CIX.
JEWISH RULERS SEEK TO ENSNARE JESUS.
(Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, A. D. 30.)
Subdivision C.
A LAWYER ASKS ABOUT THE GREAT COMMANDMENT.
aMATT. XXII. 34-40; bMARK
XII. 28-34; cLUKE XX. 40.
a34 But the Pharisees,
when they heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, gathered themselves
together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer,
bone of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together,
and knowing that he had answered them well, aasked him a question,
trying him [he was evidently deputed by those who counseled to ask
this question]: 36 Teacher, which is the
great commandment in the law? bWhat commandment is the first
of all? [According to the statement of Jewish writers, there had been
an old and interminable dispute among the rabbis as to which was the greatest
commandment. Some held that it was the law which commanded sacrifices;
others, that which commanded the wearing of phylacteries; others contended
for those about purification; others, for those about the great feasts.
But as they reckoned the commandments of Moses as numbering over six hundred,
there was plenty of room for argument. On this memorable day the answers
of Jesus had hitherto been of such a nature as to put his questioners to
silence. Therefore, in asking this question, they hoped to get an answer
about which they could at least find room to wrangle, and thus discredit
the wisdom of Jesus.] 29 Jesus answered,
a37 And said unto him, bThe first is, Hear, O Israel;
The Lord our God, the Lord is one: 30
And aThou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. band with all thy
strength. a38 This is the
great and first commandment. [Deut. vi. 4-9. This command is first
because it is the foundation of the entire law of God. It is greatest,
because, in a sense, it includes all the other laws. Polytheism, atheism,
idolatry, and all sins against God are forbidden by it. All sins against
man are likewise, in [603] a sense, prohibited
by it; for sin against man is sin against God's image, and against the
objects of God's love. Those who truly love God can not consistently sin
against man (I. John iv. 20). The curious may make metaphysical distinctions
in the analysis of this required fourfold love, but the sum of it is that
we are to love God with our whole being.]
39 And a {b31 The} second alike unto it bis
this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. [Love is the cure for
sin, for we can not sin against those whom we truly love. Where we love,
we desire to bless. But sin always carries with it a willingness to injure
or to curse.] There is none other commandment greater than these.
a40 On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the
prophets. [The generic nature of the law of love is also noted by Paul
(Rom. xiii. 8-10); but love without law is not sufficient. Love begets
a desire to bless, but the law guides to the accomplishment of that desire.
Perfect righteousness is the result of wisdom as well as affection. Love
without law is power without direction, and law without love is machinery
without a motor--I. Cor. xiii. 1-3.]
b32 And the scribe said unto him, Of a truth, Teacher, thou
hast well said that he is one; 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 strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much
more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices. [Here, as in the
preceding subdivision, the answer of Jesus was so clearly right that it
enforced admiration.] 34 And when
Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far
from the kingdom of God. [Prejudice is the great obstacle to entering
the kingdom. In proportion as we overcome it we draw near to God.] And
no man after that durst {c40 For
they durst not any more} ask him any question. [They found it expedient
to keep silence when their questions only exposed their own shallowness,
and made more conspicuous the supreme wisdom of Jesus.] [604]
[FFG 603-604]
