A Pharisee asked Jesus which commandment is the greatest among the 613 listed in the Old Testament. Perhaps he did not know, though he memorized them all. He might have been overwhelmed by the many expectations of the law. Jesus replied, not with one from the Ten Commandments, but from Deut. 6:5, "Love the Lord your God (with all your being)." The second, "Love you neighbor as yourself." Jesus knew the spirit of the law-love. Jesus himself loved God and us with all his being. God does not want our religiosity but our love for him and for our neighbors. God is love. We love because he first loved us (1 Jn 4:19). We receive God's love in Jesus and love God and others in return.

Jesus' question to the Pharisees, "Whose son is the Messiah?" seems easy to answer. The Messiah should be from David's royal line and restore his kingdom. But according to David's psalm, the Messiah is David's LORD who existed before David. Therefore, he is both the son of David as well as the Son of God. Jesus claimed himself as that Messiah. Jesus is fully God and fully man. Jesus is God who humbled himself, took the nature of true humanity to himself, and lived among us. Jesus is God who tasted death in our place but rose from the dead in power and glory.


Application: Lord, thank you for your love for us. Help us to love you and in your love to love others.
One Word: Love is the greatest of everything