 Anyway, Mark chapter 12, we're gonna be looking at verses 28 through 34 today. We're looking at the greatest command. And so I'll begin reading at verse 28. I'll read to verse 34, and we'll get into our study. Mark chapter 12, beginning at verse 28, reading to verse 34. Mark writes, then one of the scribes came and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that he had answered them when I'll ask him, which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, here, oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second like it is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. So the scribe said to him, well said teacher, you have spoken the truth for there is one God, there is no other but he, and to love him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, with all the strength, to love one's neighbor as oneself is more than all the whole bird offerings and sacrifices. Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, you're not far from the kingdom of God. So obviously as I normally will begin a study, I'd like to remind you of where we've been, what's going on and all of that. We know that this is the last week of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's completing his mission on earth. He's entered into Jerusalem to great excitement. We saw how he had cursed a fig tree, he had cleansed a temple for a second time. How he had answered a question concerning his authority. We also saw that he had given a parable to the religious leaders illustrating their rejection of him. And when he did so, that provoked even greater opposition by those rejecting him. And they had begun at that point barraging him with various questions. So in this chapter, we saw the Pharisees join with Herodians to entrap him. To do so, they had asked him a question and the question they asked him would be what we would say political. It was political in nature. We saw that in verses 13 through 17. It had centered on pain attacks. It was intended to provoke Rome against him. Well, when they failed in the question, the next to try were their religious opponents and we looked at them. They're the Sadducees. Now, it wasn't political this question that they asked him. Instead, it was theological. It was a question that dealt with the resurrection. We saw that in verses 18 through 27. And as I was sharing with you, the Sadducees said there is no resurrection and they pose a question concerning it. It was likely a question that was used often by the Pharisees. They thought it would stump Jesus in this. But as we saw, Jesus corrected them and directly told them that they were deceived. He told them that they neither knew scripture nor the power of God. Again, the Sadducees would use this against the Pharisees. Now, in the rejection of the resurrection, they were doomed to reject his resurrection. Now, as this was taking place, there were people who were listening and those people were greatly impressed. Matthew tells us in chapter 22 verse 33, when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at his teaching. That word astonished is a strong word. It means to be stricken with shock. They were impressed greatly. The people, in other words, were amazed but the Sadducees were left speechless. Luke 20 verses 39 and 40, it says, some of the teachers of the law responded, well said teacher. And no one dared to ask him any more questions. The word dared means no one was bold enough or courageous to continue. So none of the Sadducees wanted to proceed but it didn't stop the Pharisees. You see, Jesus had made a tremendous impression and the people are now talking. Since Pharisees believed in resurrection, his answer would have pleased them. Though pleased though, Jesus was still considered their enemy. They formulated a question and they sent one of their members to pose it to him. Matthew gives us more insight because notice in Mark 12, 28, it says one of the scribes came. Well, Matthew gives us more insight. It says one of the scribes who had come was actually a Pharisee scribe. Matthew 22, 34 and 35, when the Pharisees heard that, he had silenced the Sadducees. They gathered together. One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him. Now, the word lawyer there isn't speaking of somebody like we have today. Those who are expert in our law is a religious scholar. The word lawyer is speaking of somebody who is a scribe, somebody who is an expert in the religion of Israel. And this is a Pharisee scribe. And so it says in verse 28 that he had heard them reasoning. That word reasoning in verse 28 is another word for debating. He saw them arguing is what it was. Now, he heard them debating and was aware of his answer. And in standing there and listening, he would have seen the brilliance of Jesus Christ, but he proceeds anyway. He had noted that Jesus gave a good answer, but then he gives to Jesus a prepared question. Now, this expert in Jewish religious law came to Jesus not out of faith, but to test him. Now, when it speaks of him coming to test, that means to test with malice. It's to put to full proof somebody's feelings or judgments. Now, that had just happened. We saw that in verse 13 with the Pharisees and Herodians because Jesus was a teacher, he was a man of many words. So they're using his words to entrap him. It's like what it says in Psalm 56, verse five. All day they twist my words. All their thoughts are against me for evil. And so he comes, he comes with a prepared question. He wants to ask Jesus something to catch him at his words, to entrap him. And so he asked verse 28, which is the first commandment of all? Now again, Jesus had answered two questions. One was political, one was theological. This question is theological and it pertains to the greatest command. Which is the first commandment in the law of Moses? Which command is the one most necessary to keep? Now you need to understand something during this day. Jewish rabbinic scholars had enumerated 613 commandments in the law of Moses. You see, very often what we do today is we will simply say, well, there are the 10 commands. But in fact, the Jewish rabbinic scholars had gone through from Genesis, the first five books and others. They had gone through scripture and they had come up with 613 specific commands and they had broken those laws into two categories. There were the heavy category and the light category. The heavy commands were mandatory to obey but the light were less binding. They also divided the 613 laws into 248 positive and 365 negative commands. So which of the 613 commandments is the greatest commandment given to us by Moses? Which of the 248 positive and 365 negative commands is the most important? That's what they're asking. Now what they're trying to do in the question is to draw Jesus into comparison with Moses. Jesus had consistently challenged their teachings. It had angered them. So they're hoping that he's going to contradict something Moses said. And if he contradicts what Moses said, they could call him a heretic. So the question, what sums up all of the commandments? What is the great? Which is the first commandment of all verse 28, verse 29? Jesus answered him. The first of all the commandments is here, oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. So Jesus begins to answer and he begins with what is called the Shema. In Deuteronomy, in the Old Testament, and I'm going to develop this with you, in Deuteronomy in chapter six verses four and five, it reads, here oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. It's called the Shema because in Hebrew, Shema is the word for here. It was the most popular expression of faith in Israel. One of my commentators said that saying the Shema was a passport into heaven for any child of Abraham. So these are the most familiar, recited and copied scriptures in Judaism. The scriptures were worn by all religious Jews. It's part of their mezuzahs. Now the mezuzah, the word mezuzah means doorpost and it speaks of a parchment inscribed with scripture attached to the case, in a case to the doorpost of a Jewish house as a sign of faith. If you walk in and many of you have noticed, but I would probably say that most haven't, but many have noticed that if you walk in the centered doors, they're off to your right as you enter in, we have a mezuzah there. It has scripture there to remind us that we're here to worship God. And so the mezuzah was something that they had. They also carried these scriptures in what are called phlacteries in the New Testament, which is a case that carries the scripture they have in the front list before their eyes and on their hand. And so that was an observation to the Old Testament, Deuteronomy six, verses six through nine. And this is what it says, these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children. You shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand. They shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. These scriptures were completely familiar to all Jewish men, including especially this religious lawyer. They were along with Deuteronomy 11, 13 through 21 and Numbers 15, verses 37 through 41. They were recited twice a day. So as Jesus quoted this, the lawyer may have been wearing what we would today call a phlactery. And he obviously would have been quite aware of this passage. You see, Jesus was looking at a man who had faith, but it was an outside faith. He would have been quite aware of the command to memorize scripture. He knew it should be in your heart. He knew scripture was to be taught diligently. He knew scripture was to be spoken of constantly. That it was to be recited twice a day. He knew scripture was to strengthen you. That it was to guide your life. That it was to establish your home. He knew all of this. And yet in verse 29, Jesus says it, here, oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Now, every true Jew knew that God is the God of the universe. The children of Israel were surrounded by pagan nations. Pagan nations that had a variety of gods that were called idols. And so the children of Israel were to be unique in the world because while all these pagans had carved images and would carry those gods with them wherever they went, the nation of Israel was to have no carved image. God in his commands had said, you shall not have any graven image. And so they were the people that had the invisible God. They were well aware that the nations around them were filled with idolatry. Abraham himself came out of a place that was filled with idolatry when God had spoken to him and drawn him out. And so this cry of faith, here, oh Israel, the Lord thy God, he is one Lord, was the foundational faith of the Jewish nation. Other nations were idolaters, but the God of Israel is one. He's undivided. And that truth separated Israel from the pagan nations throughout the world. So as it was true with all religious Jews, this expert on the law of Moses knew, he knew this very well. But knowing these scriptures, and I want to speak about this for a moment, knowing these scriptures was not enough. It is not a knowing truth, it's surrendering to it that results in salvation. To know a passage is more than head knowledge. To know a passage is full surrender. And it's in this way that God reveals and discloses himself to us. You see, during the time of Israel, Israel was already being saturated with a pagan thought. I mentioned to you the Sadducees. The Sadducees were a religious group that had been influenced by Greek philosophy. They had been influenced, so the Greek philosophy is a very ancient philosophy and had entered in. When you begin to look a little bit about what it means to know something or to learn something, you'll find out that it's interesting to say that even the United States, we have the same kind of mentality that Greeks had, that pagans had, and that is this, that it's the accumulation of information that makes you smart and educated. To the Greek, knowledge was the accumulation of information. And so the more that you learned, they would say the better understanding you would have. But that was not true with the Jew. The Jew said that it's not the information, it's the assimilation, and it's the transformation that demonstrates you really know something. In other words, today, even in our educational system, you can go to school and your professor will say a higher education. Your professor will say these are the things you need to know for the exam. You memorize those things, but those things you're memorizing don't change your life. It doesn't matter what class you're taking. This class, that class, this class, whatever. You know that you have to put down an answer that satisfies the professor, and that's how it works. But you're not necessarily changing. You're just acquiring information, but the Jew was different. The Jew said if you're gonna have true knowledge, what you do is you take something in that changes your life. That's why in John 13, when Jesus was speaking to his men and knowing that his hour had come, knowing that he was about to die, he had girded himself with the towel, he had gotten a basin, he washed the feet of his disciples, and as he was doing so, he said that what he was doing was something necessary for them. Well, the apostle Peter didn't want that. He didn't want any part of that. And so when Jesus had come to wash his feet, we know how the apostle Peter had said to him, are you washing my feet? You shall never wash my feet. And that's when Jesus said, if I don't wash you, you have no part of me. And so he said, no, then wash my head, my feet, my hands. Give me a bath. I don't want to be cut off from you. But when Jesus continued speaking to them, that's when he had said, what I'm doing is something that I have to explain to you. You need to understand this. And as he was sharing this with them, he said that it is to do. It's not enough just to know. You need to do these things. Because what I'm doing for you right now is I'm giving you a living illustration of what it means to accumulate information, but to assimilate it and then to practice it so that your life will be transformed. There's a lot of us, many of us, who have gone through religious schools, religious education. I did from the time I was around six or seven. I went to what we called catechism classes. I continued on in one form or another until the age of 12. At the age of 12, I continued on to receive sacraments and this and that. That's what we did. We memorized information, but the information that I was memorizing never transformed me. It didn't change me. What I was able to do is I was able to give certain teachings of the church I was part of. I was able to recite the Apostolic Creed and things of that nature. I was able to be qualified to receive certain sacraments, but my life was not changed because true knowledge is not just acquiring information. It's putting it into practice and having an application. And so this guy who's approaching him, this legal expert is well aware of what it says in Deuteronomy. All religious Jews knew this. Here we Israel, the Lord that God, he has won. He knew that. He probably had his phylactery. He most certainly did. He had his Mizzouza. He knew these things. He had memorized these things. This is something he was aware of, but he didn't understand it. It's not in knowing truth. It's surrendering to it that results in salvation. To know a passage is more than head knowledge. It's surrender. And in this way, God reveals and discloses himself to us. And that's something Jesus spoke of in John 7.15 through 17. It says that Jews marveled saying, how does this man know letters having never studied? Jesus answered them and said, my doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone wants to do his will, he shall know concerning the doctrine whether it is from God or whether I speak on my own authority is not simply the knowing, it's the doing his will that helps you to understand. It's not just knowing something about God that saves you. It's knowing the God who reveals himself to us in Jesus Christ through the word of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit. In 2 Timothy 1.12, Paul said it like this. He said, I know whom I have believed. He didn't say, I know what I have believed. That obviously he does in other places. But in this particular portion he says, I know whom I have believed. I have a personal acquaintance with the God who inspired the scriptures. I know him. In John 17, verse three, this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God in Jesus Christ whom you have sent. So salvation is more than being able to recite certain things. Salvation is more than being able to quote certain passages. And I'm telling you, this scribe, this lawyer was able to do that. When Jesus is speaking to him, he's giving him information he's aware of. He's telling them things he already knows. You see, Pharisees knew volumes of scripture by heart. They were brilliant scholars, but they had a major problem. They knew Bible passages, but didn't know the author of the Bible. And so Jesus gave them a Bible passage that they were familiar with. And he's saying it like this. He's saying, basically, you repeat this habitually, but you don't understand what it really means. Now, why are you commanded to love God completely with everything that's within you? That sounds kind of difficult to me. And when I think of it, God, you're commanding me to love you. Come on, why are you commanding me to love you? To love you. Well, love for God is a response because God has shown you how much he loves you. In Jeremiah 31, verse three in the Old Testament, it says it like this. The Lord has appeared of old to me saying, yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness, I have drawn you. God demonstrated his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. And so God has demonstrated his love for us and that's what draws us to him. We love him and we're to love him with everything. Many years ago now, my daughter, Corinne, who is my firstborn, our firstborn, was about two and a half years old. I used to go to, I went to Cal Poly Pomona for a while and I took my daughter and my wife and I, we took my Corinne. Like I said, she was around two years old, little older than two, two and a half maybe. And I have a picture of her because we were standing in this particular place there on campus at that time, a long time ago now. And as we were standing on campus, I said to my little girl, my Corinne, I said, I said, baby, do you love your daddy? And she said, yes, I love my daddy. And I said, good, I'll give you some more money. No, I said, do you love your daddy? And she says, I love my daddy. I said, how much do you love me? I was playing with her, of course. I said, how much do you love your daddy? Who's your daddy? No, I said, how much do you love your daddy? And she went like this and she stretched her little arms out as far as she could. Now again, she was two and a half years old. So, and I said, that's not very much. That's not much at all. That you don't, you don't love me more than that. So she started stretching even further. I love you this much. And I looked, I said, oh baby, that's not much at all. You don't love your daddy more than that. So the third time I said it, I had my camera out this time. We used to have something called cameras and I had a camera on me. And she stretched as far as her little arms could go. And her little face has all this strain and I got a picture of it. And I have that picture in my office somewhere of my two and a half year old little girl stretching her arm. Well, I told that story to my mom. My mom was touched by it. And so mama got me a plaque and on the plaque it simply says, I asked Jesus, how much do you love me? And he said this much. And he stretched out his arms and he died. And that's how much your God loves you. How much do you love me? I love you this much. You see, why, why, why should you love God? Because he first loved you. Why should you love God with everything? Because that's how much he loved you. If the church would finally get to the point where we remember or maybe live in this, this is where a lot of people are failing in their walks with God. They're like the Pharisees. I will do as much as I can to make him love me. I will obey his commandments. I'll make sure I do all of these things. Now, God so loved the world he gave. You are responding to his love. You're not making him love you. You could never make God love you. He loves you because he loves you. And that's what love is. It's that giving of himself completely, even though he knows the majority of the world will never want his love. So he's talking to this scribe, he's speaking to this lawyer. What is the great commandment this lawyer who is a brilliant scholar? A man who knows the Old Testament who's memorized vast portions of it. I know these 613 commands. What is the great? If you were to boil it down to one command in the entire law, the 613 laws that we find in scripture, what is the great command? Hero is real, the Lord thy God, he is one, you shall love him with all your heart, everything that is within you. That's how much you love him. Why? Romans 832 says, he who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also along with him freely give us all things? Why? Because he loved you first. Love him with everything. Your love for God, he says, is what is gonna compel you. And he says, love with all your heart. He says, love with all your soul. He says, love with all your mind. Love with all of your strength. The heart is the core of the inner being. It is the origin of all thoughts, words, and deeds. Sometimes when we speak about loving God with all of our heart, we confuse it with really a more of what would be called a medieval concept of love. The love for God is not an emotion. The love for God is a decision of the will. You love him with your intellect. You love him with all that is within you. It's the origin of your thoughts, your words, your deeds. You love him with the core of your inner being. Proverbs 4, 23, above all else, guard your heart. It's the wellspring of life. You love him with all of your soul. The soul is the seat of emotional kinds of activity. Matthew 26, 38 says, my soul is deeply grieved to the point of death. You love him with all of your mind, your disposition, your attitude, your intellectual life that's all centered on him. You love him with all of your strength. And that speaks of our service to God. 1 Corinthians 10, 31, whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Romans 12, 1 and 2, therefore I urge you brothers in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you'll be able to test and approve what God's will is, is good, pleasing and perfect will. You love him with everything within you. And this love is shown by our desire to obey, not in being forced to. Love is demonstrated through the voluntary yielding of our lives to the Lord. And that's why in John 14, 15, Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments. Our love for God grows over time. Our love for God is something that matures. It's something that we'll see continue to grow and excel as we follow him. It is something that becomes a foundational passion of our life. And so it's knowing him and serving him that motivates us, like it says in Psalm 42, 1 and 2, as the deer pants for streams of water. So my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Here's something that I'm discovering and have discovered over the years. When you love the Lord, His commands are not burdensome. His commands aren't hard, grievous. How do you mean when I got saved? I can't do dope anymore? Man, what a bummer. Me, when I got saved, I can't get angry and tell people off and fight anymore? What a bummer. You mean when I got saved, I can't smoke dope and get drunk and party? And what a bummer. Are you kidding me? Those are the things that God set you free from. Those are the things you were burdened to. Young people sometimes, and I'm not knocking young people because it's just a fact of human life. But when I was younger, I didn't have this concept that these things I thought were so good, that these are the things destroying me. I didn't see it that way. I thought they were simple activities of life. But as I grew older, I began to see how these things actually affected me, how the stupid things I did eventually came back later on. I could be a crazy person and jump off a roof. But now when I wake up in the morning, I can't get off my bed. And all the things that I thought were so cool, so many of them were the things that were killing me. That's why I got saved. That's why I came to faith in Christ because my life was so miserable. And that's probably why most of us in this room came to Christ. Our lives were miserable. So to argue, can I continue to drink? Can I continue this? What a dumb argument. I have to be honest with you, that may not sound kind. It probably wasn't. Later, I'll feel bad. But it was dumb. Because you're being kept from pain. You're being kept from regret. You're being kept from shame. You're being kept. So like it says in 1 John, it says, this is how we know that we love the children of God by loving God and carrying out His commands. In fact, this is love for God. To keep His commands, His commands are not burdensome. They set you free. These are the things that set you free. And so He says, love God with everything. Love and why? Because that's how He loved you. But He gives us the second command. Notice verse 31, the second like it is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. Now, the first command centered on our duty to God. But the second command centers on our duty to man. Now, how is loving God often revealed? Well, loving God is often revealed by loving people. In 1 John 5 verse 1, if we believe Jesus is truly Christ, we are God's children. Everyone who loves a father will also love His children. There are those I've had actual conversation where someone says to me, I love God. It's people I can't stand. And that just doesn't make sense. You can't love God with all of your heart and not care for those whom He loves. In 1 John 4, 20, if someone says I love God and hates His brother, this isn't my words, these are His words, He's a liar. For He who does not love His brother whom He has seen, how can He love God whom He has not seen? How is that possible? Well, what happens is we fall in love with the concept of what we think God is like, but we don't put it in practice when we're around people. And that's what happens. You see, Christian faith is worked out in actions towards those in need. Love for God will always be revealed by love for those whom He loves. And love is an emotional feeling. It's not an emotional feeling. It's a concern that motivates us to action. I started learning this as a pastor long ago when I was home and somebody in our church was brand new, maybe a few months old at the most. And there was one particular person that was constantly following me around, asking for advice, which I'm here to do. But the same question was always asked. And I'm not talking about once or twice. I'm talking about quite often the same question. And you can get tired. I got tired. I thought, well, you know, I'm answering the same question so many times. And again, I was only 31 at the time. I didn't have much experience. And so I was getting frustrated with all of this. And so I'm at home, the phone rings. I've got two little kids at that time, three little kids at that time. And my wife is making dinner for me and all, and we're about to eat. And I get a phone call, and can you talk to me? And I said, well, of course, I'll see you tomorrow. And she says, no, I need to talk right now. I said, well, okay. And she says, I need to see you face to face. And I said, I'll see you tomorrow. No, I want to see you right now. And so I said, I'll meet you. And I remember hanging up the phone and turning to my wife, Marie, who could tell you this is true. I said, oh boy, this is driving me crazy. I said, it's driving me crazy. Honey, you don't have to call me up to see me. No, I said, I said, this is happening too much. I said, and I'm tired. And so I get in the car and I'm driving to go meet this person. And this is, you know, you can hate me if you like. But anyway, as I was driving, I was ranting to the Lord. Father, I can't take this. I am tired. I got things I have to do. God, I don't love this woman. I don't love her. God, help me to love her. And the Lord says, but you do love her. And this, believe this or not. I said, no, I don't. I don't. I wouldn't be complaining if, and here's the thought that I believe this is inspired of the spirit. Where are you going? So I'm going to meet her. His love is not an emotion. Love is a decision. By going to meet her, you're loving her. Don't get confused with your feelings because your feelings are not to be what makes you know you love. It's your actions that demonstrate there's really love there. I learned that a long time ago. And so yeah, sometimes you might get frustrated. I guess we all do. But when you do the right thing for the right reason because it glorifies God, he's teaching you what love is. Perhaps somebody needs to hear that right now. When you exercise the right thing with the right heart, even though your heart's fighting it, you're doing the right thing before the Lord. And God's love is always revealed in that way. It's not an emotional feeling. It's a sacrificial heart. In John 15, 13, greater love has no man than this that a man laid down his life for his friends. Here's something that the Lord has reminded me of. You can love those you disagree with. And you don't even need to like them. It's what we do with a pure heart, not what we're feeling. And in Romans 13, eight through 10, Paul said it like this. He said, oh, no one anything except a love one another. For he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, you shall not commit adultery. You shall not murder. You should not steal. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not covet. And if there is any other commandment are all summed up in this saying, namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is a fulfillment of the law. You see this citation about loving your neighbor as yourself is found in an Old Testament book called Leviticus. And it's actually found in verses nine through 18. And when you read those verses, those verses speak of leaving fallen grapes on the ground when you reap your harvest. It speaks of not stealing, of not dealing falsely, of not lying, not robbing your neighbor, of paying the worker immediately, not cursing the deaf, not placing his stumbling block before the blind. It speaks of doing no injustice in court, not being partial in judgment to the rich or the poor, but judging righteously. It speaks of not slandering your neighbors, hating your brother in your heart. It speaks of being honest, rejecting, taking vengeance, not bearing grudges. He says, instead, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. All of that simply gives us practical ways to love. These are all aspects of loving our neighbors as ourself. You see, the whole duty of man is summed up into one word, love. Well, the question can be asked, but then again, who's my neighbor? And that question is answered in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the story of the Good Samaritan, where Jesus made it very clear that though the Levite and the priest rejected the helping this one man, the only one who did was a Samaritan, and he was pointing out because the question was asked, who is my neighbor? The answer was, people are your neighbor. You care for people. In James chapter two, verse eight, it says it like this, if you really keep the royal law found in scripture, love your neighbor as yourself, you're doing well. Now, caring for people really isn't that hard, and it's a good witness for the Lord. I was reading about a man who was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard, and when the light had turned yellow, he did the right thing. He stopped at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light. Well, the tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn. She was screaming in frustration as she had missed her chance to get through the intersection. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a police officer. He ordered her out of the car with her hands up, and he took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell, opened the door and escorted her back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with their personal effects. He said, I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, cussing at him, and I noticed the, what would Jesus do, bumper sticker? The choose life, license plate holder. The follow me to Sunday school bumper sticker. The chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the truck. So naturally, I assumed you stole a car. See, our witness is really something we ought to be aware of. The whole work of God teaches us to put into practice what we really believe. You shall be known, we used to sing this song, they shall know we are Christians by our what? By our love. They will know that we are Christians by our love. When I first went into the Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, I was 20, actually 19 years old, I went in, and I've shared this enough to just kind of, just repeat one thought about it. The one thing that I was amazed by when I walked into that church, I hadn't been in church for quite some time. And so the one thing I was amazed by when I walked in was the sense that there's something different here. I didn't know what it was. I'd been in church off and on for a good portion of my life, but I had never sensed what I was sensing in. And do you know I didn't know what it was that I was feeling that day until later on after I got saved. And I came to know what it was on the day I got saved. What I was sensing was something that sadly is very often missing in many churches. And what I was sensing was love. I was sensing love, you know, because I was long hair, I had been drinking, my eyes were bloodshot, I'd been smoking pot, I was barefooted, and I didn't get rejected. I didn't have somebody say to me, you know, you're not welcome here. You know, that kind of thing, by the way, and I'll say this quickly, that kind of thing is still present in many places. And I pray to God that we don't have that here. You know, somebody has tattoos and people get all uptight. And that guy's got that, look at those tattoos. Then it's the women. Those women have those tattoos. Oh, look at those mean-looking women with those tattoos. And then they put that hummingbird on their back. The woman does a little hummingbird, a little, well, we used to call them Tramps down, so I don't know what they're called now. But they put that little hummingbird. And I've said it before, I'll say it again. You know that little hummingbird you got when you were 18? It's gonna be a vulture when you're 40. And when you walk, it's gonna look like it's flying. I'm just telling you. But people get all uptight with that, you know? We had a song that we said, looking past the hair and straight into the eyes. Because, you know, God has a way of reaching into what the world considers to be trash. And he turns that trash into treasure by the grace of God. We need to remember that. We really do. We are known as Christians by our love. And that's what Jesus is saying on a roll to a conclusion. So be friendly, be helpful, be encouraging, be polite, be kind, resist the impulse to constantly argue, be patient, be courteous to others, put the cart in the cart corral, please, and stop taking the handicapped spaces when you park. Yeah, yeah, right? Yeah, it's practical. Just love people, care about them, my goodness. Well, anyway, we ought to conclude. Here we go, verse 32 and 33 and 34. The scribe said to him, well said teacher, you've spoken the truth or there is one God, there's no other but he, to love him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, with all the strength, to love one's neighbor as oneself is more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices. Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, you are not far from the kingdom of God. And he answers and he says with wisdom, he makes it very clear, he says well said, when he said well said, that's another way of saying, excellent, that is a beautiful answer. And so as he's saying this, it's revealing the sincerity that he has, this kind of love he's saying for God and man is really what reveals genuine faith, master, you're right about that. It's greater than ritual, it's greater than burnt offering because that's what God wants. Hosea 6 verse 6, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings. And so the lawyer speaks concerning understanding. The first time we see that word used is found in verse 30, it speaks of a deep thought, but in verse 33, it speaks of putting something together, it's synthesizing, it's hearing something, putting it together and understanding or comprehending it. So he's getting, he says understanding and comprehending the things of the Lord, that matters. And Jesus says to him, you are using your mind wisely, you're not far from the kingdom of God. You've understood that simple observation of laws will not save you, take the next step, enter in because you are even at the door. And finally, Matthew 2240 says that Jesus said, on these two commandments saying all the law and prophets, all the law and prophets are hanging on these two commands and the law and prophets are revealed as hanging. In Acts 530, the God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging him on a cross. Galatians 3, 13, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. It is written, curse it is everyone who hangs on the tree, the love for God, love for man is demonstrated when God gave his son to die for man. That's Christianity, you're not far from the kingdom, you are beginning to realize the purpose of salvation. You're not far from the kingdom, but it's time for you to enter in. It's like standing at a door that's open up, you need to take the step in. Instead of standing there examining, any further step on in. He said, you're not far from the kingdom of God. And after this, none of his opponents dare raise another question of him. They were just no match for him, and it was useless to try to entangle him in his speech. Loving God with all that's within you, love your neighbor as yourself. So many people today say, oh, I love God, but they hate their neighbors. That is not pleasing to the Lord. I would never want you to walk out of this church hating people. I hope we always walk out of this church, loving God more and wanting to love people. I pray that that's what we do. Father, I ask that you would speak to all of us.