Jesus Teaches on the Commandments

Then one of the scribes came and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, ‘Which is the first commandment of all?’ Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” This is the first commandment. And the second like it is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these’ –Mark 12:28-31 (NKJV).

The Jews had made the commandments burdensome to the people by adding to and explaining with such detail and strictures the commandments of God that hardly anyone could live life without infringing upon some man-made rule that brought penalties or condemnation. A scribe, one who wrote out all the details of the Jewish laws, came to ask Jesus an important and troubling question: ‘Which is the greatest commandment of all?’

Jesus got immediately to the heart of the matter. If we can learn the two major relationships in life—with God and with man—then all other aspects of life will be in perspective. Know who God is. He is supreme. He is the One and only true God. Love God with your whole being: heart, soul, mind, strength. This four-fold area of a person was vital: the heart—the center of one’s being, and includes understanding, decision-making, motivation; the soul—refers to the self, the seat of the personality, (psyche) and also that which is immortal, never-dying about the person; the mind—the seat of thinking, understanding and learning; and the strength—the physical make-up of a person, power, might, ability to withstand. These four aspects made up the whole person. When one loves God in all areas of his life—heart, soul, mind and strength—then the second commandment would come with relative ease: “Love your neighbor as thyself.”

Jesus, getting to the heart of man’s motivations, knew that a right relationship with God would pave the way for a right relationship with man. In speaking to those who spent much time arguing about and delving deeply into the commandments of God, He quickly got to the heart of both spiritual and social relationships: Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love and treat your neighbor as you yourself would want to be treated.

Scholars view this question to Jesus from the scribe as being an honest seeking-for-information instead of an intention to trap Jesus as the Jews so often wanted to do. The scribe responded to Jesus’s answer: “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole lburnt offerings and sacrifices. ' So when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' And after that no one dared question Him.” (Mark 12:32-34, NKJV). May we do some serious soul-searching. How is our love for God? Is He in first place in our life? Do we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength? This relationship must be settled first. Then, we can love our neighbor. With the love of God in our heart, it overflows to others.