by Dwight A. Pryor
WHY WOULD AN EXPERT in the Torah (a “lawyer”) ask Yeshua “which commandment in the Law is the greatest?” (Matt 22:36 NRSV). Was this a trick question, “to test” or “tempt” (KJV) him (22:35)?
How can one commandment be called the “greatest” (Gk megas)? There are hundreds ofmitzvot in the Torah (613 according to rabbinic count). Are some less important or not so “great”? Even Jesus states that whoever keeps “the least” of the commandments and teaches others to do the same “shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven” (5:19).
To confuse matters further, Jesus cites two commands when asked for one! How many “great commandments” are there? One or two?
WHAT WE HAVE HERE is a translation’s failure to communicate. To understand this weighty text we need to situate it in its original Jewish context, including the teaching traditions of Israel’s Sages. That will help to clarify its meaning, as well as draw attention to a vital point in Jesus’ reply that often is missed by Christian readers.
Actually, the incident depicted in Matthew 22:35ff (and Mark 12:28ff) was not an uncommon one in the first century. Experts in halakhah (legal rulings) might well ask a sage like Yeshua, “Rabbi/Teacher, how do you read the Torah? What do you take to be its summarizing principle, its core or great precept?”
Before and after the time of Jesus, sages like the esteemed Hillel and Rabbi Akiva attempted to formulate a condensed set of precepts or principles that represented the whole Torah. Some suggested that the Ten Commandments could be viewed in this way. One said that Micah 6:8 (“O Man, what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?) constituted a foundational summary of our Torah responsibilities. Another proposal was Habakkuk 2:4 (“The righteous shall live by his faith/fullness”). Hillel and Akiva, by the way, agreed that Leviticus 19:18 is the core precept of the Torah: “And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
So the lawyer’s question to Jesus was not some kind of trick or disguised test, but a genuine inquiry as to his interpretation of the Torah. Nor was Jesus’ reply entirely novel or unexpected; it was fully consistent with the best of Second Temple Jewish values. However, to understand the unique and striking implications of his answer we must consider the rabbinic style of teaching he employs here.
Jesus is saying far more than that the “great commandment” actually consists of two parts: a) love of God (Deut 6:5) and b) love of neighbor (Lev 19:18). He uses a foundational Jewish method of scriptural exegesis called gezera shava. The Sages liked to interpret Scripture by Scripture. To explicate the meaning of a verse therefore they would look elsewhere in the Bible for another verse with the same key word or phrase, and then use the second text to interpret the meaning of the first. This is arguing by gezera shava or verbal analogy.
The key phrase in Deut 6:5 that Jesus picks up on is “And you shall love…” (v’ahavta). He then links it with the identical phrase in Lev 19:18, “And you shall love…” (v’ahavta), thereby using the latter to interpret the intent of the former. The love of God requires and is expressed through the love of neighbor, he claims.
Lev 19:18 therefore is not a ‘second-place’ command. For Jesus it is equivalent to Deut 6:5. He inseparably links these two scriptures together—so that the two become one!
THIS UNDERSTANDING OF the “great commandment” is consistent with Yeshua’s teaching on another occasion when he states the core precept of the Torah this way: "Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matt 7:12). This is his variation on Lev 19:18.
We also now can reconcile the Apostle Paul’s view with that of his Rabbi, Jesus: “For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Gal 5:14 NRSV). Paul is not overlooking the obligation to “love God…” Rather from the Master he learned that Deut 6:5 is fulfilled in the doing of Lev 19:18. This truly is the ‘mega mitzva’!
==============
Want to study this subject in-depth? We recommend The Mega Commandment.
Take me back to the library. Or if you prefer, back to the topic Godly Living.