Tag: shema

The Greatest Commandment

When Jesus told the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees what the Greatest Commandment was, He was telling them a whole lot more than to just love God. Understanding His words hinge on understanding Moses and the entire Old Testament. This message explains the two greatest commandments in a way you’ve probably never heard before.

Thanks for coming to worship with us! We’re a unique bunch so you may be seeing new things. We pattern our worship off the first century church, which was a little different than you see in modern Christianity. The first difference to touch on is that we sometimes pronounce God’s Name, Yahweh, in our assembly. We also often pronounce Jesus’ Name in Hebrew as well, which is Yeshua. This is to show respect for Yahweh and Yeshua but does not preclude us from saying God and Jesus as well. The second difference I’m going to explain is the topic of this message, a prayer called the Shema. This prayer comes directly from the book of Deuteronomy. The word Shema is Hebrew for listen or hear. Oftentimes passages or books in Hebrew are called by their first word. The first words of the Shema are “Hear oh Israel…”, hence it’s called The Shema. So why would a Christian be concerned with a prayer from the Old Testament. Funny you should ask!

Slide 2 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 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 foremost commandment.” (Mat 22:36-38)

The words that are in all caps are that way because the bible I use does that when the NT quotes the OT. This is a very helpful hint to show that a whole lot of the NT is really verses from the OT. Jesus, who was Jewish, is saying a little bit more than just the words in caps comprise the greatest commandment. So let me explain.

The chapters and verses of the Bible were added over a thousand years after the close of scripture. We have always had them, so we take them for granted. When we quote something, we say “John 3:16” or “Isaiah 53”. In Jesus’ day, they had a different system for doing this. They also didn’t have Bibles everywhere like we do. Having a printed bible prior to Gutenberg’s press was out of reach for almost everyone. To learn the Bible, people went to synagogue to read the community Torah or hear it read. Starting hundreds of years before Yeshua’s earthly minister, from the return from Babylon, Jewish culture was founded each on man hearing the Torah weekly and many hearing and reading it to the point of memorizing it in synagogue school. The intent of this education was to prevent another captivity through education and a system of accountability: if everybody knows the Bible, then everybody can do the Bible and hold each other to account. They created synagogues, which are the ancestors to modern day churches, where the people would learn the scriptures by hearing them read every Shabbat and they would also send children to school there during the week. This created a culture where Jews, particularly those who were concerned with religion, would communicate to each other by citing verses almost as casually as we talk about professional football. Almost.

Without chapters and numbers, the way they cited passages was to just quote the leading verse, or part of a verse, of a passage. So when Jesus quoted these words from the Shema, He was reminding all the people present of the entire prayer. Let’s look at the verses:

Slide 3 “Hear, O Israel! YHVH is our God, YHVH is one! You shall love YVHV your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deu 6:4-9)

Yeshua, Jesus, tells us that Moses’ lead sentence here to love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength, is the greatest commandment. But then Moses goes on to tell us how we love God. To love God, we need to keep His commandments in the foreground of our lives. We must teach them to our children so they learn to love and fear God. We must talk of them at every step of our day, from when we rise up to when we lie down. While we drive in our cars (or walk on the road if you prefer). Binding them as a sign on our wrists is colorful language telling us to do the commandments. Binding them as frontals on our foreheads means to make God the first thing we think of. Decorating our doorposts and our gates with His words is a reminder when we leave and when we return. Brothers and sisters, this is a recipe for success. Loving God in this lifetime to the extent of the Shema is a gateway to the olam ha ba, the world to come.

Slide 4 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; 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.”(Mar 12:28-31)

In this instance, Yeshua tells broadens it to the two greatest commandments. You’ll notice that the second commandment is in all caps as well, which means that one is also from the Old Testament. This time from the book of Leviticus.

Slide 5 “Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God. You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD. You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. You shall not curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the LORD. You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the LORD. You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.” (Lev 19:9-18)

This puts some meat on the bone for how to love our neighbor, which is a question that comes up pretty often. If you’re not aware that Jesus is saying more than just “love your neighbor” through the method that they referenced scriptures back then, then it’s kind of up for interpretation. But now that we do know this is not a new commandment and loving your neighbor is defined, we can explore that.

The first part is to leave food in your field or vineyard for the needy at harvest time. This would allow for people to go out and enjoy the harvest that God provided with dignity. A field that wasn’t completely harvested would be the sign of a faithful farm owner who loved his neighbors. The harvest belongs to God, after all.

No stealing, no dealing falsely, and no lying to each other is another way to love our neighbors. This one doesn’t really need a lot of explanation. This develops and honest and open society which is a community of love.

No swearing falsely by the Name of God. Very important. This is why our nation swears politicians in with their hands on the Bible and why we get give sworn testimony in trials. It’s incredibly important when we invoke the Name of God to be as honest and forthright as possible because He knows the whole truth! Having this level of common respect among people is another way we love each other as ourselves because it creates a society of integrity.

The wages of a hired man not remaining overnight is expanded in other verses to mean a man who needed the money to feed his family and such. One who has the means to hire others needs to be cognizant of what it is like to need money and make sure he loves his neighbor, particularly one willing to work for his wages. Oscar de la hoya kept a food stamp in his wallet.

Treating people with disabilities properly is also key to loving our neighbors. Creating a society where people who need help getting around can have it readily shows a society that loves its neighbors. It means that people who are able stopped and realized others who are not need to be able to get around. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation building houses for wounded vets is a great example of this.

Impartially making judgments without respect to wealth or need is also crucial for a society. Each person needs to be judged the same, and the guilty should have the same penalties without respect to means. This commandment is why we have the lady with the blindfold holding the scales of justice. Loving our neighbor means to have fair and impartial rules governing society that are implemented equally.

We are not to slander one another. It goes without saying that this is the opposite of loving our neighbor.

We are not to take vengeance, hate our countrymen, or bear grudges in order to love our neighbor. Seems like such a novel idea, but wouldn’t society be a much better place if we did live like this?

Slide 6 “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (Joh 5:46-47)

Now you can see how rich these sentences really were. Yeshua was building on a system that was already in place, having been given by Yahweh 1500 years prior through Moses. He did not come to make something entirely new, but to clarify and expand on what they already had. In order for us to understand Jesus, we need to study Moses and all the Old Testament, understanding that we are blessed to join into the faith of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Yeshua. And when we study the faith from Genesis to Revelation, the words of the Messiah and the Apostles take one much more meaning. Shalom.

Explaining the Greatest Commandment

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 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 foremost commandment. (Mat 22:36-38)

Audio only below

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 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 foremost commandment. (Mat 22:36-38)

Yeshua is quoting the Shema here. Let me explain this while also explaining how Jews communicated in the first century. The chapters and verses were added over a thousand years after the close of scripture. Having a printed bible prior to Gutenberg’s press was out of reach for almost all people. Starting from the return from Babylon, Jewish culture was founded each on man learning the Torah to the point of memorizing it in synagogue school. The intent of this education was to prevent another captivity. And the way they cited passages was to just quote the leading verse of a passage. Yeshua is not just saying this one sentence is the greatest commandment. He is referencing what is called the Shema, which means “hear”, because that’s the first word of the commandment. “Hear oh Israel, Yahweh is our Elohim, Yahweh is echad. You shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” The entire text is at Deuteronomy 6: 4-9 but is also the entire chapter.

Many of us have adopted the practice of using the Shema as a daily or twice-daily prayer. As we have realized that Christianity started in the synagogues and was meant to be the next step in the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob instead of a replacement for that faith, we have realized that those who accept Yeshua as the Messiah are expected, even required, to keep the commandments. A great reminder of keeping those commandments is to, well, use them and memorize them, like by memorizing the Shema, using it as a prayer, and also doing what it says!

Did you know there is a little controversy with the text of the Shema that the Messiah cites above? Surprise, surprise, surprise, there’s controversy over something that ought to be black and white. The Hebrew Shema is slightly different than the Shema from the LXX, the Greek translation of the Hebrew bible that was made about 150 years before Yeshua. This was the bible of the synagogues in the first century and the reference of those who wrote the New Testament. I’ll post both and see if you can spot the difference.

Slide 2 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.” (Deu 6:5-6 NASB Hebrew to English)

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and all thy strength. And these words, all that I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart and in thy soul.” (Deu 6:5-6 Brenton Hebrew to Greek to English)

Do you see a difference? Beyond the old time English rendering of the Brenton, there is a difference that some see as significant. That difference is the insertion of the word mind instead of heart in the Hebrew rendering. Thinking from the mind is a Greek concept. The Torah almost always uses the heart when it’s talking about where ideas come from. For an example, you can look at Genesis 6:5 where Yahweh wipes out mankind because all the thoughts of men were evil continually. Those thoughts come from the heart in that verse, not from the mind.

From our 21st century perspective, the difference between the heart and the mind is the juxtaposition of emotion versus logic. Greek thinking is heavily logical and linear while Hebrew is more of an eastern philosophy that’s not so black and white, thus thoughts being intertwined with emotions. So how do we reconcile these concepts? Is the commandment based on emotion or is it based on thought and reason?

Slide 3 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; 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.”(Mar 12:28-31)

This incident is recorded in Matthew, Luke, and Mark. And in all three places, Yeshua used both the heart and the mind in his reference of the Shema as the greatest commandment. What do we learn from this? The first is that there’s no way the law has been done away with. Imagine for a moment if that were true. That would mean it would be OK to not love Yahweh. When doctrines are proposed and entertained, we must take them to their logical conclusions. Saying the law is done away with erases the two greatest commandments because they are both from the Torah. Loving your neighbor as yourself is from Leviticus 19:18. When people propose such ludicrous doctrines as the law being done away with, I just don’t think they have thought it through. Because if that’s true, we don’t need to love God or our neighbor. Do you know what that looks like? It looks like now. It looks like violent anarchy. It looks like our news or social media feeds. It looks like the days of Noah and the days of Lot.

But the deeper meaning here is that Yeshua used both mind and heart in his rendering of the Shema. This means both things are true. Loving Yahweh with minds is the logic side of things. The Torah makes sense. The earth was created. Words mean things. Words do not mean other things. Loving Yahweh with our minds is an appeal to our God-given ability to reason. This separates us from the animal kingdom. We have the ability to study and learn anything, but if we love God, we start and finish with His Word, which forms our ability to reason and drives us to make logical decisions that are founded in righteousness. On the other hand, if we emotionally love God will all we’ve got, then we will just do what He says and think about it later. Being so emotionally invested in God enables people to do things that aren’t rational, like change jobs to keep Torah or even become martyrs.

There are a couple practical applications to these concepts. When Satan tempted Eve in the garden, what did he do? He appealed to her emotions. And that nudge drove her over the edge. Had she loved God with all her heart, she would not have loved the fruit more. If she had loved God with all her mind, she would have just not eaten it because God said so. The second example I want to use is the execution of Yeshua. Here we have this wonderful Rabbi that Yahweh works miracles through that nobody has seen before. He harmed nobody. He helped thousands. He knew the Torah better than anyone ever. He was a servant to the extreme. He entered Jerusalem and they cheered and cheered. Just a couple days later, they murdered Him. This makes no sense both from a heart perspective and a mind perspective. They killed the man who could do all those wonderful things and never asked anything in return. That’s illogical to the max. Pontius Pilate was the representative of logic. He said he found no guilt in Him. But they still killed Him. They also showed they did not love Yahweh because of all the commandments they broke to kill Him. They were incited into an emotional rage, where they had the opportunity to be merciful to the innocent, but they chose to murder the innocent and let a guilty man free.

So the explanation is thus: Love Yahweh with your heart and your mind. Love Him so much that it overrides your emotions when needed or your logic when needed. Keep His commandments, speak of them when you lay down and rise up. Teach them to your children. Make them as what you think about, what you love, and what you do. Then you will be following the greatest commandment.