WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.339 My name's Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church, 00:00:04.379 --> 00:00:07.400 and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today. 00:00:08.120 --> 00:00:11.000 A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. 00:00:11.140 --> 00:00:16.199 We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats, 00:00:16.820 --> 00:00:20.100 but because we're following Jesus together as one community, 00:00:20.100 --> 00:00:24.879 and as we follow Jesus together, we've become convinced there's no one so good, 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:28.760 they don't need God's grace, and no one so bad they can't have it, 00:00:28.760 --> 00:00:33.640 which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in His Word. 00:00:34.439 --> 00:00:36.760 We're continuing our series in the Gospel of Mark. 00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:42.719 You'll remember that the Gospels tell the story of Jesus and His life and His death and His resurrection. 00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:47.280 We're in the middle of Jesus' Passion Week as He makes His way to the cross, 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:53.760 and we're ending a series of three questions that Jesus encounters from the religious leaders. 00:00:54.020 --> 00:00:56.240 You'll remember a couple weeks ago when Drew preached, 00:00:56.240 --> 00:00:59.440 they asked Him this difficult question about paying taxes to Caesar, 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:03.420 and then last week they asked this challenging question about marriage, 00:01:03.420 --> 00:01:07.240 and now we come up to the third and final question of this series. 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:11.099 By the way, Jesus is going to get His chance next week to turn the tables. 00:01:11.219 --> 00:01:13.180 He decides it's time for Him to ask a question, 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:16.260 but this final question asks about the law, 00:01:16.379 --> 00:01:19.840 and we find out that the sum of the law is love. 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:24.780 I'm a big John Newton fan, the man who wrote Amazing Grace, 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:28.159 and at one point commenting on, I believe, the 23rd Psalm, 00:01:28.240 --> 00:01:31.900 he said this contains an ocean of theology in a thimble. 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:35.800 And we might say the same thing about this passage this morning, 00:01:35.859 --> 00:01:39.260 that it contains an ocean of theology in a thimble. 00:01:39.320 --> 00:01:45.580 As we read it, we might see ourselves understand how far we fall short of God's standard, 00:01:45.579 --> 00:01:47.719 because it's one thing to love your neighbor. 00:01:48.359 --> 00:01:49.480 Maybe we can manage that. 00:01:49.739 --> 00:01:54.120 It's quite another thing to love your neighbor as yourself. 00:01:55.159 --> 00:01:58.640 And if we're honest, we really love ourselves a lot. 00:01:58.819 --> 00:02:01.920 I put a lot of thought into what's good for me. 00:02:02.539 --> 00:02:04.780 I'm an expert on things that I like, 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:07.379 things that bring me pleasure and satisfaction. 00:02:08.460 --> 00:02:14.340 And so this passage here includes more than really we can ponder in one morning. 00:02:14.340 --> 00:02:18.939 And so I say what I say sometimes, which is that we're going to look at something. 00:02:19.020 --> 00:02:20.759 I'm going to say something, but not everything. 00:02:21.060 --> 00:02:27.060 There is too much depth in what Jesus teaches here for us to grasp all of it together. 00:02:27.060 --> 00:02:29.879 Instead, we're going to try to grasp a piece of it. 00:02:30.300 --> 00:02:32.840 I'm going to lay out two principles for us this morning. 00:02:32.920 --> 00:02:35.620 The first principle is this, the law is love. 00:02:36.060 --> 00:02:39.300 And the second principle, the law measures by love. 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:41.680 The first principle, the law is love. 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:45.360 The second principle, the law measures by love. 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:48.620 And so it's with that that we turn now to God's word. 00:02:48.740 --> 00:02:53.939 I invite you to turn with me in your Bible or on your phone or in your worship guide. 00:02:54.020 --> 00:02:55.140 We're in Mark chapter 12. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:59.659 Remember where you turn, no matter where you turn, this is God's word. 00:02:59.960 --> 00:03:03.620 And God tells us that his word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, 00:03:03.740 --> 00:03:07.420 which means that he hasn't left us to stumble alone in the dark, 00:03:07.419 --> 00:03:11.059 but instead he's given us his word to show us the way to go. 00:03:11.639 --> 00:03:15.280 And so that's why we read now, starting at verse 28. 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:19.719 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another. 00:03:20.060 --> 00:03:22.699 And seeing that he answered them well, asked him, 00:03:23.219 --> 00:03:26.199 which commandment is the most important of all? 00:03:27.180 --> 00:03:29.500 Jesus answered, the most important is, 00:03:29.719 --> 00:03:33.099 hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 00:03:33.659 --> 00:03:37.560 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 00:03:38.060 --> 00:03:40.879 with all your mind and with all your strength. 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:45.560 The second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:49.620 There is no other commandment greater than these. 00:03:50.259 --> 00:03:54.159 Verse 32, and the scribe said to him, you are right, teacher. 00:03:54.539 --> 00:03:58.340 You have truly said that he is one and there is no other besides him. 00:03:58.919 --> 00:04:03.560 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength 00:04:03.560 --> 00:04:10.460 and to love one's neighbor as oneself is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:17.719 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, you are not far from the kingdom of God. 00:04:18.560 --> 00:04:23.319 And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. 00:04:24.259 --> 00:04:27.779 I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word. 00:04:27.779 --> 00:04:41.279 Our Father in heaven, we praise you again that you do give us your word and that you show us that the purpose and the goal of your word is love. 00:04:41.899 --> 00:04:47.239 And we thank you that we see that love most of all in your son and our savior, our Lord Jesus. 00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:50.439 And we ask this morning that you would help us to see him. 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:58.139 You'd help us to see him in his beauty and his love and his glory and his power and his authority and his holiness. 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:04.600 That you would help us to understand your word, that you would speak clearly to our minds and to our hearts. 00:05:05.019 --> 00:05:11.660 And that you would grow us, that we would look more and more like Jesus, the one who loves perfectly. 00:05:11.660 --> 00:05:15.540 We ask all these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. 00:05:16.100 --> 00:05:16.400 Amen. 00:05:18.920 --> 00:05:27.140 So I mentioned before, we're in this series of confrontations in which the religious leaders try to trick or trap Jesus with hard questions. 00:05:27.140 --> 00:05:30.320 We've come to the third of three of these questions. 00:05:30.460 --> 00:05:33.240 We had the question about paying taxes to Caesar. 00:05:33.460 --> 00:05:36.060 We had the question about marriage in heaven. 00:05:36.060 --> 00:05:44.339 And now we find ourselves with the Pharisees again, looking with a question about the law. 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:47.079 Now, things change a little bit here. 00:05:47.339 --> 00:05:50.939 We've noticed before, we're just told about groups that come to speak with Jesus. 00:05:51.079 --> 00:05:54.180 We saw first the Pharisees and the Herodians come to trap Jesus. 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:56.980 Next, the Sadducees come to trap Jesus. 00:05:57.079 --> 00:05:59.019 And here things change at least a little bit. 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:01.220 We have not a group, but an individual. 00:06:01.220 --> 00:06:07.700 Now, the passage where this appears in the Gospel of Matthew actually tells us that this man is a Pharisee. 00:06:08.200 --> 00:06:10.980 And things seem, though, for him to be different at first. 00:06:11.580 --> 00:06:17.020 However, Matthew tells us that he is similar to the others in that he is trying to test Jesus. 00:06:17.400 --> 00:06:24.860 In other words, he's doing what the others have done, which is that they're not necessarily asking sincere questions or seeking understanding, 00:06:25.060 --> 00:06:27.500 but instead they want to lay a trap. 00:06:27.500 --> 00:06:33.480 Now, I think from what we see in this man later in the passage, he has some teachability, some openness. 00:06:33.860 --> 00:06:40.879 We find that he asks this question because he's so impressed with what he's seen from Jesus so far. 00:06:41.740 --> 00:06:47.120 And he asks this question that you would expect a good lawyer to ask. 00:06:48.019 --> 00:06:51.160 Verse 28, he says, look, there's many laws. 00:06:52.459 --> 00:06:54.360 Which is the most important law? 00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:59.580 If there's two laws that come into conflict, what law is going to win? 00:06:59.980 --> 00:07:06.980 If there's a Supreme Court justice and they're laying down an opinion, what are they going to say is the most important precedent here? 00:07:07.139 --> 00:07:10.920 What are our first principles when we look at the Old Testament law? 00:07:11.139 --> 00:07:14.220 What is it that matters more than anything else? 00:07:14.540 --> 00:07:17.280 And Jesus here surprises him with his answer. 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:21.280 Notice verse 28, he asks for a singular commandment. 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:22.819 He asks for one. 00:07:22.819 --> 00:07:30.680 And Jesus flips things as he always does in verses 29 through 31, giving him not one commandment, but two. 00:07:31.740 --> 00:07:37.439 And so this is a buy one, get one free situation for this questioner. 00:07:37.719 --> 00:07:41.100 He gives him two commandments, both coming from the Old Testament. 00:07:41.300 --> 00:07:45.139 First of all, he says you need to love the Lord your God with everything in you. 00:07:45.139 --> 00:07:48.860 And there he's quoting from what we've already read this morning. 00:07:49.019 --> 00:07:53.019 Brit read it out for us, Deuteronomy 6, as our Old Testament reading. 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:54.620 But Jesus doesn't leave it there. 00:07:54.659 --> 00:07:56.519 You would think that would be a great answer, right? 00:07:56.560 --> 00:07:59.379 Just to say loving God is the height of the law. 00:07:59.379 --> 00:08:07.159 But Jesus then proceeds to quote from the book of Leviticus chapter 19, which lays out this next portion, that you love your neighbor. 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:11.879 And not just that you love your neighbor, but that you love your neighbor as yourself. 00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:18.300 Now, one commentator has pointed out that other rabbis have given these types of answers before. 00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:23.659 What makes Jesus' answer so revolutionary is that he doesn't give just one, but two. 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:28.199 He takes these two things and links them together in a way that no one has before. 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:31.000 Yes, someone could say loving God's the most important. 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:33.580 Another person could say loving neighbor is the most important. 00:08:33.580 --> 00:08:38.060 And Jesus says, look, these two are intimately connected. 00:08:39.500 --> 00:08:45.800 And they're connected by this fact that the law is fundamentally about love. 00:08:47.139 --> 00:08:52.400 There is an internal logic to the way God's law works. 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:55.520 This man is asking Jesus for a commandment. 00:08:55.820 --> 00:08:57.920 Jesus gives him more than a commandment. 00:08:58.020 --> 00:09:00.100 He gives him a principle. 00:09:00.100 --> 00:09:11.540 The first principle of the law, the way that we think about God's commands, the way that we operate and live in this world, the foundation for all of it is love. 00:09:11.620 --> 00:09:15.700 And so this Pharisee gets much more than he asks for. 00:09:16.980 --> 00:09:23.440 And that leads us to the first principle that I was going to told you we were going to talk about, which is that the law is love. 00:09:24.120 --> 00:09:25.600 I want you to think about it this way. 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:30.279 When I lived in Virginia many years ago, I was teaching at the time. 00:09:30.379 --> 00:09:34.360 One of my housemates was getting a master's in psychology. 00:09:34.680 --> 00:09:37.680 And so he liked to refer to himself as a psych master. 00:09:39.060 --> 00:09:41.980 And he taught me that there are two types of people. 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:43.940 There's been studies in psychology about this. 00:09:44.060 --> 00:09:47.100 Two types of people when it comes to making decisions. 00:09:47.220 --> 00:09:50.320 There are maximizers and there are satisfizers. 00:09:50.320 --> 00:09:57.580 Maximizers are people who want the absolute best thing possible. 00:09:57.700 --> 00:10:00.580 And so they're just going to keep searching until they find the best. 00:10:01.420 --> 00:10:02.780 Satisfizers just want good enough. 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:04.320 They find something they like. 00:10:04.500 --> 00:10:05.180 They buy it. 00:10:05.220 --> 00:10:05.760 They go with it. 00:10:05.820 --> 00:10:06.540 They move on. 00:10:06.620 --> 00:10:08.340 And so his classic example was this. 00:10:08.520 --> 00:10:15.560 If you're in the car and you're flipping through radio stations, a maximizer, if they come to a song they like, what they think is, 00:10:15.660 --> 00:10:16.680 that's a great song. 00:10:16.740 --> 00:10:17.320 I like it. 00:10:17.320 --> 00:10:19.940 But what if there's a better song? 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:25.240 And so they keep scrolling because they want to make sure they get the best song possible. 00:10:25.580 --> 00:10:29.000 A satisfizer, though, they hear the song and they think, that's a song I like. 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:30.960 Why would I keep looking? 00:10:31.980 --> 00:10:32.160 Right? 00:10:32.220 --> 00:10:37.860 I can listen to this when I don't need to waste my time continuing to search. 00:10:37.860 --> 00:10:48.159 What Jesus is telling us here is that Christianity is a maximizer, not a satisfizer. 00:10:48.860 --> 00:10:53.379 Christianity is a maximizer, not a satisfizer. 00:10:54.419 --> 00:10:58.200 You want to experience the best things possible. 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:03.520 Do you want to have the most love possible? 00:11:04.440 --> 00:11:10.600 Do you want your life to be filled and characterized and saturated by love? 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:16.800 If yes, the answer is this, keeping God's law. 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:21.759 Following the law is the way to love. 00:11:22.580 --> 00:11:29.820 Following the law is the way to love God and show honor for him, but following the law is also the way to love one another. 00:11:29.820 --> 00:11:35.940 All of the law is about loving God and loving others. 00:11:36.060 --> 00:11:38.360 That's where everything points. 00:11:39.379 --> 00:11:46.379 Every law you can find in the Old Testament, you can draw a straight line to either loving God or loving your neighbor. 00:11:47.520 --> 00:11:51.420 And in fact, the same thing is just true of human culture in general. 00:11:51.560 --> 00:11:57.220 One man has laid out the principle that the law reflects the heart or the values of the lawgiver. 00:11:57.220 --> 00:12:00.600 That there's no arbitrary principle behind a law. 00:12:00.680 --> 00:12:04.639 A law always reflects something that someone loves and they values. 00:12:05.180 --> 00:12:06.360 So you can think about it this way. 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:11.879 Even as you go about your life today, if you are going through a neighborhood, there's probably a speed limit, right? 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:15.360 And that speed limit is not arbitrary. 00:12:15.560 --> 00:12:19.740 The speed limit is saying that we have a heart that loves life. 00:12:19.740 --> 00:12:27.539 Protecting kids in the street is more important than your convenience. 00:12:29.659 --> 00:12:36.460 Protecting an elderly man who's walking across the street to check his mail at the mailbox, that is more important than saving time. 00:12:37.820 --> 00:12:41.460 And so that law, that speed limit, it's reflecting a value of the culture. 00:12:41.560 --> 00:12:42.500 It's reflecting a heart. 00:12:42.700 --> 00:12:45.200 Look, we care about people and we love them. 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:48.220 Therefore, we're not going to speed through the neighborhood. 00:12:49.800 --> 00:12:53.879 Some people congratulate themselves on being rule breakers. 00:12:53.980 --> 00:12:57.860 Somehow they think they're smarter and better than the way the world is set up. 00:12:58.240 --> 00:12:59.240 I have news for you. 00:12:59.300 --> 00:13:00.879 You're not a free thinker. 00:13:01.280 --> 00:13:02.620 You just lack love. 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:04.060 Okay? 00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:07.759 Maybe efficiency is way too important to you. 00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:10.800 Maybe you love yourself more than others. 00:13:11.900 --> 00:13:13.420 Now, that's just one example. 00:13:13.419 --> 00:13:16.339 We could pick a mundane, a boring one from the Old Testament. 00:13:16.899 --> 00:13:24.620 Deuteronomy chapter 22 gives this law that you might find random, which says that around the roof of a building, you must install a parapet. 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:27.819 Which is a fancy way of saying there needs to be railing around the roof. 00:13:28.099 --> 00:13:28.240 Okay? 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:31.259 Why is there need to be railing around the roof? 00:13:31.500 --> 00:13:33.000 Same principle as the speed limit. 00:13:33.079 --> 00:13:34.979 We value life so much. 00:13:35.099 --> 00:13:40.299 We're going to take these proactive steps to make sure no one would ever die falling off our roof. 00:13:41.219 --> 00:13:41.500 Okay? 00:13:41.779 --> 00:13:42.679 So there's a law. 00:13:42.679 --> 00:13:43.620 You think it's arbitrary. 00:13:43.779 --> 00:13:46.079 Maybe the Pharisees and the Sadducees are arguing about it. 00:13:46.279 --> 00:13:50.759 And Jesus comes to outline the principle, the heart behind the law, to say all of it is about love. 00:13:50.939 --> 00:13:55.419 All of it is to reflect the values of God's heart behind the law. 00:13:56.039 --> 00:14:03.099 By the way, it's been pointed out the modern equivalent of parapets on your roof is the requirement to put a fence around your swimming pool. 00:14:03.100 --> 00:14:08.519 You don't want a young child who doesn't know what they're doing to stumble in and suddenly drown. 00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:13.200 And so this is just the way that laws and rules work in the world. 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:21.640 We talked about in Sunday school during December that the Christian sexual ethic is also this expression of love for ourselves and for others. 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:29.180 I quoted this man named Glenn Harrison last week who points out that commitment and passion are always meant to go together. 00:14:29.179 --> 00:14:36.120 It's by tying commitment and passion together that we show love for ourselves and we show love for others. 00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:41.139 Anything less is less than love. 00:14:41.139 --> 00:14:49.000 God loves you so much that he gives you the law. 00:14:50.100 --> 00:14:55.399 The law is for your protection, for your flourishing, for your life. 00:14:56.720 --> 00:15:01.860 And so there's an implicit criticism here that Jesus gives of the previous two groups. 00:15:02.620 --> 00:15:07.319 Previous two passages, paying taxes to Caesar, marriage in heaven. 00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:12.200 The questioners are interested in technical legal arguments. 00:15:12.860 --> 00:15:14.940 They are not interested in love. 00:15:16.780 --> 00:15:22.320 And Jesus is saying, look, you have all these great, interesting, technical questions. 00:15:22.400 --> 00:15:23.440 You know what really matters? 00:15:24.700 --> 00:15:26.540 Loving God, loving others. 00:15:27.680 --> 00:15:32.780 That is what is behind all of God's laws. 00:15:32.779 --> 00:15:44.059 Perhaps you're tempted to think that God's laws, the way he's designed the world and instructed us to live in it, are kind of arbitrary and random. 00:15:44.779 --> 00:15:50.799 That somehow they're a representation, a reflection of an outdated culture that no longer applies today. 00:15:52.079 --> 00:15:54.959 And this passage is telling us something very different. 00:15:54.959 --> 00:16:00.100 If we're tempted to chafe against God's laws and his commandments, it's telling us to trust him. 00:16:00.100 --> 00:16:04.960 God's purposes are love. 00:16:05.980 --> 00:16:07.920 His intention is love. 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:10.300 His heart is love. 00:16:11.519 --> 00:16:17.080 And so we trust him and we follow him, knowing he has shown us the right way to go. 00:16:18.220 --> 00:16:23.480 That's why I say when we open up the scriptures that it is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. 00:16:23.480 --> 00:16:31.379 God has not left us to stumble alone in the dark, but instead he's shown us the way to go. 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:35.480 We might see short-term pleasure. 00:16:35.700 --> 00:16:39.800 God sees long-term consequences, long-term love. 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:48.220 And so when we come against a law that we find confusing, we can ask ourselves, what's the principle of love that's behind this? 00:16:48.220 --> 00:16:51.360 Why is it that God gave this law? 00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:54.259 Because we know that love is the heart. 00:16:55.500 --> 00:17:00.879 God wants us to experience more love than we can on our own. 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:05.680 More love than we know how to navigate by ourselves. 00:17:08.259 --> 00:17:10.880 Now that's principle one, that the law is love. 00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:15.480 I told you we'd have a second principle, that the law measures us by our love. 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:24.940 I mentioned before that this is the first time that these two commands were linked together and seen as a pair, two sides of the same coin. 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:30.579 In other words, there's an unbreakable link between our love for God and our love for others. 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:35.400 Remember, verse 31, Jesus says, the second is this. 00:17:37.120 --> 00:17:39.019 This Pharisee didn't ask for two commandments. 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:39.860 He asked for one. 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:42.700 And Jesus says, look, these two go together. 00:17:42.819 --> 00:17:43.920 They're a package deal. 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:46.480 You ask for one commandment. 00:17:46.560 --> 00:17:50.060 I'll give you two because it's not a commandment I'm interested in. 00:17:50.120 --> 00:17:51.000 It's a principle. 00:17:52.560 --> 00:17:54.880 And that principle flows out. 00:17:55.300 --> 00:17:59.380 If you love God, you will love others. 00:18:00.120 --> 00:18:01.220 There's a logic to it. 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:02.880 There's a flow to it. 00:18:04.039 --> 00:18:07.080 And this gets at the metric of our spirituality. 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:18.099 How is it that we measure whether we are growing as Christians, whether we are mature in Christ, whether it is that we actually love God and the things that he loves. 00:18:18.099 --> 00:18:26.240 It is very tempting in the church to measure our spiritual maturity by spiritual activities. 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:38.120 That somehow the more Bible studies I'm involved in, the more verses that I know, the more knowledge I've accumulated, that's a clear indication of my growth in love for God. 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:39.779 And don't hear what I'm not saying. 00:18:39.779 --> 00:18:42.579 Yes, you should be in worship. 00:18:42.740 --> 00:18:47.980 That's one of the greatest avenues that God's given to shape us and form us in our loves. 00:18:48.119 --> 00:18:51.960 Yes, we need to know God's word so that it can guide us. 00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:55.539 Yes, we need to be studying it with other Christians. 00:18:55.539 --> 00:19:04.180 And it is possible to be involved in religious events and rituals and miss the point. 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:11.920 It is possible to be involved in many activities and have little love for others. 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:15.159 And so the metric is, in fact, both. 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:17.480 Not that we give up on loving God. 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:22.000 There's a real love of God that happens in this place as we worship together. 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:26.519 And that our love, our metric, is not just that, but the fruit of the Spirit. 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:32.240 Our metric is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 00:19:33.140 --> 00:19:35.980 And what does Paul go on to say in that same verse in Galatians? 00:19:36.059 --> 00:19:41.039 He says, against such things, there is no law. 00:19:42.660 --> 00:19:45.039 Because that is the expression of the law. 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:49.460 That's the way we live out what God has given us. 00:19:49.460 --> 00:19:55.160 Neighbor love is what should be flowing out of our love for God. 00:19:56.600 --> 00:20:02.079 No neighbor love, no love for God reveals that something is off. 00:20:03.140 --> 00:20:05.180 And so there's two mistakes that we can make here. 00:20:05.259 --> 00:20:08.579 There's the mistake of trying to love God without loving others. 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:11.579 That's the mistake that often religious people fall into. 00:20:11.579 --> 00:20:19.119 It is possible to be in too many Bible studies. 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:28.599 I've told you before, that's all practice, no game. 00:20:28.699 --> 00:20:34.539 There's an irony, a tragedy, if we were to spend so much time studying this verse 00:20:34.539 --> 00:20:39.059 that no time was left over to go and love the real people in our lives. 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:44.240 We study God's Word, we know God's Word, 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:47.960 so that it can then flow out in the way our lives operate. 00:20:49.399 --> 00:20:52.259 We want there to be a balance, a mirroring, 00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:56.399 that what we know of God plays out in our lives, 00:20:56.399 --> 00:20:59.420 that we're not so consumed with one thing that we miss the point. 00:20:59.420 --> 00:21:03.740 We're not the team that always practices and never plays. 00:21:05.340 --> 00:21:07.019 Then there's also the other mistake, 00:21:07.140 --> 00:21:10.279 which is to try to love others without loving God. 00:21:11.019 --> 00:21:13.940 That's a mistake that secular people often make. 00:21:14.080 --> 00:21:15.420 Because outside of God's law, 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:20.080 we have a limited view of what's good for you and good for others. 00:21:20.560 --> 00:21:22.100 If the law is love, 00:21:22.180 --> 00:21:25.779 if God's guidance is there to make sure we walk in paths 00:21:25.779 --> 00:21:28.000 that are filled with blessing and flourishing, 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:30.400 if we don't know those paths, 00:21:30.539 --> 00:21:33.500 we can't truly or fully love others. 00:21:34.660 --> 00:21:37.539 Instead, we're fumbling around in the dark 00:21:37.539 --> 00:21:41.500 with no lamp to our feet and no light to our path. 00:21:43.799 --> 00:21:45.380 And so the point again is this, 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:47.380 that our love for God and our love for others, 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:49.180 they must go together. 00:21:50.380 --> 00:21:54.079 Our love for God flows out into love for others. 00:21:54.140 --> 00:21:56.720 And so we can reverse engineer this. 00:21:56.720 --> 00:22:00.299 The fruit reveals the health of the process. 00:22:01.220 --> 00:22:04.519 If I look at my grass during the summer and I see it's brown, 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:07.000 I know there's something wrong, right? 00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:12.039 If I look at my life and I see I have no love for neighbor, 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:16.620 no matter how spiritually active I am in rituals and activities, 00:22:17.180 --> 00:22:20.380 I also know something is wrong. 00:22:20.380 --> 00:22:24.300 The law measures by love. 00:22:25.640 --> 00:22:27.200 If we can't love others, 00:22:27.280 --> 00:22:28.500 there's something that's off. 00:22:29.080 --> 00:22:32.020 There's something that's not true about our love for God. 00:22:32.600 --> 00:22:33.640 Jesus is saying here, 00:22:33.760 --> 00:22:35.420 we can't separate these two. 00:22:35.800 --> 00:22:37.400 We can't pry them apart. 00:22:38.060 --> 00:22:40.380 They must always go together. 00:22:40.380 --> 00:22:49.280 Our vertical love always comes out in horizontal love. 00:22:50.380 --> 00:22:55.240 Our love for God always pours out in love for others. 00:22:55.240 --> 00:23:01.900 This man is impressed by what Jesus has to say here. 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:05.779 Verse 32, 00:23:05.980 --> 00:23:07.099 you are right, teacher. 00:23:08.660 --> 00:23:09.740 He's excited. 00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:12.240 Jesus did not disappoint. 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:16.319 Jesus clearly answered the first two questions. 00:23:16.440 --> 00:23:18.480 He's clearly answered the third. 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:23.819 And Jesus also has an affirmation for this man. 00:23:23.940 --> 00:23:25.200 Verse 34, he says, 00:23:25.299 --> 00:23:28.900 you are not far from the kingdom of God. 00:23:30.019 --> 00:23:30.640 The question is, 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:32.220 why is it that this man's not far? 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:33.579 He doesn't tell him he's in the kingdom. 00:23:34.599 --> 00:23:36.500 Doesn't say you're exactly where you need to be, 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:37.920 but he says you're not far away. 00:23:38.059 --> 00:23:39.960 Why is it that this man is so close? 00:23:40.039 --> 00:23:42.819 How is it that he's able to approach in this way? 00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:44.400 There's a lot of different suggestions 00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:46.860 about what it means for this man to be close to the kingdom. 00:23:46.859 --> 00:23:49.479 I think the most helpful one is this. 00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:54.319 Jesus has laid out an impossible standard. 00:23:55.699 --> 00:23:57.279 An impossible standard. 00:23:57.779 --> 00:24:01.099 He says, you need to love God with everything you are. 00:24:02.259 --> 00:24:04.799 All of your being needs to be pointed in love to God. 00:24:05.819 --> 00:24:07.079 And if we're honest with ourselves, 00:24:07.179 --> 00:24:09.819 we know how far away from that we are. 00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:12.319 On top of that, he then says, 00:24:12.419 --> 00:24:13.219 you need to love your neighbor. 00:24:13.299 --> 00:24:14.819 And not just that you need to love your neighbor, 00:24:14.819 --> 00:24:17.319 but you have to love your neighbor 00:24:17.319 --> 00:24:19.619 as much as you love yourself. 00:24:20.779 --> 00:24:22.740 And so if you were tempted for a moment to think, 00:24:22.819 --> 00:24:23.519 yeah, I can do that. 00:24:23.539 --> 00:24:24.299 I'm a good person. 00:24:24.519 --> 00:24:25.519 I love my neighbor. 00:24:25.939 --> 00:24:27.939 Jesus then delivers the kicker punch there, 00:24:28.019 --> 00:24:29.079 the sucker punch to say, 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:30.279 yeah, not just love your neighbor, 00:24:30.740 --> 00:24:32.700 love your neighbor as much as yourself. 00:24:33.639 --> 00:24:35.099 Plan for your neighbor's good 00:24:35.099 --> 00:24:39.319 as much as you plan for your own good. 00:24:39.319 --> 00:24:44.059 And so if this man fully understands what Jesus is saying, 00:24:44.119 --> 00:24:46.039 then he understands the totality 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:48.359 of what Jesus is asking for. 00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:50.819 He understands how demanding 00:24:50.819 --> 00:24:53.359 and how impossible it is 00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:55.960 to truly love God with our whole selves 00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:59.259 and to love our neighbor as ourselves. 00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:03.579 And so he has to understand then 00:25:03.579 --> 00:25:07.460 that he falls short of what Jesus is calling for. 00:25:07.460 --> 00:25:10.480 He is close to the kingdom 00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:14.460 in the sense that he is one step away 00:25:15.079 --> 00:25:18.600 from recognizing his great need. 00:25:20.079 --> 00:25:21.900 Remember, I've told you over and over 00:25:21.900 --> 00:25:24.279 that need is the price of admission. 00:25:25.880 --> 00:25:28.460 What could show you your need more 00:25:28.460 --> 00:25:29.779 than this requirement? 00:25:30.420 --> 00:25:32.900 What could reveal your need more 00:25:32.900 --> 00:25:34.539 than Jesus' command? 00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:38.319 That also helps us understand 00:25:38.319 --> 00:25:40.519 the rest of verse 34, 00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:41.720 which tells us this, 00:25:42.180 --> 00:25:44.399 after that, no one dared to ask him 00:25:44.399 --> 00:25:45.500 any more questions. 00:25:46.519 --> 00:25:47.139 Why? 00:25:48.639 --> 00:25:51.259 Because it wasn't fun anymore. 00:25:53.980 --> 00:25:57.379 It's one thing to ask a technical question 00:25:57.379 --> 00:25:58.940 about paying taxes to Caesar. 00:25:58.940 --> 00:26:02.759 It's one thing to ask a theoretical question 00:26:02.759 --> 00:26:04.240 about marriage in heaven. 00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:06.840 It's quite another for Jesus to look at you 00:26:06.840 --> 00:26:07.460 and say, 00:26:08.360 --> 00:26:10.380 have you loved God with your entire self? 00:26:10.920 --> 00:26:13.420 And have you loved your neighbor as yourself? 00:26:14.200 --> 00:26:17.460 Because that's what the law you claim to love 00:26:17.460 --> 00:26:18.920 demands from you. 00:26:20.080 --> 00:26:23.620 And that's why the conversation is over. 00:26:23.619 --> 00:26:29.079 This game has lost its appeal. 00:26:31.079 --> 00:26:32.479 It shows for us, too, 00:26:32.539 --> 00:26:34.639 reminds us of what's true 00:26:34.639 --> 00:26:36.759 for the next step this man would have to make 00:26:36.759 --> 00:26:38.119 to not just be near the kingdom, 00:26:38.299 --> 00:26:39.239 but in the kingdom. 00:26:39.399 --> 00:26:40.059 And it's this. 00:26:41.379 --> 00:26:43.779 We know that we fail to love God 00:26:43.779 --> 00:26:45.079 with our whole selves. 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:50.319 And we know that we fail to love our neighbors 00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:51.000 as ourselves. 00:26:52.439 --> 00:26:54.339 And if we know both of those things, 00:26:54.399 --> 00:26:57.179 then we know our desperate need for God's grace. 00:26:58.579 --> 00:27:01.939 We know how much we need the gospel. 00:27:02.099 --> 00:27:05.159 That's why this man is one step away. 00:27:06.519 --> 00:27:09.079 We know that we don't need Jesus 00:27:09.079 --> 00:27:10.339 just as a great teacher. 00:27:10.939 --> 00:27:13.079 We don't need him simply as someone 00:27:13.079 --> 00:27:16.059 who will untangle the knots of the law for us. 00:27:16.980 --> 00:27:18.199 We need him as someone 00:27:18.199 --> 00:27:21.079 who will cover our failure to keep the law. 00:27:22.500 --> 00:27:24.720 We need him as someone 00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:28.000 who will cover up our failure to love. 00:27:29.720 --> 00:27:33.079 Because if the law is more than keeping a list of rules, 00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:35.139 if the law is love, 00:27:35.559 --> 00:27:38.220 then it is more than we can handle alone. 00:27:39.559 --> 00:27:41.139 We need Jesus' forgiveness. 00:27:41.559 --> 00:27:43.000 We need him to cover our gap. 00:27:43.939 --> 00:27:45.699 That's why we look to him in his death 00:27:45.699 --> 00:27:47.119 and his resurrection as he dies. 00:27:47.179 --> 00:27:48.159 And he takes the punishment 00:27:48.159 --> 00:27:51.579 that we deserve for not keeping the love of the law. 00:27:52.279 --> 00:27:53.839 And he lives the perfect life, 00:27:53.919 --> 00:27:55.119 the life that's characterized 00:27:55.119 --> 00:27:58.960 by complete and total love of God and neighbor. 00:27:59.919 --> 00:28:00.799 Even more than that, 00:28:00.839 --> 00:28:01.639 or in addition to that, 00:28:01.679 --> 00:28:02.759 I'll say not more than that, 00:28:03.220 --> 00:28:05.960 we need Jesus' power and example. 00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:08.079 Jesus' power comes, 00:28:08.119 --> 00:28:09.619 and his example comes from the fact 00:28:09.619 --> 00:28:13.319 that Jesus loved his neighbor more than himself. 00:28:14.539 --> 00:28:16.239 We see that most of all in the fact 00:28:16.239 --> 00:28:18.079 that he was willing to lay down his life 00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:21.039 to do what Philippians 2 talks about, 00:28:21.099 --> 00:28:26.539 to give up the glory and honor and privilege 00:28:26.539 --> 00:28:27.879 that he was due. 00:28:27.880 --> 00:28:33.880 John summarizes this for us 00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:36.200 in 1 John 4, verse 19, 00:28:36.260 --> 00:28:36.880 when he says, 00:28:37.660 --> 00:28:41.140 we love because he first loved us. 00:28:41.980 --> 00:28:43.200 And there's the secret. 00:28:43.380 --> 00:28:44.340 Our love of our neighbor 00:28:44.340 --> 00:28:45.780 flows out of our love of God. 00:28:46.660 --> 00:28:48.640 Where does our love of God come from? 00:28:49.340 --> 00:28:54.800 Our love of God flows out of God's love for us. 00:28:54.799 --> 00:28:58.899 And so that's why we can sing together, 00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:00.279 my Jesus, I love thee. 00:29:01.359 --> 00:29:04.039 I know thou art mine. 00:29:05.079 --> 00:29:05.700 Let's pray. 00:29:07.159 --> 00:29:08.220 Our Father in heaven, 00:29:08.359 --> 00:29:09.740 we thank you 00:29:09.740 --> 00:29:11.899 that you're a God of love, 00:29:11.980 --> 00:29:13.700 that you've filled this world with love, 00:29:13.720 --> 00:29:14.579 and even more than that, 00:29:14.639 --> 00:29:15.639 you have showed us 00:29:15.639 --> 00:29:18.220 how to be maximizers of love. 00:29:19.740 --> 00:29:22.319 We ask that you would change us, 00:29:22.399 --> 00:29:23.339 you'd transform us, 00:29:23.339 --> 00:29:25.339 that we would look more and more like Jesus, 00:29:25.500 --> 00:29:28.179 that your love for us 00:29:28.179 --> 00:29:29.839 would result in us 00:29:29.839 --> 00:29:30.879 being the new creations 00:29:30.879 --> 00:29:31.939 that you speak about, 00:29:32.079 --> 00:29:33.240 that our love for you 00:29:33.240 --> 00:29:34.319 would flow out 00:29:34.319 --> 00:29:35.939 into love for others 00:29:35.939 --> 00:29:36.759 and for this world. 00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:38.220 We ask these things 00:29:38.220 --> 00:29:39.799 in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. 00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:40.539 Amen. 00:29:40.539 --> 00:29:40.720 Amen.