In Jesus' understanding, all commandments did not have equal importance. There was an order of priority. Some things were more important than others. There were certain commands, like certain types of food they were not supposed to eat, in Leviticus 11, that were not as important as not committing murder and not committing adultery. But they were still commandments, and that's what made Daniel a man whom God accepted, because he decided to keep those least commandments in the Old Testament.
In Daniel 1:8, it says, "Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king's choice food." Perhaps there was some pork on that table, or some type of bird that God had forbidden in Leviticus 11. Daniel may not have been able to give a full explanation for the reasons why God had forbidden those things, but he decided, "If that is part of the Law of Moses, even if it's not part of the Ten Commandments, I'll keep it." It's written that, because he wouldn't defile himself, God honored him, and made him a mighty witness in Babylon. God saw in Daniel a man who was willing to keep all His commandments.
This is how it has always been through the ages. God has always looked for those who will keep His commandments, those who will do all that Jesus taught, and not just pick and choose the commandments they like. In Matthew 5:19, Jesus said, "Whoever annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven." Jesus doesn't say he'll go to hell, but he will be the least in terms of Heaven's recognition and values. To be least on the earth is absolutely unimportant. It doesn't matter. But to be least in the kingdom of heaven means that God Almighty doesn't think much of you. I don't want to be in that category! I don't care if the world doesn't think much of me, but I certainly want God to think much of me.
It is said about John the Baptist, that the angel Gabriel told his father Zechariah, "Your son John will be great in the sight of the Lord." To be great in the sight of the Lord is certainly something worth coveting. I don't want to be least in the sight of the Lord, to be one whom the Lord doesn't think much of. Yet here it says here that there are going to be some people who are least in the kingdom of heaven, not because they don't keep the major commandments, but because they ignore the minor ones.
I find that attitude among many Christians even today. They say they are New Testament Christians, but they neglect some minor New Testament commands and say, "That's not important, you don't have to obey that." I'm not questioning their faith in Christ. I'm not here to judge whether they go to heaven or hell. That's not my business. God is the judge of that, but I certainly believe what Jesus said, that if one cancels the least commandment of all that Jesus taught (and all that Jesus subsequently taught through His Holy Spirit through the Apostles, in the Epistles), then he will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. In contrast to that, who is the one who is going to be great in the kingdom of heaven? The one who keeps the least commandment and teaches people to keep the least commandment. Matthew 5:19 could not be clearer. It's very clear.
Your attitude to the smallest commandments in the New Testament is what shows where you stand before God in His kingdom. Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." That's the mark of our love. Nobody can say, "I love Jesus," and ignore His commandments. To the extent that you ignore the least of the commandments of Jesus, in that measure, you don't love Him. Maybe you do keep the big ones, but it's your attitude to the least of them that determines your position in God's kingdom.
