But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"
Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."—Matthew 22:34-40
Jesus says to love God is the greatest commandment and to love your neighbor is the next greatest. On these two hang all the law and the prophets. I was grateful for Jesus’ straightforward response to this question the first time I read it, and I continue to be to be grateful years later. Sometimes I can get lost in the weeds. The Bible has a lot of details and as a new Christian I was having trouble keeping up.
Jesus’ answer helps us to see the big picture by zooming out and prioritizing. The first table of the Ten Commandments focuses on our relationship with God. The second part, our relationship with each other. Love is the big picture. Love is the priority. Love is the motivating force. Love summarizes the law.
The Gospel of Mark gives us more details:
So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."
But after that no one dared question Him.
The word spoke to the scribe’s heart! He started out his conversation with Jesus with the intent of getting evidence for the Pharisees against Jesus. By the time his short conversation with Jesus had ended he was, as Jesus put it, “not far from the Kingdom.” The truth had reached his heart and he was listening! He ears were opened.
What I saw in Jesus’ answer was kindness. The Pharisees knew the law…the lawyer that asked the question was probably an expert in the Mosaic law. Jesus’ answer zeroed right in on the truth. Anyone who was honestly listening would have been convicted. Laying the law of love over their lives, they would have had to admit how very far short they fell in obeying those two commandments. They would have had to admit in their heart their need for a Savior. Even though these men were working “against” Him, Jesus graciously wanted them to see. He wanted them to walk in truth. He loved them and wanted them to someday live forever with Him. Sadly, maybe no one dared ask Him anymore questions because they didn’t want to honestly hear Jesus’ answers.
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.—Romans 13:8-10
