Let's go together to mark chapter 12, shall we?
And please put your eyes on verse 28 of Mark chapter 12, and
to let you know in advance keep your Bible open today, because
there will be different passages that we must turn to, to fully
grasp what the Lord Jesus is saying here Mark 12/28.
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with
one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him
which commandment is the most important of all.
Jesus answered The most important is hear, O Israel, the
Lord our God. The Lord is 1 and you shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your mind, and with all your strength.
The 2nd is this. You shall love your neighbor as
yourself. There is no other commandment
greater than these. And the scribe said to him, You
are right. Teacher.
You have truly said that he is 1, and there is no other besides
him. And to love him with all the
heart and with all the understanding and with all the
strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself is much more
than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him,
you are not far from the Kingdom of God, and after that no one
dared to ask him any more questions.
Lord, thank you for your word. We ask now that you help us
understand it, and that, Lord, the very commands that we read
would become more real in our lives.
And so we ask that you increase these kinds of loves in US and
through US. Lord, spare us from being in a
moment where we just hear things and do not feel them and do not
apply them. Even in the delivery of this
message. Lord, may it not go over our
heads, may not be delivered in a manner that is distracting or
confusing, but may it come from your heart and may any man
disappear. And may everything that is said
that is in alignment with this word plant deeply into our inner
being. We trust that you will help us
as we've come to you in faith in Jesus name.
Amen. Well, what do we have here
today? Well, you and I, week after
week, have been watching the embarrassing attempts of Jesus
enemies who try to discredit him.
And so you have the Pharisees and the Herodians who partnered
together. And then you had the rival of
the Pharisees, the Sadducees, also coming with their attempt.
But now we have this final group, one more group who will
try to take advantage of this opportunity to ask Jesus a
challenging question. And Mark tells us that the
questioner was a scribe. Now, when you read it from
Matthew's perspective, he says he was a lawyer and there's no
contradiction there. The lawyer is really just an
alternate title to the same and of the same occupation.
The scribes and the lawyers of this time were scholars.
They were men who were by profession devoted to
interpreting and determining the appropriate applications of the
Law of Moses, and the responsibility responsibilities
included much, including copying the Hebrew scriptures and also
compiling legal documents for those who abide by the Law of
Moses. Now this is important.
They were distinct from the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
They were their own group, although some of those scribes
were in fact Pharisees. And if those Pharisees were not
scribes, these scribes worked very closely with the Pharisees.
And Matthew indicates that with a parallel account of the same
exchange, you don't have to turn there, but listen to Matthew's
version. He says in Matthew 2234 and 35.
But when the Pharisees heard that he silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together and one of them, a lawyer asked him a
question to test him. So it's the same scene, the
scribing the lawyer is the same person.
Matthew gives us a little bit more insight that after the
Sadducees were muzzled, they regathered and they thought, OK,
we're trying to do this one more time here and they came up with
one question and whether they delegated one of these guys or
one volunteered, we are not told.
But this was another test. This was again another attempt
to ensnare Jesus. But not entirely.
See, if you read this from Matthew's perspective, you would
be under the persuasion that this was another attempt to try
to malign the Lord's reputation. But Mark gives us a different
insight. Again, look back at Mark 12 and
look at verse 28 closely. It says here.
And one of the scribes came up and heard them, disputing them,
being the Sadducees. And Jesus heard them disputing
with one another, and seeing that he answered them well,
asked him so. Seeing that Jesus answered so
profoundly and wisely, this compelled this one scribe to to
ask this question. Meaning this scribe.
Although in part he is working with the Pharisees to try to do
something, he also is coming from a curious place.
There's some sincerity in his heart.
He genuinely wants to know it. And the evidence of that is
that, unlike the other interrogators before him, Jesus
doesn't rebuke the scribe. Jesus doesn't expose him for his
insincerity. He actually commends him.
And so this scribe is coming from a good place, and I believe
it's because he wanted to know the answer to this question.
He wanted to discover what it is that God desires of him.
Now the reason why that's important before we move on is
because the scribes generally were condemned by Jesus Christ.
They were not his favorite group of people.
And if you want a hint of that, Scroll down and look here at
verse 38 of chapter 12. Notice what Jesus says and in
his teaching he said beware of the scribes who like to walk
around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces
and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of
honor at feast who devour widows houses and for a pretense make
long prayers, they will receive the greater condemnation.
So this is a category of people that Jesus has very strong
opinions. About.
And when you go to Matthew 23, it's even elaborated more where
he gives these blistering woes. You've probably heard them, and
you're probably familiar with them, but to who are those woes
aimed at? The scribes and the Pharisees?
But this scribe is different. Jesus is actually moved by him
because the scribe is. Moved by Jesus.
And that encourages me. The reason why it encourages me.
It's because you and I can learn from this that anyone who
belongs to any group, whether it be ethnic, whether it be
religious, whether it be political, is not beyond the
hope of being drawn to the truth ascribe the ones who have
received the greater condemnation.
You tell me one of those guys. Jesus says you're not far from
the Kingdom of God. Christians sometimes are a
skeptical. Bunch as much as they are
believing people. Oh, they believe in the power of
the gospel, but not for those kind of people.
Very unlikely for that kind of a person, from that kind of a
background or that kind of sin, to embrace the Lord Jesus
Christ. It reminds me, though, of a
testimony that Paul himself agrees with concerning another
group of people, and it's almost at the first reading of it, hard
to kind of see how Paul would say something like this.
I want you to see it with your own eyes in Titus Chapter One.
Go to Titus Chapter One, because as shocking as this may be, it
provides A glorious comfort about this very truth that I'm
trying to convey. Look at Titus One and look at
verse 12. If.
You want to know? Where Titus is, it's with all
the other epistles that start with T They're all grouped
together. So if you're in Thessalonians,
if you're with Timothy, you're close.
Keep flipping the pages, You'll find Titus eventually.
Titus One look what Paul says in this brief letter to his Co
labor in the gospel named Titus. He says in verse 12 of Titus one
one of the Cretans, a prophet of their own.
Said Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.
This testimony is true. Gasp, Paul, you're saying this
testimony is true there, and he goes on to say, therefore rebuke
them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.
So Paul remarks here about the general character problem of
this group of people known as the Cretins, and he drives his
point from one of the leading voices who also confessed this
truth about his own culture. Now I'm looking at a room here
with different people, different cultural backgrounds,
ethnicities, nationalities, histories, heritages.
And I'm sure many of you can make also accurate assessments
of the negative qualities of where you come from.
I'm sure there are patterns. I'm sure there are things that
you yourself were once associated with in terms of
mannerisms or convictions or failures and shortcomings.
And so we can't blame Paul too much here, because what Paul is
doing is essentially agreeing with this known saying among the
cretins that they even accepted, while also learning from first
hand experience that this culture tolerates, this culture
entertains and produces immorality and all these other
vices that come with it. Susan, what?
What are we supposed to do with this?
We'll think deeper, meditate on it.
This is an encouragement to me. An encouragement because Paul is
speaking to Titus, who is left in Crete.
To do what? To help manage and organize the
churches there. Go to verse five.
Look at it with me. This is why I left you in Crete,
so that you might put what remained into order and appoint
elders in every town as I directed you.
So think about it in a region that has a reputation of again
producing and tolerating dishonest, self absorbed, idle
people. You know what happened?
God redeemed souls. God saved people, God
transformed them and regenerated them.
So even with a culture that was written off that had this nasty
kind of reputation, God did a work.
God did a work. And the point that I'm trying to
say is that the Lord can work in the hearts of absolutely
anybody, no matter who they are, where they come from, whether
they be a scribe or a Cretan. And you and I have to have the
faith that this is how powerful the gospel is.
And I know in these days we're looking at political groups and
we're looking at people who believe certain things and we
might think to ourselves they're almost beyond hope.
Listen, don't lose faith in the gospel, but let's come back to
our main text and let's meditate further.
Why did the scribe ask this question out of all the
questions? Because, again, though
individually, he might come from a different place, he's also
connected to the scribes and the Pharisees who came up with this
kind of inquiry. What are they trying to get at?
What are they trying to get from Jesus?
I believe it's pretty simple. Their hope could have been to
have Jesus say something. That would have been wrong.
That you would have said something that wasn't the most
important command. That's less likely.
I think what's more likely is that they were hoping Jesus
would say something that would seem to have contradicted or
eclipse what Moses taught. And So what they were trying to
get Jesus to do at this point was to make him seem to be anti
Moses. And you know how much they
esteemed Moses and this isn't something that they just tried
with Jesus. If you read the book of Acts,
you see that they try to do this with Paul.
The Jews always try to get something on Paul and their main
weapon was he is trying to overtake.
He is trying to dismiss and neglect and ignore what has been
given to us in the law. So this is a common tactic and
it's being used here against the Saviour.
And so we see here that these Jewish leaders are again trying
to trap the Lord and they're going to find out that they're
going to be the ones who are in trap.
But again, this man, he's delegated by the Pharisees.
But it seems as though he asked this question, knowing that even
among his peers this is a contested thing.
I'm sure there was debates among these schools of what was the
most important commandment and and I I'm persuaded that he
himself wants to settle it in his own soul.
He he heard that Jesus answered his rival so well concerning the
resurrection and perhaps something in him is like I I
just want to know this man is something else.
As we heard earlier from Pastor Mark.
He doesn't speak like anybody else.
Maybe he can settle this once and for all.
My own heart. What's the most important thing
that God wants from me? What is it that I need to do for
him to be pleased with me? And you Read it, did you not?
Verse 29. Jesus answered.
The most important is Hero Israel, the Lord our God.
The Lord is one. He wants to 1st establish that
there is no God like this God. We believe in one God, Jesus,
again emphasizing that we don't believe like these pagans and a
plethora of different gods and deities, know there is one God,
and then he builds upon it, not just acknowledging who he is
theologically, doctrinally, but loving.
Him, loving him, loving Him. And his answer really is 2 part.
Is it not? Because he speaks about loving
God and then loving your neighbor?
And he pulls this out of two places in the Hebrew scriptures,
Deuteronomy 65 and Leviticus 1918.
And notice that Jesus speaks about these two commandments as
though they were one. So what's the most important
commandment? And he gives 2 commandments.
Do you know why that is? Because they are inseparable,
they coexist and they cannot live apart from one another.
And the apostle of love, John said in his own epistle in the
first one, at least something that confirms this truth.
Again, don't turn there, but listen to what John says in
first John 4/20. He 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. You can't say that you love God
and then hate his people or hate those who are creating his
image. If you claim to love God who is
invisible while also hating people that you can see, how is
that possible? And I believe that's built upon
this truth, that although these are two separate commands,
they're joined together and they can never be, never be severed.
If you're going to say that you love God, then you're also
automatically going to love people.
In fact, you can't love people unless you first know how to
love God. And so Christ here is making it
clear these are the most important commandments.
But here's the thing. I'm looking.
At this, and I'm wondering to myself, how do we apply it?
And here's what I want to say. Before we break these things
down, you have to understand that Jesus is not here
explaining what commands you need to obey in order to be
saved. That's not the case.
He's not even answering that kind of a question.
He's simply trying to explain here.
Of what God ultimately desires from man.
And so I hope I'm preaching to a room filled with people who have
already done the most important thing, and that's believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to hear what's about
to take place in the next. I don't know how long.
I want you to hear it. As people who have already made
the step of realizing that you can't abide and fulfill any law,
you fall short and what you did do.
I praise that you confess your inability to uphold anything God
asks of you in the way that he asks of you, and that you've
surrendered to the. Righteousness of Jesus Christ.
So hear what I'm about to teach in this moment from the place of
already believing on Christ, on the other side of believing on
Him. Because they apply.
They apply. As a Christian now, you should
be preoccupied of wanting to know, how can I obey my Savior?
What is it that he wants from me?
Not to get right with him? You've been made right because
of the Son of God. So here in that way, now posture
yourself as a born again believer.
OK, Lord, what is it that you want?
What is it that I put my most energy and thought and affection
toward? And now you're in the right
place and Jesus makes it so plain and clear.
You know, it's amazing. Christ is such a clear
communicator. I love it.
And this is what he says. Love God.
Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind,
all your strength. You know how you can translate
that? I don't think it's absolutely
necessary to try to breakdown every component.
What does it mean to love God with your heart?
What does it mean? Yes, you can do that.
And all it's really saying is with all your affection, with
all your intellect, with all your energy.
A translation to this is very simple.
Love God with everything you are, with absolutely everything
you are nothing less than that. And.
If you're like me, then yes, it's plain and clear.
But I always have questions. And here's my question.
What does that look like? I know what it says.
It's clear the bullseye is there.
But what do I do to arrive there?
How do I pursue this? What does it look like with legs
and arms? I need to see how this is
fleshed out. And that's what I began to ask
reading this earlier this week. Lord, what does it look like for
me to love you in this way? And God is merciful.
God is very kind to us. He's very kind to me.
Because I'm reading this earlier this week, I try to do it as
early as possible in the week. But I also.
Do my own reading. And so I'm reading in 1st and
2nd Kings, Second Kings. And as I'm just reading through
Second Kings, I stumble upon a passage as I was reading about
in my bed yesterday morning about King Josiah.
And there's something about King Josiah at the end of his
biography that leaped off the page and clutched to my heart.
And I began to rejoice in bed, being like thank you, Lord, for
helping me with the sermon this Sunday.
And it's going to be somewhere in Second Kings.
If you turn with me to chapter 23, I told you we're going to
turn to some passages today. I want you to see what the Holy
Spirit says of this one king among the many kings of Judah.
How he stands out in Second Kings 23, verse 25.
It says here about King Josiah. Before him there was no king
like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart.
And with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all
the law of Moses. Nor did any like him arise after
him. I I couldn't move past that.
And maybe because I was reading Mark 12 earlier and I thought to
myself, what a tribute that's been given to a king.
What a tribute that's been given to such a man.
There was no king like him before, and there was no king
that arose after him because he was highlighted for the love,
the love that he had for the Lord.
And so it got me thinking. It got me thinking, what was it
about Josiah? What was it about this
particular man that qualified him to have such a privileged
honor? What was it about this man
that's made him stand out to love God in this way, In the
very same way that Jesus tells you and I that we must love God?
And I'll tell you this because that's the end.
Near the end of his life, I began to just look back at what
is described of him and pick out some clues that I believe the
Holy Spirit makes so obvious in terms of why Josiah was
different, putting him in that place of being crowned with such
a privileged honor. There are many different kings
in Israel and Judah, and there were some reformers, but he
stood out even among the reformers, and I believe the
reason is. What we see at the beginning of
his mention in the Bible. So you're still there.
Now go to Chapter 22, Second Kings 22 and look here.
At verse 11, here's what's happening.
King Josiah, after becoming king, wants to work on the House
of God. So he hires men, and he has
people do just that. And when they're cleaning the
place up, they discovered the book, The Book of the Law.
And it's so staggering because when they discover the book of
the law, they could barely recognize it.
They could barely recognize it. And so his secretary begins to
read from it, and and he comes into the presence of the king.
And he says, look, we found this book.
And he begins to open it up and unveil the content and look at
the reaction of this king in verse 11.
When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his
clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah
the priest, and Haikam the son of Shafan, and Akbar the son of
Makaya, and Shafan the secretary.
And I saw the King's servant saying, Go, inquire of the Lord
for me and for the people, and for all Judah concerning the
words of this book that has been found.
For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us,
because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book.
To do according to all that is written concerning us.
He tore his clothes. And you're thinking, well, why
is this important? I've seen and read about men
who've done the same. True, but I want you to see how
important this was to God himself, because he inquires of
the Lord. And a prophetess by the name of
Holda sends word back to Josiah. And notice what she says on
behalf of the Lord. Concerning Josiah's response,
pay attention to the word of God.
Scroll down to verse 19. This is the prophetess speaking
on behalf of the Lord concerning Josiah, because your heart was
penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when
you heard how I spoke against this place and against his
inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse,
and you have torn your clothes and wet before me.
I also have heard you, declares the Lord, Connect this with the
truth, that he was a man who stood out for his great love for
the Lord with all his might. And all his heart and all his
strength. A man who loves the Lord his God
in that way is a man who revere's the word of God.
If you don't think that is relevant, if you don't think
this is how God views and measures our love, then read
again and notice that God tells Josiah.
The only reason why I heard you is because you first heard me.
Look back again. Look at the last part, verse 19,
he says you have torn your clothes and wet before me.
I also have heard you, declares the Lord, because when you heard
my word and you responded accordingly, I will honor you by
listening to your words. So here's the thing.
You have to ask yourself this if you want to measure this kind of
love that Jesus demands of us. Very simple.
You ready? How do you view God's word?
How do you view it? Do you do you cherish it?
Do you enjoy it? More importantly, do you submit
to it? Because this man here shows us
not just an emotional response to the word of God, but also how
he acts upon it, which is remarkable.
It's remarkable. So let me say this.
You cannot separate your claim of loving God with how you
relate to the Word of God. Show me a man or a woman and how
they relate to the Word, and you will tell me everything I need
to know about how they love the God of the Word.
It's inseparable. It's inseparable because it's
clear here that God makes that connection.
God has given us His Word as a means to relate to Him.
So how I treat this, how I engage with this, how I relish
this, really determines what I feel.
I know you say it, I know sometimes you get the fuzzies
when the worship songs are right.
I get it. But ultimately it is measured
according to this book, according to God's mind, by your
view of the Word. How I feel about it.
More than that, because this is not the only thing that this
prophet test said to King Josiah before this wonderful
commendation. She describes him a coming
condemnation, and she says back in verse 16 of Second Kings 22
Look at this prophecy. Thus says the Lord.
Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its
inhabitants. All the words of the book that
the King of Judah has read because they have forsaken me
and have made offerings to other gods that they might provoke me
to anger with all the work of their hands.
Therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place and
it will not be quenched. And then she goes on to say, but
I notice how you respond to my word, Josiah.
So what do we take from this? She's essentially as a
prophetess, declaring that the coming judgment against Judah is
certain. My wrath will be poured out.
It's not going to be quenched. It's definite.
Now you got to think about it this way.
If I receive word like that as a leader, as a king, I'm not sure
that provides much motivation to try to bring reform.
I'm not sure how much I would want to now get people to
recognize who God is, our negligence of His will, and then
try to provoke national repentance.
Why judgment is coming anyway, it's certain, and you would
think this would deter Josiah. You would think that this would
make him discouraged and he would slump his shoulders and
make way back into his palace thinking, well, it's.
I guess it's too late. Is that what Josiah does?
No, no, you got to keep reading. I'm not going to read it for
you, but you can if you want. He brings one of the greatest
revivals in Israel's history, not just in Judah.
It actually bleeds into the Northern Kingdom.
That tells me something about this man that tells me something
about how he viewed God's word that despite the present or the
coming circumstances that were not favorable, it didn't mess
with him. He told himself and he told
others, Despite what has been set for us, we're still going to
obey God for the time being. So you know what that tells me
about Josiah? He's he's the kind of man that
will obey God. This is so fascinating whether
or not there is a reward for it, because according to these
words, there's going to be no benefit, really, in a short
amount of time. Judgment is still going to come.
And Josiah is saying, yeah, well then what's the point?
No, no, no, no. Despite the reward being there
or not, I still I'm going to obey my God.
Because it's not about the reward, it's about the person,
it's about God himself. No wonder that he is upheld with
such esteem, loving the Lord. Why?
Because even when he was told. Yeah, you don't know what's
really going to happen now because things are going to get
very gloomy in a short amount of time.
That doesn't matter. I still discover what God said,
and I still want to please his heart.
That's a man who doesn't just value content or data, who wants
to live what God said. He has to live.
Whether he lived long, whether they was going to make him a
mighty man, a reputable man, what it was going to bring
profit to his administration. It doesn't matter.
If God said it, then I will do it.
I'm thinking of another king, of another king who also one that
we're more familiar with, who has been given one of the
greatest titles that I believe you can give another person,
especially because it comes from God.
You know who it is. All I have to tell you this.
And you know exactly what I'm speaking about.
He was someone who is after God's own heart.
Yeah, there you go. He didn't let me finish, he
said. David, you know who it is.
A man who's after mine own heart.
What else do you want than that? Forgot to say that about your
life. Fill in the blank.
Your name. In whom I have found a heart
that is after my own heart. Can I ask you something?
We love that. We quote that.
We know who that's about. What does it mean?
Does it mean that he wrote
wonderful worship songs? Does it mean what?
What does it mean for David to be a man after God's own heart?
Because I want that. I want that more than anything
else. Strip me any accolade, any kind
of recognition, any kind of invitation.
If God from heaven can look at me and say he's after my own
heart, I'm a very happy man and I'm thankful that it's not
cryptic in the Bible. I'm thankful that actually the
Bible tells me why David was a man after God's own heart and I
want to show it to you so you can know if you want to walk in
that same path. It's in the New Testament, Acts
chapter 13, and I want you to see this verse with me.
Acts, chapter 13. And look at verse 22.
And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their
king, of whom he testified and said, I have found in David the
son of Jesse, a man after my heart.
Here it is who will do all my will.
That's the answer. Why was David this kind of a
man? Because he was willing to do
everything that God told him to do everything.
And that's what positioned him to be.
Praise in such a manner. So if you want to know, how can
I be a man that God can say of such, just be somebody who is
ready to do everything that he makes known to you.
That's what it is. So it's not about how loud you
are when you sing. It's not about how expressive
you are. It's not necessarily about how
much activity you're involved with.
That's all lovely. But it comes down to this, who
will do all my will? So let's let's reel back now.
Jesus said the most important commandment is to love the Lord
your God with all your might, all your mind, all your heart,
all your soul, all your strength.
What does that look like? Well, Josiah, we're told that he
was a man who did that, and he actually excelled in it in
comparison to the other kings. OK, So what is it about Josiah?
We'll look at how he related to the Word and look at David.
Now, if we just brought in that testimony and we look for a man
who was after God's heart, what are we told about that?
Well, he was willing to do all that God willed.
Let me show you one more thing before we go to loving one
another. Jesus quotes that from
Deuteronomy chapter 6. Go there.
The Shema right is known as the Shema and I want you to see what
comes immediately after what Jesus quoted in that scripture.
Deuteronomy 6/4 Hear O Israel the Lord.
Our. God the Lord is one.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul, and with all your might.
Now what does he do right after saying that?
Look what he talks about in verse 6.
And these words that I command you today shall be on your
heart. It's right there.
It's everywhere. It's the consensus of sacred
Scripture. You cannot separate your love
for God from the word of God. So love him.
And if you're going to love him, you can't do it without this
word being etched and inscribed on your heart.
On your heart. David had that heart for God.
Why? Because he did all his will.
Josiah had that heart. Why?
Because despite the reward or lack of reward, despite
punishment or prosperity, I'm going to obey God because I love
God. And even in the origination of
this command, we're told love God in the very next breath.
Now take these commands and place them on your heart.
So I know it's very practical. If you want to be a person, if
we want to be a church that walks in that way, ask God for
the eyes, for the affections, for the discipline, for the
revelation of his Word. And the more you grow in this,
the more you'll grow in that love, and the more God will be
able to save us. They're after my own heart.
They love me, but that's not the only thing he said back in our
original text. He says in verse 31.
The 2nd is this of Mark 12. You shall love your neighbor as
yourself. There is no other commandment
greater than these. What does it mean to love my
neighbor as myself? I'll tell you what it doesn't
mean. It doesn't mean that if you want
to love others better than you have to love yourself better.
I know that a lot of people are teaching that right?
There's a great campaign in these days for self esteem and
self worth, and I get it a little bit, but Jesus is not
commanding to love yourself. He's not saying if you want to
be able to love others first, you got to love yourself more
than anything else and prioritize yourself and that way
you'll be able to know what to give to others.
No. Instead, he's saying here, love
others the way you love yourself, the way you love
yourself. It's an innate human thing for
all of us to love ourselves. Now there's obviously a self
love that is wrong, prideful, dangerous, selfish, but there is
something that's wired in us that makes sense.
Even Paul himself in Ephesians tells husbands that they should
love their wives as their own bodies.
And what do they do with their own bodies?
They nurture and cherish it. That's precisely what the Lord
is conveying here. How do you love yourself while
you provide yourself protection and provision and holy and
righteous pleasure? So you put clothes on yourself
and you make sure that you feel your body and you look for some
shelter so that you are protected from the elements and
you cherish relationships and you create memories with loved
ones that everybody pursues that.
And when somebody ceases to do that, there's something
drastically wrong in their wiring, just from the standard
of human nature. So not love yourself more and
then you'll be able to love others more.
No, it's love others the way you love yourself.
And that is pretty straightforward.
But again, I'm wondering, like the first one, what does that
mean? What does that look like?
What is this Christ commissioning quality of love
manifest like? And you might argue looks like
plenty of things, because there is a vast catalogue of duties
and responsibilities and manifestations of how to love
our neighbor. And that's true.
But is there a way to summarize it?
Is there a way to categorize what it means to love my
neighbor as myself? And I believe there is.
If you're going to love your neighbor as yourself, it's going
to look like two things. It's very simple.
You'll never forget it. I'm sure loving somebody else
the way I love myself looks like me not doing certain things to
others and me willing to do certain things to others.
So there's a negative aspect of loving my neighbor and a
positive aspect. And I want to show you how
that's true, because what Jesus says here is built upon by other
writers who were given the Holy Spirit to do just that.
So let me show you what it means to love your neighbor as
yourself. And again, my desire here is to
make it as plain as possible, and the Bible makes it as plain
as possible. So here we're going to Romans
chapter 13. Look at this with me in verse
verse 10 of that chapter, Romans 13, verse 10.
Paul says love does no wrong to a neighbor.
Now here's why I come to this. Verse because look at the the
second part of this verse. Therefore love is the fulfilling
of the law. So Paul is building upon what
Jesus taught because he says that there's no other
commandment greater than these. In Matthew's Virgin he says
this. He says that upon these two
commandments depend all the law and the prophets.
In other words, if you don't get loving God and loving your
neighbor as yourself right, you won't get the other commandments
right. All the meticulous and detailed
things you will not be able to perform without first
establishing loving God and loving your neighbor.
So he's building upon that by saying, look, love is fulfilling
of the law. And he describes what love looks
like horizontally. It looks like me not doing
things to others. And if you think that that's a
stretch. If you don't believe it, look at
the previous verse. Look at Romans 39 for the
commandments. You shall not commit adultery,
you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,
and any other commandment are summed up in this word.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
So it's a clear connection and he's just fleshing it out.
So based on this in connection to Paul's master and our Lord,
loving my neighbor as myself looks like me willing to refrain
to do things that I shouldn't be doing to my fellow brethren,
believer and unbeliever alike. And Paul describes some of those
things. Not committing adultery, not
murdering. These are all negatives.
Not stealing, not coveting. And those seem obvious, do they
not? But you and I understand that.
Jesus Christ and coming into this world, not overthrowing the
Law, but as the Messiah prophesied, comes with the law
of Christ, and it's your duty and mine to come to the law of
Christ and discover what it is that I am called not to do, not
to do. I hope all of us in here
understand that we shouldn't murder each other.
Please. But what about the other things
that we overlook? So I'm reading and studying
this. I'm thinking to myself, just
from a surface level meditation. OK, Lord.
But what? What else do you ask me not to
do? And I thought of Colossians 39.
Do not lie to one another. Murder.
We get murder. Murder.
No, no, no, No lie. You know that.
Also means do not lie to one another.
If I really love my neighbor, I'm going to tell you the truth,
even if it hurts. I'm not going to lie to you
because I love you. I will speak the truth to you,
and it might cost me something, but I love you too much to keep
it from you. And so that's what we do.
We endeavor to discover these things that the Lord tells us
not to do. And then we applied them by the
power of the Holy Spirit. And we're walking in the
greatest commandment not to do. If I love you, it's my duty not
to speak. I'll of you.
If I love you, If I love you, then it is my duty not to and
discover what the New Covenant has to say.
But it's not just not doing. It's not just negative.
Loving my neighbor as myself is something that I'm also called
to do in action. I'm.
Supposed to pursue positively. And I believe Jesus elsewhere
peels the layer to that command so that we can see more clearly
how practically it looks like for me to love my neighbor as
myself. And I'll tell you why.
I'm going to go to this verse and ask you to turn there
because like Romans 1310, there's a statement made that
connects this verse to what Jesus says in our original text.
So it's in Matthew 7, verse 12. You know this very well.
You've memorized. It What does it mean for me to
love my neighbor as myself? Well, it means that you will not
do wrong to a neighbor. But also means in Matthew 712.
So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to
them. For this is the Law and the
prophets. That's why we're going there,
because he says this is the Law and the prophets.
Same terminology and language in connection to how loving God and
loving my neighbor upon all the commands do.
These things are hinging on, and here he comes kind of echoing
that same thing, but I believe he gives a deeper layer to the
horizontal reality of it. So whatever you wish that others
would do to you, do also to them what a God we have, what a
Messiah we have. Here's what this means.
Here's what Jesus longs for you, followers of the Way.
That in every. Situation you find yourself in
where you are invited to act in the life of another, no matter
how big or small. Jesus Christ wants us to make
the conscious effort to frame our efforts in a way that we
would want to receive it. Let me speak plain English.
Put yourself in their shoes and let that frame how you approach.
Let that frame how you engage. Let that frame how you dance in
obedience to the Lord's will in that person's life, to the best
of your ability. So let me give you an example.
One of the most uncomfortable things to do as a Christian is
what I alluded to as an example earlier.
Correction, I don't know anybody that likes confrontation.
It's the worst thing. Well, there's a lot of other
things that are bad, but it's one of the worst things for me.
Very awkward. But here's a tip.
I mean, this is just one example of many examples.
When I know that I have to do it by the grace of God, here's what
I try to do. How would I like to be
approached in this moment of correction?
Like how would my would I want my tone to be?
How would I want the words to be?
How would I want the encouragement in it to be?
How would I want to hear it if I was sitting on the other side of
the table? And some days that thought is
prevalent and it's Sundays like this where you and I are
reminded to go back there when we forgot to do it, because that
what that's what it means to love your neighbor as yourself.
Whatever I wish that others would do to me, I'm going to do
to them. In any situation that I am
invited to act in somebody else's life, I am to consciously
make the effort to think how would I want to receive this?
Anything from correction to help.
This is what we are governed by as Christians.
By the way, love. Notice that both of these
commands that Jesus gives and deems as the greatest is based
on love, Love. And so this man hears this and
let's come back and close together in verse 32 of Mark
chapter 12. And the scribe said to him, you
are right teacher. I mean, he just with his wisdom
sucked whatever remaining heir there was in that atmosphere.
You are right, teacher. You have truly said that he is 1
and there is no other besides him.
And to love him with all the heart and with all the
understanding, with all the strength, and to love one's
neighbor as oneself. And then he.
Asked for this, Jesus didn't mention this.
He's saying this is much more than all Holborn offerings and
sacrifices. Where's this conversation taking
place? If you honor the context in the
temple courts, you just try to envision that that the scribe
confesses this, while all this hustle and bustle is going on,
purchasing and and preparing and examining the place where
sacrifices took place. This man says what you just
said. Is more important than all of
this. What is he saying?
Love is more important than committed, consistent, yet empty
ritual and ceremonies. No matter how much you busy
yourself with external things, even though it looks sacred and
holy and consecrated unto the Lord, no matter how much you
stuff your weekend with things that are connected to Christian
worship, this man admits something that you and I also
have to see. It does not work if it doesn't
come from love. In other words, Christianity is
not about this. It's not about this.
It's about this inside.
This is what Jesus saying. Let me see your heart.
What do you say about God?
What do you say about His word? How do you view your fellow man?
This man saw it and he understood that that's even the
heart of the law. This is not something new Jesus
introduced, it's something that he unveils to the fullest
capacity. But it was always there because
it's the same God. Notice what Jesus says Verse 34.
And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him,
you're not far from the Kingdom of God.
Have you ever met anybody like that?
I've met so many of them after a service.
Maybe I haven't heard from them for a while.
And then they contact me and they say, hey man, I've been
reading my Bible or whatever the case may be.
And you can almost feel you're so close.
Have you met anybody like that? You're.
So close like you get it. Everything is there.
You just got to make that leap. You just got to make that leap.
That's what Jesus is saying here.
And so it's encouraging that somebody can be so close,
especially as scribe, but it's also terrifying.
You know it's possible to be almost saved, almost redeemed,
almost engrafted, almost forgiven, almost assured, almost
numbered among the saved. I don't know if I can think of a
more pathetic place to be in life than almost saved.
Is there any indication that this man did come to Christ?
No. I hope one day we will see him.
But this is also a reminder that you can even accurately
understand what truth is and still not be saved.
You can listen to this If somebody were to ask you in
similar fashion, what is the gospel?
And you give a Spurgeon esque answer and still not be part of
the Kingdom of God. Why?
Because it's about here. It's about what that truth has
already done to you. I wonder if you're almost saved
today and maybe you fooled yourself and others because you
can talk like the scribe. How do I know if somebody's
saved? How do I know if I'm saved?
Tell me about your relationship with God.
You want to discover a lot about a person.
I figured this out and others have figured out long before me.
Just ask them what they think about Jesus.
Just ask them who's Jesus to you and you'll know so much.
You'll know so much just by that one question, because a lot of
people can tell you, the heathen can tell you that God came into
this world to forgive sinners. I've talked to drunk people on
the street who are half naked, who told me what Jesus Christ
did for their sin. That's an important question.
But now tell me, who's Jesus to you?
And I want to ask you that question.
Do you love God because he first loved you?
And the only appropriate response to the great love that
he has shown is the unreserved love that he deserves.
If you don't know him, if you know about him, if you know many
things in this book but it, unlike Josiah, hasn't
translated, hasn't got into your blood, you know it could change
today. It can change today.
I want you to go from the place of being almost saved to
certainly saved. I've said this before.
I'll say it again when I go to funerals and sometimes when I'm
asked to speak at them. The most uncomfortable funerals
I've been to is when people don't know for certain if that
person was saved. It's it's so strange.
The best ones are when you know, say you know where this person's
at, you know it and you almost want to wear white because you
want to celebrate. They graduate into glory.
But those were, it's like, yeah, I think they were like they came
to church. They were like they were good, I
guess. But those make me feel very
uncomfortable and I've been to far too many of those.
I don't want that to be you. I want you primarily to be
assured I belong to Him. My sins are forgiven, and
because he has forgiven me, I love him.
I love His word and by His grace I see people differently and I
want to love them with the same love that I've been loved with.
How do I get there? Acknowledge that you need your
sins forgiven. Come to him and ask him to
cleanse you from all you're wrong.
Accept the fact that only Christ can make you whole.
It can make you right before God.
And when you do that sincerely with a repentant faith, you will
know an infusion of hope and peace that can only be deemed as
supernatural. And you won't have to be like
this scribe where you're almost there.
Well, we thank you for this time together.
Thank you for reminding your children of the greatest
commandment to love God and love our neighbors ourselves.
So Lord, help us now strengthen our love for the word.
Not just to know it, though it is important to do that, but
Lord, like Josiah, like David, like Deuteronomy 6 says to bind
them on our hearts, to apply them to our lives.
All of it, Lord, from Genesis to Revelation, May that be our
treasure as an expression of our love to you and Lord, when we
look out to the world and we see opportunities to love our
neighbor as ourselves, we pray that we would remember that love
Looks like me choosing not to do certain things while also
wishing to do to others what I would desire for them to do for
me. Help us know when to do that,
how to do that with discernment and all knowledge according to
Philippians 19. Help us love and increase in
that kind of a love. Thank you, Lord, that this
motivation, this charge to love comes from the place of being
accepted in the beloved. And so, Lord, we do not sit here
in condemnation. We sit here as your children,
being reminded of our duty in this brief life.
Lastly, for the person like this scribe who knows that there's
something different about this book about these words.
May they not be impressed merely, but may they come to the
place of applying their faith to it and throwing themselves at
this truth and complete surrender.
May this day be the day where they go from almost to
assuredly. Only your spirit can help in
that. So we petition and ask.
We worship you today, Lord and song.
Thank you for reminding us our true purpose in this life.
Loving you, loving our neighbor. Amen.
Let's stand and worship the
Lord.