The Greatest Commandment
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
—Matthew 22:37, quoting Deuteronomy 6:5
Wild mint growing naturally from layered sandstone beneath blue sky and drifting white clouds.
One day, an expert in the Law came to Jesus with a question that people had debated for generations.
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
— Matthew 22:36 (NIV)
It sounds like a simple question, but it carried great weight.
The Law of Moses contains hundreds of commandments. Religious teachers often discussed which ones were the most important and how they should be understood. Some emphasized sacrifices. Others focused on purity, the Sabbath, or ceremonial traditions.
Jesus did not hesitate. He answered by quoting words that faithful Jewish families had spoken for centuries.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
— Matthew 22:37, quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 (NIV)
Then He immediately added another passage from the Law.
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
— Matthew 22:39, quoting Leviticus 19:18 (NIV)
Finally, Jesus said something remarkable.
“All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
— Matthew 22:40 (NIV)
Whenever I read those words, I ask the question we have been asking throughout this book.
Why did Jesus choose these Scriptures?
There were many commandments He could have quoted. He could have spoken about sacrifices, festivals, or ceremonial laws. Instead, He reached into Deuteronomy and Leviticus and drew together two passages that reveal the very heart of God's desire for His people.
This was not a new teaching.
Jesus was reminding His listeners of something the Father had spoken many centuries earlier.
The words from Deuteronomy come from a passage that begins with what Jewish people call the Shema.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
— Deuteronomy 6:4 (NIV)
These words were more than a statement to memorize.
They were an invitation to live every part of life with God at the center. Moses urged the people to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and strength. He encouraged parents to teach these words to their children, to speak of them at home and while traveling, when lying down and when getting up. God's Word was never meant to be something remembered only during worship. It was to shape everyday life.
Jesus knew that. When He quoted Deuteronomy, He was not choosing a favorite verse. He was reminding people of the foundation on which everything else rested. Love comes before obedience, and relationship comes before ritual.
The Father has always desired hearts that belong to Him, not simply hands that perform religious duties.
That helps us understand why Jesus paired Deuteronomy with Leviticus.
At first, those books may seem very different. One speaks about loving God. The other speaks about loving our neighbor.
Jesus saw them as inseparable.
If we truly love the Father, that love will be seen in the way we treat the people He has made.
Years earlier, Moses had written,
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”
— Leviticus 19:18 (NIV)
Jesus took those familiar words and placed them beside the command to love God. In doing so, He showed that love is not divided into two separate lives—one for God and another for people. The two belong together.
Throughout His ministry, Jesus lived exactly this way. His love for the Father was never separated from His love for people. He welcomed children, touched those others avoided, forgave sinners, showed compassion to the sick, and even prayed for those who crucified Him. In everything He did, Jesus revealed that genuine love for the Father naturally overflows into love for those created in His image.
There is another detail that is easy to overlook. Jesus did not simply say these were two important commandments. He said that all the Law and the Prophets hang on them. I have often pictured that image as a sturdy wooden door resting securely on its hinges. Remove the hinges, and the door can no longer serve the purpose for which it was made. In much the same way, every command God gave finds its proper place when it is understood through love for Him and love for others. Without that foundation, even sincere religious activity can slowly lose sight of the Father's heart.
Jesus returned to this theme throughout His ministry. He challenged those who carefully observed outward traditions while neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Their actions often appeared righteous, yet Jesus gently exposed the deeper issue. Obedience that is no longer rooted in love eventually loses sight of the Father's heart.
This passage has made me pause many times over the years because it reminds me how easily we can confuse knowing Scripture with knowing God. A person can memorize verses, understand history, and even win an argument about the Bible while slowly losing sight of the Father who gave it. Jesus never separated truth from love. In His teaching, the two always walked together, and I believe His disciples should strive to do the same.
Before we leave these two commandments, there is one more beautiful lesson worth noticing. Jesus did not invent these truths or replace what had come before. He uncovered what the Father had been teaching from the beginning. The words had always been there in the Law, quietly waiting for people to see their fullness. By bringing Deuteronomy and Leviticus together, Jesus helped His listeners understand the heart that had always been behind God's commandments.
Perhaps that is why these words continue to speak so clearly today. They remind us that following Jesus is far more than gathering information or mastering doctrine. It is learning to love—to love the Father with all that we are, and to love our neighbors as people created in His image. When those two loves become the foundation of our lives, the rest of Scripture begins to fit together with a clarity that is both simple and profound.
As we continue to follow Jesus through the Scriptures, we'll soon discover that He returns to this same theme in the words of the prophet Hosea. Speaking to people who appeared deeply religious, Jesus quoted a passage that revealed what the Father had desired all along. Once again, He gently led His listeners beyond outward religion and into the heart of God.
