MATTHEW 22
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’? 45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. – Matthew 22:34-45
1 JOHN 3 LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
If you were called by God to serve him
You ought to love him above everything else
Making him priority aligns your life to him
This is your shield against all evil and sin
If you put God first in all that you do
Your life will have order and not chaos
Peace will permeate your whole being
You will discern what is corrupt and evil.
In this account, we witness the Pharisees’ devious plot to test Jesus so that they could find some excuse to crucify him. They felt threatened by Jesus’ popularity, authority and miracles undermining their honor and accolades. They gave Jesus a trick question asking him which is the greatest commandment of all. They wanted to catch Jesus in ignorance because they knew that Jesus wasn’t as schooled as they were. What they didn’t know was that Jesus was God himself who knows everything and created all things. The answer of Jesus to their question exposed their hearts. Their rule-keeping minds couldn’t fathom why they had to put God first above all things. Their priority is to follow laws and rules instead of a covenant -based relational faith.
Another question posed to them by Jesus exposed their limited understanding of who Christ is when he asked them whose son was Christ? Their minds were blown when he had a follow-up question to them as to why David calls his own son Lord. This just shows how limited their minds were because it was filled with legalism. They couldn’t hear what Jesus was already revealing to them about the Christ they don’t truly know. It exposed their priority to worship wasn’t God at all, but their own idols of knowledge and their leadership positions. If their hearts truly worshipped the Lord, they would get what Jesus said.
REFLECTION
· Share what might happen to believers who do not prioritize God above all things?