May 01
The Jesus Creed
Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
Jesus answered him, “The first commandment of all commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:31 (NKJV)
I have been sitting at my kitchen table enjoying the sun coming through the window behind me. It is cold and clear. Most of the clouds have finally disappeared, and the frost on the ground is melting under blue, blue skies. It is peaceful and quiet outside, but inside of me is a rumbling excitement about what I have read, and how I am being challenged. I would like to share it with you.
I am reading The Jesus Creed by Scot McKnight. This scholarly author, Professor of Religious Studies at North Park University, offers us rich, soul food in straightforward fashion. Listen to his opening words in Chapter 1:
“Jesus knows what life is all about. Thomas a Kempis knows: he wants to converse with God constantly. John Woolman knows: he strives to do what is right in every situation. J.I. Packer knows: he longs to be fixed with holy zeal for God. Richard Foster knows: he craves the grace of inner transformation through the spiritual disciplines. Dallas Willard knows: he hungers in this physical existence of ours, to be like Christ. John Ortberg knows: he pines to morph into the image of Christ. Rick Warren knows: he thirsts for a life driven by God’s purposes.
"What makes these spiritual masters attractive to us today is this: They know what they mean when they discuss ‘spiritual formation.’”
...
“Did Jesus ever express his view of spiritual formation? Yes. And he does so by transforming a creed. I call it the Jesus Creed and the Jesus Creed becomes clear (on nearly every page of the Gospels) when we recall the Jewish context of Jesus.”
So, what is this creed McKnight refers to and where did it come from? In its purest form the Jesus Creed is an amendment to the Jewish Shema (hear) found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart....”
McKnight cites an expert of Jewish devotion as saying, it is the first ‘prayer’ Jewish kids learn to pray. It is the ultimate expression of the most basic and foundational truth in Judaism. It is their life—their spiritual life—important and fundamental to their spiritual formation. It is this: to Israel, YHWH alone is God. Israel is chosen by God and must love God wholeheartedly. For the person who lives the Shema, there is the promise of rich blessing from God as well.
In Mark 12, Jesus is answering questions and giving the crowd excellent instruction from Torah (the Jewish law or lifestyle for spiritual formation). Another teacher is impressed and asks a question, a very basic question—a gimme. He asks, "Which is the first commandment of all?" Jesus gives the standard answer—the one everyone expects, but then he does something absolutely amazing. He amends the Shema! Remember, this is the creed the faithful would recite every morning and every evening and throughout their day. Their centuries old creed is suddenly transformed into something more. McKnight likens this to someone standing up in church to recite the Apostles’ Creed and then adding something to it after "life everlasting" ... like “and be sure to tithe the full amount every time.” In other words, this gets noticed. Jesus, though, is not changing Judaism, just the primary creed these people have followed for years. You see, Jesus sees the Shema as good, but incomplete. Jesus amends their creed, the one He has recited since He was a boy, and in doing so, He takes a good creed and makes it great. He takes Scripture everyone knows so well (Deut 6:4-9) and then attaches this obscure quote from Leviticus 19:18—“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Understand this: loving others is central to Judaism, but not part of the Jewish creed, the Shema. Jesus then spins their Jewish world on its head and creates his own creed, the Jesus Creed. This is an important point: by adding loving others to the creed, Jesus sees loving others as central to spiritual formation.
This new creed can be seen throughout the Gospels, and, no doubt, His followers are now reciting the Jesus Creed in place of the Shema. The Jesus Creed then is central to what Jesus teaches and offers to us.
This is earth breaking, exciting news, and what was good for the early disciples is good for today’s Christ-followers too. I want to commit myself to the Jesus Creed, and I want to challenge you to it as well. Are you with me? First thing in the morning, throughout my day and at night before bed, I will recall and recite the Jesus Creed. and I will live it.
This excites me, and I would be thrilled if others would join me in this. So, will you? Will you do this with me and experience the life-transforming work He will do in us? I hope so. Here it is in the NIV:
“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
There is no commandment greater than these.
As I sit at my kitchen table, it is a beautiful day. It is peaceful and quiet outside, but inside of me there is a rumbling....
Father, thank You for this simple, yet profound, insight. Transform us; let this truth work in us ... for Your glory. Amen.
The Jesus Creed
Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
Jesus answered him, “The first commandment of all commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:31 (NKJV)
I have been sitting at my kitchen table enjoying the sun coming through the window behind me. It is cold and clear. Most of the clouds have finally disappeared, and the frost on the ground is melting under blue, blue skies. It is peaceful and quiet outside, but inside of me is a rumbling excitement about what I have read, and how I am being challenged. I would like to share it with you.
I am reading The Jesus Creed by Scot McKnight. This scholarly author, Professor of Religious Studies at North Park University, offers us rich, soul food in straightforward fashion. Listen to his opening words in Chapter 1:
“Jesus knows what life is all about. Thomas a Kempis knows: he wants to converse with God constantly. John Woolman knows: he strives to do what is right in every situation. J.I. Packer knows: he longs to be fixed with holy zeal for God. Richard Foster knows: he craves the grace of inner transformation through the spiritual disciplines. Dallas Willard knows: he hungers in this physical existence of ours, to be like Christ. John Ortberg knows: he pines to morph into the image of Christ. Rick Warren knows: he thirsts for a life driven by God’s purposes.
"What makes these spiritual masters attractive to us today is this: They know what they mean when they discuss ‘spiritual formation.’”
...
“Did Jesus ever express his view of spiritual formation? Yes. And he does so by transforming a creed. I call it the Jesus Creed and the Jesus Creed becomes clear (on nearly every page of the Gospels) when we recall the Jewish context of Jesus.”
So, what is this creed McKnight refers to and where did it come from? In its purest form the Jesus Creed is an amendment to the Jewish Shema (hear) found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart....”
McKnight cites an expert of Jewish devotion as saying, it is the first ‘prayer’ Jewish kids learn to pray. It is the ultimate expression of the most basic and foundational truth in Judaism. It is their life—their spiritual life—important and fundamental to their spiritual formation. It is this: to Israel, YHWH alone is God. Israel is chosen by God and must love God wholeheartedly. For the person who lives the Shema, there is the promise of rich blessing from God as well.
In Mark 12, Jesus is answering questions and giving the crowd excellent instruction from Torah (the Jewish law or lifestyle for spiritual formation). Another teacher is impressed and asks a question, a very basic question—a gimme. He asks, "Which is the first commandment of all?" Jesus gives the standard answer—the one everyone expects, but then he does something absolutely amazing. He amends the Shema! Remember, this is the creed the faithful would recite every morning and every evening and throughout their day. Their centuries old creed is suddenly transformed into something more. McKnight likens this to someone standing up in church to recite the Apostles’ Creed and then adding something to it after "life everlasting" ... like “and be sure to tithe the full amount every time.” In other words, this gets noticed. Jesus, though, is not changing Judaism, just the primary creed these people have followed for years. You see, Jesus sees the Shema as good, but incomplete. Jesus amends their creed, the one He has recited since He was a boy, and in doing so, He takes a good creed and makes it great. He takes Scripture everyone knows so well (Deut 6:4-9) and then attaches this obscure quote from Leviticus 19:18—“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Understand this: loving others is central to Judaism, but not part of the Jewish creed, the Shema. Jesus then spins their Jewish world on its head and creates his own creed, the Jesus Creed. This is an important point: by adding loving others to the creed, Jesus sees loving others as central to spiritual formation.
This new creed can be seen throughout the Gospels, and, no doubt, His followers are now reciting the Jesus Creed in place of the Shema. The Jesus Creed then is central to what Jesus teaches and offers to us.
This is earth breaking, exciting news, and what was good for the early disciples is good for today’s Christ-followers too. I want to commit myself to the Jesus Creed, and I want to challenge you to it as well. Are you with me? First thing in the morning, throughout my day and at night before bed, I will recall and recite the Jesus Creed. and I will live it.
This excites me, and I would be thrilled if others would join me in this. So, will you? Will you do this with me and experience the life-transforming work He will do in us? I hope so. Here it is in the NIV:
“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
There is no commandment greater than these.
As I sit at my kitchen table, it is a beautiful day. It is peaceful and quiet outside, but inside of me there is a rumbling....
Father, thank You for this simple, yet profound, insight. Transform us; let this truth work in us ... for Your glory. Amen.
posted by Craig Soderquist at 8:33 AM
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