Matthew 22:38

Matthew 22:38, in plain English

Jesus makes it clear: this is the number one commandment. Loving God with everything you are is the most important thing you could ever do.

Why it's here

By calling it 'first and greatest,' Jesus is giving you a lens through which to see everything else in your faith. This is the foundation everything else is built on.

Who's speaking

Jesus is declaring with total certainty what matters most in all of God's commands.

Where it sits in the story

There's no ambiguity here. Jesus says this is it, the highest priority, the thing from which everything else flows. Love God first, fully, always.

The scholarly reading

Jesus explicitly identifies the Shema as 'the first and greatest' (prote kai megale) commandment, establishing a clear hierarchy within Torah. This is significant because it provides a hermeneutical key for interpreting all other commandments.

Language and setting

By declaring this the greatest commandment, Jesus provides a principle of prioritization: all other laws must be understood in relation to this central obligation.

Voice

Jesus speaks with definitive authority, rendering His judgment on the relative importance of commandments.

Significance

Jesus doesn't just answer the question; He establishes a framework. Everything else in God's law flows from this one foundational principle.

36“Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?”

37Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

38This is the first and greatest commandment.

39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Read all of Matthew 22 — A wedding banquet, a trick question about taxes, and the greatest commandment — Jesus outmaneuvers every trap set for him.