DID YOU KNOW...

...there is a false teaching that both of Jesus' Commandments from Matthew 22:36-40 (and Mark 12:29-31) are of equal value?

“'Master, which is the greatest Commandment in the Law?'
Jesus said to him, '"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."
'This is the first and the greatest Commandment.
'And the second is similar. That is, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself."'
'On these two Commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.'”

~Matthew 22:36-40 (RGT)

The Greek word for "equal" in Scripture, 'isos' (EE-sos), is different than the word used here, 'homoios’ (HOM-oy-os).

The Bible uses 'isos' when describing things like Jesus' equality with the Father (John 5:18, Philippians 2:6) or believers' equality with the Jews regarding God's inheritance (Acts 11:17), or the equal dimensions of the heavenly city (Revelation 21:16). In contrast, Jesus uses 'homoios' in parables (never 'isos') when giving an example of a thing. The mustard seed is not equal to the Kingdom of God, it is an example of it.

Why is this important? Because it reinforces the primacy of Scripture when it comes to loving God. Jesus said, "If you love Me, obey My commandments." (John 14:15) He didn't say, "If you love Me, obey your heart." Oftentimes, what Jesus commands and what my heart says are not the same thing at all. If I don't know His commandments, I can't obey them. And if I can't obey His commandments, I can't please Him. His commandments are His "love language", if you will.

My love for others is an example of my love for God. Therefore, it should always be biblical.

I’ll always remember this time a couple of years ago when I got this really deep, close hug from my daughter. Y’know the kind that make you think about the time when she won’t be so close anymore, and it makes you savor every second?

And then when it was over, neither one of us knew quite what to do next. And we were just standing there.And then my daughter did what most 3-year-olds do to express their joy. She started jumping up and down, holding out her hands for me to join her in a little father-daughter happy dance.

Oftentimes, the thing we most want to express - like joy - we can’t. And I think that’s the case sometimes when it comes to sharing the Gospel. We know what Christ has done for us, we want to share that joy with others, but we don’t think we have the right words or - worse yet - we think we’ll say the wrong thing. So, we just don’t do it. We don’t take the leap.

It’s interesting that Mary doesn’t even have to use any words to tell Elizabeth about Jesus. A pre-natal John Baptist does it for her…by jumping up and down in the womb. The joy is unspoken, but unmistakable. Because that’s how God works. Not with wise persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, as Paul writes about in 1Corinthians.

We don’t need the right words. We need to be like my daughter, and John Baptist. We need to go ahead and jump, with our arms stretched out in love. And let the Spirit take it from there.

The other day I was blowing leaves in my driveway with my 5-year-old son. And as usual, he was helping me out with his toy blower. And I decided to go over and surprise him with an opportunity to use the big blower for a minute. And the look on his face must have been similar to the one the shepherds had on their faces that night. The look of uncertainty, at first, but quickly replaced by an overwhelming joy and gratitude at the unexpected gift that they had been given.

I love the last verse in that story, “The shepherds returned praising God, and glorifying Him, for all that they had seen and heard, as it was told to them.”

The shepherds were not the most respected men in Bethlehem. If a shepherd came up to you in the street and said that God had chosen him to tell you the Messiah had finally come, and that you would find him outside of town, laying in a feeding trough, along with a teenage peasant girl and her Galilean husband….I guess today, you might just smirk and say, “Really?”

And yet, the Bible tells us that all who heard what the shepherds said “wondered” at it.

This literally is the story of the most important event in the history of the world being accomplished by some of the most unimportant people. And yet, it IS accomplished.

So, let us be like the shepherds, and like my son, let us receive and believe the gracious gift of God’s word with great wonder and excitement. And let us overflow with the gratitude of a child.

Really.

Matthew 2:1-12 is, of course, one of the famous parts of the Christmas Story and is used by the Spirit to great effect for the Kingdom at this time of year. But did you know that Matthew 1 is probably responsible for just as many people coming to faith in Christ over the centuries? It is well-documented by missionaries that entire tribes have been saved simply by hearing Jesus' genealogy. Older cultures still often verify identity this way. And it’s definitely no accident that the Apostle Matthew put it at the beginning of his Gospel, and thus, at the beginning of the Emmanuel Story.

The genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 is one of the beautiful things that sets the Bible apart from every other "Holy" book. It is the only one that offers such accountability for its claims to truth, both historically and chronologically.

So this Christmas, as you read Luke 1 with your family, don’t forget to do the same with Matthew 1. It  is equally as important.

The birth of the Christ child brought two kinds of peace: 1) Peace with God (Romans 5:1) and 2) Peace with the world (John 16:33). May we all know both this Christmas.

"Word to Life" is a weekly audio/video devotional blog from 5 Talents Audio. It features dramatized Scripture audio and video from the Revised Geneva Translation (RGT), the 1599 Geneva Audio Bible, the popular “Sacred Sleep” Christian audio sleep aid series or Christian homeschool audio resources like “Witness the Bible”, “Sonic Mnemonics” and “Memo Devo”.

The other day, my son was practicing a new sleight-of-hand trick that he learned where he pulls off the tip of his thumb. I know, that’s kind of an old one but, hey, not if you’re a 9-year-old. And believe me, his 7-year-old sister was quite enthralled. And then at the end, he says, “And no blood required!”

And I got to thinking about how my witness can get watered down to a “no blood required'“ Gospel. It’s a lot easier for me as a Christian to only talk about what Jesus can DO for me, rather than what He has DONE for me. In other words, I can get fooled into thinking that my witness is of value only if it has a physical “return on investment” for people, like a miracle. And that the whole “forgiveness of sins” part of the Gospel is just not as attractive.

But then I remember passages like Mark 2:1-11 and I’m reminded that that’s exactly the message that Jesus Himself preferred. He desires a love relationship with me, not some kind of transactional agreement based on performance. Over and over again in the Gospels, He downplays His visible power over nature, instead preferring to concentrate on His invisible power to forgive my sins.

And this requires what? Blood.

Not just from Jesus, but possibly from me as well.

Am I ready?