Beyond Lip Service - A Radical Re-thinking of Christ's Jewish Shema teaching on Loving God

Created: Sat 05-July-2025 - 18:47

Beyond Lip Service - "Love God": A Re-thinking of Yeshua's Teaching based on the Jewish Shema prayer

Beyond Sunday sermons: What price are you willing to pay for your faith?

This message explores the Great Commandment ("Love God") from a Jewish perspective, challenging common Christian interpretations. It examines the commandment's origins in the Tanakh (Old Testament), its context within the Shema, and its radical implications as understood in Midrashic interpretations, highlighting the commitment to loving God even unto death.

We look at what Yeshua called the Great Commandment. Contrary to traditional Christian thinking, we are attempting to show:

  1. this is not a new commandment
  2. this is not the only commandment
  3. the Jewish roots and context of this Great Commandment
  4. practical, spiritual application of this command

In multiple passages in the Gospels, Yeshua teaches the great commandment, which is to Love God. If taken His statements literally without its original Jewish context it might lead to conclusions which move the believer farther away from what Messiah's message was to His audience.

In Mark 12, we see that Yeshua is speaking to a mixed audience of Pharisees, Saduccees, and Scribes. One common Christian argument for many of such passages is that the message of Messiah does not apply to Gentiles because He was speaking to Jews.

If such is the doctrinal argument, then one might be tempted to respond that Yeshua rarely spoke to Gentiles at all during His earthly ministry. Therefore, a believer in Messiah either follows Him as He demanded, or must consider if a pick-and-choose doctrine is sound enough for salvation.

What does it mean to Love God, and how can we apply this in our daily walk of life?

Main Passage Brit Chadasha (New Testament)

Note

Matt 22.37
Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'

Note

Mark 12.29
Jesus answered, "The greatest is, 'Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one:
Mark 12.30
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.

The Gospel of Mark provides the reader with a significant addition not found in Matthew or Luke:

"Hear, Israel..."

This is significant for several reasons:

  1. Yeshua references the Tanakh (Torah) [1]
  2. Yeshua references one of the highest Jewish prayers (Shema)

Many Christians today are not aware of the immense Jewish context which is immersed in the B'rit Chadashah (בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה - New Testament/New Covenant) and Yeshua's teachings—and for that matter also in the writings of Paul, Peter, and others in the New Testament.

A proper understanding, therefore, is necessary to go from scratching the surface, to deep spiritual understanding.

Let us see what we find in the Tanakh (Old Testament) about loving God.

Corresponding Tanakh Passages (Old Testament)

In Hebrew, the word hear is Shema (שְׁמַע). It means not only "hear"—but "hear and do"

These passage, naturally, should raise a few questions:

  • How am I supposed to love God?
  • In which way does God want to be loved?
  • What does it mean to love God with "all your heart, soul, and might"?

While traditional Christian thinking will leave the application of this command to one's own consideration, Scripture gives us clear instructions [2].

Note: We will leave the second greatest commandment "Love your neighbour" to another message as this is would be worth a teaching on its own.

Midrashic Exegesis

A rather radical interpretation of "Love your God". It is doubtful that today's Christian believers would go as far as to love God until the extraction of their souls. But were the Jews of old so committed as to Love God until death?

In another account, we see possible proof of this—namely in the martyrdom death of Rabbi Akiva through the Roman empire [4]

Cite

According to rabbinic lore, Rabbi Akiva struggled with this command his whole life. “How will I ever fulfill this mitzvah?” he pondered. Tradition tells us that even as Roman soldiers pulled the flesh from his body with iron combs he was faithful to recite the Shema. “Even if He takes your nefesh,” he taught his talmidim. Certainly this story has strengthened Jewish resolve to be willing to die for the sanctification of God’s name. In spite of the Roman prohibition, this rabbi would not for a moment refrain from the study or teaching of the holy Torah. Akiva understood “your nefesh” in the Shema to be referring to his physical life.
👉 Studies in the Shema A look at Deuteronomy 64ff - TorahResource
Studies in the Shema: A look at Deuteronomy 6:4ff - TorahResource

Accepting the Yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven.

In his book The Gospels & Rabbinic Judaism, Rabbi Michael Hilton explains:

Note

In rabbinic Judaism, the words of Deuteronomy 6.4-9, together with two other paragraphs from the Torah are collectively known as the Shema: the three sections were considered important enough to be recited twice every day, as part of the morning and evening prayers. Reciting the Shema is sometimes called in rabbinic literature 'accepting the yoke of the kingdom of heaven' - a recognition of the importance of the concepts contained in the Shema, ideas which sum up the essence of the entire Torah.

References

  • Israel Abraham - Studies in Pharisaism and the Gospels - Cambridge University Press - 1917

Footnotes

  1. Deut-06#v5

    Deuteronomy 6:4-7 - NKJV

    4. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
    5. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
    6. “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
    7. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

    ↩︎

  2. Torah = Instructions ↩︎

  3. Ps-150#v6

    Psalm 150:6 - NKJV

    6. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

    ↩︎

  4. Berakhot 61b:9-10

    The Gemara relates: When they took Rabbi Akiva out to be executed, it was time for the recitation of Shema. And they were raking his flesh with iron combs, and he was reciting Shema, thereby accepting upon himself the yoke of Heaven. His students said to him: Our teacher, even now, as you suffer, you recite Shema? He said to them: All my days I have been troubled by the verse: With all your soul, meaning: Even if God takes your soul. I said to myself: When will the opportunity be afforded me to fulfill this verse? Now that it has been afforded me, shall I not fulfill it? He prolonged his uttering of the word: One (Hebrew: אֶחָד - echad), until his soul left his body as he uttered his final word: One. A voice descended from heaven and said: Happy are you, Rabbi Akiva, that your soul left your body as you uttered: One. The ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: This is Torah and this its reward? As it is stated: “From death, by Your hand, O Lord, from death of the world” (Psalms 17:14); Your hand, God, kills and does not save. God said the end of the verse to the ministering angels: “Whose portion is in this life.” And then a Divine Voice emerged and said: Happy are you, Rabbi Akiva, as you are destined for life in the World-to-Come, as your portion is already in eternal life. ↩︎