The First Commandment

Mark 12:28-34  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.

Matthew 22:34-40  But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.  (35)  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,  (36)  Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  (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 neighbour as thyself.  (40)  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Introduction:  When we read (vv 29-30) we need to step back and find where Jesus is quoting from. 

Deuteronomy 6:4-5  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.

              He is “ONE” LORD

Isaiah 45:22  Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

              There is NONE else

Isaiah 46:9  Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,

              He is God the only God

              SO what we have learned so far is that in terms of God, “…there is none else. 

              We know from scripture  there is only one God, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  He is the Holy Trinity;  The Great Three in One.

I.            A LAWYER SPEAKS UP                                                  (v 28)

Matthew 22:35  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,

              A.           Asking Jesus

1.           Which of the commandments

              i.            Is the most important

B.              Historically At This Time There Were

1.               Over 600 Jewish Commandments

C.              So Which Is The Most Important To Obey

1.               These Pharisees expected Jesus to say:     

              i.            The Sabbath

              ii.           Being Circumcised

              iii.          The Sabbath

                             2.           They were hoping Jesus would state one of              

                                           these

Matthew 23:23  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

                                           i.            Yet Christ went to the Scriptures

Deuteronomy 6:4-5  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.

II.           THEGREATEST COMMANDMENT                       (vv 29-31)

              A.           Know That Your Lord

                             1.           Is one Lord

              i.            He is Jehovah / Yahweh

                             a.           There is no other God

              ii.           He is our God

                             a.           We are His people

              iii.          He is one Lord

1 Corinthians 8:4  As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.

              B.           We Are To Love The Lord

                             1.           Have a personal relationship

                             2.           A tri-level love

                                           i.            ALL thy heart

                                                          a.           Not a piece or part

                                           ii.           ALL thy soul

                                                          a.           Your walk

                                                          b.           Your being

                                           iii.          ALL your mind

                                                          a.           Your thoughts

                                                          b.           What is in your mind

                                                                      today?  This Moment?

                             3.           All this relegates us to a condition

                                           i.            A condition of Commitment

                                                          a.           Which includes loyalty

Exodus 20:3  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

                             4.           A loving relationship involves

                                           i.            Both commitment and loyalty

                                           ii.           God is committed to you

                                           iii.          God is loyal to you

              C.           Then We Must Love Our Neighbor Too!!

                             1.           An active love

                                           i.            Not physical love

                                           ii.           Not a lustful love

                                           iii.          A concerned love

                                           iv.          A caring love

                             2.           A love that is shown in our walk

3.           It is not a religious experience

              i.            It should be YOU

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.

                             4.           We love ourselves

                                           i.            Love our neighbor as we love                      

                                                          ourselves

                            D.           Love

                             1.           Endures long

                             2.           Is kind

                             3.           Is not puffed up

                             4.           Thinks no evil

                             5.           Can bear all things

III.         THE GREATNESS OF THIS COMMANDMENT  (vv 32-34)

              A.           Causes Men To Think

                             1.           This lawyer hated Jesus

                                           i.            Considered Him a heretic /

                                                          blasphemer

Yet the lawyer listened to Jesus

              i.            Being a smart guy

                             a.           His job was to attempt to

                                           trap Jesus

              ii.           As a good smart lawyer

                             a.           He could find no fault

              B.           This Love Of God

                             1.           Exceeds

              i.            Circumcision

              ii.           Sacrifices

              iii.          The Sabbath

C.           Thou Art Not Far

              1.           From Salvation

                             i.            Paul witnessing to Agrippa

Acts 26:28  Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

                                          ii.           Have you accepted Jesus?

                                                        a.           Or almost persuaded

CONCLUSION: As a Christian, we are given eternal life at the time we accepted Jesus as our personal Saviour.

              When we accepted Jesus, that set into effect a series of thou shalt’s and thou shalt not’s.

              Within this new realm we first are to commit ourselves to the God who loved us so much He put His only begotten Son on the Cross to die for our sins.  Christ’s blood, His death on the Cross, paid the price for our sins.  He forgave us on that Cross, if we with sincerity accepted Him; we then have an eternal life with Jesus the Christ in the presence of God Almighty.

               As an example, when Sharil and I got married we committed ourselves to one another.  In this almost 49 years, we have become more loving and committed, but also more loyal to one another.

              That is the way we need to be with God and His Son Jesus, if we don’t commit to Him at the start how in Heaven’s name can we expect to ever become loyal to Him.

              Where do you stand in His presence?  Can you look down in your heart and say, Yes Lord, I am in love with you and God, I do love my neighbors as I love myself.”

              What if you can’t say that, you can do something about it. You first can just come to the altar and kneel down here a pray to God, to give you a heart that loves.  A heart that loves God and His Son, but also an heart that seeks concern over your neighbor.

              The second, may be you have not accepted Jesus as your Saviour, then we have people here who will show you in God’s Word how you can be saved. 

              All of this, regardless of why, requires an honest sincere heart.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.