The Pharisees ask Jesus a question: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” It sounds like a sincere question, but they were testing Jesus. They were not asking because they wanted to learn something. They were trying to trap Jesus.
The Pharisees knew the Scriptures, but they had a distorted understanding of the Law. They thought the law could be fulfilled by their own works. They thought their obedience to the law could make them righteous. They did not allow the law to expose their sin. And since they thought that they did not sin, then in their eyes, they had no need for a Savior.
But they were sinners, and their Savior was standing right in front of them. They not only had a distorted understanding of the law. They also failed to see their need for a Savior. They failed to see that Jesus is the promised Messiah.
They asked Jesus which is the great commandment in the Law. And even though they were trying to trap Him, nevertheless, Jesus answered their question. He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is a quote from Deuteronomy 6:5. And then He adds, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This is a quote from Leviticus 19:18.
Notice that Jesus quotes the Bible. Even today, authority and truth are based on what the Scriptures say and not on some man-made rule or what the culture determines as true.
Jesus says: love God and love your neighbor. These two commands belong together. One is not greater than the other. St Paul says in Romans 10:13 that “love is the fulfilling of the law.” St John says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20-21).
We are to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. We love God when we do not worship idols. We love God by calling upon His name in every trouble. We love God by not despising His Word but by holding it sacred.
We are also to love our neighbor. We are to honor our parents (4th commandment). We are to protect our neighbor’s life (5th commandment). We are to be faithful in marriage and to lead a sexually pure and descent life (6th commandment). We are to respect our neighbors possessions (7th commandment). We are to defend our neighbor’s reputation and resist gossip (8th commandment). We are to be content with what God has given us and resist coveting things or people (9th and 10th commandments).
But the law is not merely a list of rules. God does not want us to follow Him like robots. He does not merely require outward obedience while our hearts remains selfish. Rather, God wants us to willingly and joyfully love Him and our neighbor.
The law is both beautiful and terrifying.
It is beautiful because it describes the life God created us to live. The Ten Commandments are good for us. They keep order in the family and society. They tell us what to do and what not to do. They teach us what is right and wrong and what is false and true.
Yet the law is also terrifying. Since we have a sinful nature, we have not done what God commands. We have failed to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. We have loved ourselves more than God. We have been impatient with our neighbor. We are selfish and proud. We have failed to love others as we should.
They Pharisees may have looked good on the outside, but God could see their sinful heart. So also, for us. We may look good on the outside, but God sees our heart. We have a sinful heart.
The law is like a mirror. It exposes our sin. It leaves us nowhere to hide. It tells us what God requires, but it cannot save us. It cannot give us the righteousness that we need. It commands us to love, but it does not give us the ability to produce perfect love. The law reveals our need for a Savior.
And this is why Jesus immediately turns the conversation from the law to Himself as the one and only Savior.
The Pharisees ask a question about the law. Jesus now asks a question about the promised Savior, namely Himself. Jesus asks them: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They answer, “The Son of David.”
Their answer is correct, but incomplete. The Messiah was indeed promised as the descendant of David. He would be David’s Son. But Jesus then quotes Psalm 110, “The LORD said to my Lord (in other words: God the Father said to Jesus who is David’s Lord), ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’”
Jesus asks, “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” In other words, how can David’s Son also be David’s Lord? The answer is found in Jesus.
Jesus is David’s Son according to His human nature. Jesus was born of the virgin Mary and came from the lineage of David. But Jesus is also David’s Lord according to His divine nature. Jesus is the eternal Son of God in human flesh. Jesus is both true man and true God.
Jesus had to be man because He had to put Himself under the law. He obeyed the law where we have disobeyed. He had to be man in order to shed His blood as a payment for our sin. He had to be man in order to suffer and die in our place.
Jesus also had to be God. Only God could perfectly fulfill the law. Only God could bear the punishment for the sins of the world. Only God could rise from the dead. Only God could conquer our enemies of sin, death, and the devil.
Deuteronomy 6:5 says to love God. Well, Jesus loved His Father with all His heart, soul, and mind. He willingly submits Himself to the Father’s will even if it meant suffering and death on the cross. His entire earthly life is one of perfect obedience toward His Father.
Leviticus 19:18 says to love the neighbor. Jesus loved His neighbor as Himself. He fulfills it perfectly. He does what Adam failed to do. He does what Israel failed to do. He does you and I failed to do. Jesus kept the law perfectly.
Jesus’ love is not merely a feeling. It is sacrificial. He blesses those who curse Him. He prays for those who mistreat Him. He serves those in need. Ultimately, He laid down His life for you and me. The cross demonstrates His perfect love for the whole world. He died on the cross. He rose from the dead. He paid for our sin, and He defeated our enemies of death and the devil.
Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of the Father. God the Father said to Jesus, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool” (Psalm 110). And this is exactly what Christ has done.
The Gospel is therefore entirely outside of us. Our salvation does not depend upon the quality of our obedience. It depends upon Christ’s obedience.
Our hope is in Christ. He did what we cannot do. His love covers our lovelessness. His righteousness covers our unrighteousness. His death covers our guilt. His resurrection gives us the promise of eternal life. Our life therefore begins and ends with Christ.
Love for God and love for the neighbor are not separated. They are together. So also, the law and the Gospel go together. We need both.
The law tells us what to do and what not to do, but the Gospel tells us what God has done for us in Christ and what He still does for us through His Word and the Sacrament. The law shows us our sin, but the Gospel shows us our Savior.
The law asks the question, “Have you loved God perfectly? Have you loved your neighbor as yourself?” The answer is “no.” But the Gospel asks a different question, “Who is the Christ?” The answer: He is true God and true man. He is the One who has fulfilled the law, suffered in our place, died and rose from the dead.
The law reveals our need for a Savior. The Gospel reveals Christ as our Savior. The law demands perfect love, and Christ provides the perfect love we lack. The law exposes our unrighteousness, and Christ gives us His righteousness through faith. The law brings us a sorrow over sin; the Gospel brings us forgiveness. The proper response to the law is repentance, and the proper response to the Gospel is faith in Christ.
This Gospel changes us for the better. The Gospel creates a new heart in us.
The law says, “Love God.” But God first loved us. The order is important. We do not love God in order to make God love us. He loved us first. Because God loved us first, we are enabled to love Him. We joyfully love God, hear His Word, receive His gifts and serve Him.
And because God loved us, we then joyfully love our neighbor. We take care of those in need. We call them to see how they are doing. We lend a helping hand. We cook a meal for them. We protect their property. We speak well of them. We pray for them.
We don’t do these things in order to be saved. We do them freely out of thankfulness for what God has done for us.
In Christ, you received His righteousness. In Christ, you will receive His body and blood. In Christ, your sins are forgiven. In Christ, you have a peace which the world can never give.
The question Jesus asked remains the most important question: “What do you think about the Christ?” In other words, “Who is Jesus to you?” He is not merely a teacher or moral example. He is true God and true man. He is David’s Son who became your brother. He is your Savior from sin and death. He is David’s Lord and He is your Lord.
Jesus now reigns at the right hand of the Father forever and ever. Thanks be to God. Amen.
