October 29, 2023

Today's Reading: Matthew 22:34-46

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:23-10:22, Matthew 11:20-30

And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. (Matthew 22:35 )

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Pharisees were a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.  If the question seemed too easy on the surface, you’re right.  The core of the 10 commandments is love.  Love the Lord. Love your neighbor. These are the two tables of the law. The real question is underneath it. If that’s all it takes…what are you doing here? 

The answers in your catechism show how much love demands in each commandment, but there’s more.  The Pharisees could only measure love in themselves and their actions. The things they did. The things they abstained from. The Lord ceased to be the provider of all good things worthy of love.  Instead, He became the measuring stick who can only be appreciated by the worthy. The neighbor to be loved ceased to be a neighbor, the subject receiving love.  Instead, they became objects, proof for each Pharisee that it was ok to love themselves.  Jesus isn’t content to leave us here, loving ourselves above all things. They ask about the law.  He responds with the Gospel.  

Who is the Christ? How can He be the Son of David if He is David’s Lord?  The answer is easy, too.  Love.  Not as a feeling or a measuring stick, but as a sacrifice. God, who is love, took on human flesh, born of David’s line, yet David’s Lord, to redeem sinners like him, like us, and like the Pharisees too.  He not only fulfills the law, but forgives us for falling short.  In this freedom we can finally stop looking at ourselves to provide all good things and look to God.  Our neighbors can finally be the subject of mercy instead of an object to prove we’re doing enough.  We already have the victory in Jesus. Sin, death, the devil, and even our best efforts lie defeated under His feet.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, You have commanded us to love You above all things and our neighbors as ourselves. Grant us the Spirit to think and do what is pleasing in Your sight, that our faith in You may never waver and our love for one another may not falter; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

- Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.