Matthew 22:35-40 is a very well known passage. Let’s look at it more closely:
But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered themselves together.
One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him."Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?"
Jesus is being asked a straightforward question. What is the greatest commandment in the law? The answer is obviously one commandment that is better than every other one.
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.
A second likewise is this,'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
'The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
Jesus’ answer is two commandments. He gives the greatest commandment which is to love God. However, he says the second is like it…but it is NOT the same commandment. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said SECOND.
More powerful still is the last sentence: the WHOLE of the law AND the prophets depend on these two commandments. Think about that!
Jesus came to fulfill the law. He is saying the whole of the law and everything the prophets said depend on two commandments.
What is the significance of these two commandments?
Are these two "messages" in which EVERYTHING can be fitted under?
Is one showing us how to get to Heaven?
Is the other one showing us how to get reward on earth and in Heaven?
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