Jesus lays down the law

Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”


One of the more obvious things the law does is show us our sin. When Jesus quotes Deut 6 which tells us to love God with all our heart, we are reminded that we have not done this. The law calls us to confess our sins.

But it important to know how we have sinned, so we can pursue godliness. And this is another purpose of the law: it shows us what God is after; what He wants from us now, and for the rest of our lives, after we confess our sins. The rabbis in Jesus' time challenged each other to summarize the whole law while standing on one foot. In other words, keep it simple, succinct and yet cover the whole law. Jesus meets their challenge right here. God made us to love Him and others. That's what life is about. That's God's will for you.

The law shows us our sin. It shows us how to live. and it shows us our need for a savior. The same one who summarizes the law here, kept the whole law, and bled and died for your breaking of the law. Let us confess to Him.


11/7/10