When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them [a scholar of the law] tested him by asking, 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39 The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
After Jesus settles the debate about the resurrection (Mt. 22:23-33), a Pharisee who is an expert in the Law poses a standard rabbinic challenge meant to test a teacher: “Which commandment is the greatest?” (vv. 34-36). Jesus answers by joining two well-known Scriptures—Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18. He isn’t creating something new; He’s bringing out what God has been saying all along: love God first with your whole life, and love your neighbor because of that love for God.
To love God “with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind” (Mt. 22:37) means offering Him the whole person: your decisions (heart), your very life (soul), and your thoughts and plans (mind). Calling the second commandment “like it” (v. 39) does not equate love of neighbor with love of God; it demonstrates that genuine love for God necessarily overflows into love for people made in His image. If we claim to love God but refuse to love the neighbor before us, our love is not genuine (cf. 1 Jn. 4:20).
“Love your neighbor as yourself” assumes a right kind of self-love—the steady care you take for your own true good—and extends that same care to others. Later, Jesus gives an even higher measure: “love one another as I have loved you” (Jn. 13:34). Everything else in God’s teaching “hangs” on these two loves (Mt. 22:40), like a door on its hinges. Remove either love—God or neighbor—and the door will not work.
This keeps us from two common errors. It guards against a faith that keeps rules without love, and against a vague “love” that does not keep God’s commandments (cf. Mt. 5:17-20; Jn. 14:15). Jesus gives one path: put God first in worship and daily choices, and for that reason will the good of the person in front of you—even when it costs. In practical terms today, that means protecting life, honoring marriage, welcoming the stranger, caring for the poor, seeking reconciliation where resentment has taken root, and refusing to treat opponents as enemies. Love is not mere feeling; it is a deliberate decision to seek the other’s true good for God’s sake (cf. Rom. 13:8-10; Jas. 2:8; Lk. 10:25-37).
Lord Jesus, help me to love the Father with my whole heart, soul, and mind, and to love my neighbor truly for Your sake. Heal what is divided within me and make my worship bear fruit in mercy, so that my life may hang upon the love that hangs upon Your Cross. Amen.
________________________________________
Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011): Mt. 22:34-40; Deut. 6:4-5; Lev. 19:18; Mt. 5:17-20, 43-48; Jn. 13:34; 1 Jn. 4:20; Rom. 13:8-10; Jas. 2:8; Lk. 10:25-37.
- A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. Orchard et al. (1953).
- The Navarre Bible: Matthew, Faculty of the University of Navarre (2008).
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, ed. Chiu et al. (2018).
- The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, ed. Brown et al. (1990).
- McKenzie, John, Dictionary of the Bible (1965).
- St. Augustine (354-430), Tractates on the First Letter of John; St. Irenaeus (c. 130-202), Against Heresies.
Comments