Thou Shalt Love - Sister Maurice Schnell

The Great Commandment (or Greatest Commandment) is a name used in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

to describe the first of two commandments cited by

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

in Matthew 22 (),

Mark 12 Mark 12 is the twelfth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It continues Jesus' teaching in the Temple in Jerusalem, and contains the parable of the Wicked Husbandmen, Jesus' argument with the Pharisees an ...

(), and in answer to him in

Luke 10 Luke 10 is the tenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christianity, Christian Bible. It records the sending of seventy disciples by Jesus, Parable of the Good Samaritan, the famous parable about the Good Samaritan, and his ...

(), According to

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religi ...

, the first and greatest commandment is that "the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. According to

() in full answer of the which commandment is first: Both the first and second commandments came from the Old Testament and meant to be obeyed by Jews and followers of Jesus. Most

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

s consider these two commandments as, together, forming the core of the

Christian religion Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus is the Son of God and rose from the dead after his crucifixion, whose coming as the messiah (Christ) was prophesied in the Old Testament and chronicled in the New ...

New Testament accounts

Gospel of Matthew

Gospel of Mark

In the Gospel of Mark, the first verse of the ''

Shema Yisrael ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; , “Hear, O Israel”) is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services. Its first verse encapsulates the monothe ...

'' (which the first part of the Great Commandment refers to) is included:

Gospel of Luke

Old Testament reference

Deuteronomy

Leviticus

Love the Lord your God

Matthew Henry Matthew Henry (18 October 166222 June 1714) was a British Nonconformist and Presbyterian minister and author who was born in Wales but spent much of his life in England. He is best known for the six-volume biblical commentary ''Exposition o ...

sums up the question of which is the great commandment:

Adam Clarke Adam Clarke (176226 August 1832) was an Irish writer and biblical scholar. As a writer and biblical scholar, he published an influential Bible commentary among other works. Additionally, he was a Methodist theologian who served three times as ...

, in his ''Commentary on the Bible'', wrote: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God" is interpreted by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz to mean "Act in such a manner that God will be beloved by all His creatures." Consequently,

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, being, as the priest-people, enjoined like the Aaronite priest to sanctify the name of God and avoid whatever tends to desecrate it (Lev. xxii. 32), is not only obliged to give his life as witness or martyr for the maintenance of the true faith (see Isa. xliii. 12, μάρτυρες; and Pesik. 102b; Sifra, Emor, ix.), but so to conduct himself in every way as to prevent the name of God from being dishonored by non-Israelites. Twice every day (during ''

Shacharit ''Shacharit'' ( ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning '' tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components of ''Shacharit''. E ...

'' and ''

Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'', or ''Arbit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or at night. It consists primarily of the evening '' Shema'' and ''Amidah''. The service will often begin with two ...

'', the morning and evening prayers) observant Jews recite the ''

'', which contains the words: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deut. vi. 5). This verse is interpreted by Rabbi Even-Israel Steinsaltz to enjoin him to willingly surrender life and fortune whenever the cause of God demands it, while it at the same time urges him to make God beloved by all his creatures through deeds of kindness, as

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

did (Sifre, Deut. 32). Although only asked about the first commandment, Jesus included the second commandment in his answer. This double reference has given rise to differing views with regard to the relationship that exists between the two commandments, although typically "love thy God" is referred to as "the first and greatest commandment", with "love thy neighbor" being referred to as "the second great commandment". It may simply reflect the " seven rules (Middot) of Hillel", in this case the first one, called Ḳal wa-ḥomer (Hebrew: קל וחומר). Most Christian denominations view the Great Commandment alongside the law to love one's neighbor as forming the core of the Christian religion. The second passage is considered to be a form of the

Golden Rule The Golden Rule is the principle of treating others as one would want to be treated by them. It is sometimes called an ethics of reciprocity, meaning that one should reciprocate to others how one would like them to treat the person (not neces ...

. Plaut, ''The Torah – A Modern Commentary''; Union of American Hebrew Congregations, New York 1981; pp.892.

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External links

{{Authority control Biblical law Biblical phrases Book of Deuteronomy Book of Leviticus Christian ethics in the Bible Christian terminology Codes of conduct Commandments Doctrines and teachings of Jesus Early Christianity and Judaism Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Luke Jewish theology Love and religion New Testament theology Positive Mitzvoth Superlatives in religion