RTW 2024

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:37-40

“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues.”
Matthew 23:5-6

• A common issue of discussion among ancient rabbis was the question of which commandments were “heavier,” or more important, and which commandments were “lighter.”
• “Following Jewish interpretive technique, Jesus links the two commandments (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18) by a shared key expression in Hebrew: “And you shall love” (ve’ahavta). Jewish ethics repeatedly stressed love of God and of others.” The IVP Bible Background Commentary
• “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5. This is part of the Shema. Shema is the Hebrew word for “hear.” The Shema was/is said every morning and evening. Learn to pray the Shema in Hebrew. 
• “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.” Leviticus 19:18
• Greetings were so important in Jewish culture (and Greek culture) that there were certain rules  about how to greet whom and when (social status also dictated the rules of greetings).
• “After the Babylonian exile, the Jewish rabbis began to make meticulous rules and regulations governing the daily life of the people. These were interpretations and applications of the law of Moses, handed down from generation to generation. In Jesus's day this ‘tradition of the elders’ was an oral form. It was not until about AD 200 that it was put into writing in the Mishnah…Heavy loads quote refer to the oral tradition, a distinctive feature of the Pharisees’ brand of Judaism. It was intended to make the Old Testament relevant to life situations, but its massive obligations were far more burdensome than Scripture itself.” Archaeological Study Bible
• The Hebrew word torah is sometimes translated as “law,” but a more accurate translation is “teaching.” It was to help people understand and live out the law, not to become a rigid rule.

Love the LORD with your whole life.