Jesus was always having run-ins with the religious leaders of his time. These guys were powerful guys. They were the social elite, the celebrities of their community, they had substantial political influence and they dictated how people were to encounter God. Jesus came along, however, and he questioned the way they lived, what they taught and the extra rules they had set up from themselves and other people, rules that God had never intended. So, the religious leaders were always trying to trap and trick Jesus in what he said. They were always testing him to see if he would say anything that would prove that he wasn't from God.
One day one of these religious leaders starts questioning Jesus and asks him, "What is the most important commandment God has ever given us."
Jesus replied: " '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: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matt 22:37-40 NIV)
Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them." (Matt 22:37-40 The Message)
One80ers, what do you think these 2 commandments actually mean? And, what do you think it means to live them out in our day-to-day lives?
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Know Jesus and make him known.
