rl69
03-31-2017, 06:41 AM
34 when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
When God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden the law was simple. To obey God all they had to do was to not eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. In other words "Do Not Eat That Fruit". Five simple words.
As time went on, the Israelites wanted a set of laws sent down from God and He provided Moses with the tablets of stone that contained the ten commandments. From there the Jewish leadership took those ten commandments and expanded them into volumes of things the Jews could and could not do.
Finally one of the Pharisees asked Jesus what was the greatest command in all of the law and Jesus said "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
In the beginning, God pointed and said, "Do Not Eat That Fruit" and those five words represented all of the law for Adam and Eve. Now thousands of years later, Jesus tells the Pharisee "Love God, Love Your Neighbor". Isn't it interesting that Jesus was able to take all of the law and the prophets and condense it down to just five simple words, all centered around love?
What is your attitude toward God this morning? Do you love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Do you love your neighbor as yourself? That is the culmination of many thousands of years of God's law and it's as simple today as it ever was. Ponder these thoughts as you go about your business today.
When God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden the law was simple. To obey God all they had to do was to not eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. In other words "Do Not Eat That Fruit". Five simple words.
As time went on, the Israelites wanted a set of laws sent down from God and He provided Moses with the tablets of stone that contained the ten commandments. From there the Jewish leadership took those ten commandments and expanded them into volumes of things the Jews could and could not do.
Finally one of the Pharisees asked Jesus what was the greatest command in all of the law and Jesus said "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
In the beginning, God pointed and said, "Do Not Eat That Fruit" and those five words represented all of the law for Adam and Eve. Now thousands of years later, Jesus tells the Pharisee "Love God, Love Your Neighbor". Isn't it interesting that Jesus was able to take all of the law and the prophets and condense it down to just five simple words, all centered around love?
What is your attitude toward God this morning? Do you love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Do you love your neighbor as yourself? That is the culmination of many thousands of years of God's law and it's as simple today as it ever was. Ponder these thoughts as you go about your business today.