they have
How is your love today? If you seek to live a life that pleases God… LOVE MUST BE A PRIORITY… For without love, nothing else will matter!
