Seeds of Restoration
Teaching Series by Tim Terry
My Pastor Says...
Jesus Only Taught Two Commandments...Love God and Love People
In Matthew 22:37-40, Our Lord is asked, by a lawyer, which is
the great commandment in the law?
Jesus says this...
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with
all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself, On these two commandments hang all the Law
and the Prophets.
Now, this response from Jesus has been understood by many
to mean that we are free to ignore much of the Torah, as long as we love God and people.
Now, this does tickle the ears, a bit. However, let's take note of a couple of key points many
overlook. First, notice that the response by Jesus does not do away with or change the Law of Moses.
In fact, He is actually teaching the Law of Moses! Check out Deut:22:37and Leviticus 19:18 to see if
our Messiah is making up a new set of commandments. Also notice, that once again Jesus affirms all of
the Law and the Prophets, just as He did in Matthew 5:17. He says on these two commandments
hang all the Law and the Prophets
.
Jesus is telling us very plainly that if we truly love the God of Israel, and His people, we will not
want to break His commandments. He tells us this very thing again in John 14:15 If you love Me,
keep My commandments.
Here is another, perhaps easier way of unplugging this same filter... Jesus did tell us to love God and people. The question is...what is the Scriptural definition of love for God and love for His people? Some of you might want to sit down for this one...1John 5:2-3 says,
Send us your comments or questions.By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
