The Great Commandments:

Context:

• The Pharisees observed Jesus silencing the Sadducees, then asked Him their own question.
• Religious leaders were known to debate about which commandment was the most important.

Deuteronomy 6:5 “...You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might...”

Matthew 22:37-40 “...And he said to him, “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. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets...”

Mark 12:29-31 “...Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these...”

What was the first of the ten commandments?

• Exodus 20:3 “...You shall have no other gods before me...”

Was Jesus ignoring the 10 commandments?

• Jesus did not cite one of the 10 commandments.
• He stated that all the Law and the Prophets arise from Love God, Love your neighbor.

What does it mean to love the Lord your God will all your heart, soul, mind, and strength?

• It’s a commitment, not a feeling.
• It’s from the core of your being as well as from your intellect.

Is it possible to fulfill these 2 commandments while breaking others?

• Breaking any of the 10 commandments is only possible if one of these commands is being ignored.

In the Mark account, the questioner responded with “...You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices...”

Mark 12:34 “...And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions...”

Did Jesus need the scribe’s approval?

• No, but He did appreciate his wise reply.

What was the scribe starting to realize?

• The burnt offerings and sacrifices that were such an integral part of Judaism, were not as important as loving God and loving people.
• Religious activity without love falls short.

1 Corinthians 13:1 “...If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal...”

Have you witnessed noisy gongs or clanging cymbals?

Have you been a noisy gong or clanging cymbal?

What is the difference between asking Christians tricky questions, and asking Jesus tricky questions?

Do we walk into the traps set by faithless men?

Would steering them to Jesus be a wiser tact?

Resurrection Question:

Context:

• When is a question not a question?
• Not all questions are simple inquiries looking for an answer.
• Some questions have ulterior motives
• The Sadducees had such a question.

What did the Sadducees believe?

•  They had perverted the original teaching of Antigonus Sochaeus, who taught that one should serve God without hope of reward or fear of punishment.
• They didn't believe in the resurrection - they were Sad U See.

Matthew 22:29-32 "...But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living...”

 

Mark 12:24-27 "...Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong...”

Luke 20:34-38 "...And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him...”

Why were the Sadducees wrong in their thinking?

• They didn't know scripture.
• They didn't know the power of God.

When do we embrace false thinking?

• When we don't know scripture.
• When we don't know the power of God.

Why are both important?

In what ways are the resurrected like angels?

• "... they neither marry nor are given in marriage..."
• "... they cannot die anymore..."

Have you ever been in a conversation that involved non-question questions?

Have you ever been guilty of asking non-question questions?

What do you find when you search the scriptures?

• The way, the truth, and the life.

Taxing Questions?

Context:

• The Pharisees plotted to “...entangle him in his words...”
• They sent their disciples, and the Herodians to ask a question.
• Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

Who were the Pharisees?

• Purists of the nation who opposed Rome and all attempts by Rome to intrude into the Jewish way of life.

Who were the Herodians?

• Active supporters of the rule of Herod the Great who favored making changes with the times as dictated by Rome.

What did the Pharisees and Herodians have in common?

• Almost nothing except the desire to get rid of Jesus.

Does distaste for Jesus still create interesting alliances?

• Muslims and many in the U.S.?

Matthew 22:18-22 “...But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away...”

Mark 12:15-17 “...But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him...”

Luke 20:23-26 “...But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent...”

Was Jesus an advocate of separation of Church and State?

Does Jesus know the motives of every heart?

Is there a difference between the kingdoms of the world and the Kingdom of God?

Have you ever found yourself trying to answer questions that have been designed to entangle you in your words?

Are you easily brought into unprofitable debates?

Tenants or Takers:

Matthew 21:33 “...Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country...”

Mark 12:1 “...And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country...”

Luke 20:9 “...And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while...”

Who are the characters in this parable?

• A man (master) who planted a vineyard.
• Tenants, who leased the vineyard.

Who owned the vineyard?

• The one who created it.

Why did he lease it?

• He was going elsewhere.

Is this an easily understood arrangement?

Matthew 21:34-36 “...When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them...”

Mark 12:2-5 “...When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed...”

Luke 20:10-12 “...When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out...”

Why did he send servants to the tenants?

• To partake of what belonged to Him

How did the tenants receive those whom were sent?

• They beat them. They struck them. They treated them shamefully.
• They wounded them. They killed them. They stoned them

Matthew 21:37-39 “...Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him...”

Mark 12:6-8 “...He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard...”

Luke 20:13-15a “...Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him...”

Who did the owner of the vineyard finally send?

• His beloved son.

How did the tenants receive the son? Why?

• They killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
• They wanted ownership. They wanted to possess what was not theirs to possess.

Matthew 21:40 “...When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?...”

Mark 12:9 “...What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others...”

Luke 20:15b-16a “...What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others...”

What is the destiny of those who are takers, not tenants?

• Destruction.
• Replacement.

Matthew 21:42-44 “...Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him...”

Mark 12:10-11 “...Have you not read this Scripture: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?...”

Luke 20:17-18 “...But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him...”

How does Jesus explain the parable?

• The kingdom of God has been entrusted to tenants.
• Unrighteous tenants will lose kingdom privileges.
• Jesus, the beloved Son, is the cornerstone that breaks people to pieces.

Is our culture producing righteous tenants that produce kingdom fruit?

• We are a selfish people.
• We are a possessive people.
• Apart from the Grace of God, we bear no fruit.

Hear the Word of our Lord.

Say or Do?

Matthew 21:28-32 “...What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him...”

What did the first son say?

• He wouldn’t work in the vineyard.

What did the second son say?

• He would work in the vineyard.

What did the first son do?

• He worked in the vineyard.

What did the second son do?

• He didn’t work in the vineyard.

Which did the will of his father?

• The one who worked, even though he said he wouldn’t.

Which did not do the will of his father?

• The one who didn’t work, even though he said he would.

Romans 10:9 “...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved...”

What does saying Jesus is Lord, and believing God raised him from the dead accomplish?

• “You will be saved”

Luke 6:46 “...Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?...”

What does doing what Jesus tells you accomplish?

• Luke 6:48 “...he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built...”

• The storms of life don’t destroy the labors.

What are the consequences of failing to do what Jesus tells you?

• Luke 6:49 “...But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great...”

• The storms of life ruin the labors.

Are you a talker or a doer?

What is the Lord telling to you to do?

• Big Picture: Love God, Love People, Make Disciples.

• Other?