Matthew 22:34-46 (Jesus, more than a prophet.)

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 commandment in the law is the greatest?" 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 greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."  

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: "What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David." He said to them, "How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet"'?

If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?" No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

What do we do with someone who is a troublemaker? Maybe the first step is to decide whether we want to bother dealing with them at all. If we conclude that we must do something, we could try reasoning with them. If that doesn’t work we could threaten them with more serious action. But what if none of this works? This is what the religious authorities had to contemplate as they tried to restrain Jesus.

In recent Bible Readings we have seen the clash between Jesus and various ruling groups. We have read about his mastery over the Pharisees and Herodians. Chief priests, scribes and teachers of the Law had all clashed with him and lost. Therefore, what could they do? From this week’s reading it seems as though they tried to compromise with Jesus. The Pharisees had noticed that Jesus had actually done them a favour by putting their adversaries, the Sadducees, in their place. So, maybe they could put up with him being around. And so they engage with Jesus on one of their favourite themes – how to apply the Law of God. 

In Jesus’ time there were two opposing views about how to apply God’s Commandments. Some favoured long-winded interpretations with clauses and sub-clauses whereas the Pharisees preferred simple summaries that put all the requirements in a nutshell. Jesus seems to side with the Pharisees on this subject. At last, some common ground! At last an opportunity to come to an understanding and accommodation. But just as they were thinking this, Jesus follows the nutshell with a bombshell. The point he raises is how does anyone compromise with someone who is their Lord and Master? 

Purely with regard to negotiating efforts we have to sympathise with the Pharisees. Finding a compromise with Jesus seems impossible. We would find this an off-putting trait in anyone, but the trouble is that we are dealing with Jesus here, and we can’t dismiss him so easily. As Peter had acknowledged much earlier on, ‘To whom shall can we go? You have the words of eternal life.’ (John 6: 68) And so we have to think very seriously about this. How do we see our encounters with Jesus? When working out what it means to follow him do we try to compromise with him and find ‘an accommodation’? Or do we acknowledge him as Lord? Someone coined a phrase, ‘Jesus is either Lord of all (all aspects of our lives), or not Lord at all’. Now there’s something to think about! We might find this thought disturbing or challenging. The amazing witness of countless Christians, however, is that this is liberating. We are most comfortable when we find our place.