Matthew - Week 70

A Test from the Pharisees 

READ 

Matthew 22:34-36 

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 

The Pharisees thought they could be more successful than the Sadducees in trapping Jesus so He could be arrested. A lawyer who would have been an expert in the Mosaic law thought he had the perfect question. Surely all the laws were important so how could one be more important than another? What would Jesus’ answer be? 

REFLECT 

Perhaps you only think of the Ten Commandments when you think of the Old Testament laws, but there were many more. 

RESPOND 

Talk about this with another believer. According to common Jewish count there were 613 laws that were to be obeyed. No one could perfectly keep them all. See what the apostle Paul said was the purpose of the law by reading Romans 3:19-20. See also what James 2:10 says about someone who fails even to keep one of the laws. 

The Greatest Commandment 

READ 

Matthew 22:37-40 

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” 

This was Jesus’ answer to the question, “Which is the most important commandment?” Some may have thought they were acceptable on the “first and greatest commandment,” but they certainly could not pass the second. The Jews despised the Samaritans and all Gentiles, and the Jewish leaders even looked down on some of the uneducated Jewish people.  

REFLECT 

How would you answer each of Jesus’ commands? Reflect on your life and think about this. 

RESPOND 

Visit with another Christian about these two commands Jesus gave. Talk about putting Jesus first in everything and loving others as He has loved us. Read Colossians 1:18 and John 13:34 to help in your discussion. 

Jesus Asks a Question 

READ 

Matthew 22:41-42 

41 Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, “He is the son of David.” 

As before when others tried to trap Jesus, He asked them a question. The Pharisees acknowledged that the Messiah would be the “son of David.” It must be remembered that in the Bible the word “son” is often used as “descendant” as “father” is often used as “ancestor.” What will Jesus say to the Pharisees? 

REFLECT 

As you read the Bible, have you thought about the meaning of “son” and “father” as now pointed out? 

RESPOND 

Talk with another believer about Jesus the Jewish Messiah also being your Savior. He came into the world not only to be Israel’s Messiah but also to pay for the sins of the entire world. For both of these aspects, see Luke 2:11 and 1 John 2:2.  

My Lord 

READ 

Matthew 22:43-46 

43 Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said, 44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, 

Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’ 45 Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” 46 No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. 

Jesus quoted a passage from Psalm 110:1 that the Pharisees should have known. This passage reveals the full humanity and full deity of the Messiah—He was fully man and fully God. As a descendant in the line of David, Jesus was the “son” of David. Because Jesus is Lord, He is also God. Jesus had to have a human body in order to die; He had to be divine for His death to pay the debt of sin for everyone throughout time.  

REFLECT 

Consider the two aspects of Jesus’ two natures—both human and divine. Keep these in view as you read the Gospels because they give evidence of both. 

RESPOND 

Sometimes it is asked, “Was it possible for Jesus to have sinned?” He was tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 4), but the Greek word used for “tempted” also means “tested.” He could be tested but there was nothing in Him to give Him the desire to respond because He was also God.  

A Bad Example 

READ 

Matthew 23:1-4 

1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. 4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.” 

This passage reveals that some can teach and preach the right message but not live it themselves. The listener needs to be discerning in listening to the message but observing the lives of those proclaiming it. The Pharisees and other religious leaders even added rules that needed to be kept even though the Old Testament law did not require such.  

REFLECT 

Are you careful not to talk a better Christian life than you are living? Does your life back up what you say? 

RESPOND 

On the one hand, follow the example of those in Berea in Acts 17:11; on the other hand, remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:15-17. Consider also the instructions about choosing church leaders after they have first been tested (see 1 Timothy 3:8-10).