Astonishing Obedience

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:34-40

It was always going to come to this, wasn’t it? For most of us, the first part of what Jesus called the first and greatest commandment is one that we can, relatively easily, convince ourselves that we are doing on a daily basis (and that can be a good thing!) By opening God’s Word, by silently praying to him as we go about our day, or even by reading a study like this one, we can begin to place importance upon loving God with more of our heart, mind, and soul than we did yesterday. 

But Jesus had another commandment for his followers, one that he said “is like it,” and went on to say that “all the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.” In fact, the command to love God and the command to love others seem inextricably linked. Look at how Jesus describes this idea a few chapters later in Matthew 25 when discussing the eternal ramifications of living out one facet of these two commandments:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25:31-40

One of the two greatest commandments, as emphasized by Jesus, is to love one another as we love ourselves. At first blush, this seems impossible and rightfully so. Who among us possibly thinks of others as often as we do ourselves? Do we extend the same amount of grace or forgiveness towards others as we do ourselves? When we are hungry, do we think of someone else’s hunger? When we are thirsty, is there equal consideration given to the thirst of another? If someone is sick and in need, do we make it a priority to visit and care for them, or do we wait a few days so that we don’t get sick ourselves? 

Unclench your jaw and relax your shoulders. These are rhetorical questions. We know that none of us live out this command perfectly, and if we are aware of that, certainly Jesus was and is. How thankful should we be then for His forgiveness. But here is the catch. While perfect obedience is not possible for any of us, it is what we are being called towards. Earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, while Jesus is delivering the Sermon on the Mount, listen to what he says:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48

Yes, Jesus endured the cross and rose from the dead in order to make a way for our sins to no longer eternally separate us from God.That forgiveness is stunning when we consider and identify the big mistakes and the grievous sins that we have committed. But Jesus’ forgiveness becomes even more incomprehensible when we realize that each of us is breaking these first two commandments an untold number of times per day. The question we have to ask ourselves is, are we even trying to obey them? Have we allowed our fear of uncertainty or our attitude towards being inconvenienced stop us from seeing the people in need around us as those we are called to serve? Have our cultural, societal, or political viewpoints on life led us to a place where we are comfortable with Christ but uncomfortable with those who were created in His image? 

None of us can live out the command to love (our enemies) as we love ourselves perfectly. Certainly each of us will inevitably one day fail to stop when we see someone in need and give them the care they deserve. But the real tension we must address is this: are we even trying anymore or have we ceded that responsibility to others, only to judge them when they fail? Jesus himself has given us these two greatest commandments, and to be obedient to one means being obedient to the other. Therefore, we must try, and when we catch ourselves at all apathetic to our sin, we must, we must, we must, as ambassadors of reconciliation, do our best to make a change for the sake of eternity. 

Jesus, I want to be obedient to you, but I recognize the enormity of what you have commanded me to do. Lord, please reveal to me all of the ways I have allowed myself to slip away from loving you with all of my heart, mind, and soul, and equally as important, the ways I have turned away from loving others. I am asking you today, the one who formed and fashioned my heart, to soften it towards you and every human being created in your image. Make me a vessel of your purpose, an ambassador of reconciliation, a light in dark places, and an astonishing disciple of your ways so that through my most sincere efforts to fulfill these two greatest commandments others would see you, search for you, find you, and ultimately live a life of obedience to you. Amen.