This post is Day 20 in a series of studies about “Commandments”. I strongly suggest you begin with the introduction to this study, please click here to read it.

Feel free to comment below with your own thoughts about each verse and how you will be acting on each thought. Also, if you haven’t yet signed up to receive the notifications of new studies, you can do that today. (The form is at the bottom of the page).

Commandments – Day 20

This man was used to teaching the law to others and was looking for praise or at least encouragement from this strange travelling preacher. The thing that attracted me as I read these verses is that Jesus did not answer the question. Rather He summarised the 10 commandments into two!

Matthew 22:35-40

0ne of the Pharisees, 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 neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

The Thought

I suspect that Jesus was waiting for a sort of trick question because He would immediately recognise that this was an expert of the law, at least in the eyes of other Pharisees. And Jesus was something of a mindreader! He knew immediately if a person was coming to Him in real need, with a genuine question, or with an attempt to trick Him.

This man was used to teaching the law to others and was looking for praise or at least encouragement from this strange travelling preacher.

The thing that attracted me as I read these verses is that Jesus didn’t answer the question. Rather He summarised the 10 commandments into just two! That makes them much easier to learn and remember for all of us!

But is it any easier to put them into action? The basic requirement in both these commandments is love. Personally I find it easy to love most people, but putting “most” in there means I am far from perfect.

Action

Ask yourself today how easy it is for you to love.

On a scale of 1-10 how much love do you have for God? And for others? For your extended family? For the people who live around you? What about those you work with? Or your local and national politicians?

Read more of Matthew 22, and allow yourself to be challenged to pray for those you don’t love quite so much as you could!

For a full list of online studies available on this site, please click here.

If there is a subject you would like to see on this site, please use the comment section below or drop us an email (there’s a link at the very top of the page). We can’t promise to cover them all, and our studies are usually prepared a month or two in advance, so please be patient.

For a full list of physical resources available through this site, please click here.