Articles
The Great Commands (part 1)
Matthew 22:34-40
There are a few details that are not included in Matthew’s account that Mark mentions. In particular, this lawyer may have had dissimilar motives to his fellow Pharisees, since he was clearly impressed with the way Jesus had dispatched the arguments of the Sadducees (Mark 12:28), and went away from the entire experience with a deep sense of respect for Jesus (Mark 12:32-34). While the man’s contemporaries were more interested in defeating their opponent, the lawyer may have been truly seeking a deeper knowledge. “With no sinister motive, the scribe is trying Him with a seriously intended question to see if He, who could so brilliantly muzzle the willfully treacherous, would be just as prepared with an appropriate response for an honest, sincere questioner. Trying Him, his intention is to use this vexed question to test the depth of this rabbi’s understanding” (Matthew IV, Fowler, p. 248). So when we take both Matthew and Mark’s accounts together, the “testing Him” has multiple levels.
The Question
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” It is a deceptively simple question. Jesus’ willingness to answer likely comes from a combination of factors.
First, the lawyer does not present his query with the same dripping sarcasm that many of his peers were apt to do (Matthew 22:16). He also appears genuinely interested in a thoughtful answer.
To appreciate the question, we must understand something of the debate in Judaism out of which it comes – put another way, are all of God’s commands equal? The scribes were agreed that the law contained “heavy” and “light” precepts. But they differed significantly on the specifics. Some considered circumcision the most meritorious of all commandments. Others held that tithing, fasting, washings, or phylacteries were the preeminent religious activities.
So what Jesus was answering was not just some personal curiosity, but a significant and hotly-debated subject, as it is today in some circles. He did not reject the question as disrespectful or inconsequential. At times, even Jesus seems to agree that there are matters of the Law that have less weight than others (Matthew 23:23).
Throughout the Old Testament, scripture indicates that there are fundamental aspects of the Law that are of first priority. Call them the basics of religion, if you will – rather then trivializing the other laws, they actually help to establish them (Deuteronomy 10:12-22, 1 Samuel 15:22-23, Hosea 4:1, 6:6, Amos 5:14-15, Micah 6:6-8). This is why Jesus answers the way He does, as will be explored in our next article.
