The Shema and the Kingdom: Love God, Love Others
In the first century, when Jesus sat on the mountain and gave his sermon, his Jewish audience would have likely prayed the Shema twice a day. When Moses preached the sermon of Deuteronomy, there was not a specific instruction to pray Deuteronomy 6:4-9, but according to some Jewish scholars, by the time of the second temple period, the Jewish people began to pray these verses at least twice a day.
The command, “to hear,” in the first line of the Shema was a call not simply to listen but to listen, to know, and to obey the one true God. As these verses continue, Moses gave impassioned instructions that God’s children were called to love God with all of their heart, soul, and might.
So imagine the audience of Jesus listening to a new rabbi who spoke of the Kingdom of God and called them to not simply pray with a focus on loving God, but now included a focus on how their love for God must alter the way they were to treat each other. Jesus was not canceling the importance of loving God with all one’s heart, but he was, in both the Lord’s Prayer and in all his teaching, sharing that our love for God is lived out in how we love each other.
Throughout Jesus’ life, he demonstrated his love for his Father with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. But it was clear that reverence for his Father was demonstrated through obedience to his Father’s will. And the Father’s will was that that on earth things should be as they are in heaven. God’s love was and is for all people, so it is essential that our love for others be filled with compassion and forgiveness.
Current culture continues to call us to seek revenge, control, and power, yet the Lord’s Prayer and the teachings of Jesus call us to the exact opposite. We are not called to rule the world, to be great, or to make things great. We are called to surrender ourselves, to love and forgive, and to make God’s name great in all the earth.
Father, as the world continues to beckon us to take things into our own hands, we pray that you would deliver us from evil. Today we acknowledge you as Almighty God, who through Christ, calls us to your kingdom. May our words and deeds today be filled with love for others, and may we demonstrate your love as we trust you to meet our needs and change our hearts so that we would forgive those who hurt us. We ask that your will be done in us and on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Matthew 6:5-13 ESV
Photo by Porapak Apichodilok
To receive daily posts delivered directly to your inbox, complete the form at the bottom of our home page.
