Matthew 22:37-38
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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
Jesus doesn't just list requirements; he's highlighting that loving God isn't just an emotional response, but a total devotion that engages our very thinking processes. By adding "mind" to "heart" and "soul," he emphasizes that our intellect, our reasoning, and our very thoughts must be fully surrendered to God, not just our feelings or our actions.
Jesus is being tested by the religious leaders, who are trying to trap him with difficult questions about the Law. After successfully answering questions about taxes and the resurrection, a Pharisee asks Jesus to identify the single greatest commandment. Jesus' response, citing the Shema from Deuteronomy, lays the foundation for true righteousness, which will then be contrasted with the Pharisees' hypocritical interpretation of the Law in the following verses.
Jesus didn't just say 'love God.' He added a crucial qualifier: 'with all your heart, soul, and mind.' What does this total devotion look like?
This isn't about loving God more than anything else; it's about loving Him with everything you have.
A Holistic Love
When Jesus uses these terms, he's painting a picture of a love that isn't compartmentalized. It’s a total, all-encompassing devotion that touches every part of who you are.
Jesus declared this love for God as the 'first and great commandment.' Why is it foundational to everything else?
Jesus identifies loving God completely as the supreme commandment, the bedrock upon which all other divine commands rest. The Pharisees, though often focused on outward observance, missed this essential truth.
Love as the Source
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 Old Testament source for Jesus' command, grounding the call to love God wholeheartedly in the foundational covenant between God and Israel.
Mark 12:30Mark's Gospel includes 'strength' alongside heart, soul, and mind, emphasizing that this love for God should engage our entire being and all our capabilities.
Luke 10:27Luke's version also emphasizes loving God with all strength, and connects this command to the lawyer's question about inheriting eternal life, highlighting its essential role in true salvation.
1 John 4:19This New Testament passage directly links our love for God to His prior love for us, showing that our commanded love is a response to His initiating grace.
Romans 12:1Paul calls believers to present their bodies as living sacrifices, which is a practical outworking of loving God with all their faculties, demonstrating a complete devotion of their whole selves.
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 requirements; he's highlighting that loving God isn't just an emotional response, but a total devotion that engages our very thinking processes. By adding "mind" to "heart" and "soul," he emphasizes that our intellect, our reasoning, and our very thoughts must be fully surrendered to God, not just our feelings or our actions.
Jesus is being tested by the religious leaders, who are trying to trap him with difficult questions about the Law. After successfully answering questions about taxes and the resurrection, a Pharisee asks Jesus to identify the single greatest commandment. Jesus' response, citing the Shema from Deuteronomy, lays the foundation for true righteousness, which will then be contrasted with the Pharisees' hypocritical interpretation of the Law in the following verses.
Jesus is being tested by the religious leaders, who are trying to trap him with difficult questions about the Law. After successfully answering questions about taxes and the resurrection, a Pharisee asks Jesus to identify the single greatest commandment. Jesus' response, citing the Shema from Deuteronomy, lays the foundation for true righteousness, which will then be contrasted with the Pharisees' hypocritical interpretation of the Law in the following verses.
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Ask a follow-up
Ask Sola things like:
Live chat about Matthew 22:37-38 is available in the Sola app.
This isn't just a suggestion; it's the core requirement of a life lived in relationship with the Creator.
"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." — Jesus doesn't just list requirements; he's highlighting that loving God isn't just an emotional response, but a total devotion that engages our very thinking processes. By adding "mind" to "heart" an…
