The greatest
Matthew 21:23-23:39
Today’s reading is a collection of parables and encounters that Jesus uses for teaching.
In the midst of it is a question designed to trip him up, asked by Pharisees: which is the greatest commandment in the law?
The greatest commandment, he says, is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
There is a second like it, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
How, exactly, are those two alike?
On the surface they seem different: One is about loving God. One is about loving people. One has superlatives: all your heart, all your soul, all your might. The other seems more measured: Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
They are alike, though, is that both are laws of principle, not laws of regulation.
Most of the laws of the Old Testament are rules and regulations: what to eat and not eat. What to not touch, and how to cleanse yourself if you accidentally violate the rule. How to choose, prepare and make a particular sacrifice, and when it is needed.
Jesus goes beyond the “what” of the law and enters the realm of the guiding principles behind the law.
The goal of the sacrifice isn’t to kill an animal; it’s to restore a loving relationship with God. Not stealing isn’t about property rights; it’s about maintaining a loving relationship with your neighbor.
Behind each of the rules is a more important principle, and Jesus wants us to learn and live by those principles. The rules then take care of themselves.