God cares both what we do and the source from which our actions spring. In this passage, Jesus gives further oracles of condemnation for the religious leaders who looked good on the outside but did not love God on the inside. But this was not just a problem for the religious leaders back then, we do not follow God inside and outside like we should either. But Jesus gives us hope and a remedy.

Before leaving his disciples, Jesus gave them (us) a task to complete before he returns. That is to invest and put to work all he has given us in order to make a spiritual profit for the kingdom of God. Ultimately, we won’t be assessed on the returns we made on the investment or on our accomplishments, instead we will be assessed on our trustworthiness and faithfulness.

The testimony of a young servant girl led Naaman to submerge his pride, seek healing from God, and eventually put his faith in the God of Israel. Today, many gospel workers seek to bring people to Christ through similar testimonies and by working in healthcare and compassion ministries.

The Jewish people were given 613 laws from God. The religious leaders seek to trick Jesus by asking him which of those laws was the greatest. But Jesus’ response is not what they expected and they are unable to argue with his response. He then turns the tables on them with his own question which is about the Messiah. What is the greatest commandment and who is the Messiah? Hear how Jesus answers these two vitally important questions for us.