The Great Commitments
Theme: The Lord created us for a life beyond ourselves.
Texts: Matthew 22:34-40, Matthew 28:16-20 and Acts 2:42-47
Here’s a thought: If God did not call us and we were left to ourselves, where would we be, and what would we do?
A stool with three legs is always stable, even on uneven ground. That’s because three points define a plane, ensuring that all three legs will always touch the ground, regardless of surface irregularities. Four-legged stools, in contrast, can wobble if one leg is slightly off the surface or if the ground is uneven. A three-legged stool uses fewer materials than a four-legged one yet still provides comparable support.
I like the three-legged stool because it is simple and stable. I would like to share a three-legged stool made of life’s priorities. If I were to be hit by a bus tomorrow, I hope to be remembered for these three pursuits. I ask you to devote yourself to these three priorities as well.
God calls us to:
The Great Commandments
We get to listen in on this conversation in Matthew 22:34-40:
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” NIV
The Sadducees were an elite but influential group or sect within Judaism 2,000 years ago. They were well-connected with the politicians and priests. The Sadducees, who said there was no resurrection of the dead (Matthew 22:23), tried to trick Jesus with a question about an imaginary woman who married seven imaginary brothers in succession because each of them died. Who would be her husband in the resurrection? Jesus explained that people would not marry at the resurrection and, in this way, would be like the angels in heaven. He said the Lord is God not of the dead but of the living. The crowds were astonished at His teaching.
The Pharisees were another sect within Judaism, larger in numbers and more broadly supported by the masses. Seeing that the Sadducees failed to trap Jesus with a trick question, the Pharisees decided to try. One of them, an expert in the law, asked, “Which is the greatest commandment?”
Warren Wiersbe explains in The Wiersbe Bible Commentary:
This was not a new question, for the scribes had been debating it for centuries. They had documented 613 commandments in the law, 248 positive and 365 negative. No person could ever hope to know and fully obey all of these commandments. So, to make it easier, the experts divided the commandments into “heavy” (important) and “light” (unimportant). A person could major on the “heavy commandments” and not worry about the trivial ones.
The Pharisees did not seek to have this question answered once and for all but to perpetuate the avoidance of the heart and spirit of the Law of Moses. They wanted to rub their chins while they neglected their hearts. Jesus’s reply was short and straightforward. God wants a loving relationship with His people, and He wants His people to love others. He invites us to have intimacy with Him, abiding in Him with all our hearts, souls, and minds. If we love the Lord, we will want to obey Him. He doesn’t want religious but heartless observances. He wants all of us!
Jesus did not stop with what could have been a theoretical, theological discussion. It’s one thing to say we love God, but it can be quite different to love other annoying human beings, including fellow believers. Someone has observed, “To live above, with saints we love, that will be glory. To live below, with the saints we know, that’s quite a different story!”
Jesus was very practical and did not settle for ideas that had little impact on everyday life. Knowing that we naturally love ourselves, care for our bodies, and pursue our needs and wants, He calls us to look beyond ourselves. Jesus directs, “In the way you love yourself, you are to love others.” In other conversations and teachings, He explains that we aren’t only to love our family and friends - which even the ungodly do. We are to be kind and generous toward those who are cruel and hurtful toward us. We are to love our enemies!
Mark 12:32-33 tells us this scribe who asked Jesus was impressed with His reply and publicly agreed with Him. He seemed to catch the heart of God in this conversation. Jesus saw he had answered wisely in Mark 12:34 and said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” From then on, no one dared ask him any more questions.
We can try to philosophize, theologize and rationalize, or come face to face with The Great Commandments. This levels the playing field across all humanity because we don’t have to be wealthy, famous, attractive or talented to fulfill The Great Commandments. Will we avoid the call and turn inward, or will we love the Lord and love others?
God calls us to:
The Great Commandments
and
The Great Commission
The resurrection of Jesus changes everything! Without it, His death is tragic and premature. God’s plan is revealed through the resurrection. Notably, our Lord’s first two resurrection appearances were not to the Roman emperor, kings or religious leaders. He appeared to faithful, believing women, who were the last to leave the cross where He was crucified and first to come to the tomb where He was buried.
That Sunday began with Jesus’ followers thinking He was dead. By the end of the day, they were told He was alive and met Him personally. Jesus told His disciples at their Last Supper together that He would rise and go ahead of them into Galilee (Matthew 26:32). Jesus told Mary Magdalene and the other Mary at the tomb to tell the disciples He had risen from the dead and was going ahead of them into Galilee (Matthew 28:7).
We meet Him there in Matthew 28:16-20:
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” NIV
Some Bible scholars believe that the Apostle Paul refers to this mountain meeting in 1 Corinthians 15:6 when He appeared to more than five hundred people. We can’t be sure, but because some doubted His resurrection while others worshipped Jesus, this would lead us to believe there were more than the eleven disciples on this mountain, for these men were now confirmed believers. They would never forget this mountaintop experience! What were they to do with this encounter?
Jesus declared that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. He assured His followers that He would always be with us. These two statements set us up for success even amid hardship, persecution and suffering. He is with us and wants us to speak and act with His authority. Greater is He who is in us than He who is in the world (1 John 4:4)!
There is just one verb or one command in The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus commands His followers to make disciples. All the other action words are present participles that end or should end in “ing” and support this verb. We make disciples by going, baptizing and teaching. Compare and contrast The Great Commission with how the church functions. Most congregations pay the pastor to preach, win the lost and build up those who are saved, while the church people simply come and sit. We are called not to come and sit. We are called to come and go!
Speaking of going, two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, “You stay here; I’ll go on a head.”
What is God’s plan for our lives? He calls us to make disciples, which are learners and followers of Jesus. We should scatter from our gatherings with a sense of mission or purpose. The words “make” and “of” are not in the original Greek in Matthew 28:19. The words of Jesus could be translated as “disciple all nations.” We cannot make anyone become anything, including a disciple of Jesus. This is a work of the Holy Spirit in people’s hearts as they cooperate with Him.
We can, however, share the Good News of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and invite people to respond by believing and following Jesus. What if they don’t respond? The Great Commandments tell us to keep loving them, but The Great Commission tells us to move on with our efforts of praying and looking for those who want to follow Jesus. Are you praying and looking for people who want to know and follow Jesus? Are you helping those who do want to grow?
God calls us to:
The Great Commandments
The Great Commission
and
The Great Community
The Holy Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, and 3,000 people responded to Peter’s preaching. Instinctively, these new followers of Jesus gathered together to help each other grow in their new faith. For thousands of years, God’s people have known that faith is intended to be lived with a community. The Holy Spirit draws us to connect with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We read Luke’s summary in Acts 2:42-47:
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. NIV
I marvel at the simplicity and genius of the early church, but the church morphed into something quite different over time. The first church buildings began to appear in the third and fourth centuries A.D., following the legalization of Christianity in the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine through the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. Before this, Christians often worshiped in private homes, known as house churches, because Christianity was not widely accepted and sometimes persecuted.
After Christianity became more accepted, larger public buildings began to be constructed for worship. These early church buildings were often modelled on Roman basilicas, which were large public meeting halls. The most famous early church buildings include the Old St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, constructed under Constantine’s direction in the fourth century.
Jesus promised in Matthew 16:18 that He would build His church, but He envisions something very different from what we tend to think. The church is not a place or time but a group of Christ followers gathering and scattering. The church is The Great Community where followers of Jesus learn, fellowship, eat or break bread together, pray, worship, experience the presence of the Holy Spirit, share resources, help others and show Jesus to the world around us. The Lord is not calling us to sign up for a program. He calls us to know Him and make Him known with intense passion. How important is The Great Community to you?
If God did not call us and we were left to ourselves, where would we be, and what would we do? Apart from these great commitments, my priorities would be sports, studies, and sites. I would watch football and hockey, read and take courses and travel the world. Where would you be, and what would you do if God did not call you to The Great Commandments, The Great Commission and The Great Community?
A stool with three legs is always stable, even on uneven ground. Our society is on more uneven ground than I have ever seen. Foundational morals and values are being questioned and discarded at an alarming speed. While our world is changing, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). The line between those who follow Him and those who do not grows more definitive as time passes.
Some people spend their whole lives wondering what God wants them to do. If we aren’t pursuing The Great Commitments, we aren’t hearing and obeying the Lord. He is calling us, so let’s start with these priorities as He unfolds the specifics.
God calls us to:
The Great Commandments
The Great Commission
and
The Great Community
The Lord created us for a life beyond ourselves.
