Love and Justice: The Two Greatest Commandments
Lesson 12, 1st Quarter March 15-21, 2025
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Sabbath Afternoon March 15
Memory Text:
“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” KJV — 1 John 4:20
We are to do all we can to improve the living conditions of others. We are to make the world better than it could be if we were not in it.
“‘Ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness.’ Galatians 6:1. By faith and prayer press back the power of the enemy. Speak words of faith and courage that will be as a healing balsam to the bruised and wounded one. Many, many, have fainted and become discouraged in the great struggle of life, when one word of kindly cheer would have strengthened them to overcome. Never should we pass by one suffering soul without seeking to impart to him of the comfort wherewith we are comforted of God. DA 504.4
“All this is but a fulfillment of the principle of the law,—the principle that is illustrated in the story of the good Samaritan, and made manifest in the life of Jesus. His character reveals the true significance of the law, and shows what is meant by loving our neighbor as ourselves. And when the children of God manifest mercy, kindness, and love toward all men, they also are witnessing to the character of the statutes of heaven. They are bearing testimony to the fact that the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.’ Psalm 19:7. And whoever fails to manifest this love is breaking the law which he professes to revere. For the spirit we manifest toward our brethren declares what is our spirit toward God. The love of God in the heart is the only spring of love toward our neighbor. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” Beloved, ‘if we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.’ 1 John 4:20, 12. DA 505.1
Do what you can to make others happy, to make the world better than it is, to let it know that you are in it to do it good, not to be burden upon it.
Sunday, March 16
The Two Great Commandments
Read Matthew 22:34–40. How did Jesus answer the lawyer’s question?
“The lawyer approached Jesus with a direct question, “Which is the first commandment of all?” The answer of Christ is direct and forcible: “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” The second is like the first, said Christ; for it flows out of it, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” DA 607.1
“Both these commandments are an expression of the principle of love. The first cannot be kept and the second broken, nor can the second be kept while the first is broken. When God has His rightful place on the throne of the heart, the right place will be given to our neighbor. We shall love him as ourselves. And only as we love God supremely is it possible to love our neighbor impartially.” DA 607.2
Read Matthew 19:16–23. How do Jesus’ answers to the rich young ruler’s questions relate to His answers to the lawyer’s question in Matthew 22?
“His claim that he had kept the law of God was a deception. He showed that riches were his idol. He could not keep the commandments of God while the world was first in his affections. He loved the gifts of God more than he loved the Giver. Christ had offered the young man fellowship with Himself. “Follow Me,” He said. But the Saviour was not so much to him as his own name among men or his possessions. To give up his earthly treasure, that was seen, for the heavenly treasure, that was unseen, was too great a risk. He refused the offer of eternal life, and went away, and ever after the world was to receive his worship. Thousands are passing through this ordeal, weighing Christ against the world; and many choose the world. Like the young ruler, they turn from the Saviour, saying in their hearts, I will not have this Man as my leader.” DA 520.4
Monday, March 17
The Two Greatest Sins
Read Psalm 135:13–19. What does this reveal about a common sin emphasized throughout Scripture?
“Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin. Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.” KJV — Isaiah 31:6-8
Because of idolatry, the Assyrian was permitted to take God's ancient people and their pleasant land. And certain it is that the Assyrian will control the land just so long as God's people continue in idolatry. But, just as soon as all idols are cast aside, – yes, as soon as the great revival and reformation takes place in the hearts of the people, – then the Assyrian (the power that now rules them) shall certainly fall, and God's people shall just as certainly return.
Read Zechariah 7:9–12. According to the prophet Zechariah in this passage, what does God decry? How does it and the sin of idolatry relate to the two great commandments?
“Job says, ‘If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me; what then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him? ... If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; ... if I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering; if his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sleep; if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate: then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone. For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.’ If this same fear, and this love of righteousness were in our churches and in all our institutions, what a transformation would take place! ‘He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he repay him again.’ ‘Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.’” HM July 1, 1891, par. 17
Tuesday, March 18
God Loves Justice
Read Psalm 82. How does this psalm express God’s concern for justice in this world? What might it mean for us today?
“In his [Jehoshaphat's] careful safeguarding of the rights and liberties of his subjects, Jehoshaphat emphasized the consideration that every member of the human family receives from the God of justice, who rules over all. ‘God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; He judgeth among the gods.’ And those who are appointed to act as judges under Him, are to “defend the poor and fatherless;” they are to do justice to the afflicted and needy,” and “rid them out of the hand of the wicked.’ Psalm 82:1, 3, 4.” PK 198.2
“Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” KJV — Micah 6:6, 7
This inquiry by the people in the unfolding of this scripture reveals what they think would be most pleasing to the Lord. They think a gift of some kind from material things is perhaps the most acceptable gift they can offer for the remission of their sins. We with our own eyes actually see this very thing throughout our churches. This same condition obtained in the days of Christ’s first advent: The Jews were very particular about paying tithe even on the minutest item of income, on such as mint, anise, and cummin, but they omitted “the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith.” Matthew 23:23. Honest tithing was to their credit, said the Lord, but tithing should never replace judgment, mercy, and faith. This same answer comes to us today through the prophet Micah:
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” KJV — Micah 6:8
To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God is the greatest gift one can bring to the Lord.
Wednesday, March 17
Called to Establish Justice
Read Matthew 23:23–30. What does Jesus teach here about what is most important? What do you think He means when He refers to “weightier matters”?
“All that God commands is of consequence. Christ recognized the payment of tithes as a duty; but He showed that this could not excuse the neglect of other duties. The Pharisees were very exact in tithing garden herbs, such as mint, anise, and rue; this cost them little, and it gave them a reputation for exactness and sanctity. At the same time their useless restrictions oppressed the people and destroyed respect for the sacred system of God's own appointing. They occupied men's minds with trifling distinctions, and turned their attention from essential truths. The weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and truth, were neglected. “These,” Christ said, “ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” DA 617.1
“Other laws had been perverted by the rabbis in like manner. In the directions given through Moses it was forbidden to eat any unclean thing. The use of swine's flesh, and the flesh of certain other animals, was prohibited, as likely to fill the blood with impurities, and to shorten life. But the Pharisees did not leave these restrictions as God had given them. They went to unwarranted extremes. Among other things the people were required to strain all the water used, lest it should contain the smallest insect, which might be classed with the unclean animals. Jesus, contrasting these trivial exactions with the magnitude of their actual sins, said to the Pharisees, “Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.” DA 617.2
“‘Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.’ As the whited and beautifully decorated tomb concealed the putrefying remains within, so the outward holiness of the priests and rulers concealed iniquity. Jesus continued: DA 617.3
“‘Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.’ To show their esteem for the dead prophets, the Jews were very zealous in beautifying their tombs; but they did not profit by their teachings, nor give heed to their reproofs. DA 617.4
“In the days of Christ a superstitious regard was cherished for the resting places of the dead, and vast sums of money were lavished upon their decoration. In the sight of God this was idolatry. In their undue regard for the dead, men showed that they did not love God supremely, nor their neighbor as themselves. The same idolatry is carried to great lengths today. Many are guilty of neglecting the widow and the fatherless, the sick and the poor, in order to build expensive monuments for the dead. Time, money, and labor are freely spent for this purpose, while duties to the living—duties which Christ has plainly enjoined—are left undone. DA 618.1
“The Pharisees built the tombs of the prophets, and adorned their sepulchers, and said one to another, If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have united with them in shedding the blood of God's servants. At the same time they were planning to take the life of His Son. This should be a lesson to us. It should open our eyes to the power of Satan to deceive the mind that turns from the light of truth. Many follow in the track of the Pharisees. They revere those who have died for their faith. They wonder at the blindness of the Jews in rejecting Christ. Had we lived in His day, they declare, we would gladly have received His teaching; we would never have been partakers in the guilt of those who rejected the Saviour. But when obedience to God requires self-denial and humiliation, these very persons stifle their convictions, and refuse obedience. Thus they manifest the same spirit as did the Pharisees whom Christ condemned.” DA 618.2
Thursday, March 20
Who is My Neighbor?
Read the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:25–37. What is this passage saying in light of the cry of the prophets for mercy and justice and of the kinds of injustices that different people groups have inflicted on “others” throughout human history?
“In giving this lesson, Christ presented the principles of the law in a direct, forcible way, showing His hearers that they had neglected to carry out these principles. His words were so definite and pointed that the listeners could find no opportunity to cavil. The lawyer found in the lesson nothing that he could criticize. His prejudice in regard to Christ was removed. But he had not overcome his national dislike sufficiently to give credit to the Samaritan by name. When Christ asked, “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?” he answered, “He that showed mercy on him.” COL 380.1
“‘Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.’ Show the same tender kindness to those in need. Thus you will give evidence that you keep the whole law.” COL 380.2
“The Samaritan had fulfilled the command, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,” thus showing that he was more righteous than those by whom he was denounced. Risking his own life, he had treated the wounded man as his brother. This Samaritan represents Christ. Our Saviour manifested for us a love that the love of man can never equal. When we were bruised and dying, He had pity upon us. He did not pass us by on the other side, and leave us, helpless and hopeless, to perish. He did not remain in His holy, happy home, where He was beloved by all the heavenly host. He beheld our sore need, He undertook our case, and identified His interests with those of humanity. He died to save His enemies. He prayed for His murderers. Pointing to His own example, He says to His followers, “These things I command you, that ye love one another”; “as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” John 15:17; 13:34. COL 381.1
“The priest and the Levite had been for worship to the temple whose service was appointed by God Himself. To participate in that service was a great and exalted privilege, and the priest and Levite felt that having been thus honored, it was beneath them to minister to an unknown sufferer by the wayside. Thus they neglected the special opportunity which God had offered them as His agents to bless a fellow being. COL 382.1
“Many today are making a similar mistake. They separate their duties into two distinct classes. The one class is made up of great things, to be regulated by the law of God; the other class is made up of so-called little things, in which the command, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,” is ignored. This sphere of work is left to caprice, subject to inclination or impulse. Thus the character is marred, and the religion of Christ misrepresented. COL 382.2
“There are those who would think it lowering to their dignity to minister to suffering humanity. Many look with indifference and contempt upon those who have laid the temple of the soul in ruins. Others neglect the poor from a different motive. They are working, as they believe, in the cause of Christ, seeking to build up some worthy enterprise. They feel that they are doing a great work, and they cannot stop to notice the wants of the needy and distressed. In advancing their supposedly great work they may even oppress the poor. They may place them in hard and trying circumstances, deprive them of their rights, or neglect their needs. Yet they feel that all this is justifiable because they are, as they think, advancing the cause of Christ. COL 382.3
“Many will allow a brother or a neighbor to struggle unaided under adverse circumstances. Because they profess to be Christians he may be led to think that in their cold selfishness they are representing Christ. Because the Lord's professed servants are not in co-operation with Him, the love of God, which should flow forth from them, is in great degree cut off from their fellow men. And a large revenue of praise and thanksgiving from human hearts and human lips is prevented from flowing back to God. He is robbed of the glory due to His holy name. He is robbed of the souls for whom Christ died, souls whom He longs to bring into His kingdom to dwell in His presence through endless ages.” COL 383.1
Friday, March 21
Further Thought
The lesson begins by encouraging us to make the world a better place by working to help the oppressed and downtrodden and be interested in seeing them have justice where needed.
Sunday’s lesson deals with the two great commandments and the way Jesus addresses it with the lawyer and the rich young ruler. Jesus’ response to the lawyer revealed the depth of the commandments, which the lawyer gratefully accepted and commended Jesus for his explanation. The rich young ruler thought he was a commandment keeper, but Jesus’ remarks revealed him to be an idolator. His riches were his idol.
Monday’s lesson talks about the two greatest sins, idolatry, which is a disregard for the first great commandment, love for God, and ill treatment of the poor and needy, which is a disregard for second great commandment, love for our neighbors.
Justice is the subject of Tuesday’s lesson. God wants us to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with Him. He wants justice administered on behalf of the down-trodden and oppressed both in the Church and society.
Wednesday’s lesson cites Matthew 23:23-30 to point out Jesus’ rebuke of the Scribes and Pharisees. They were good at tithing garden herbs, they showed scrupulous regard for sanitation laws and their revere for those who died for their faith but they omitted the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy and truth.
Thursday’s lesson uses the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 to herald the call for justice for the oppressed and food for the hungry.
Let us now pray that we shall have the religion of David, of Daniel, of Joseph. These men were but youth when they entered upon their respective careers, yet they were as firm in their convictions as the needle to the pole. They did not digress from a single righteous duty or principle, regardless of pressure or circumstances. Their stability of character and zeal to make the world better, persuaded the Lord to make them kings. Now we ought to pray that we be not obstructionists, but that we be builders in the highway of civilization; that rather than merely take up space, we be fruitful vines in God’s great vineyard.