Mt. 22:34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.
Mt. 22:35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying,
Mk. 12:28a Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him,
Mt. 22:36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment of the Law/’
Mk. 12:28b “Which is the first commandment of all?”
Mk. 12:29 Yeshua answered Him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”
The first part of Yeshua’s answer is called the Shema. It is the very basis of all Biblical faith and the concept known as monotheism, the belief in One God. The Jews pray this prayer three times a day. The Mishnah says that the Sh’ma is called the ‘acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom.”
Sources: Deut. 6:4; M:Berachoth 2:2,5
Mt. 22:37 Yeshua said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
Mk. 12:30a “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with ll your soul, with all your mid, and with all your strength.”
Source: Deut. 6:5
Mt. 22:38 “This is the first and great commandment.”
Mk. 12:30b “This is the first commandment.”
Mt. 22:39 “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Mk. 12:31 “And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no greater commandment than these.”
Source: Leviticus 19:18
Mt. 22:40 “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Rabbi Hillel is quoted as saying ”This is the whole law. The rest is commentary.” The Jews believe that in a sense when you pray these two commandments you are actually praying the Ten Commandments. The Jews refer to the Ten Commandments as the “First Four “ which refer to God, and the “Last Six” which refer to their fellow man.
Mk. 12:32 So the scribes said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is One God, and there is no other but He.”
Mk. 12:33 “And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
Mk. 12:34 So when Yeshua saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared question Him.
The entire ministry of Yeshua was thus a commentary on His name. He came to this earth on a rescue mission, but not to help people escape this world. Instead, He came to free them from the clutches of sin, self, sickness and oppression, that they might be prepared for the Olam HaBah, the “Age to Come.” Yeshua came to serve, not to be served, to reconcile human beings to God and to each other. By His example, He taught His followers how to be involved in the lives of people in order to make them whole. Yeshua’s concern for social justice and human needs falls precisely within the historic Jewish traditions.
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