Good morning and Happy Valentine’s Day.

Yesterday Jeff and I spent our 36th valentine’s day together.

And let me tell you this loving each other for the rest of your lives thing is really easy. 36 years in and it just gets easier – ask any married person. It is not easy – I mean sometimes it is but more often than not it takes a lot of work to make it work. It takes time and energy and sacrifices. It takes intention and focus and determination and resolve.

Love takes work.

And all of this to love the person that you chose to spend the rest of your life with – imagine what it is like to love everyone – even people you don’t really even like.

I guess this is a weekend of love because that’s what we’re focused on today – love.

We’re continuing in our series Follow Me – focused in on the gospel of Matthew. And this series will lead us right up to Easter. And the book of Matthew is so rich and full of firsthand accounts of Jesus – it provides us with so much.

• Kingdom Manifesto – Matthew’s gospel is a declaration of just how “upside-down” and unexpected the kingdom of God really is. The last are first, the poor are blessed, etc.

• Discipleship Manual – Matthew is writing intentionally to help his readers learn how to follow Jesus in their own lives.

• Story of Fulfillment – Over and over we see how Jesus fulfills the laws and promises and prophecies of the Old Testament.

And in the story we are looking at today you will clearly see all three of these themes. A story all about love.

Back in 1966 a Catholic Priest serving at a parish on the south side of Chicago by the name of Peter Scholtes wrote a song for his youth choir to sing. It was a folk song – a kind of protest song – speaking to young people that were disillusioned with the landscape of the American culture. It was called:

They will know we are Christians by our love.

A song speaking to a broken, divided country about the love of Christ flowing thru Christians – flowing thru the church.

But we’ve got a bit of problem here in 2026. Do they know we are Christians by our love?

Our country is full of disillusioned young people. Disillusioned with the landscape of American culture. Disillusioned with the church. Disillusioned with Christians. Especially Christians who claim to love and live in a way that feels anything but loving

We clearly live in a divisive broken country and world – a world that needs to see our love – our love for God – our love for each other – our love for them.

They will know we are Christians by our love.

But do they - or

They will know we are Christians by the way we ride their bumper because they’re going too slow

By the hateful mean things we post

By the hateful mean things we repost

By the way we talk behind people’s backs

By the wealth we hoard

By the power we worship

By the way we ignore them

By the way we talk about them and others

By the way we talk down to them

By the way we honor greed, materialism

By the way we serve ourselves

By the way we don’t I speak out about injustice

By the way we put ourselves first

By the way we spread rumors

By the way we treat those we view as lesser than

By the way we are entitled and selfish and greedy.

And let me tell you this list came from personal experience. I’m not sure I could say I am always known for my love.

What are we known for – to the world around us?

In the passage we are looking at today – Jesus is really clear about what we should be known for – who we should be – and what we should be about.

We’re in Matthew 22:34-40

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In the verses prior to verse 34 – Jesus has made the Sadducees look kinda dumb – twice accusing them of not knowing the scriptures – your mistake is that you don’t know the scriptures – haven’t read about this in the scriptures? And the crowds were blown away by his teaching – it says they were astounded. So, the pharisees see this as an opportunity. He had silenced their opponents – the Sadducees – he had left them with nothing to say – it was humiliating for the Sadducees. If the pharisees could trip up Jesus, it would make them look good. The plotting against Jesus by the Pharisees had begun. As it says in Psalm 2:2

Psalm 2:2

2 The kings of the earth prepare for battle;

    the rulers plot together.

It says in the Matthew passage – they try to trap him.

They are plotting against him – in these verses they are not trying to knowledge – they are tempting him – they want to make him look foolish – remember the crowds are astonished – they were with Jesus – and this is not ok with the pharisees. They have to do something – maybe they can make him look stupid.

Let’s pick it up in Matthew 22 starting in verse 34.

The Most Important Commandment

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.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Jesus is not going to be tripped up here. He is direct and to the point. Jesus says love the Lord and then gives no comment – he just moves right onto and love your neighbor. He is bringing these 2 OT commands together – Matthew is full of OT fulfillment.

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 speaks to our commitment to God – to the Lord

A Call for Wholehearted Commitment

6 “These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, 2 and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the LORD your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life. 3 Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

4 “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.[a]

5 And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.

6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

This is the Shema – a Jewish prayer and declaration of faith.

God wants complete love from His people. This love is appropriate because He loved first and loved completely:

1 John 4:19

19 We love [a]Him because He first loved us.

What God most wants from humanity is love. And loving him with everything you have and everything you are.

Love with your

Heart – the center of your emotions – where feelings and thinking take place.

Soul – the innermost essence of who you are – your deepest self.

Mind – intellect – reasoning – thought – using your mental capabilities to think about God.

Love God with the entire essence of who you are.

And Leviticus 19:9-18 speaks to loving others.

Leviticus 19:9-18

New Living Translation

9 “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. 10 It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the LORD your God.

11 “Do not steal.

“Do not deceive or cheat one another.

12 “Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the LORD.

13 “Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.

“Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay.

14 “Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the LORD.

15 “Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.

16 “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.[a]

“Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the LORD.

17 “Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives.[b] Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin.

18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite,

But love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Earlier in Leviticus 19 God says to Moses.

“Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.

Holy here means separate – set apart – the world should see in us a difference – something holy and righteous – they can see that in how we treat people – how we love.

The last verse is loving your neighbor as yourself – but the prior verses talk about what that looks like

Don’t steal or lie or deceive or cheat or bring shame or rob or curse or twist justice or spread gossip or stand idly by or nurse hatred or seek revenge or bear a grudge.

All of these acts should flow out of love – love for God and love for others.

The command to love your neighbor as yourself is simple yet commonly misunderstood. This doesn’t mean that we must love ourselves before we can love anyone else; it means that in the same way we take care of ourselves and are concerned about our own interests, we should take care and have concern for the interests of others.

So, in Matthew 22 Jesus is bringing these 2 OT commandments together.

These 2 commandments would not be new to the Pharisees – they have heard both of them many times before – but Jesus is the first one with any moral authority to bring the 2 together as the 2 greatest commandments. And then says – verse 40

“The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Everything grows out of this love – this love of God – with all that you are – heart, soul, mind – your whole being. The law and the prophets hang on love. The law and prophets exist – Jesus says earlier in Matthew 5

Matthew 5:17-18

17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.”

The law and the prophets spring out of a deep abiding love for God and an intentional love for your neighbor.

The Greek word for love in this passage is

Agapao - the giving of oneself for another with no expectation of anything in return.

Exactly what Jesus is going to exemplify when he goes to the cross – giving himself for those that don’t deserve it. Extending grace and mercy and forgiveness to a sinful broken messed up world.

What a compelling reason to love the Lord your God with your heart and soul and mind.

Jesus is saying love God with all that you are – from the depths of your being and then you can love others – you can love your neighbor. And who is your neighbor? Everyone. Everyone. Even those you can’t stand – even those that annoy you – even those that you disagree with – even those that have hurt you. (caveat – you can still have boundaries and don’t have to engage) but you still need to find love and forgiveness. You have to love even your enemy.

Matthew 5

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”

A kingdom manifesto – the upside-down kingdom of Jesus – love God with everything you can and then you are able to love your neighbor – even your enemy.

They will know we are Christians by our love.

But this is so hard. If it takes work to love the person that you chose – the person that you stood before God and committed to love for the rest of your life – than imagine the work it is going to take to love your enemy.

There is a reason Jesus put these 2 commandments together – because you can’t do the second without the first. It is impossible to love your neighbor without loving God first. You have to be tethered to God.

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

Apart from Him we can do nothing.

You can’t love someone with all your heart, soul and mind if you don’t know them – and the only way you can know them is spending time with them – listening to them – talking to them – silence – solitude – prayer – journaling – reading – community – practices that draw you into the presence of the God – allowing Holy Spirit to move in you. (listen to the 4 sermons we just had on the Holy Spirit)

I want us to be known by the way we love God, the way we love each other and by the way we love the world.

I want to be known by the way I love. And I have a lot of work to do.

Do you?

My grandma

Pic of my grandma

She exuded love – when you were in her presence you wanted to be good and kind – and she was that - she was grace and mercy – you never wondered what she was about – all about Jesus – but you never felt judged in her presence – the HS moved thru her in mighty ways – I can’t imagine my grandmother ever posting hateful or divisive things on social media or being rude to anyone ever – we would argue who was her favorite – but the problem was everyone was my grandma’s favorite or at least that’s how you felt when you were with her – that is love in action – intentional – the fruits of the spirit flowed thru her – why because her branches remained in the vine. She was a living example of loving the Lord your God with all that you are and loving your neighbor (everyone you encounter) as yourself.

And I’m sure it was still really hard – it took work and a conscience effort on her part – first to love God and then to love others. We have to lay it at the feet of Jesus every day and then making choices thru out the day that honor him. We have to see everyone – everyone as an image bearer of God. Ugh.

Love takes work.

They will know we are Christians

By the way we put others first

By our patience

By our gentleness

By our kindness

By our mercy

By our unity

By our peaceful resolutions

By our encouragement

By our support

By our quest for justice

By our intentions

By our impact

By our forgiveness

By our humility

By our love

These beautiful attributes are what will flow from us when we are connected and loving the Lord our God with all of our heart mind and soul.

They will know we are Christians by our love.

“We must be honest that Christians are not known by our love for one another in our country right now. We must do the honest and hard work of understanding and embodying that love of Christ once again.

‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’ - John 13:35

Love must be our reputation.” Benjamin Cremer

Love must be our reputation.

Can you imagine how we could radically change the world if we were known for how well we loved?

If we just lived our lives by these 2 commandments – if love was our reputation –

Pray