Prohibitions And Invitations In The Eleventh Commandment
Adult study
The Big Ten
Another Look At The Ten Commandments
The most important Commandment of all is to love God more than anything else and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Some call Jesus' words the "Eleventh" Commandment. This command is originally found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. In the New Testament, Jesus calls it the greatest, the first, and the most important Commandment. Jesus' words about this Commandment are found in Matthew 22, Luke 10, and Mark 12. Each has a unique twist.
In Matthew 22:34-40, the context for Jesus giving the greatest Commandment was a test by the Sadducees. They were trying to trap Jesus with a trick question, "Teacher, which is the greatest Commandment in the Law?" Jesus told them to love the Lord God first and foremost and the neighbor as self. "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two Commandments," he said.
In Luke 10:25-28, the context of the greatest Commandment is an expert in the law trying to trick Jesus by asking him "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus replies, "What is written in the Law?" When the lawyer hears Jesus' question, he quotes Deuteronomy 6:4-5 about loving the Lord your God with heart, soul, strength, and mind and your neighbor as self. Jesus tells him that he is correct and that he should live what he believes. Then the lawyer, wanting to justify himself asks Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?"
Jesus then tells him the parable of the Good Samaritan, the point of which is not only to define our neighbor as one in need, but more to the point, to act like a good neighbor to the needy. We are called to act on our beliefs, not just express faith in intellectual terms. "Who is neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" Jesus asks. "The one who had mercy on him," the lawyer responds. "Go and do likewise," Jesus says.
Whereas the context of the Eleventh Commandment in Matthew is the opportunity to summarize the Law and the Prophets against an opponent who is trying to trick him, the context in Luke is to be sure that an opponent doesn't just quote scripture, but acts on his faith.
In Mark, there is another twist in the context of the giving of the Eleventh Commandment. In Mark's Gospel, Jesus is dealing with a genuinely good man who wants to learn more from the astute teacher. The man, himself a teacher, is impressed by the debating skills of Jesus. He asks the question about the greatest of all Commandments because he really wants to know the proper priorities in life. Jesus tells him to love God more than anything else and love his neighbors as himself. When the man agrees with Jesus, he hears these words: "You aren't far from the kingdom of God." In Mark, the Eleventh Commandment is all about invitations to a new life.
Before we look at these invitations, let's examine the prohibitions, both stated and implied, in Matthew and Luke.
Prohibitions
The first prohibition in Matthew and Luke is that you can't win when you try to test God. In both of these gospels, an antagonist tries to trap Jesus by asking him about the greatest Commandment. In both cases, the antagonists are trapped in the trap they set for Jesus. Notice who wins the verbal "fist-a-cuffs" in both gospels.
The second prohibition is in all three synoptic gospel accounts. Jesus prohibits love of anything or anyone more than God. In the best sense, loving God is not a command, but the natural response to God's love for us, especially in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. God loves us; therefore we love God back. 1 John 4:7-10 puts it this way:
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us; He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
The third prohibition in the Eleventh Commandment is that we can't love God and forget about our neighbor. The Eleventh Commandment is that since God loved us, we are called to love him back and love our neighbors. 1 John 4:11-12 puts it this way:
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
1 John 4:16 explains the reason to return the love of God. Verses 19-21 give us a practical example of faith active in love.
God is love ... We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
In other words, the Eleventh Commandment prohibits just talking about love. We are invited to walk our talk and experience new life.
Invitations
First, to walk our talk about love means to accept Jesus' invitation to apply our faith to life by loving those who do not love us back. In other words, we are invited to take seriously the words of Jesus about loving our enemies.
Jesus put it this way in Matthew 5:43-48:
You have heard that it was said, "Love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
"Perfect" in Greek means "whole" or "complete," like God.
To love our enemies means to be like God. It does not mean that we have to like our enemies or approve of what they do. It means taking the initiative and acting toward people the way that God acts. He hates sins, but he loves the sinner. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). In other words, through Christ we can be proactive instead of reactive to those who do evil things against us.
Winston Churchill said, "Some people watch things happen. They are the professional critics. Some people don't know things happen. They are the sleepers. And some people make things happen. They are achievers and initiators." To love our enemies means by the power of God to be initiators in the area of human relations.
Second, to walk our talk about love means to accept Jesus' invitation to a new life. Natural man (and woman) pays back evil for evil. Natural man (and woman) wants to get even with those who cause hurt. Natural man (and woman) follows the lower part of human nature by getting trapped in the endless turmoil of reciprocity. Natural man (and woman) loves himself (herself) and puts down his (her) neighbor. Jesus invites us to a new way of life by loving God with our whole beings and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.
On the streets of our cities we often see signs reading, "No U-turns." In the area of our relationship with God and one another, however, there is another sign: "God Allows U-turns." God even invites us to make U-turns and enter the new life. "I came to give life and give it in abundance," Jesus said.
How do we live this new life? By faith, worship, and works of love.
Faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior brings new life. We don't achieve this faith; we receive it by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our part is to quit resisting what the Holy Spirit is doing to bring us to saving faith. Faith in Jesus Christ is trusting the one who died for us on the cross saying, "I'd rather die than give you up." Faith is loving God back for what he has done for us through Christ.
The new life includes faith. It also includes love for God through worship. To love the Lord means to worship him with all of our hearts and souls and minds and strength. In other words, to worship means to lose yourself in the act of adoration of the almighty. Worship means becoming transparent and getting caught up in the holy.
The new life means faith and worship. It also means faith active in love. Entering into works of love is not a matter of trying to earn salvation. We can't do that. Works of love toward our neighbors are expressions of gratitude for the love of God we have received through Jesus Christ.
To love our neighbors as ourselves means to speak and act like Jesus did. He spoke words of love to people who least expected it. He offered forgiveness to a woman caught in the act of adultery; to Matthew, a cheating tax collector; and to Peter who put his foot in his mouth so often than he had "foot-in-mouth disease." Jesus also asked forgiveness for those who were crucifying him. To offer forgiveness does not mean that the other person is forgiven. For the other person to be forgiven he or she must repent. We can't do that for someone else.
To offer forgiveness doesn't mean changing the person who hurts us; it means that we do what we can do. We change our attitude about those who are acting in evil ways. We cannot change other people. We can only change ourselves. To offer forgiveness means to take the initiative against evil by being willing to forgive.
"Yes," someone is saying, "but I'm not perfect." When people use the word "perfect," they usually mean, "without error." That's not what Jesus has in mind by saying, "You must be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect." The word "perfect" in the English translation comes from the Greek word teleos. Teleos means whole, together, at peace. In other words, Jesus' words about being perfect are an invitation to have faith and be cleansed of the divisive elements in our nature and life. We are invited to be whole and together through forgiveness and at peace with God through trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Let me say that in a different way. The only way to love our enemies is to be like God in our loving.
"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:11).
Questions For Your Personal Consideration And/Or Group Discussion
1.
Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9. This creed of Israel is a summary of the Ten Commandments. It is called the Shema. Why were the Jews commanded to bind these words to their foreheads, their wrists, and their doors?
2.
Read Matthew 22:34-40. The context here is ___________
________________________________________________.
3.
Read Luke 10:25-37. The context here is ________________
________________________________________________.
4.
Read Mark 12:28-34. The context here is _______________
_______________________________________________.
5.
Consider these Prohibitions
a.
We can't get by with testing God (Matthew and Luke). We get trapped in our traps.
b.
We shouldn't love anything more than God.
c.
We can't love God and refuse to love our neighbor. See 1 John 4:11-12 and 1 John 4:19-21.
6.
Consider these Invitations To Walk Our Talk.
a.
To love our enemies as well as our friends and family. See Matthew 5:43-48. The English word "perfect" here comes from the Greek word teleos which means whole or together, not without error. Romans 12:21 says "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." In other words, be proactive, not reactive with enemies.
b.
To accept Jesus' invitation to a new way to live. God allows U-turns.
1.
Faith
2.
Worship
3.
Works of love
Digging Deeper
1.
The "Eleventh" or greatest Commandment calls us to love God back since he has loved us. In both John 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 13, the Greek word used to describe God's love for us is agape. This kind of love is not deserved; it is a gift. This kind of love is not achieved; it is received. This kind of love is not earned; it is an expression of God's grace.
2.
Grace means God's loving action toward us in Jesus Christ. Justice means getting what we deserve. Mercy means not getting what we deserve. Grace means getting what we do not deserve.
3.
Ephesians 4:32 says, "... be kind to one another." That sounds simple enough, but when you consider the Greek word chestos we so easily translate "kind," another meaning surfaces. Chestos means more than being nice to people. It means doing what God does. "... he [God] is kind to the unthankful and to the sinners" (Luke 6:36). The admonition "be kind to one another" is not a pious platitude, but an invitation to put the "Eleventh" Commandment into action by doing what God does.
4.
To love God and neighbor is a major uphill battle today. You've got to fight to do right in a secular culture that urges, "Me first, last, and always."
5.
The late Steve Allen deplored what he called "the tidal wave of barbaric ugliness, both moral and aesthetic, that now dominates the American culture." In his book Vulgarians At the Gate, Allen says, "The coarsening of our entire culture is by no means a simple matter. But oppose it we must ... (because the) social atmosphere characterized by vulgarity, violence, brutish manners, the collapse of the family, and general disrespect for traditional codes of conduct is to chill the blood of even the most tolerant observers."
6.
In spite of what is happening all around us, there is hope that transformation can happen to us and others we love because there is a magnetic attraction in the new affection called agape (love). Once you've experienced it from God through Christ, you want to pass it on.
In Matthew 22:34-40, the context for Jesus giving the greatest Commandment was a test by the Sadducees. They were trying to trap Jesus with a trick question, "Teacher, which is the greatest Commandment in the Law?" Jesus told them to love the Lord God first and foremost and the neighbor as self. "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two Commandments," he said.
In Luke 10:25-28, the context of the greatest Commandment is an expert in the law trying to trick Jesus by asking him "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus replies, "What is written in the Law?" When the lawyer hears Jesus' question, he quotes Deuteronomy 6:4-5 about loving the Lord your God with heart, soul, strength, and mind and your neighbor as self. Jesus tells him that he is correct and that he should live what he believes. Then the lawyer, wanting to justify himself asks Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?"
Jesus then tells him the parable of the Good Samaritan, the point of which is not only to define our neighbor as one in need, but more to the point, to act like a good neighbor to the needy. We are called to act on our beliefs, not just express faith in intellectual terms. "Who is neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" Jesus asks. "The one who had mercy on him," the lawyer responds. "Go and do likewise," Jesus says.
Whereas the context of the Eleventh Commandment in Matthew is the opportunity to summarize the Law and the Prophets against an opponent who is trying to trick him, the context in Luke is to be sure that an opponent doesn't just quote scripture, but acts on his faith.
In Mark, there is another twist in the context of the giving of the Eleventh Commandment. In Mark's Gospel, Jesus is dealing with a genuinely good man who wants to learn more from the astute teacher. The man, himself a teacher, is impressed by the debating skills of Jesus. He asks the question about the greatest of all Commandments because he really wants to know the proper priorities in life. Jesus tells him to love God more than anything else and love his neighbors as himself. When the man agrees with Jesus, he hears these words: "You aren't far from the kingdom of God." In Mark, the Eleventh Commandment is all about invitations to a new life.
Before we look at these invitations, let's examine the prohibitions, both stated and implied, in Matthew and Luke.
Prohibitions
The first prohibition in Matthew and Luke is that you can't win when you try to test God. In both of these gospels, an antagonist tries to trap Jesus by asking him about the greatest Commandment. In both cases, the antagonists are trapped in the trap they set for Jesus. Notice who wins the verbal "fist-a-cuffs" in both gospels.
The second prohibition is in all three synoptic gospel accounts. Jesus prohibits love of anything or anyone more than God. In the best sense, loving God is not a command, but the natural response to God's love for us, especially in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. God loves us; therefore we love God back. 1 John 4:7-10 puts it this way:
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us; He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
The third prohibition in the Eleventh Commandment is that we can't love God and forget about our neighbor. The Eleventh Commandment is that since God loved us, we are called to love him back and love our neighbors. 1 John 4:11-12 puts it this way:
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
1 John 4:16 explains the reason to return the love of God. Verses 19-21 give us a practical example of faith active in love.
God is love ... We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
In other words, the Eleventh Commandment prohibits just talking about love. We are invited to walk our talk and experience new life.
Invitations
First, to walk our talk about love means to accept Jesus' invitation to apply our faith to life by loving those who do not love us back. In other words, we are invited to take seriously the words of Jesus about loving our enemies.
Jesus put it this way in Matthew 5:43-48:
You have heard that it was said, "Love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
"Perfect" in Greek means "whole" or "complete," like God.
To love our enemies means to be like God. It does not mean that we have to like our enemies or approve of what they do. It means taking the initiative and acting toward people the way that God acts. He hates sins, but he loves the sinner. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). In other words, through Christ we can be proactive instead of reactive to those who do evil things against us.
Winston Churchill said, "Some people watch things happen. They are the professional critics. Some people don't know things happen. They are the sleepers. And some people make things happen. They are achievers and initiators." To love our enemies means by the power of God to be initiators in the area of human relations.
Second, to walk our talk about love means to accept Jesus' invitation to a new life. Natural man (and woman) pays back evil for evil. Natural man (and woman) wants to get even with those who cause hurt. Natural man (and woman) follows the lower part of human nature by getting trapped in the endless turmoil of reciprocity. Natural man (and woman) loves himself (herself) and puts down his (her) neighbor. Jesus invites us to a new way of life by loving God with our whole beings and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.
On the streets of our cities we often see signs reading, "No U-turns." In the area of our relationship with God and one another, however, there is another sign: "God Allows U-turns." God even invites us to make U-turns and enter the new life. "I came to give life and give it in abundance," Jesus said.
How do we live this new life? By faith, worship, and works of love.
Faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior brings new life. We don't achieve this faith; we receive it by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our part is to quit resisting what the Holy Spirit is doing to bring us to saving faith. Faith in Jesus Christ is trusting the one who died for us on the cross saying, "I'd rather die than give you up." Faith is loving God back for what he has done for us through Christ.
The new life includes faith. It also includes love for God through worship. To love the Lord means to worship him with all of our hearts and souls and minds and strength. In other words, to worship means to lose yourself in the act of adoration of the almighty. Worship means becoming transparent and getting caught up in the holy.
The new life means faith and worship. It also means faith active in love. Entering into works of love is not a matter of trying to earn salvation. We can't do that. Works of love toward our neighbors are expressions of gratitude for the love of God we have received through Jesus Christ.
To love our neighbors as ourselves means to speak and act like Jesus did. He spoke words of love to people who least expected it. He offered forgiveness to a woman caught in the act of adultery; to Matthew, a cheating tax collector; and to Peter who put his foot in his mouth so often than he had "foot-in-mouth disease." Jesus also asked forgiveness for those who were crucifying him. To offer forgiveness does not mean that the other person is forgiven. For the other person to be forgiven he or she must repent. We can't do that for someone else.
To offer forgiveness doesn't mean changing the person who hurts us; it means that we do what we can do. We change our attitude about those who are acting in evil ways. We cannot change other people. We can only change ourselves. To offer forgiveness means to take the initiative against evil by being willing to forgive.
"Yes," someone is saying, "but I'm not perfect." When people use the word "perfect," they usually mean, "without error." That's not what Jesus has in mind by saying, "You must be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect." The word "perfect" in the English translation comes from the Greek word teleos. Teleos means whole, together, at peace. In other words, Jesus' words about being perfect are an invitation to have faith and be cleansed of the divisive elements in our nature and life. We are invited to be whole and together through forgiveness and at peace with God through trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Let me say that in a different way. The only way to love our enemies is to be like God in our loving.
"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:11).
Questions For Your Personal Consideration And/Or Group Discussion
1.
Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9. This creed of Israel is a summary of the Ten Commandments. It is called the Shema. Why were the Jews commanded to bind these words to their foreheads, their wrists, and their doors?
2.
Read Matthew 22:34-40. The context here is ___________
________________________________________________.
3.
Read Luke 10:25-37. The context here is ________________
________________________________________________.
4.
Read Mark 12:28-34. The context here is _______________
_______________________________________________.
5.
Consider these Prohibitions
a.
We can't get by with testing God (Matthew and Luke). We get trapped in our traps.
b.
We shouldn't love anything more than God.
c.
We can't love God and refuse to love our neighbor. See 1 John 4:11-12 and 1 John 4:19-21.
6.
Consider these Invitations To Walk Our Talk.
a.
To love our enemies as well as our friends and family. See Matthew 5:43-48. The English word "perfect" here comes from the Greek word teleos which means whole or together, not without error. Romans 12:21 says "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." In other words, be proactive, not reactive with enemies.
b.
To accept Jesus' invitation to a new way to live. God allows U-turns.
1.
Faith
2.
Worship
3.
Works of love
Digging Deeper
1.
The "Eleventh" or greatest Commandment calls us to love God back since he has loved us. In both John 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 13, the Greek word used to describe God's love for us is agape. This kind of love is not deserved; it is a gift. This kind of love is not achieved; it is received. This kind of love is not earned; it is an expression of God's grace.
2.
Grace means God's loving action toward us in Jesus Christ. Justice means getting what we deserve. Mercy means not getting what we deserve. Grace means getting what we do not deserve.
3.
Ephesians 4:32 says, "... be kind to one another." That sounds simple enough, but when you consider the Greek word chestos we so easily translate "kind," another meaning surfaces. Chestos means more than being nice to people. It means doing what God does. "... he [God] is kind to the unthankful and to the sinners" (Luke 6:36). The admonition "be kind to one another" is not a pious platitude, but an invitation to put the "Eleventh" Commandment into action by doing what God does.
4.
To love God and neighbor is a major uphill battle today. You've got to fight to do right in a secular culture that urges, "Me first, last, and always."
5.
The late Steve Allen deplored what he called "the tidal wave of barbaric ugliness, both moral and aesthetic, that now dominates the American culture." In his book Vulgarians At the Gate, Allen says, "The coarsening of our entire culture is by no means a simple matter. But oppose it we must ... (because the) social atmosphere characterized by vulgarity, violence, brutish manners, the collapse of the family, and general disrespect for traditional codes of conduct is to chill the blood of even the most tolerant observers."
6.
In spite of what is happening all around us, there is hope that transformation can happen to us and others we love because there is a magnetic attraction in the new affection called agape (love). Once you've experienced it from God through Christ, you want to pass it on.
