The Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:34–46)

[Stephan Choe]

August 22, 2026

Key Verses 37–39:     “Jesus replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and most important commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

There is a saying: “Not seeing the forest for the trees.” It describes a situation where one loses sight of the big picture, even while perceiving the individual details. There is a similar saying in Korea, too: “One sees the individual trees but not the forest.”

In our life of faith, too, it can happen that we see the individual trees but fail to see the forest.

In this context, the individual trees represent various biblical teachings, while the forest represents the commandment that encapsulates the entirety of divine teaching. If we see only the individual teachings but not the commandment that encompasses the whole, our life of faith inevitably loses its balance.

We now wish to determine precisely which of God’s commandments is the greatest, as we strive to lead a harmonious and blessed life of faith.

1. The Greatest Commandment (34–40)

At that time, there were essentially two religious groups in Israel: the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, whereas the Pharisees did. However, the Pharisees’ view was not entirely correct either. For instance, they claimed that people would retain their former appearance upon resurrection so that others could recognize them as the same individuals; someone who had suffered a physical injury, for example, would rise again with that very same injury.

In the preceding account, the Sadducees had asked Jesus, “Whose wife will a woman be on the day of the resurrection if she has married seven brothers in succession?”

Jesus replied that on the day of the resurrection, no one will marry or be given in marriage, for people will be like the angels.

Then a Pharisee, an expert in the law, comes to Jesus and asks him, “Which is the most important commandment in the law?”

This question is of great importance to us as well, for the right answer can point us in the right direction in life and enable us to lead a healthy, blessed life of faith.

How does Jesus answer this question?

He says, “‘you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. But the other is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (37–39).

In these verses, one might speak of a kind of "Trinity"—not the usual Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but that of God, my neighbor, and myself. I am to love God with all my heart and my neighbor as myself.

In the Bible, love holds the highest place. That is why the Apostle Paul says in the First Letter to the Corinthians (Chapter 13):

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I possess all faith so that I can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to the poor and surrender my body to the flames but have not love, it profits me nothing. ...

And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of them is love" (1 Cor. 13:1–3, 13).

A. You shall love the Lord your God

In response to the scribe’s question, Jesus first answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (37).

These words are well known to the Jews, for this commandment is recited daily by the priests in the Temple.

Pious Jews recite the prayer that begins this way twice a day—upon rising and before going to sleep:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God (<Shema Yisrael Adonai Elohenu>), the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength…” (Deuteronomy 6:4–9)

How can we maintain a burning love for God?

That is a good question. We can maintain a burning love for God in the following ways:

First, we can let ourselves be set ablaze by God’s love.

If we want a fire, we must first kindle it. It is much the same with our love for God. We can begin by allowing ourselves to be set ablaze by God’s love. His love in Jesus Christ can ignite a fire within us. To do this, we must accept God’s love for us, for the Bible says,

 “Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

God created us and has cared for us. He loves us deeply. His love is fervent. He loved us so passionately that He sacrificed His Son for us to redeem us from sin. This is God’s wonderful love. We should gratefully accept His love. Through this acceptance, we can be set ablaze by His love. If the fire of His love has gone out within us, we should embrace His love anew so that our hearts may be rekindled by it. That is why Jesus asks us again and again, “Do you love me!” (John 21:17a). We should remember Jesus’ love and answer, “Yes, Lord, I love you!”

Secondly, we should allow God’s love to burn brightly and powerfully in our hearts at all times.

What do we do after lighting a campfire? We add more fuel—such as pieces of wood—so that the fire burns vigorously.

God does not want the fire kindled within us to remain weak. Rather, He desires that the fire within us burn powerfully, like a great campfire.

That is why He says to us,

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

This is the greatest and most important commandment of God.

God does not want us to love Him half-heartedly. When does our love for God become lukewarm? When we love something or someone more than God, or when we fail to truly accept His love. A lukewarm love for God is a warning sign regarding our spiritual health! That is why He says to us, "If only you were cold or hot!" (Revelation 3:15).

We are to love God with burning passion. A burning love for God is the hallmark of a healthy life of faith!

What should this burning love for God look like?

The Song of Songs in the Old Testament describes our burning love for God with these words:

“(For) love is as strong as death, and its passion as irresistible as the realm of the dead. Its glow is fiery—a flame of the LORD—so that many waters cannot quench love, nor floods drown it. If a person were to offer all the wealth of his house for love, it would not suffice” (Song of Songs 8:6–7).

Our love for God should be so strong that neither mighty waters can extinguish it nor raging floods drown it. Therefore, we should ask ourselves from time to time, “Do I love God deeply enough to find joy in fellowship with Him? Do I delight in praying to Him? Do I enjoy listening to His Word? Do I willingly heed His voice in my daily life, even when I am very busy? Do I gladly obey His Word?”

B. You shall love your neighbor as yourself

Jesus does not conclude his answer to the question about the greatest commandment with the commandment to love God. He continues: “But the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

The commandment to love God remains the greatest commandment. We understand this clearly. Yet, is it possible to love God without loving one’s neighbor? Anyone who answers “yes” to this is leading a one-sided life of faith. Why? Is it right to love God but not one’s neighbor—whom God loves so dearly? We are called to love both God with all our hearts and our fellow human beings as ourselves. That makes sense.

In shorts, Jesus teaches us that our love for God and our love for our neighbor must be inextricably linked. This is true! These two commandments constitute a concise summary of the Ten Commandments. If we truly fulfill both commandments of love, our life of faith is healthy and blessed.

The Ten Commandments are phrased negatively—for example, "You shall not make for yourself an idol, an image of God... You shall not murder," and so on (Exodus 20:4, 13). They forbid both idolatry and wrongdoing against our fellow human beings—such as lying, killing, adultery, and so forth.

In contrast, the greatest commandment is phrased positively: "You shall love the Lord your God... You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

The Apostle John also says, "Whoever says, 'I love God,' and yet hates his brother, is a liar. For whoever does not love his brother, whom he sees, cannot love God, whom he does not see" (1 John 4:20).

Loving the brothers and sisters we can see—that is a practical way to love God. If we do not love our spouses, parents, children, friends, or colleagues, we cannot claim to love God.

Therefore, everyone should ask themselves, "Do I love my neighbor—for example, my wife, my husband, my children, my parents, my friends, my colleagues, my acquaintances, and so on—as myself?" We should feel compassion for people suffering from poverty, illness, and war, and we should take action.

Above all, we should feel compassion for those who have not yet accepted the Gospel. Great calamity awaits them. They, too, are loved by God and deserve to be saved; that is why He sacrificed His Son, Jesus Christ.

After the Resurrection, Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” When Peter answered “Yes,” He said to him, “Feed my sheep!” (John 21:17).

Jesus wants us, out of gratitude and love for Him, to save His sheep from damnation and lead them into the Kingdom of Heaven.

If we do not even try to lead our family members, friends, and others to salvation, how can we claim to love God?

I would like to tell the story of a girl who was born again through faith in Christ and shared God’s love with her family:

A girl in Africa came to faith. Her brothers said to her, "We are pagans; we will not allow you to attend church services—that is the white man’s religion!"

Nevertheless, the girl continued to attend the services, even when her brothers began beating her with clubs for doing so.

After this had happened several times, her mother called her over and asked, "Didn't your brothers tell you that we do not tolerate such things? Why won't you listen?"

The girl replied, "I cannot be unfaithful to the Lord Jesus. He loves me and died for me!" Her mother shouted at her in anger, "We are disowning you right now—unless you renounce Jesus." Yet she remained steadfast and refused to be unfaithful to Jesus.

Thereupon, her mother tore her clothes, screamed, "You are no longer my child! We do not know you anymore!" and drove her naked out of the house.

Standing in the street, the girl turned and said to her mother, "You can take everything from me, but you cannot take away my love for you!"

The girl found work and sent her entire wages to her mother—for three months. Then the family took her back in. Her mother asked, "Tell us—we beat you, tortured you, drove you naked out of the house, and wanted nothing more to do with you. How can you treat us this way?"

The girl replied: “That is my greatest privilege: You are my mother, you are my brothers; moreover, I have Jesus and a love in my heart. I cannot help but love you!”

—In the end, this love won over the entire family and led both the mother and the brothers to faith.

However, we know that we cannot truly love others in our own strength. Although we are born again, we still carry the flesh within us as long as we live on this earth.

That is why we need God’s power.

Since we have received the Spirit of God through rebirth, we are to be filled with the Spirit and led by Him. In this way, we can love our neighbors as ourselves.

Let us allow ourselves to be filled and led daily by God’s Spirit and His Word!

2. Is Jesus the Son of David? (41–46)

Most Jews refer to the Messiah as the "Son of David." They hope that one day a king from David’s lineage will arise who will destroy Israel’s enemies and make Israel the ruler over all nations. They thus envision the Messiah as a political figure who will restore the Jewish people through military might.

Jesus wants to correct their understanding of the Messiah. Therefore, He asks the Pharisees, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?"

They answer, "The Son of David!"

Then He asks them, "How, then, can David call Him 'Lord' in the Spirit when he says, 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool' (Psalm 110:1)?"

By the first "Lord," David meant God, and by the second "Lord," he meant the Messiah. In other words, David called the Messiah (his) "Lord."

Jesus asked the Pharisees, "If the Messiah were David’s son, how could David call his own son 'Lord'?"

What does Jesus mean by this?

He wants to make it clear that "Son of God" is the correct title for the Messiah, for Jesus Christ is God—the Creator—whereas David is His creature (John 1:1; cf. Hebrews 1:2). May Your kingdom come!

We should focus not only on individual trees but also on the forest. Love for God and love for one’s neighbor form the heart of biblical teaching. We are to embrace and follow this teaching with all our hearts. Following the commandment to love God and our neighbor requires a willing attitude and the help of the Holy Spirit.

We should pray to God and ask Him—through His Spirit—to help us keep this commandment. In this way, we can be good disciples of Jesus. Thus, we can be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and spread God’s kingdom.

May God’s kingdom come and His will be done! Amen!