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Moving A Church Toward Gospel-Centeredness
by Jeff Louie
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Jesus’ intriguing answer is critical to the development of a Christian basis for interaction with our community. He articulates the greatest commandment, but then follows with a second “like it.” Why does Jesus do this? Only one commandment was asked of him. Why give two? I see three reasons for this addition: 1) to establish that a faith in God without gracious interaction toward humanity is dead faith; 2) to elevate the less prominent focus of social graciousness in Old Testament Law; and, 3) to include the rebukes of Old Testament prophets to demonstrate that “loving our neighbor” is indeed a major teaching in the Old Testament.
Faith without a Gracious Interaction is Dead
The question asked of Jesus was law-oriented. A Pharisee asks the question. The issue is about a “commandment,” and both answers Jesus gives are from the Law. But one is expected, and the other is surprising. The obvious answer is Jesus’ reference to Deuteronomy 6:5, “to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.” This is the greatest commandment. This was not a controversial response. It is a part of the Shema, which provided Israel with its monotheistic foundation. It was also a text repeated daily at the temple services; every religious Jew would have understood its importance.
This need to love God with the one’s entirety is what Jesus saw as most important. This would be consistent with the statements he made calling for the highest level of discipleship. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”4 “Let the dead bury their own dead.”5 “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last.”6 These statements make sense in light of Christ’s answer to the Pharisee. God requires total devotion from his followers. God asked for it in the Law, and Jesus reaffirms it in the Gospels.
If Deuteronomy 6:5 completely summarized all that God wanted, however, the conversation would have ended there. But Jesus then adds the second greatest commandment, and connects the two by stating that all the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments. Deuteronomy 6:5 is the greatest commandment. But it is incomplete. Jesus adds Leviticus 19:18 – the commandment to love our neighbors – because He understands that an internal devotion for the true God must be manifested in external love for others. One commandment is greater than the other, but both need to be taken together. This connection between loving God and living graciously in community is found throughout the New Testament.
At the end of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:14, a similar connection is made between God’s forgiveness of us and our forgiveness of people.7 I’ve often wondered why Jesus made such a condition. It seems demanding, inferring that my salvation is conditioned on some work I need to do. But it is not a condition of salvation; it is the evidence. If one claims to know God’s grace but refuses to demonstrate it to others, the claim is spurious. This same connection is clearly expressed in the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:23-35, who, in light of the cancellation of his huge debt, refuses to cancel a small debt owed to him.
In James 2, there is a question about whether or not an intellectual faith in God is sufficient. In 2:17, the declaration is made that: “faith without works is dead.” This passage is often found in theological discussions concerning lordship and grace. But such discussions often overlook the verse’s original and practical intent. The context of James 2 is the ill-treatment and neglect of the poor who attend church meetings. If one claims to know God but fails to treat the poor with respect (and help with their physical needs), then one’s faith is dead. Paul writes:
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.8
The Minority Teaching in the Law
Citing Leviticus 19:18 as the second greatest commandment was a surprising answer on the part of Jesus. Verses of mercy and compassion, though present in the Law, were in the minority. In analyzing Old Testament Law, Maimonides counted 613 mizvots. Within these, this noted medieval rabbi observed that 365 were negative. If one reads his list, it will also be noted that less than 10% of the commandments were compassionate and merciful in nature. And when it came to the “love your neighbor” in Leviticus 19:18, Maimonides took the usual rabbinic interpretation that “neighbors” are other Jews. Compassion and mercy are in the Law, but it is not the predominate teaching. And when compassion is to be shown, it is for the covenant community, or for the foreigner who enters the land of the covenant community.
But Christ’s emphasis is different from the Law’s. Jesus reapportions what is important. A minor theme now surfaces to the top. And not only is there a change in the importance of the compassion laws, Jesus expands the understanding that compassion is to be predominately manifested within the believing community. He does this through the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). Any “faith community only” restriction to kindness is removed. The hero is now a Samaritan; the “neighbor” now includes those outside the covenant of faith.
Not only is the concept of the neighbor expanded, the meaning of showing love is dramatically changed as well. In the Law, compassion was legislated to express itself passively or by specific requirement. For example, a “passive” compassion was evidenced in the gleaning laws and the care to return the “garment pledge” of a poor person at night to provide adequate warmth. Compassion by “requirement” is made clear in the specific tithe that was collected for the poor. Now, however, Jesus demands a greater expression of compassion. It is no longer a matter of making less money, passively leaving some of the harvest in the field. It is no longer a matter of writing a required yearly check. Compassion is to be shown “on-demand.” In the parable, it involved taking time to care for someone’s wounds, bringing him to a place where he could get better, and then footing the entire bill! And notice that the hero is not a Jew. He is a Samaritan. The point is clear: the people of God who refused to show compassion to someone in obvious need are now shamed. Instead, the compassionate “covenant outsider” is closer to Christ’s ideal.
Added Insight from the Prophets
Though the initial question posed was Law-oriented, Jesus skillfully adds the prophets to the discussion, as he concludes that all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. The Law allows Jesus to mention Leviticus 19:18. But the Law by itself does not prove this verse’s place as the second greatest commandment. Enter the prophets, and the call for justice and mercy grows. It cries out in the Old Testament prophetic rebukes.
The stern response in Zechariah 7 illustrates the consequences when God’s covenant people fail to understand the need to be just and compassionate. In this passage, there is the innocent inquiry by the town of Bethel as to whether fasts commemorating the captivity still need to be observed. The question was reasonable, as they were no longer in captivity. The answer is shocking.
This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.” But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry.9
The town of Bethel observed the fast, but they didn’t observe it correctly. They thought the fast represented their suffering. They were wrong. The fast was to remind them of why God sent them into captivity; they had failed to be just, merciful and compassionate.
The theme of social injustice is important in the structure of Amos. This book opens with a list of foreign nations and their crimes deserving divine judgment. Then, in Amos 2:4-8, the crimes of Judah and Israel are addressed:
