As Jesus continued to teach in the temple, the Pharisees observed that the Sadducees had been silenced by his reply to their question. Whereas the Sadducees' question about the resurrection had obviously not been serious, the one now posed by a lawyer might possibly be sincere. The rabbis carried on a running discussion as to which was the most important of the three hundred and sixty-five negative, and two hundred and forty-eight positive, regulations into which the Jewish law had been fragmented. Apparently seeking to involve Jesus in this endless and generally fruitless argument, the Bible states: "One of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" (See Matt. 22:35, 36.)
The depth and searching insight in Christ Jesus' answer met the challenge. As the first great commandment he quoted Deuteronomy 6:5, a requirement of unqualified love for God which was a part of the Shema, the pious Jew's daily prayer. The second, pointing out the necessity of love for one's neighbor, came from Leviticus 19:18. These two fundamental commandments, he said, formed the central message of the teachings of both law and prophecy. The scribe who had put the question admitted the wisdom of Jesus' reply and received his commendation, "Thou art not far from the kingdom of God." Pharisees and Sadducees, Herodians and scribes, had all been put to silence; and, as Mark says, "No man after that durst ask him any question." (See Matt. 22:34–40, 46; Mark 12:28–34.)
Now in his turn the Master addressed a question to these religious leaders. It concerned one of the most familiar aspects of their sacred heritage, the long promised Redeemer or Messiah, often thought of as the son, or descendant, of David. It appears that Jesus was seeking to have his audience distinguish between the eternal idea of the Christ (or "Messiah," the Hebrew original of the Greek term for "the anointed one") and the human Jesus of the lineage of David. "What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord . . .?" (See Matt. 22:41–45; Mark 12:35–37; Luke 20:41–44; cf. Ps. 110:1.)
