Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

^17 (A)“Do not think that I have come to abolish ^(B)the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but ^(C)to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly, I say to you, ^(D)until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ^19 (E)Therefore whoever relaxes ^(F)one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least ^(G)in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great ^(H)in the kingdom of heaven.

The Great Commandment

^34 (A)But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced ^(B)the Sadducees, they gathered together. ^35 (C)And one of them, ^(D)a lawyer, asked him a question ^(E)to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, ^(F)“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 first commandment. ³⁹ And ^(G)a second is like it: ^(H)You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ^40 (I)On these two commandments depend ^(J)all the Law and the Prophets.”

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

^25 (A)And behold, a ^(B)lawyer stood up to ^(C)put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to ^(D)inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” ²⁷ And he answered, ^(E)“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and ^(F)your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; ^(G)do this, and you will live.”

²⁹ But he, ^(H)desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man ^(I)was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a ^(J)priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise ^(K)a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a ^(L)Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and ^(M)bound up his wounds, pouring on ^(N)oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ And the next day he took out two ^(O)denarii^[a] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

The Great Commandment

^28 (A)And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ^(B)‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, ^(C)the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ^31 (D)The second is this: ^(E)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment ^(F)greater than these.” ³² And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that ^(G)he is one, and ^(H)there is no other besides him. ³³ And to love him with all the heart and with all ^(I)the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, ^(J)is much more than all ^(K)whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^(L)And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.