Matthew 22:34-46

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The Lord is Asked about the Greatest Commandment

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The Pharisees questioned the Lord about the Law.

  2. The Lord questioned the Pharisees about His deity.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Lead your friends to the big question.

QUESTIONS

  1. How did the theology of the Pharisees and Sadducees differ?

  2. What do the theological liberals of today believe?

  3. How did the Lord summarize the whole of the Mosaic Law?

  4. Can anyone show this kind of love?

  5. What is the subject of Psalm 110?

  6. Why did the Lord’s question in Matthew 22:45 silence the Pharisees?

ANSWERS

  1. The Pharisees were orthodox in their view of miracles and the resurrection. The Sadducees did not believe in any of these supernatural events; they were theologically liberal.

  2. They are constantly questioning the truth of Scripture and they believe that miracles do not happen.

  3. With love – for God and for your fellow man.

  4. No, not by their own strength apart from new life in Christ. This realization should have driven the Pharisees to admit they were helpless to keep God’s Law. They needed the new life Christ could provide.

  5. This psalm of David is a Messianic psalm. It speaks of the Messiah as coming king, priest, and victorious warrior.

  6. The Pharisees acknowledged that the Messiah would be a physical descendant of David (Matthew 22:42). They could not answer why David would refer to his descendant as “my Lord,” because they were not willing to admit that the Messiah would be God as well as man.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. When questioned by the Pharisees, the Lord summarized the whole of the Mosaic Law by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. These commandments teach vertical love for God and horizontal love for your fellow man. If anyone could show this kind of love, all the other moral laws would be kept. Yet no one can love like this apart from new life in Christ. Have you acknowledged that you cannot please God in your own strength? Discuss how your ability to love changed when you were empowered by Christ.

  2. Read Psalm 110. Recall the numerous times this Messianic psalm is quoted in the New Testament. This psalm of David is a beautiful statement of the Lord Jesus’ deity and humanity. As God He was David’s Lord, as man He was David’s son. Here is the big question, “Is Jesus God?” Each person must answer this question for themselves. How have you answered it?

CHALLENGE

  1. Jesus summed up the greatest commandment with love – for God and for your fellow man. In John 13:35 Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” How is your love level this week?

KEY VERSES

  • “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 great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-39



Matthew, Talks, New TestamentDeb HarmsMatthew 22:34-46