Two 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?”29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is:‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 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. 31 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
In Jesus’ time one of the favorite things to do was to debate about the “more important and “less important” of the hundreds of laws that the Jews had accumulated through the years. In fact, the Pharisees had classified over six hundred laws and would spend countless hours discussing which ones were more important.
Just before this question was asked about the first commandment the Sadducees asked Jesus about the resurrection, which they did not believe in. After Jesus answered their question, a scribe comes forward with another question about the law hoping that Jesus might also have the final answer about this.
Why is this so important? Because the Pharisees exalted the first four Commandments of the Decalogue as being more important than the last six, and because of this they failed when it came to the matters of everyday religion.
“Both these commandments are an expression of the principle of love. The first cannot be kept and the second broken, nor can the second be kept while the first is broken. When God has His rightful place on the throne of the heart, the right place will be given to our neighbor. We shall love him as ourselves. And only as we love God supremely is it possible to love our neighbor impartially.”
And since all the commandments are summed up in love to God and man, it follows that not one precept can be broken without violating this principle. Thus Christ taught His hearers that the law of God is not so many separate precepts, some of which are of great importance, while others are of small importance and may with impunity be ignored. Our Lord presents the first four and the last six commandments as a divine whole, and teaches that love to God will be shown by obedience to all His commandments.” {DA 607.3}
In fact, in the book of Luke a lawyer asks Jesus a question about inheriting eternal life and Jesus responds with “love the Lord your God, and your neighbor” then He proceeds to tell the parable of the good Samaritan. Jesus goes right into a story to show practical religion. What has happened to love today for our fellow man? It seems so many are angry with one another over such silly things anymore. Selfishness, I am afraid has taken over society, it is all about ‘me’ today. What about Christians? Do we act the same way? Are we unselfish to others, even within our family or church circle? Do we love others as Jesus would love them?
“Unless there is practical self-sacrifice for the good of others, in the family circle, in the neighborhood, in the church, and wherever we may be, then whatever our profession, we are not Christians.” DA 504
1 John 4:20–21 (NKJV) If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
21And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
“Love is the basis of godliness. Whatever the profession, no man has pure love to God unless he has unselfish love for his brother. But we can never come into possession of this spirit by trying to love others. What is needed is the love of Christ in the heart. When self is merged in Christ, love springs forth spontaneously. The completeness of Christian character is attained when the impulse to help and bless others springs constantly from within—when the sunshine of heaven fills the heart and is revealed in the countenance.” COL 384
This is what it is really about? Do we have a pure love for God? If we do, we will see the fruits of this love. We need to give ourselves to Him, ask Him to take our selfishness, so we can become complete in His love.
“Supreme love to God and love to our neighbor are the great principles of the law. Upon these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Those who keep the first will not transgress the second; for supreme love to God includes all other requirements.” (ST Aug. 2 1899)