In Sunday’s Gospel reading Matthew 22:31-46, the Lord Jesus says:
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40)
The Lord Jesus says that on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. This means that all of the Scriptures were written based upon these two commandments. That is a lot of writing and explaining and exposition! And then we have the Scriptures of the New Testament, too!
St. Paul shows himself a true apostle of Christ when he says: “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13:10)
How many sermons can be preached concerning the right understanding of this? Ultimately, is this not the focus of every true exposition of the Gospel? To grasp this is to grasp all the riches of the kingdom of God.
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1 comment:
Pastor Siems,
As you note, God's Word is always clear in every word it says because it is God's Word. What a joy the Spirit gives as He unfolds each word to our limited minds and wills. This gift of grace is the delight of the exegete who is always asking Him, as the years of study go on, "what does this word of God say;" not, what does it means to me, or how can I shape it to please myself or my hearers.
This is the constant battle fought by the student of God's Word against His sinful nature.
Oh, LORD God, Thy will be done!
Gary Cepek
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