Rules are made for order and discipline. It is to avoid inequality of any kind. Where there
is rule of law, there is equity, justice, and respect for one another. The law keeps
everyone in check and the goal is for peace and harmony in the community. Such
serenity or tranquility is what God wanted to instill in the minds of his children regarding
relationship with himself and with each other. Hence, he established the
commandments to keep everyone in check.
The Commandments
God introduced his commandments through Moses in the book of Exodus 20: 1-17. He
permitted the ten tenets to be inscribed in a tablet of stone in the order of superiority for
easy identification and learning. The first three of the commands dwells with our
relationship with God, while the other seven deal with our relationship with one another,
and that’s the ideal in the Old Testament.
However, in the New Testament, Jesus summarized the ten commandments in two
simple ways as love of God and love of neighbour, but the Scribes and Pharisees would
always wish to trap him by questioning him over the law and some of his teachings.
That, of course, is bedrock of today’s gospel.
Questioning of the Greatest Law
Out of the Jealousy and anger to Jesus for holding the centre stage and for commanding
huge crowds, the Scribes and Pharisees always accused him of one thing or another,
especially over the laws. They put questions to him at gatherings to challenge his
teachings as a way of setting traps for him, to snare him, but he had always cleared their
questions- to their disappointment.
However, prior to the question about the greatest of the Laws today in Matthew 22, he
had been questioned over the issue of paying taxes to God or to the emperor. He
responded by asking them to give to God what belongs to God and to the emperor what
belongs to the emperor. The same day, the Sadducees questioned him over the issue of
the resurrection while giving him an example of a woman who married seven brothers
without any child. They wanted to know whose wife she would be at the resurrection.
But Jesus again answered them by letting them know that at the resurrection, there
would be nothing like marriage for we would be like the angels before God.
It was when He silenced the Sadducees that the Pharisees gathered, and the lawyer put
the question of the Gospel today to him thus: ‘Teacher, which commandment of the
Law is the greatest? The question was welcomed by Jesus because of its importance
even though it was meant to test him. He therefore summarized the entire
commandment of the law to them.
Jesus’ Answer
Jesus was very straight forward and honest to the lawyer. He said: ‘you must love the
Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’ (Mat 22:37).
He made it clear to him that it is the greatest and first of the commandments. He went
further to give them the second part of the commandment thus: ‘you must love your
neighbour as yourself’ (Mat 22:40). He sealed the answer by informing the young lawyer
that the two commandments form the basis of the Law and of the Prophets.
Though the lawyer and the Pharisees were setting a trap for him, the question was very
important. We needed to deeply reflect over it. It is like asking the question: ‘what can
one do to inherit the kingdom of God? The answer is not farfetched. It is simply by
keeping the commandments of God. Knowing this makes it easier for us to follow Jesus
more closely by loving him and neighbour as ourselves.
Conclusion
It was nice for the young lawyer to put the question to Jesus and wonderful too that
Jesus responded accordingly. We must learn from the answer of Jesus. The love of God
is primary and paramount. The love of neighbour accompanies it. You cannot love God
without expressing it in and towards your neighbour. The love of neighbour is due to love
of God. Both go together. Let us therefore together love God and live it out in our
neighbour.
Peace be with you.
