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Memorizing
Scripture
Verses for April
2007: Greatest Commandment
By
Jerry Truex
Last month
we memorized the Shema, meaning “Hear!” (Deut 6:4-5). This month
we hear Jesus repeat and expand the Shema, which is our memory
verse for this month:
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Mark
12:29-31.
12:29 Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our
God, the Lord is one; 12:30 you shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,
and with all your strength.' 12:31 The second is this, 'You shall
love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment
greater than these." (NRSV) |
1.
Commandment. Just before Jesus’ gave this answer, a Jewish scribe
had asked him what was the greatest commandment or mitzvah
(pronounced MIZ-vah). I’ve been with Jews who, all of a sudden, stop the
conversation so they can “do a mitzvah,” such as saying a blessing over
a drink or food.
Jews do a
mitzvah or a commandment to show loyalty to God. There are 613
commandments in the Torah—248 are positive (“Do this!”) and 365 are
negative (“Don’t do this!”). That’s a lot to remember. For that reason,
rabbis during Jesus’ time tried to sum up the meaning of all the
commandments to provide a vantage point from which the commandments
could be understood and practiced. That’s what the scribe is asking
Jesus to do.
2. One or
two commandments? Jesus quotes two commandments—love God (Deut
6:4-5) and love neighbor (Lev 19:18).
Yet, in the final analysis, the two commandments constitute one great
commandment. Our love is one, whether expressed vertically (God) or
horizontally (neighbor).
3. With
all your heart … soul … mind … strength.
Mentioning all these parts of a person emphasizes that we are to love
God with our whole person. Everything we do, everything we say,
everything we think can express our love for God. In this way, Jesus
does not limit love of God to 613 commandments. The commandments are
helpful, because they give us concrete examples of how ancient Jews
showed love for God. But no code of law can cover all the ways we
express love. If we truly intend to love God and others, I believe God’s
Spirit will show us how (Jn 14:15-16; 26).
4. Love
your neighbor as yourself. Notice that Jesus assumes we are to love
ourselves. We are to care for and protect ourselves. We are to meet our
needs. But he says, “Don’t stop there!” Show that kind of love for
others. Not everyone! Just the person near you—your neighbor. That will
suffice.
May the word
of Christ dwell in you (Col
3:16).
Teaching |
