The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 370

Vers. 34-46.-17ie Pharisees. I. THE QUESTION OF THE LAWYER. 1., The gather- i11g of the Pharisees.. The multitude were astonished at the wisdom, the deep and: holy teaching, of the blessed Lord. He had answered the pretended diffioulties-ofthe: Sadduoees, and had proved the great doctrine of the resurrection from the very, books which they prized most highly. The Pharisees heard that he had put their adversaries, to silence. They came together. Their feelings, doubtless, were various: many of them were angry and troubled at the Lord's success and popularity ; some were vexed' at his superiority in theological argnment,-he had done what they could not do;- some· few had better motives. 2. The l,a,wyer. He had heard the Lord reasoning with the: Sadduceee; like the scribes mentioned by St. Luke (xx. 39), he perceived that •he had answered them well, that he knew far better than himself the meaning of that Law of, Moses which the scribes and lawyers professed to understand and to teach. He asked, him a question, tempting him. We must not take it for granted that the intention• was evil The word may mean no more than " trying" him, as " God did. tempt .Abraham," trying his faith; as the Queen of Sheba came to II prove Solomon with hard questions." We know from St. Mark's narrative that the lawyer or scribe· belonged to the better class of Pharisees. He recognized. the wisdom of our Lord, and felt the truth and holiness ,of his words. "Which is the great .commandment in the Law P".he said; or, -as the words may perhaps be rendered, "What sort of .command- ment is great? " He may have been thinkiog of the Pharisaic distinction of command- ments into great and small, heavy and light. 3. The Lord'a answer. (1) The great commandment. The Lord does not lay down mechanical rules; he does not compare the commandments with one another, and estimate their comparative importance, He states at once a great principle, 11 Thou shalt love." Selfishness is the bane and curse of our nature. Love is the refining, elevatiog power. The highest form of love must. have the highest object, and that is God hiwself. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God." The Jewe owned the importance of this commandment; they wore it in their phylacteries; the Lord bids 118 carry it in our hearts. Men may say that the affections are not directly under our own control like individual actions j • we cannot hope or fear, hate or love, at the bidding of another. Love is essentially spontaneous; it cannot be forced; forced love iH no true love; it is not love at all. But God bids•:us love him; he would not mock ns with an impossible commandment. - He helps ue to obey it by his Word, by hi.B grace. Leve produces love. God reveals to us his own great lm1e in the life and death of Jesus Christ our Lord. Love•implies personal knowledge, God "shineth into his peopltl's hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesw; Christ." The love of God is the 6r~t of all the command- cu. x:m. 1-46.] TllE GOSPEI, ACCOUDING TO ST. MATTliEW. 375