The Greatest Command

Key Phrase: all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength

Intro

Jesus summarizes the entire Law in two commands. Love God completely in an all-consuming way and love your neighbor as yourself. To make sure we understand who our neighbor is, Jesus shares a story. In the story people who claim to know God pass by an injured man but show no mercy, but a foreigner with no connection stops and cares for the injured man. So then, who was the neighbor? Jesus commands us to show his love and mercy in this way.

Jesus makes following him easy to understand. It may not be easy to do, but it is easy to understand. God tells us plainly what He requires: “to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8) God sent Jesus as a living example of what this means for us.

The Greatest Command

 Mark 12:28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

 29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’[1] 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[2] No other commandment is greater than these.” . . .

 Luke 10:25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

 26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

 27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”[3]

 28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

 29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

 30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

 31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant[4] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

 33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[5] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

 36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

 37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

   Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Connect

To prepare his friends for what is to come, Jesus teaches that his ultimate plan requires him to leave in order to prepare a place for them and for us.

Footnote

[1] Mark 12:30 Deut 6:4-5.

[2] Mark 12:31 Lev 19:18.

[3] Luke 10:27 Deut 6:5; Lev 19:18.

[4] Luke 10:32 Greek A Levite.

[5] Luke 10:35 Greek two denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage.