Jesus is being confronted by most of the different religious groups of the day: the Pharisees about taxes, the Sadducees about the resurrection, and a teacher of the law about the most important commandment. He answers all of their questions well, and then asks them a question they could not answer.
The Sadducees held that only the first 5 books of the Bible were authoritative, and did not believe in the resurrection (or any life after death). They also tended to be in positions of power in Jerusalem. Jesus, to prove the point and escape their trap, quotes from Exodus – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are ALIVE now – and so there is clearly a resurrection.
Jesus answers the teacher of the law with a common answer – the Shema, from Deuteronomy 6, was the daily prayer of all Jews. AND Jesus adds in Leviticus 19:18 – bringing this law to a place of priority as well. This sums up so much of Jesus’ ministry – you can’t do one without the other. Which one do you tend to obey more?
Then Jesus closes with a question – how can the Messiah be David’s son – if He is David’s LORD? This shows Jesus knows Who He is, and also why He didn’t use the title Messiah very often of Himself. He knows He is more than David’s Son, He is David’s Lord. Tragically, instead of answering, or even asking Jesus, and finding the truth – His accusers just leave Him.
Jesus has the answers to our questions – we can ask Him. Jesus also has questions for us – and the answer to His questions define our lives.
http://biblehub.com/nlt/matthew/22.htm
What’s up with the fake flattery in v.16? I love how “sweet, loving” Jesus calls them out on that (v.18) before giving them the perfect answer.
To me the most important commandment seems to really summarize the trinity – Love God and love your neighbor. It feels like God is calling us into that type of relationship because it’s the type of relationship we were designed to be in.