Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Then he added a second: love your neighbor as yourself. In Mark 12:28-34, a teacher of the law asks Jesus which commandment is most important, and Jesus sums up the entire Old Testament in these two commands. The man agrees that love matters more than religious rituals, and Jesus tells him he is “not far from the kingdom of God.”
Setting the Scene in Mark 12:28-34
Jesus was still in the temple courts on Tuesday of Holy Week, fielding one hostile question after another. He had just silenced the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection (Mark 12:18-27). But this next question is different. For the first time in this series of confrontations, someone seems to be asking out of sincere interest rather than trying to trap him.
An Honest Question
A teacher of the law had been listening and was impressed.
Mark 12:28-31 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Teachers of the law, also called scribes, were experts in studying, copying, and interpreting the Scriptures. They often debated which commandments carried the most weight. Later rabbis counted 613 commandments in the Law of Moses: 248 positive commands, matching what they believed was the number of parts in the human body, and 365 prohibitions, one for each day of the year. With so many commands, people naturally asked which ones were most important, or which one summed up the rest.
A famous story in the Talmud tells of a Gentile who asked Rabbi Hillel to teach him the whole law while standing on one foot. Hillel replied, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary. Go and learn it.” The teacher in Mark was asking Jesus a similar question.
Love God With Everything
Jesus answered by quoting the Shema, the most well-known passage in the Jewish faith.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
“Shema” is the Hebrew word for “hear,” the first word of the passage. Devout Jews recited it twice a day, morning and evening, and still do. Jesus himself likely prayed it every day of his life. It begins with a declaration that God is one, a radical statement in a world full of many gods. Because there is only one God, he deserves our total devotion.
Jesus’ quotation lists heart, soul, mind, and strength. In Hebrew thinking, these weren’t separate compartments. The heart was the center of thought and will, the soul was the whole self or life, and strength meant every resource and ability. Jesus added “mind,” possibly to make clear for Greek-speaking listeners that loving God includes our thinking. The point is that God wants all of us: our emotions, our intellect, our choices, and our energy. Love for God isn’t one part of life. It’s the whole of life.
Love Your Neighbor
The teacher asked for one commandment, but Jesus gave two. The second comes from Leviticus 19:18: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” That verse was tucked into a list of laws about treating people fairly, not holding grudges, and caring for the poor. Jesus lifted it up and put it right next to the Shema.
Why two? Because they can’t be separated. Love for God always overflows into love for people. John later put it bluntly.
1 John 4:20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.
In Luke’s Gospel, when someone asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” he answered with the parable of the Good Samaritan, showing that our neighbor is anyone in need, even someone from a group we don’t like (Luke 10:25-37). Matthew adds Jesus’ comment that “all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:40). Every other command in Scripture is an application of loving God and loving people.
Not Far From the Kingdom
The teacher’s response shows real insight.
Mark 12:32-34 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
Standing in the temple courts, surrounded by the sights and smells of animal sacrifices, this man said that loving God and loving people is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. He was echoing the prophets. Samuel said, “To obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22), and Hosea wrote that God desires mercy, not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6). Just the day before, Jesus had cleared the temple of merchants (Mark 11:12-25). This teacher understood that religious activity without love misses the point.
Jesus told him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” That was both a compliment and an invitation. The man was close, but close isn’t the same as in. Knowing the right answer about loving God isn’t the same as following the One who perfectly fulfilled it. The man needed to take the next step and follow Jesus.
After this, Mark says, no one dared ask Jesus any more questions. Every challenge had failed.
Why We Need More Than a Command
If we’re honest, none of us has loved God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, or loved our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. These commands are beautiful, but they also show us how far we fall short. The only person who has ever kept them perfectly is Jesus. He loved the Father completely, and he loved his neighbors all the way to the cross.
That’s the good news. Jesus didn’t just teach the greatest commandment. He fulfilled it for us, died for our failures, and gives us his Spirit so we can begin to love the way he loves. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
What This Means for Us
It’s possible to know a lot about the Bible and still miss its heart. The Bible isn’t mainly a rulebook. It’s the story of a God who loves us and invites us to love him back. Every time we read Scripture, pray, or serve, the question is whether it’s leading us to love God and people more.
Start with the simple question: Am I loving God with everything I have, and am I loving the people around me? If not, ask Jesus to fill you with his love. He won’t leave you “not far.” He’ll bring you all the way in.
The Takeaway
What is the greatest commandment? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. These two commands sum up the whole Bible. Love matters more than religious activity, and Jesus is the one who perfectly fulfilled these commands and empowers us to live them.
