37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
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.
37 Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.'
37 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
37 Jesus replied, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.'
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
38 This is the great and first commandment.
38 This is the most important, the first on any list.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
(Read Matthew 22:34-40)
An interpreter of the law asked our Lord a question, to try, not so much his knowledge, as his judgment. The love of God is the first and great commandment, and the sum of all the commands of the first table. Our love of God must be sincere, not in word and tongue only. All our love is too little to bestow upon him, therefore all the powers of the soul must be engaged for him, and carried out toward him. To love our neighbour as ourselves, is the second great commandment. There is a self-love which is corrupt, and the root of the greatest sins, and it must be put off and mortified; but there is a self-love which is the rule of the greatest duty: we must have a due concern for the welfare of our own souls and bodies. And we must love our neighbour as truly and sincerely as we love ourselves; in many cases we must deny ourselves for the good of others. By these two commandments let our hearts be formed as by a mould.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 22:37
Commentary on Matthew 22:34-40
(Read Matthew 22:34-40)
An interpreter of the law asked our Lord a question, to try, not so much his knowledge, as his judgment. The love of God is the first and great commandment, and the sum of all the commands of the first table. Our love of God must be sincere, not in word and tongue only. All our love is too little to bestow upon him, therefore all the powers of the soul must be engaged for him, and carried out toward him. To love our neighbour as ourselves, is the second great commandment. There is a self-love which is corrupt, and the root of the greatest sins, and it must be put off and mortified; but there is a self-love which is the rule of the greatest duty: we must have a due concern for the welfare of our own souls and bodies. And we must love our neighbour as truly and sincerely as we love ourselves; in many cases we must deny ourselves for the good of others. By these two commandments let our hearts be formed as by a mould.