Matthew 22:34-40
New American Standard Bible
34 (A)But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced (B)the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, [a](C)a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him: 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘(D)You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and [b]foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘(E)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 (F)Upon these two commandments [c]hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 22:35 I.e., an expert in the Mosaic Law
- Matthew 22:38 Or first
- Matthew 22:40 I.e., completely depend
Matthew 22:34-40
The Message
The Most Important Command
34-36 When the Pharisees heard how he had bested the Sadducees, they gathered their forces for an assault. One of their religion scholars spoke for them, posing a question they hoped would show him up: “Teacher, which command in God’s Law is the most important?”
37-40 Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson