Matthew 22:34-40 Which is Greater?
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: July 22, 2019 Matthew 22:34-40
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
(Understanding the Text) Jesus had silenced the Sadducees by telling them that they did not know the scriptures and proving resurrection from the Pentateuch. Now, the Pharisees wanted to try to show that Jesus did not know the scriptures. They should have known better. One of the scribes asked Jesus which commandment is the greatest. Jesus did not answer with one, but two instead. The first commandment is taken from what the Jews called the /sch-ma/. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Then He added that you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Finally, He said that all the scripture depends on these two commands.
(Revelation of God) Sometimes when Jesus was tested, He turned the question back on the listeners or He told a parable rather than directly answering. This is one of the few times I can think of that Jesus directly answered a questioner who was also an accuser. He gave a simple direct answer. He actually answered a little more than asked, but it was still in that straightforward way that seems unusual to me. I think it was because it gave Him the opportunity to say what He had been wanting to say. It made people remember the lesson more than if He had just said it as He was teaching them. Also, it may have been what the questioner needed to hear.
(Understanding the Text) When we read the scriptures, we need to interpret them through the two great commands-loving God and loving neighbors. For example, instead of getting hung up on the penalties for disobeying the laws in Leviticus, we need to look at what the commands have to do with loving God and loving neighbors.
(Application / Prayer) To love God means to give everything you have to Him–total commitment. The heart means the affections; the mind is the intelligence; and the soul simply means every part of you–your will and choice. By these standards, I fall down in the heart and soul part. My intelligence chooses you, but my feelings are weak spindly things. I pray to love you with my heart and soul, as well as my mind. I don’t love my neighbor, and I pray that you will give me the love that I need.
(Understanding the Text / Prayer) The Pharisees had memorized the Law and the Prophets. They knew the words inside and out, but the words had no meaning to them. They did not see the heart of the scriptures, which was God’s love for us. They viewed the scriptures as a book of rules. They had made the scriptures a chore to read and sucked the life out of God’s word with their human commentary. The commentary had become the source through which to view the scripture. They had found a way to close the book while still keeping it open. I pray that I will keep Your words in my heart and that they will open up my love for You and for others.
(Understanding the Text) The Sadducees rejected portions of God’s communication with them. The Pharisees claimed to revere all the scriptures, yet they had replaced them with empty traditions. Jesus’ answer to the Sadducees had been that they were ignorant of the scriptures themselves. His answer to the Pharisees was that they were ignorant of the basic principles underlying and running through the scriptures.