Ep. 96: The Greatest Commandment

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MATTHEW 22:34-40, MARK 12:28-34

‘Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ So challenged, Jesus could have no hesitation in replying. Not to silence him, but to speak the absolute truth. He quoted the familiar words which every Jew was bound to repeat in his devotions and which were ever to be on his lips, living or dying, as the inmost expression of his faith; ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.’ And then continuing. He repeated the command concerning love to God which is the outcome of that declaration.

But to have stopped here would have been mere Pharisaic worship of the letter. As God is love, so is love to God - also love to man. ‘There is none other commandment greater than these.’ But it was more than an answer, even deepest teaching, when he added, ‘on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ They would know what it meant that the Law and the Prophets ‘hung’ on them, for it was a Jewish expression. He taught them that not any one commandment was greater or smaller. Heavier or lighter, than another, but that all sprang from these two as their root and principle and stood in living connection with them.

So noble was the answer, that for the moment the generous enthusiasm of the Scribe, who had previously been favourably impressed by Jesus’ answer to the Sadducees, was kindled. For the moment, at least, traditionalism lost its sway; and, as Jesus pointed to it. He saw the exceeding moral beauty of the Law. He was not far from the Kingdom of God.

This is an extract from the book, Jesus : Life and Times, available for £10 here (Finalist for Academic Book of the year at 2023 CRT awards)