I am a Jesus pusher! “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). The oral traditions were their attempt to simplify the commandments. This simplification placed them in reach with self-sourcing. However, this did not work despite self-justification and all endeavors. The next step was to select the most important laws and focus on keeping them. But what is the most important commandment? Lengthy debates began to arise. A “lawyer” confronted Jesus. Here is the question he wanted to debate with Jesus. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” (Matthew 22:36). “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).
The Greek word “krematai,” translated hang, is a metaphor. A custom was hanging the laws in a public place for all to see, meaning that the Scriptures contained love and relationship. These were by far the most familiar, most quoted, and most copied Scripture passages in Judaism. Jesus acclaimed these verses as the great commandment; they are the heart of the Scriptures. We can only know righteousness within the boundaries of the Scriptures. Jesus fulfills the Scriptures, and He wants to merge with us, expressing the heart of the Scriptures through us! In Him, we are righteous, loving God and each other! I am a Jesus Pusher!!