We Live By Principles Over Pressure 😎 πŸ€” (Matthew 22:34-46)
- 4 min read

We Live By Principles Over Pressure 😎 πŸ€” (Matthew 22:34-46)

On this page
Introduction

Text:

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 β€œTeacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”37 Jesus replied, β€œβ€˜You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: β€˜Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

41 Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: 42 β€œWhat do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, β€œHe is the son of David." 43 Jesus responded, β€œThen why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah β€˜my Lord’? For David said, 44 β€˜The Lord said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’ 45 Since David called the Messiah β€˜my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” 46 No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

The Kingdom of God is at its best with its COMMUNITY IS FIGHTING FOR UNITY.

Overall Commentary: 🌎

The Pharisees have just witnessed their arch-rivals defeated by Jesus. They will ask one more question to challenge the depth of Jesus' knowledge of the Scripture. They don't realize He will answer their question perfectly and then give them a glimpse of eternity.

The Church unifies in living by Principles Over Pressure.


Commentary

Verse 34-36: The Final Question.

  • One More Try?: This is the final question. This time, they bring Jesus into a conversation that had been held for hundreds of years. It was also a very subjective question that could easily have been considered "wrong" simply by a different point of view. They were testing His knowledge of Scripture and what He considered preeminent over the rest. Many thought the answer to this question was to honor your parents above all else.
  • An Expert of Religious Law: This was likely a Scribe. Scribes spent their entire life learning the Scripture so they could copy it down by hand. Since there were no modern-day computers and printers, the Scripture had to be copied. They would memorize large portions of Scripture to be familiar with what they were writing.
  • How many commandments are there? Most Pharisees considered there to be 613 laws. They were divided into two sections: Light and Heavy. The heavy laws were of greater importance and could not be overlooked. The lighter laws were considered less important but still valid. This would be like having a final exam with a multiple-choice question that contained 613 options. They were challenging Jesus to come up with the perfect answer.

Verse 37-40: The Reply.

  • The Shema: Jesus quotes the Shema to show the greatest commandment is to love God fully. The Shema was a declaration of faith said by all devout Jews twice a day. It is still said in modern-day Jewish practice today.
  • Heart/Soul/Mind: Jesus is not saying we should partition our lives and love God differently in these three areas. Jesus said we should love God with our whole selves and NOT divide our lives.
  • The Radical Number 2: The second command was one they didn't ask for. Jesus was saying you couldn't have one without the second. He was drawing attention to the radical love following the first would give us. It would cause us to love others so well that we radically change how we move about the world. To the same extend we feed ourselves when we are hungry, we seek to feed others when they are hungry. To the same extent we clothe ourselves, we seek to bring resources to others in their time of need.
  • All the Others Hang on These: Jesus shows us a loop. When we love God with everything, He allows us to love others. When we love others and see they are made in God's image, it increases our love for God.

Verse 41-46: The Challenge.

  • Jesus Affirms David's Authorship: Some liberal Jewish scholars would argue over the various authorship of certain portions of Scripture, such as different Psalms. Jesus is settling the debate over Psalm 110 and saying David wrote it.
  • They Only Had Half the Answer: Most Jewish people believed the coming Messiah would be from the royal line of David, but He would be human. They saw the coming Messiah as a military leader and thought He would save them from Roman rule. Jesus is showing them that the Messiah is much more than they imagined.
  • The Two Uses of "Lord" in Psalm 110: There are two Hebrew words for the word "Lord" in Psalm 110. The first is Yahweh. The second is Adonai. Both are intended to show David is talking about God and not a human king. Jesus says that David sees the Messiah as God coming to Earth. Surely, they were unwilling to grasp the full weight of what Jesus was saying, but it is obvious that He had opened up a window into something divine because no one asked Him to expound or dared ask Him any more questions.

Top Takeaway- Following Jesus' Principles and Way of Life Help Us See Him More Clearly.


Message Notes

Graphics

Further Resources for Deeper Study

Resurrection Proof: