³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

1) Who is asking the question in verse 36, and what is the spirit behind the question?
If we back up just a couple of verses to get the context, we read that it was one of the Pharisees who asked Jesus this question, and the purpose was to test Him. The Pharisees were religious leaders who tended to be self-righteous and liked to add even more requirements to the law. The question was a test because religious leaders often argued about which of God’s laws were the most important. Was it circumcision? Sabbath? Sacrifices? If Jesus disagreed with these Pharisee’s particular opinion, they would have had more ammunition with which to oppose Him.

2) What does Jesus mean by heart, soul, and mind?
Doing a word study, we see that the word translated “heart” means the thoughts or feelings, the center of the spiritual life. “Soul” is from a word that means “breath,” and has the idea of a person’s eternal spirit. And “mind” is the part of a person that thinks, understands, and makes choices. Although these three words do have some overlap in their definitions, the point Jesus is making is that we are to love God completely. Our logical minds are to love God, our emotional and affectionate hearts are to love God, and our eternal spirits are to love God. We are to love Him first, above all else, and with every part of ourselves.

3) Why would Jesus tell us to love our neighbor as ourselves?
Loving ourselves comes naturally. We naturally look out for our own interests and seek our own good (albeit sinfully at times). But Jesus is telling us to take that preferential treatment that we give ourselves and apply it to others. We are to look out for our neighbors’ interests and seek their good.

4) How do all of the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments?
The action word in both of these commandments is love. The basis for all of the commands God ever gave is love. True obedience begins in the affections, otherwise it is just empty religion. God’s laws were given to protect us and to show us who He is, and if our affections are trained on Him, the commands become easier and more natural to follow.

1) Who is asking the question in verse 36, and what is the spirit behind the question?
When the Pharisees asked Jesus this question, they were trying to trap Him, not to find an easier way to understand the law. But Jesus took their question and turned it into an opportunity to teach both that audience and the billions of people who would later read His words. Next time a seeker or a skeptic asks you a tricky question, pray that God would give you the words to answer the attitude in their heart.

2) What does Jesus mean by heart, soul, and mind?
What part of myself is holding back from loving God completely? Am I having trouble trusting God? Is my logical mind skeptical? Am I placing other people or things ahead of Him? God, help me to love you completely, and convict me of the things or attitudes that are getting in the way.

3) Why would Jesus tell us to love our neighbor as ourselves?
It is easy to give ourselves preferential treatment, and it is fairly easy to do the same for people we love. But the story of the Good Samaritan tells us that everyone is our neighbor, even the people who annoy us, have different beliefs than us, or are hostile toward us. Which of your “neighbors” do you need God’s help to love as you love yourself? What is a practical step you can take to seek their good or look out for their interests?

4) How do all of the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments?
Love. It’s all about love. Understanding a biblical definition of love is crucial to being able to live it out. Read 1 Corinthians 13 today and meditate on what true love looks like.

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
See all past studies in Space!