What can we learn regarding the two greatest commands in Matthew 22?
Mainstreamers tell us Jesus Yeshua replaced the entire teaching of God, the Torah law as well as the words of the Prophets, with these two simple statements:
Matthew 22:38-39
And He (Yeshua, Jesus, Messiah) said to him, “You shall 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, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
OK, there we have it, right? Jesus changed God’s word — which God said not to change, and that it is forever, for all generations. But Jesus Yeshua is God, so he can change His mind, right?
He can give us new, simplified, generic doctrine to follow until the end of days. Awesome, that is how we like things in the 21st century – simple.
Ummmm, no, I have to disagree. That is what the mainstream teaches, but is it true?
Should we answer this with my thoughts and ideas, or should we let scripture do it for us? I say we go with scripture, because I’m just a goofy, 51 year old bald guy. I don’t matter for much of anything…
Let’s start by looking at this WHOLE story in scripture:
Matthew 22:34-40
34-But the Pharisees, when they heard that Yeshua (Jesus) had silenced the Sadducees, gathered together in one place. 35-And testing Him, one of them, a lawyer, asked, 36-“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Torah?”
37-And He (Yeshua, Jesus, Messiah) said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” 38-This is the first and greatest commandment. 39-And the second is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 40-The entire Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Point #1 – Was this bit of scripture simply Jesus giving us brand new “New-Testament-Doctrine?” No, a Pharisee asked Him a question.
Point #2 – What was the subject matter of this question? Look at verse 36. The Torah. God’s law. Old-Testament-Doctrine. Call it what you like. Jesus is answering a question about existing doctrine. The only doctrine.
Point #3 – Did Jesus get off track, and give us new doctrine instead of simply answering the question? No, absolutely not. How do we know this? Check out verse 40. Yeshua (Jesus) tells us Himself that He is simply paraphrasing the Torah instruction and the Prophets, which all turned the people back to Torah, God’s commands.
So, am I telling you these two commandments are part of the original and only doctrine, God’s instructions to His people? Yes. Check this out:
Deuteronomy 6:5
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Leviticus 19:18
“…but love your neighbor as yourself.”
The mainstream doctrine teaches us that the two greatest commandments are Jesus’ doctrine for us to follow. Generic, simple, decide-for-yourself-what-it-means.
The mainstream message uses the catch phrase “missing-the-mark” all the time, but they never define what “hitting-the-mark” is.
Well, thankfully, we don’t need them to figure it out for us. God gave us His criteria for hitting His mark. He even wrote it down for us, some with His own finger in stone tablets, and some via Moses. Jeremiah and Hebrews tells us that in the New Covenant, it is all written on our hearts! Amen!
Is there any other way for us to know that Yeshua (Jesus, Messiah) was not creating new, simplified doctrine for us in Matthew 22?
Once again, let’s go to scripture (since I’m a knucklehead).
John 5:19
Therefore, Yeshua answered them, “Amen, amen, I tell you, the Son cannot do anything by Himself. He can do only what He sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.”
Hebrews 13:8
Yeshua the Messiah is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
If we look at Hebrews 13:8, John 1:1, John 1:14, and Matthew 14:35 together, we see the following:
The Word has existed since the beginning, and will never pass away.
The word was God, and the Word became flesh (Jesus), so God and Jesus and the Word are one.
Hebrews tells us Jesus Messiah is the same yesterday, today, and forever, therefore God is the same and the Word is the same.
Maybe this gets a bit confusing, saying they are all the same. But scripture says it, not me!
But wait, there’s more scripture showing that God’s word never changes, and therefore, Jesus did not change doctrine during His time on earth:
Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers, the flower fades. But the word of our God stands forever.
Psalm 119:89
Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.
Psalm 33:11
The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.
Numbers 23:19
God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes his mind.
I could go on and on with this. Scripture, from start to finish, tells us that the Word of God never changes.
The mainstream message that Jesus created a simple doctrine consisting of two commands —– DEBUNKED!!
