Introduction
The episode about the two greatest commandments appears in all Synoptic gospels in different contexts. In Mark and Matthew, it appears within a a series of disputations with the power groups of Jerusalem. In Luke, it appears in the context of Jesus' journey towards Jerusalem and introduces the parable about the Good Samaritan. Matthew follows the outline of Mark in presenting the episode. The Pharisees are out to "test" Jesus. In Matthew's gospel, this has been happening since the time Jesus heals a man with a withered hand in a synagogue (Matthew 12:14). The resolve then was to "destroy" Jesus (12:14). Since then, Matthew presents the question about a sign (16:1-4) and the question about divorce (19:1-12) as specific examples by which the Pharisees carry out their plan. After Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and the commotion he causes in the Temple, he is approached first by chief priests and elders who ask him about his authority, then by students and Pharisees and Herodians (22:15-22), Sadducees (22:23-33) and finally by the Pharisees themselves.
The Question of the Pharisee
The question that the Pharisee raises to Jesus is best understood within the concerns of the rabbinic schools of the time to systematize the laws of the Torah. A passage from one of the rabbinic texts illustrate this:
R. Simlai when preaching said: Six hundred and thirteen precepts were communicated to Moses, three hundred and sixty-five negative precepts, corresponding to the number of solar days in the year, and two hundred and forty-eight positive precepts, corresponding to the number of the members of man's body. Said R. Hamnuna: What is the authentic text for this? It is, Moses commanded us Torah, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob, 'Torah' being in letter-value, equal to six hundred and eleven, 'I am' and 'Thou shalt have no other Gods' not being reckoned, because we heard them directly from the mouth of the Divine. David came and reduced them to eleven principles, as it is written, A Psalm (XV) of David. Lord, who shall sojourn in Thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Thy holy mountain? - [i] He that walketh uprightly, and [ii] worketh righteousness, and [iii] speaketh truth in his heart; that [iv] hath no slander upon his tongue, [v] nor doeth evil to his fellow, [vi] nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour, [vii] in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but [viii] he honoureth them that fear the Lord, [ix] He sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not, [x] He putteth not out his money on interest, [xi] nor taketh a bribe against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. Isaiah came and reduced them to six principles, as it is written, [i] He that walketh righteously, and [ii] speaketh uprightly, [iii] He that despiseth the gain of oppressions, [iv] that shaketh his hand from holding of bribes, [v] that stoppeth his ear from hearing of blood, [vi] and shutteth his eyes from looking upon evil; he shall dwell on high. Micah came and reduced them to three principles, as it is written, It hath been told thee, O man, what is good, and what the Lord doth require of thee: [i] only to do justly, and [ii] to love mercy and [iii] to walk humbly before thy God. Again came Isaiah and reduced them to two principles, as it is said, Thus saith the Lord, [i] Keep ye justice and [ii] do righteousness. Amos came and reduced them to one principle, as it is said, For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye Me and live.
-- Makkoth 23b-24a (Source : Texas Talmud see also Highbeam Research)
Rabbi Simlai preached in the third century and his text gives us an idea of how the rabbis regarded the question of the precepts of the Torah. There were 613 precepts of the Law. and this is based on the number equivalent of "torah" (611) plus the two commandments "I am" and "Thou shall not have other Gods". From R. Simlai too we have an idea of how these 613 precepts are organized on the basis of Psalm 15, Micah, and Amos. How the Pharisees of Jesus' time summarized these precepts can be illustrated by the fact that Hillel reduces them to one: "Do not do what is hateful to you to a fellow human being" (cf. Lev. 19:18) while R. Simlai points to Amos 5:4, "Seek me and live!"1
The Answer of Jesus
In Matthew, Jesus begins his response with Deut. 6:5 (not with 6:4 as in Mark): "You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind" While Mark and Luke have "with all your strength", Matthew simply omits it. The Hebrew of Deut. 6.5 has "with all your heart, with all your soul (naphseka) and with all your strength." In the Hebrew (as well as the LXX which translates m'od with dunamis; Mark and Luke has ischuos), "with all your strength" means "with all your wealth." Matthew replaces "strength" with "mind" (dianoia), a synonym for "heart". This creates a pattern where two words for decision making and understanding wrap around "your soul", which does not mean only the "soul", but also the whole of one's being (psyche here translates the Hebrew nephesh which refers to the whole "I").
The first commandment as stated by Jesus is probably and expected answer since the Shema upon which it is based is the Jewish pledge of allegiance. Just that answer could have satisfied the Pharisee. But then he adds a second one which he prefaces with the words "A second is like it." Jesus adds a second greatest ("like it") commandment based on Leviticus 19:18: "Love your neighbor as yourself"
In its original context, "neighbor" means "a fellow Israelite", but in the Gospels, the word has come to mean "anyone". This is evident from the way the phrase is combined with Hosea 6:6 in Mark, and with parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke. In Matthew, the meaning of the word "neighbor" is best understood in the light of the programmatic discourse in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).
The commandment "Love your neighbor as yourself" proposes proper self-love as the measure of one's love for another. If one considers the phrase closely, it would preclude any injustice or harm to one's neighbor. What we have come to regard as the Golden Rule is an echo of it: ""Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets. (Matthew 7:12)."
The Law and the Prophets
To further highlight his answer, Jesus adds that "on these two commandments hang the Law and the Prophets" The rabbis taught that the world hangs on the Torah, temple service and loving-kindness, 2 or as Simeon ben Gamaliel would put it, "On three things the world stands; on Judgment, and on Truth, and on Peace". When Jesus makes the Torah (Law and the Prophets) hang on these two commandments, he is actually saying that all that the observance of the Torah guarantees -- even a life that is worth-living -- finds its basis on the two-fold love of God and neighbor.
Recapitulation and Conclusion
The question of the Pharisee regarding the greatest commandments is the high point of a series of questions they ask Jesus in order to trap him. Jesus' answer underscores the second commandment because it is this which the Pharisees have been neglecting. Matthew does not combine this with Hos. 6:6 as does Mark since he has already prepared his readers to understand the meaning of the command beforehand, in the Sermon on the Mount. By saying that both love of God and neighbor is the basis of the Torah, he makes righteousness dependent on love and the concrete ways in which it is practised. Jesus has come to fulfill the Law. In the two greatest commandments, he is telling us how to do the same.
- 1. This is no different from what Paul does when he reduces all the precepts of the Law to "love your neighbor as yourself", cf. Romans 13:9
- 2.
The rabbis distinguished "loving-kindness" from "charity" (understood as "almsgiving" as seen from this text of R. Eleazar:
R. Eleazar said, What is the implication of the text, It hath been told thee, O man, what is good, and what the Lord doth require of thee: Only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? 'To do justly' means to act in accordance with justice; 'to love mercy' refers to acts of loving kindness; 'and to walk humbly with thy God' refers to attending to funerals and dowering a bride for her wedding.. . . R. Eleazar stated, Greater is he who performs charity than he who offers all the sacrifices, for it is said, To do charity and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. R. Eleazar further stated, Gemiluth Hasadim (loving kindness) is greater than charity, for it is said, Sow to yourselves according to your charity, but reap according to your hesed (love, kindness); if a man sows, it is doubtful whether he will eat the harvest or not, but when a man reaps, he will certainly eat. R. Eleazar further stated, The reward of charity depends entirely upon the extent of the kindness in it, for it is said, 'Sow to yourselves according to charity, but reap according to the kindness'. Our Rabbis taught, In three respects is Gemiluth Hasadim superior to charity: charity can be done only with one's money, but Gemiluth Hasadim can be done with one's person and one's money. Charity can be given only to the poor, Gemiluth Hasadim both to the rich and the poor. Charity can be given to the living only, Gemiluth Hasadim can be done both to the living and to the dead.
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-Sukkah 49b
