So Simple A Caveman Could Do It

Matthew 22:34-46 Read the New Testament in a Year: Romans 4 Prioritize love for God and others Then, the Pharisees come up with a test question to which Jesus gives a brilliant answer, which goes to the heart of the whole of the Old Testament: love God (‘with all your passion and prayer and intelligence’, v.37) and love people (‘love others as well as you love yourself’, v.39). Everything else is a detailed working out of these two commands (vv.34–40). Having silenced his critics, Jesus then asks them a question about his identity. He shows from the Scriptures that the Christ is not just David’s son – he is David’s Lord (vv.41–46). He demonstrates that the Messiah is far more than simply a great human king. This not only challenges their assumptions about the Messiah, it is also a veiled indication to them of Jesus’ identity. This is a moment of victory for Jesus: ‘That stumped them, literalists that they were. Unwilling to risk losing face again in one of these public verbal exchanges, they quit asking questions for good’ (v.46).]]>