Tuesday

Imagine that someone approaches you and asks, “What’s the most important rule in all of the Bible?” How would you answer that question? How would you begin to answer that question?

This was the situation Jesus found himself in on Tuesday. In Matthew 22:36, the Bible says that an “expert” in the law asked Jesus, “What’s the greatest commandment in the law?” In fact, the majority of this day for Jesus went from one hard question to the next. He was under the microscope of all the religious leaders present in Jerusalem, and they were all trying to trick him into saying something they could use against him. This conversation in verses 36-40 was no different. This expert in the law was intentionally trying to trap Jesus into saying something that could be used to invalidate his ministry. The line of questioning was meant to trap Jesus into elevating one commandment at the expense of neglecting another area of the law. Jesus’ response is perfect. Rather than elevating one commandment over others, he perfectly synthesized the essence behind all the commandments found in the law.

This brings us to the commandment itself: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” I find it interesting that Jesus was asked to give a single commandment, yet his response was two commandments: Love God and Love People. These two things are what the Christian Life hinges on. The first of which is mostly straightforward. Loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind, though challenging at times, is straightforward conceptually. It’s the second part of this commandment that gets tricky.

What’s interesting about this passage is that Jesus uses the word “agape” for love in verses 37 and 39. There are four Greek words for love, but agape is what Jesus decided on when describing what kind of love we are to have for God and for people. Agape love means unconditional love. It means that there are no prerequisites. There’s nothing that can be done to earn it. There’s nothing that can be done to lose it. No matter how people treat you, Jesus says your response should always be to love them. Why? Because it’s the love God has for us. When we experience the love of God towards ourselves, the only logical response is to love other people. 1 John 4:24 MSG says, “The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.”

As you experience God’s love today, may the outpouring of that love lead you to love those around you. This is the Greatest Commandment.

For a full account of the events of this day, see Matthew 21:23–26:5, Mark 11:27–14:2, Luke 20:1–22:2, John 12:37–50

Reflection Questions

1. On a scale of 1-10, how are you doing with loving the people in your life? Why? Take some time to ask Jesus to help you with this.
2. How can you ensure that your love for God and others remains the core focus of your spiritual growth?

Prayer

Jesus, I thank you for setting the example of what it means to love God and love people well. More than that, I thank you for being the source I can draw from when that becomes challenging to do. Help me to see people the way you see people today. Help me to grasp the height, depth, and breadth of your love for me. May that inspire me to love people well today. In your name, I pray, amen.