34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:34-40 NLT
The classes that I still teach always begin with the reciting of these two commands Jesus gives, although we use the version reported in Mark 12. So I’m partial to this particular portion of today’s chapter. Even if you haven’t been in one of my classes but you did attend Pam’s memorial service you may recall that that was how we began her service. We can never be reminded too often that these are the most important commandments.
I’m catching up on some reading :-). I like how clear Jesus is in his answer. So many times his answers to direct questions are difficult to understand. The pharisees thought to trap him (not sure of the trap here), but his answer was so clear and unambiguous. Who can argue with “love God, love others?”
Years ago when I first moved to the Caucasus, I learned about how weddings are done here. The guests wear their finery and dance to honor the couple (and indeed, young women spend a lot because it’s a place to meet men!). The guests put about $30 minimum per person in an envelope with their name on it and place it in a box that is at the back of the wedding hall. When an average middle class salary is $600, it’s a chunk! That is the cost of going to a wedding. And when that guest hosts a wedding, the bride/groom’s family should give approximately the same amount at that future wedding. It’s a way to finance the wedding. And invitations are given only to people who already plan to be there, so I might get a call from a relative asking if I want to go to the wedding, and in time an invitation will follow. That way they can plan appropriately.
With the parable of the great feast, I read those customs into the story. I understand better why some people may decline a wedding invitation, especially if the host is wealthy – it’s a financial burden for the guest to attend. And if he invited those guests, he probably had a reasonable expectation that they would attend. No wonder he was furious! So when he invites the poor et al, he likely provided wedding clothes for them so that they would not shame him at the feast. So when one guest was attired improperly, it wasn’t judging him for his low station, the host responded appropriately to the guest not showing the honor that was due. The host was preserving his honor by not allowing the guest to shame him. Indeed, the entire parable could be about honor and shame – the host will preserve his honor through punishing the invited guests who did not come, or through insisting on the guests present to act appropriately.
The response to being invited to the feast is to honor (praise) the host. Anything else is unacceptable.
Great insights Sarah. The lens of honor and shame is one we should be using a lot as we read these stories of Jesus’ life and times.