INTRODUCTION:
Last week we saw How God’s Love is the greatest! Today we will look at what is the greatest commandment for us! What is the greatest act a human could commit? What is the greatest deed? What does the Bible teach us?
Humor: Words, and how you say them make a difference. “Attending a marriage seminary, one husband was impressed by the instructor's encouragement that when they arrive home, they would say something mesmerizing to their wife. For example, gaze deeply into her eyes and say sweetly, "Honey when I look at you, time stands still." He practiced on the way home. His wife met him at the door, upset that he had taken so long to return home. When she finished fussing at him, he spoke up, "Honey, you have a fact that would stop a clock!"
RECAP: Last week we saw How God’s Love is the greatest! Today we will look at what is the greatest commandment for us!
Text: Mark 12:28-34, KJV (Find Deuteronomy chapter 6)
(28) 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? (29) 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. (31) And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. (32) And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: (33) And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. (34) And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question. KJV
THE SETTING: The days that led to this exchange were very precarious!
Let’s review…
The day was filled with uncertainty. The end was near.
The Triumphal Entry, chapter 11, pictured the Messiah riding a colt into Jerusalem. The Colt’s feet trampled both the clothes of men and palm branches. The chorus chimed ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
The Parable of the Fruitless Fig Tree: Mark 11:12-14
The Temple Cleansing: He went into the Temple and took over the entire complex. He drove out the buyers and sellers. He overturned tables and seats.
He cleansed the house of prayer.
Instantly the setting became an atmosphere of attack and argumentation.
Mark 11:18, the Scribes and chief priests sought how to destroy Him.
The Opposition: The chief priests, scribes, and elders questioned His authority. “And they said to Him, ‘By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?’ (11:28).
The Lord skillfully replied with His own question: ‘the baptism of John was it from heaven or men? Answer Me.’
His authority was challenged! Mark 11:27-33
Two different questions were asked.
The first question concerned paying taxes to Caesar.
Next the Sadducees asked Him concerning marriage in the resurrection.
When they refused to answer, the Lord told them The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen, or vinedressers. Mark 12:1-11
This only made them angrier, because they were the wicked vinedressers who killed all the servants and the Son.
They were set to be destroyed by the Owner of the Vineyard!
The tension heightened when the Pharisees and Herodians tried to catch Him in His own words (12:13).
Next, Mark records an exchange of between Jesus and one of the Scribes. 12:13-27
Intriguing because the questioner was one of them. He was a scribe! He was also a Pharisee and a lawyer (Matthew 22:34-35).
The Scribes: In ancient times, scribes held various important offices in the public affairs of the nation.
The scribes acted as secretaries of state, whose business was to prepare and issue decrees in the name of the King. There was also a subordinate class of scribes, most of whom were Levites, engaged in many ways as writers.
?Baruch, who wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord (Jeremiah 36:4, 32), was a scribe.
? Ezra was also a scribe. After the captivity, the scribes turned their attention to the law, gaining for themselves distinction by their intimate acquaintance with its contents.
They were a human printing press making copies of the law and teaching others.
This scribe comes without a hidden agenda. He holds no hostility. He is impressed with the Lord’s response to the Sadducees. This scribe knows the Torah. He has perhaps written it by hand many times over.
THE QUESTION AT HAND: He asks,“Which is the Greatest Commandment?”
The Laws: Now the question was one of common discussion and debate among the scribes. There are 613 commands in the law: 248 being positive and 365 being negative.
But ‘which one is the greatest?’ The scribes believed all 613 were binding however they assumed a distinction between the weightier and lighter statutes.
This scribe is not looking to get off the hook. He is trying to make sure he understands the point of his faith.
CHALLENGE: I’m not sure most understand the meaning of the Christian life.
The reality is: “All of us fail in terms of obeying every command at all times under all circumstances!”
Application: We like this scribe need to know ‘which one is the greatest?’
Maybe if we can get the greatest right, it will help us get a better handle on the rest of it!
The Lord calls us to obey all His commands, but ‘which one is the greatest?’
The Lord calls us to…
1. Pray without ceasing
2. Rejoice in the Lord always
3. Put off the old man
4. Put on the new man
5. Walk worthy
6. Examine ourselves
7. Study to show ourselves approved
8. Be steadfast
9. Put on the whole armor of God
10. Win the lost
11. Worship in spirit and in truth
12. Obey and share the Gospel
13. Believe the gospel
14. Repent of our sins
15. Confess Christ
16. Walk in the light
17. Give cheerfully
18. Love not the world
19. Redeem the time
20. Resist the Devil
21. Be angry and sin not
22. Count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations
23. Be patient until the coming of the Lord
24. Run the race
25. Renew our minds
26. Be holy
27. Forsake not the assembling of ourselves
28. Walk in the light
29. Give cheerfully
30. Love not the world
31. Redeem the time
32. Be angry and sin not
33. Count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations
34. Be patient until the coming of the Lord
35. Humble ourselves
36. Do unto others… them do to you!
“But ‘which one is the greatest?”
I.THE PRIORITY OF LOVE: Mark 12:28-30
"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? (29) 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."
The Lord quotes from the Shema; named such after the first Hebrew word in the text meaning hear. The Jews quoted the Shema twice each day both morning and evening. The Shema represents the basic foundation of Jewish theology.
Taken from Deuteronomy 6: 4-9
"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: (7) And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (8) And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. (9) And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."
Deuteronomy chapter 6: 4, begins ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one’!
• One means unity!
• One means totality or wholeness!
• The Lord is one!
• The Lord is unique!
• The Lord is totality!
• The Lord is everything!
Next, The Lord does not desire half-hearted love. He requires ALL!
Deut. 6:5 “thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might”
The Lord wants each one of us to give Him complete and personal love!
“All” is used four times in our text, Mark 12:30
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.
It would be hypocritical for God to accept anything less!
Wait there’s more!
Notice the words ‘thou’ or ‘thy’ five times in Mark 12:30.
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.
• Your love for the Lord is a personal choice!
• Nobody else can love the Lord for you!
Do you really love Him?
I’m not trying to get in your business but let me tell you ‘Loving two is hard to do!’ In the case of money and the world, Jesus said, You cannot!
The Lord deserves nothing less than our very best!
The Lord wants our total love!
He wants us to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength!
Challenge: Some of us need to stop short-changing the Lord!
The Lord wants us to love Him with all our very being!
He is not interested in partial love!
The Lord doesn’t want…
Partial prayers
Partial praise
Partial participation
Limited love
Limited loyalty
Stingy service
Fractioned faith
Divided dedication
Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. ” (Matthew 6:24).
Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
James said, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. ” (James 1:12).
Then James said, “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?” (James 2:5).
John said, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15).
Paul said, “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.” (1 Cor. 16:22).
When we love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength…
Attitudes will adjust
Maturity will maximize
Fruitfulness will flourish
Worship will be wonderful
Attendance will amplify
Servants will sacrifice
Hearts will humble
Souls will surrender
Minds will meditate
Hands will work
Thoughts will render thanksgiving
Do we really love Him?
II.THE PERFORMANCE OF LOVE: Mark 12:31
“And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”
Now the scribe didn’t ask for this but Jesus gave it to him anyway!
Jesus quoted a portion of Leviticus 19:18! Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
NOTE: There is a doctrinal connection between love for God and love for one’s neighbor.
In the first century the Jews believed their neighbors were limited to those just like them.
But on many occasions the Lord taught that one’s neighbor extended beyond those just like us!
Listen to these verses:
John 13:34-35 “ A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
Romans 13:8-10 “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. (9) For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (10) Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”
Galatians 5:13-15 “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. (14) For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (15) But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.”
1 Thessalonians 4:9 “But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.”
Hebrews 13:1 “Let brotherly love continue.”
1 Peter 4:8 “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.”
1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
1 John 4:11 “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”
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?”
III.THE POWER OF LOVE: Mark 12:32-33
“(32) And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: (33) And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
What is the greatest thing we can do as Christians? LOVE!
Love is the greatest!
Love of God and of one’s fellowman go hand-in-hand!
CONCLUSION: Mark 12:34
“And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.”
Do we really love Him?
NOTE: The challenge to us is not to question God’s Love, but to question God’s Love in us!
God’s love is the Greatest! If it is in us, then we should be different people!
“O love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be.
- George Matheson
Do we really love Him?
John Wesley wrote…
Thee will I love, my strength, my tower;
thee will I love, my joy, my crown;
thee will I love with all my power,
in all thy works, and thee alone:
thee will I love, till sacred fire
fill my whole soul with pure desire.
Disclaimer: This sermon is a collection of several sources and I claim no originality to all, only as I have tried to tailor it to develop the sermon. I have sought to acknowledge credit to whom credit is due. I hope it will bl
