Let us pray! Jesus Christ,
You were surrounded by people who were attempting to ‘trap’ you. Yet again, You calmly, clearly and simply
stated the two greatest commandments upon which the law and the prophets
hang. May we hear how we cannot fulfill
these commands by ourselves, but can only do so by Your divine favor upon and
through us. For it was Your Son Jesus
Christ Who came and perfectly fulfilled the law for us on the Cross on Golgotha
for all of us saints here at Emmanuel.
AMEN.
If you missed it last week, the potluck we had during the Fall
Clean-up had three tables full of food that not only looked good, but tasted
good and sustained a lot of good workers during the clean-up. As I surveyed each table, it was interesting
to see the variety of dishes and cooking styles each person provided for the
meal. It is interesting that in our
Gospel this morning, Jesus clearly references the different variety and
importance of the two tables we learned about in our catechism.
You see, Jesus Christ in our Gospel is again surrounded by people
who are doing Satan’s bidding. Satan
doesn’t want Jesus to reach either the city of Jerusalem or to be crucified on
the Cross on Golgotha and will use any means necessary to prevent the
fulfillment of the plan of salvation. It
is clear from scripture and our passage this morning that Satan uses the
Pharisee’s, Sadducees, Scribes and Jewish leaders to thwart Jesus and give them
a reason or means to destroy His reputation and question His teachings.
Hence, when a lawyer of the day, probably equivalent to a biblical
scholar today “asked Him a question to test Him” Jesus knew the cards had been
laid on the table. The lawyer says,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” The lawyer knowing the Jewish ‘correct’
answer believes Jesus will fall into his laid trap and thus cause Jesus to fail
the ‘test’.
However, Jesus all omniscient of what was transpiring said to
him. “You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the completion of the Shema which is an early Jewish creed of
faith in God. The complete Shema reads, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord
our God, the Lord is one. You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your might.” Therefore, Jesus knew what
He was being tested on and gave the ‘proper’ answer. And Jesus continues His response, “And a
second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Encapsulated within these two short responses, Jesus reveals His
complete understanding of scripture, the law, the prophets and what is
required. For He says, “On these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets” and thus Jesus quickly and
easily neutralized the threat of the test that the lawyer presented.
But, what do these two statements have to do with us today, 2000
years later half a world away. How can
Jesus words to a lawyer apply to us who sit on the other side of the Cross of Calvary
and Jesus Christ fulfillment of the plan of salvation? It could easily be asked, where does this
apply in my life today here in Goodland, KS?
We need to return to the book of Deuteronomy and read a few more
verses from where Jesus quoted the first response to the lawyer. For Moses wrote, “And these words [the Shema] that I command you today shall be
on your heart. You shall teach them
diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house
and when you walk by the way and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand,
and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your
house and on your gates.”
For the statements Jesus uttered to the lawyer, the first and the
second commandments are meant as a short hand of what is actually required of
everyone. For these two commandments
seemingly unrelated are intimately connected with one another. Martin Luther, father of the protestant
reformation knew and understood clearly what each meant and how each was to be
applied. You see these two statements by Jesus Martin Luther
connected with what Moses said and taught people in his Small and Large
Catechism the complete unabridged version of the statements by Jesus
Christ. For the statements by Jesus are
of the sum of each of the tables of the Law we understand as the 10 Commandments. The two tables are encapsulated in these
statements by Jesus and sum up perfectly all that could be written.
But how can we apply this today?
Where does this have meaning for us today? Simply stated, we fulfill both commandments
of God when we as Koehler says in his explanation of the catechism, “serve Him
(that is God) gladly in our lives by doing those things that please Him.” Can we fulfill all that is required
perfectly? By no means we cannot. Yet, we can and do show our contempt for
God’s gospel when we only show up to church for the one hour a week and sit in
the pew and not be actively involved in the ministry and life of the
church.
We can and do clearly show our love for God by our
service, like the Fall cleanup, serving as an usher, lector, greeter, Sunday
school teacher and council person. These
are only means and do not merit us our salvation. For the gospel message is clear, Jesus Christ
came to seek and save the lost and die on the cross for each and every one of
us. Are we required to do anything? No, because it is God who works through us by
the Holy Spirit to call, gather, enlighten and sanctify the whole Christian
church. Jesus Christ innocent life,
death and resurrection fulfilled our requirements and the two commandments he
answered the lawyer with for all of us saints here at Emmanuel. AMEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment