“One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’ And ‘to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that [he] answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions (Mk. 12:28-34).”
Jesus was asked a question frequently asked of Jewish teachers in the synagogue; which is the greatest among the 613 precepts of the OT Law? Jesus answered with quotations from Deuteronomy (Deut. 6:4-5) and Leviticus (Lev. 19:18). Loving God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength and loving your neighbor as yourself are the only two precepts that are needed to fulfill both the OT Law and the ten Commandments. Those two precepts are the basis of the Commandments and the OT Law, but they do not replace them. `They address our inner disposition and are at the root of our relationship with God and our relationship with each other. If we love God, we will obey Him willingly and if we love our neighbor, we will never harm him in any way. The whole person should love God above all things. With respect to love of neighbor, Hillel was the premier Jewish first century sage and leading interpreter of Jewish tradition. He interpreted, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ to mean what you hate for yourself do not do to your neighbor. With respect to sacrifice we find in OT writing, “For it is loyalty that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings (Hos. 6:6).” The Scribes answer did not mean that burnt offerings and sacrifices should be abolished but that love of God and love of neighbor were the foundation of the sacrificial system.
Almighty God, it is only through your grace that we can love you as you desire to be loved and it through Jesus Christ that we are given the heart, soul, mind and strength to do so. Look with favor upon our efforts and lead us more and more deeply into that perfect union with you that we had when mankind was first created. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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