Matthew 22:38 - Printer Friendly

ESV: This is the great and first commandment.

NIV: This is the first and greatest commandment.

NASB: This is the great and foremost commandment.

CSB: This is the greatest and most important command.

NLT: This is the first and greatest commandment.

KJV: This is the first and great commandment.

NKJV: This is the first and great commandment.

A well-educated expert in Old Testament law has asked Jesus to identify the single greatest commandment in all of Scripture (Matthew 22:34–37). Jesus does not often answer questions from Pharisees without conditions or return questions or a challenge of His own. He does this time, though. Without hesitating, Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."

Here, Jesus even adds clarity to His answer. He says emphatically that this is the great and first commandment. Commentators stress that "great and first" are not two separate descriptors, but one thing. This command inseparably has the highest priority of all the commandments because it is the greatest. God's highest priority for His people is to be fully and completely loved by them without holding anything back. Every other act of belief, faith, or obedience depends on this single fundamental idea.

Matthew 22:34–40 describes a question to Jesus from a Pharisee described as a lawyer. In this context, this means someone well-versed in the Old Testament. He asks Jesus which is the great commandment in the Law. Jesus upholds Deuteronomy 6:5, indicating that loving God with everything about us is the great and first commandment. Christ then volunteers that the second greatest is closely related: to love your neighbor as yourself. Every command or law from God is distilled from those basic principles. Luke 10:25–28 and Mark 12:28–37 also describe this challenge.

Continuing a dialogue with hostile religious leaders, Jesus tells a parable comparing the kingdom of heaven to a wedding feast which ends up being attended by those not initially invited. He answers trick questions about taxes, marriage, resurrection, and the Law of Moses. These responses are the source of common English idioms such as "render to Caesar…" and "many are called but few are chosen." Finally, Jesus asks how the Messiah can be both the son of David and the Lord of David. None can answer Him, so they stop challenging Him in public.

This chapter extends an exchange between Jesus and several groups of religious leaders in the temple. The previous chapter concluded with two parables about the failures of the religious leaders. This chapter begins with a third parable, about chosen guests who refuse to attend a wedding feast. Jesus then fields questions from several religious groups, who fail in their attempts to trip Him up. His wise and profound answers silence all of them. At this point, Jesus launches into a full-throated condemnation of the Pharisees in chapter 23.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.

Accessed 5/5/2024 12:09:56 PM