Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This isn't just about finding the "biggest" rule; the questioner is asking about the principle of greatness in the Law, probing what makes a commandment fundamentally important among the hundreds of Jewish laws. Jesus seizes this opportunity to reveal that true greatness in God's Law isn't about outward action, but about the inner posture of the heart.
Fresh off silencing the Sadducees, Jesus is challenged again, this time by a Pharisee who asks him to identify the single greatest commandment. This question comes amidst a period where religious leaders were intensely debating the Law, categorizing its 613 commands into "heavy" and "light" ones, seeking to trip Jesus up and discredit his teachings. His answer, however, goes to the heart of God's entire covenant with his people.
This wasn't just a gotcha question to trap Jesus. It reveals a genuine struggle within Jewish understanding of God's Law.
The scribe asking Jesus which commandment is 'greatest' wasn't necessarily looking for a single, definitive answer to rank all others.
A Scribe's Dilemma
In Jesus' day, Jewish teachers debated which of the 613 commandments in the Law were 'heavy' and which were 'light.' Some emphasized ritual purity, others the Sabbath, and still others the laws about fringes or circumcision. The question, 'Which is the great commandment?' was likely asking about the principle behind what makes a commandment significant, or perhaps seeking to understand how to prioritize them.
The Trap and the Truth
While the Pharisees intended to test Jesus, possibly to catch him saying something contrary to the Law, Jesus used the question as an opportunity to reveal the core of God's will. He didn't get defensive; instead, he pointed to the very heart of what the Law was meant to achieve.
Jesus cuts through the complex debates about the Law, revealing its unified purpose in just two simple, yet profound, commands.
Jesus’ answer is revolutionary in its simplicity and its comprehensive scope. He declares that the entire Law and the teachings of the prophets can be summed up in two commandments.
Love for God First
The first and greatest commandment is to love God with your entire being – heart, soul, and mind. This isn't just an emotional feeling; it's a total, passionate devotion that engages all of who you are. It means your deepest affections, your will, your thoughts, and your very life belong to God.
Love for Others Second
The second commandment is directly linked to the first: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' This isn't a lesser commandment, but 'like it.' True love for God naturally flows into genuine care and concern for the people around you. It's about recognizing the image of God in others and treating them with the same value and respect you give yourself.
Understand the original words
didaskale · Greek Noun
Refers to a master or instructor of religious truth. In the New Testament, it is a title often used for Jesus, acknowledging his authority to interpret the Torah.
Torah · Hebrew Noun
The revealed will of God for His people, particularly the Pentateuch, serving as the foundation for ethical and religious life in Israel.
entolē · Greek Noun
A divine mandate or authoritative instruction from God requiring obedience. In Scripture, it forms the basis of the covenant relationship.
agapaō · Greek Verb
In a biblical context, refers to a commitment of the will, mind, and emotions that results in sacrificial action. It is the defining characteristic of the believer's relationship with God and others.
This is the Old Testament passage that Jesus quotes directly in His answer, forming the foundation of the 'greatest commandment' regarding love for God.
Leviticus 19:18This verse contains the command to 'love your neighbor as yourself,' which Jesus identifies as the second greatest commandment, directly linked to loving God.
Mark 12:28-31This passage provides a parallel account of a scribe asking Jesus a similar question, highlighting Jesus' consistent emphasis on love as the core of the Law.
Luke 10:27This verse, spoken by a lawyer in response to Jesus' question, echoes the two great commandments, showing the foundational understanding of love's centrality to the Law.
Romans 13:8-10The Apostle Paul expands on these commandments, explaining how love for God and neighbor fulfills the entire Law, reinforcing Jesus' teaching.
vincentMatthew 22:36: "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?"
Which is the great commandment (ποία ἐντολὴ μεγάλη)The A. V. and Rev. alike miss the point of this question, which is: which kind of command is great in the law? That is, what kind of a commandment must it be to constitute it a great one? Not, which commandment is greatest as compared with the others? The scribes declared that there were 248 affirmative precepts, as many as the members of the human body; and 365 negative pr…
calvinMatthew 22:34-40: "But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together."
- But when the Pharisees heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they assembled together. 35. And one of them, a doctor of the law, put a question to him, tempting him, and saying, 36. Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37. Jesus saith to him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38. Th…
This isn't just about finding the "biggest" rule; the questioner is asking about the principle of greatness in the Law, probing what makes a commandment fundamentally important among the hundreds of Jewish laws. Jesus seizes this opportunity to reveal that true greatness in God's Law isn't about outward action, but about the inner posture of the heart.
Fresh off silencing the Sadducees, Jesus is challenged again, this time by a Pharisee who asks him to identify the single greatest commandment. This question comes amidst a period where religious leaders were intensely debating the Law, categorizing its 613 commands into "heavy" and "light" ones, seeking to trip Jesus up and discredit his teachings. His answer, however, goes to the heart of God's entire covenant with his people.
Fresh off silencing the Sadducees, Jesus is challenged again, this time by a Pharisee who asks him to identify the single greatest commandment. This question comes amidst a period where religious leaders were intensely debating the Law, categorizing its 613 commands into "heavy" and "light" ones, seeking to trip Jesus up and discredit his teachings. His answer, however, goes to the heart of God's entire covenant with his people.
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The Foundation of Everything
Jesus' response shows that these two commandments are not just important; they are the foundation upon which everything else in the Law rests. All other commands are expressions or applications of these two core principles.
kardia · Greek Noun
Often considered the seat of the intellect, will, and inner self. Biblically, it is the center of human personality and the place where decisions for or against God are made.
psychē · Greek Noun
The vital, animating principle of human life. It refers to the individual person, their life-breath, and their existence before God.
dianoia · Greek Noun
Refers to the faculty of understanding, reasoning, and cognition. Loving God with the mind involves dedicating one's intellectual capacities and thoughts to His glory.
plēsion · Greek Noun
Any other person, particularly those within the community of faith, but in Jesus' teaching, it extends to all people, including enemies. It signifies the object of one's duty of care and love.
kremamai · Greek Verb
To hang or be suspended from. Metaphorically, it means that the entire witness and moral requirements of the Hebrew Scriptures are rooted in and supported by these two core commands.
nebi'im · Hebrew Noun
The divinely inspired spokesmen for God in the Old Testament whose writings and ministries served to call Israel to repentance and point forward to the coming Messiah.
"“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it…" — This isn't just about finding the "biggest" rule; the questioner is asking about the principle of greatness in the Law, probing what makes a commandment fundamentally important among the hundreds o…
