Living Wise - Sermon on the MountSample

In Matthew 22 we read that some experts in the Jewish law tried to test Jesus. There were over 600 laws that Jewish people observed from the time of Moses. The expert asked Jesus, “Teacher,” he asked, “which is the most important commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind.’ This is the first and most important commandment. And the second is like it. ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ Everything that is written in the Law and the Prophets is based on these two commandments.”

We don’t have to learn and obey 600 laws and commands. Many of these laws related to how the nation of Israel should operate and rules about the Jewish temples. We know that God gave Moses 10 commandments, these are eternal wisdom from God and Jesus sums up even these 10 with two commandments; love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind, and love your neighbour as you love yourself. We learn how to love God with all our heart, soul and mind and we learn how to love our neighbour by growing in our relationship with God through prayer, coming to church and reading God’s Word, the Bible.