Matthew 22:34-46 Facing Challenges with Trust and Wisdom
34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ 37 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.” 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: 42 ‘What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ 43 He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,
44 “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’ ”?
45 If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?’ 46 No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
Jesus’s ministry in Galilee is over. It is time to reach "the hour," the ultimate step of his earthly mission in Jerusalem.
In the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 22 is full of defiance and challenges. Both the religious and the civil authorities are not ready to accept his teaching and much less his person as the expected Messiah. The religious parties try their best to convince the crowds that he is not the Messiah. The Roman rulers will not accept any teaching against their authority. Throughout the whole empire, nobody can defy the Romans and get away with it. We see both authorities join together to trap the man and justify their refusal of his person and his teaching.
Under occupation, the people of Israel need a political liberator to save them from paying high taxes and required allegiance to Rome. Taxes, in every time of history, were and remain a great concern for the ruling parties. Taxes are where people are tempted, tested and determined to be faithful or rebels toward the authority.
Both the opposed spiritual and political parties agree to trap their common adversary. In verse 17, they pose the famous question about paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus silenced both sides by saying, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God’s.”
The Sadducees, rival Jewish group of the Pharisees, decide to demonstrate their power by asking spiritual questions. They come with the famous question about the greatest commandment in the law. They had created 613 commandments: 248 known as positive and 365 considered negative. Which one among all is the greatest in value in God's eyes? Jesus responds by giving them two instead of one, but the two are combined, correlated and complete each other. “Love your God and your neighbor" or love your God through your neighbor. There is no greater commandment.
Jesus is saying to us that whatever you do, do it with love. That makes your work great. The quality of your deeds depends upon how much love you invest. Challenges, difficulties and sometimes traps may face us in our daily life. How do we deal with them? Are we sometimes tempted to trap people? Why? Does that fit with the greatest commandment, “Love your God through your neighbor?”
Instead of asking Jesus what the greatest commandment is for him today, try rather to respond to him asking you the question, "What is the greatest commandment for you today?”
Do you have a few minutes to really think and meditate, followed by a prayer for those who try to trap others or are tempted by others? May trust and wisdom in God guide you dear ones.
Father Kamal - October 25, 2020