Matthew 22:37
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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Jesus doesn't just list parts of a person; he commands loving God with "all your heart," "all your soul," and "all your mind." This emphasizes that God isn't satisfied with divided loyalty or superficial affection; he desires the totality of our being – our emotions, our life-force, and our intellect. True love for God engages every part of who we are.
Fresh from silencing the Sadducees, the Pharisees, a group of legal experts, gather to test Jesus. One of them, a scholar of the Law, asks Jesus to identify the single greatest commandment in the entire Law. Jesus responds by quoting from Deuteronomy, stating that the most important command is to love God completely, and then immediately follows this with the second greatest commandment, which is to love one's neighbor.
Jesus wasn't just quoting a rule; he was revealing the very essence of God's desire for us. What does it truly mean to love God with your whole being?
Jesus identifies loving God as the supreme commandment, the absolute foundation of faith. This isn't a minor point; it's the bedrock upon which everything else rests. The ancient Jewish tradition, from which Jesus drew, saw this as the core of their covenant relationship with God.
The Core of Relationship
This commandment isn't just about outward actions; it's about an internal orientation. It demands a love that is total, encompassing every aspect of who you are. It's the driving force behind a life devoted to God, shaping your thoughts, desires, and will.
Love for God isn't just a feeling; it's a deep, comprehensive commitment that engages your entire existence. Discover what 'all' truly entails.
Jesus' command to love God 'with all your heart, soul, and mind' goes beyond a simple emotional response. It calls for the complete mobilization of your inner faculties and life itself.
A Holistic Love
This isn't about compartmentalizing your faith; it's about integrating it into every facet of your life. It's a love that influences your decisions, your priorities, and your actions, demonstrating a unified devotion.
Understand the original words
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.
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.
This is the very passage Jesus quotes from, forming the foundational command for Israel to love God with their entire being.
Luke 10:27This parallel account includes loving God with all one's strength, highlighting the comprehensive nature of this commandment across different Gospel narratives.
1 John 4:19This verse explains the basis of our love for God, stating that 'we love because he first loved us,' connecting the divine initiative to our human response of love.
Romans 12:1-2This passage calls believers to present their bodies as living sacrifices, urging them to be transformed by the renewal of their minds, echoing the call to love God with all of one's mind and faculties.
Matthew 22:39Immediately following this verse, Jesus states the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself, showing how the love for God naturally extends to our love for others.
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…
henryMatthew 22:34-40: "But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together."
22:34-40 An interpreter of the law asked our Lord a question, to try, not so much his knowledge, as his judgment. The love of God is the first and great commandment, and the sum of all the commands of the first table. Our love of God must be sincere, not in word and tongue only. All our love is too little to bestow upon him, therefore all the powers of the soul must be eng…
Jesus doesn't just list parts of a person; he commands loving God with "all your heart," "all your soul," and "all your mind." This emphasizes that God isn't satisfied with divided loyalty or superficial affection; he desires the totality of our being – our emotions, our life-force, and our intellect. True love for God engages every part of who we are.
Fresh from silencing the Sadducees, the Pharisees, a group of legal experts, gather to test Jesus. One of them, a scholar of the Law, asks Jesus to identify the single greatest commandment in the entire Law. Jesus responds by quoting from Deuteronomy, stating that the most important command is to love God completely, and then immediately follows this with the second greatest commandment, which is to love one's neighbor.
Fresh from silencing the Sadducees, the Pharisees, a group of legal experts, gather to test Jesus. One of them, a scholar of the Law, asks Jesus to identify the single greatest commandment in the entire Law. Jesus responds by quoting from Deuteronomy, stating that the most important command is to love God completely, and then immediately follows this with the second greatest commandment, which is to love one's neighbor.
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"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." — Jesus doesn't just list parts of a person; he commands loving God with "all your heart," "all your soul," and "all your mind." This emphasizes that God isn't satisfied with divided loyalty or superfi…
