Jesus Praises the Law

18th Sunday After Trinity

Matthew 22:34-46

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Why does Jesus praise the Law so highly? 

When the lawyer asks a question of our Lord, we’re specifically told that this was “to test Him” (Matt. 22:35). That’s the goal, to test Jesus. And the question he asks is all about the Law: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matt. 22:36). That’s the question. And Jesus answers it. That’s incredible. We should pause right there and marvel that Jesus bothered to answer the question at all. He doesn’t rebuke the lawyer. Sometimes, He’ll do that. Jesus corrects people when their questions are misguided or foolish. Not here. He doesn’t say, “Wait a second, that’s a Law question. You’re so obsessed with the Law, you guys. I have come to bring the Gospel. The Gospel is what you need, not the Law. Don’t worry about the Law.” That might be what we’d expect Jesus to say. But He doesn’t say that. 

Instead, He answers the question very matter-of-factly, as if this is a really important question. He says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment” (Matt. 22:37-38). Now, that would have been enough right there, but our Lord continues. Not only does He treat this as a good question, but it seems to be a question that He’s interested in, because He goes far beyond what’s asked. “A second is like it,” He says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39). Okay, now we have not one, but two greatest commandments. Still, as if that’s not enough, Jesus goes on. He says, “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:40).

We shouldn’t pass by this so easily. Notice how highly Jesus praises the Law. He didn’t have to engage the Pharisees in their silly game. They’re just trying to trap Him. But this seems to be a question that our Lord wants them to ask. He’s exalting it even. All the Law and all the Prophets hang on this? That means all of Scripture, all of it, hangs on these two things, which are really just one. They can’t be separated from each other: Love your Lord and love your neighbor. Jesus would have us dwell upon that. He expects that these two commandments of the Law should define our lives. 

So why is that? Why is that so important to our Lord? 

Well, He’s not giving you instructions that you might earn your salvation. That’s not what He’s getting at. If you could make yourself holy and righteous by loving God and neighbor more, by serving more, being more sacrificial, more contrite, more sincere, then there’d be no need for the cross. Jesus hasn’t forgotten the cross when He says this. He’s not getting rid of the Gospel when He upholds the Law. 

But, He also hasn’t come to get rid of the Law. You can’t read Jesus’ answer here and think, “I guess God doesn’t care if I keep His Law or not.” Right? You can’t think that. You can’t say, “I’m forgiven, so I don’t really have to love God or neighbor.” Or “Hey, we’re all sinners, we can’t be perfect, so we don’t have to worry about it. We don’t have to pray, or treasure God’s Word, or come to Church, because we can just believe in our hearts. That’s enough, isn’t it? That’s all that matters.” Wrong. That would be like the branch saying it doesn’t need the Vine, that it can cut itself off from the Vine and still be just as strong as ever. That’s ridiculous. And yet that is the temptation, because none of us can endure the word “all.”

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind? No. You don’t. And here’s the proof. This is why Jesus gives the second commandment—He simply cannot tell us to love God, without telling us to love neighbor—because your love for God is seen in the way you treat your neighbor. Remember, Matthew 25? It’s just a few chapters from here. Jesus says, “as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matt. 25:40). John puts it this way, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar” (1 John 4:20). Your love for God shows up in your love for your neighbor. And that is the problem, isn’t it? 

You can see why so many Christians try to make God’s Law unimportant, because when we pick it up, we see how deeply flawed we are. You have not loved your neighbor as yourself. You’ve been impatient with your neighbor. You’ve been annoyed and irritated with your siblings, your coworkers, your spouse, the people who gather here. You’ve lacked compassion. Those words, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” should make us blush and squirm.

But that is still not why Jesus praises the Law. 

He’s not merely trying to make you feel bad for not loving God and neighbor enough. And He’s not trying to trick the Pharisees. That’s how it sounds to us. They questioned Jesus, and now He turns to question them with this riddle about the Christ. How can the Messiah possibly be both the Son of David and the Lord of David? No one would call their son “Lord,” but King David does. That confuses the Pharisees, but we know the answer. David can call Him “Lord” because Jesus is fully God, but He’s also fully Man and a descendant of David. So He is both David’s son and David’s Lord, both God and Man. 

That’s not a gochta moment for Jesus. Most people read this and think our Lord is changing the subject to trick them. Even your translations will separate this part of the reading from the first part as if they have nothing to do with each other. But if you separate the two, you completely miss the point. Jesus is not changing the subject at all. You want to know how to keep the greatest commandment? You want to rightly love God? You want to know how to love your neighbor? Look to the Christ. 

This is why Jesus praises the question. This is why everything in Scripture hangs on it. Here it is: Because the command to love God and neighbor describes how Jesus—your God and neighbor—loves you. That’s the shock of the Gospel. The God you are to love with your all, shows up as your neighbor to love you as Himself. 

The Christ is David’s Lord. He’s fully God. So He loves the Father where you have not. He cherishes Scripture, and prayer, and worship in ways you should, but don’t. He keeps the Law perfectly, perfectly loves God and neighbor. He does all of it completely, because He is fully God. 

But the Christ is also David’s Son. He’s fully Man. Meaning, He doesn’t just live perfectly, He also steps into your shoes and He takes all of it. All of the ways you’ve mistreated your neighbor. At the cross, it’s as if Jesus has been annoyed with the people you’re annoyed with. Jesus has been impatient with those who need your help in life, but whom you’ve wanted to ignore. Jesus has been selfish and irritated with the people you should have compassion for, but don’t. It’s not that Jesus actually committed those sins, but on the cross, He took those sins of yours as if He committed them instead of you. He’s punished instead of you. This is why He has a body, so that it can be nailed to the cross. He has blood that it can be spilled. That’s how He loves you. And that is how you love one another.

You can’t conjure up love inside of you for your neighbor. That doesn’t work. Especially not when we’re all so rude and insufferable. We make it hard for people to love us. So Jesus places the love for your neighbor into the font for you to be washed in. He pushes love into your ears in the Absolution. He feeds you on it in the Holy Supper of His body and blood. This is where you are given the love of God, that you might love and serve your neighbor as yourself. That is one of the ways you love God. 

When Jesus praises the Law, He’s not just pointing out your sin and saying, “You don’t do this enough.” In Christ, this also becomes your encouragement. You are loving God when you care for one another. It doesn’t have to be impressive or flashy. Most of the time, this is done in humble ways. Usually, it’s thankless. But that is what’s so encouraging. Because you’re not earning God’s favor by loving one another. God is favorable to you because of Christ alone. But you need to hear this. Because I know that so many of you find yourselves incredibly busy in life. You’re overwhelmed by the responsibilities you have. You’re stressed, having to run around trying to do this or that, caring for the people in your life. Your neighbor is not just the people who live next door; it’s your family, your friends, the people here. You’re caring for them in various ways, and you don’t have enough time in the day. But remember this, you are busy serving God. Those tasks are what God has given you to do. Your Lord would have you constantly busy loving people in all these ways. 

Chiefly, that is done here, as you order your life around God’s Word, as you join other broken sinners to be forgiven, to trust God’s grace for you in Christ, to receive the overwhelming assurance of His love for you in the Sacrament, and to rest together in ☩ Jesus’ name. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.