The Greatest Command (Mark 12:28-31)

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” - Mark 12:28-31

According to Jewish Tradition it is said that the Torah contains 613 commands from God.

Here Jesus boils all 613 down to two. In Matthew's account Jesus adds, "On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” In other words, the entire Hebrew Bible hinges on these two commandments.

But we must note that Jesus does not present these two commandments as equals, but rather clearly establishes one as more important than the other. Of course, they cannot be entirely disconnected from one another either, but he nonetheless lists them hierarchically.

This may tempt us to think that love for God and love for neighbor are pitted against one another.

If the incarnation had not happened this may well have been the case.

But because Jesus unites within himself humanity and divinity, by loving Jesus we at once love both God and man.

Another reason why we are told first of all to love God, is that loving God enables us to love our fellow man in a way that we could not if we simply tried to love others in our own strength.

On an airplane during the safety presentation before takeoff they always tell you to put your own oxygen mask on first in case of emergency. This is not because you inherently matter more than other people, but because you are going to be able to help many more people if you are conscious as opposed to passed out from oxygen deprivation.

In the same way, if we want to help the greatest amount of people we must take the time to be alone with the Lord, to immerse ourselves in His love until it becomes part of us.

If we think we can love others apart from God we are deluding ourselves, and will quickly learn this lesson the hard way through bitterness, frustration, coldness and ultimately burnout.

The more time we spend with God, the more we become like Him; the more we begin to love what He loves. And what He loves above all are His children.

After all, it is only the divine love of God that can truly change people. Our job is to abide in Christ, to receive an over-abundance of His love, and then to go out and let others experience the overflow of that love.

God is our power source connecting us to Light, Life, and Love. Our first priority must always be to stay connected to Him. If we can get this right everything else will follow.

Lord give us ears to hear your voice. Let us know when to go out into the world, and when to retreat to the secret place. Fill us afresh with your love, and send us out to distribute your love to the places that need it the most.

I am the vine; you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I in him,

he it is that bears much fruit,

for apart from me you can do nothing

John 15:5