The Greatest Commandment
Q: What is the most important thing in the Bible?
A: Jesus both tells us, and shows us, what is most important.
Mark 12:31
"There is no commandment greater than these.”
The Greatest Commandment
Matthew 22:34-40
When the Pharisees heard that he [Jesus] had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 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.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Notice that at the end: "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Mark 12:28-31
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 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 one is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Notice that at the end: "There is no commandment greater than these."
Luke 10:25-37
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii [one denarius was the usual day’s wage for a laborer], gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
The more I read the parable of The Good Samaritan, the more I get out of it:
- Kindness Takes Courage. The Samaritan doesn't know if the robbers are still in the area. Helping the merchant is a very brave thing to do.
- The Key Factor. The difference between the Samaritan and the others is that he had compassion. For a stranger. Jesus says that compassion is the most important factor.
- Kindness May Take Money. The Samaritan spends his own money to help the merchant. And he doesn't set any limit on how much money the innkeeper can spend.
- Personal Responsibility. Jesus doesn't care why the merchant chose to be on that road, or why he chose to travel alone, or why he chose to be unarmed. He just establishes that the merchant needs help -- and the priest and the Levite chose not to help.
- Spiritual Priorities. Jesus doesn't say why the priest and the Levite passed by on the other side. Were they in a hurry? Were they on their way to an important religious gathering? Jesus doesn't care. They didn't help. Only the Samaritan was doing God's work.
- Personal Responsibility. Jesus does not list Divine Intervention as an option. Angels aren't going to swoop down and save the merchant. It's up to the strangers who pass by. They are personally responsible for the merchant.
- Know Your Bible History. When the Samaritan helps the merchant, he is helping someone from a different country, and with a different religion.
These points really challenge me. Would I have the courage to follow the example Jesus gives? I hope so. He says it's important. Even though Jesus' audience hated the Samaritans, a Samaritan ends up being a hero in a story told by Jesus Christ!
John is the only Gospel that doesn’t have a version of The Greatest Commandment. But in John, Jesus says this:
John 13:34
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
Well, that’s pretty similar to The Greatest Commandment after all.
Some people insist that every Bible verse has equal weight. But Jesus says the Greatest Commandment trumps all other laws.
The Miracles
After the Greatest Commandment, the miracles of Jesus have to carry a lot of weight. Here is the all-powerful God in human form. What does he do with that power?
The Bible says that Jesus performed a large number of miracles, but the four Gospels record only 35 in detail. Of those 35, five are mystical in nature:
1. Calming a storm – Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:37-41, and Luke 8:22-25.
2. Walking on water – Matthew 14:25, Mark 6:48-51, and John 6:19-21.
3. Turning water into wine – John 2:1-11.
4. Withering a fig tree – Matthew 21:18-21, and Mark 11:12-14, then 20-25.
5. Finding a coin in a fish to pay the temple tax – Matthew 17:24-27.
But all of the rest have to do with Jesus either feeding the hungry, or healing the sick. Here’s a list of the rest of the other 30 miracles recorded in detail. I got this (and the five above) from the back pages of my Revised Standard Version Bible.
1. Healing a man with leprosy, Matthew 8:2-4, Mark 1:40-42, and Luke 5:12-13.
2. Healing a Roman centurion’s servant, Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10.
3. Healing Peter’s mother-in-law, Matthew 8:14-15, Mark 1:30-31, and Luke 4:38-39.
4. Healing two Gadarena demoniacs, Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-15, and Luke 8:27-35.
5. Healing a paralyzed man, Matthew 9:2-7, Mark 2:3-12, and Luke 5:18-25.
6. Healing a woman with hemorrhages, Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-29, and Luke 8:43-48.
7. Healing two blind men, Matthew 9:27-31.
8. Healing a mute, demon-possessed man, Matthew 9:32-33.
9. Healing a man with a withered hand, Matthew 12:10-13, Mark 3:1-5, and Luke 6:6-10.
10. Healing a blind, mute, demon-possessed man, Matthew 12:22 and Luke 11:14.
11. Healing a Canaanite woman’s daughter, Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30.
12. Healing a boy with a demon, Matthew 17:14-18, Mark 9:17-29, and Luke 9:38-43.
13. Healing two blind men (including Bartimaeus), Matthew 20:29-34, Mark 10:46-52, and Luke 18:35-43.
14. Healing a deaf man with a speech impediment, Mark 7:31-37.
15. Healing a possessed man in the synagogue, Mark 1:23-26 and Luke 4:33-35.
16. Healing a blind man at Bethsaida, Mark 8:22-26.
17. Healing a crippled woman, Luke 13:11-13.
18. Healing a man with dropsy, Luke 14:1-4.
19. Healing ten men with leprosy, Luke 17:11-19.
20. Healing the high priest’s slave, Luke 22:50-51.
21. Healing the official’s son at Capernaum, John 4:46-54.
22. Healing the sick man at the pool of Beth-zatha, John 5:1-9.
23. Healing the man born blind, John 9:1-7.
24. Raising Lazarus from the dead, John 11:1-44.
25. Raising the widow’s son at Nain from the dead, Luke 7:11-15.
26. Raising Jairus’s daughter from the dead, Matthew 9:18-19, then 23-25; Mark 5:22-24, then 38-42; and Luke 8:41-42, then 49-56.
27. Feeding 5,000 men, plus women and children, Matthew 14:15-21, Mark 6:35-44, Luke 9:12-17, and John 6:5-13.
28. Feeding 4,000 men, plus women and children, Matthew 15:32-38 and Mark 8:1-9.
29. A large catch of fish, Luke 5:4-11.
30. Another large catch of fish, John 21:1-11.
In addition to the miracles listed above, Jesus performed many more that were not recorded in detail. Here’s one example:
Matthew 4:23-24
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and sickness among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them.
These miracles are performed on an unspecified (but large) number of people. Following is a list that I came up with myself (using my NRSV), so I may have missed some:
1. Healing of many people who came to him throughout Galilee, Matthew 4:23-24 (above).
2. Healing of many after healing Peter’s mother-in-law, Matthew 8:16, Mark 1:32-34, and Luke 4:40-41.
3. Healing of the sick in the crowd that follows him, Matthew 12:15, Mark 3:10-12, and Luke 5:15.
4. Healing the sick in the crowd before feeding the 5,000, Matthew 14:14, Luke 9:11, and John 6:2.
5. Healing of many sick people in Gennesaret, Matthew 14:36 and Mark 6:53-56.
6. Healing of all of the sick in the crowd before feeding the 4,000, Matthew 15:30.
7. Healing of the blind and lame who come to him in the temple, Matthew 21:14.
8. Healing of the sick in Nazareth, Mark 6:5.
9. Healing many who are sick and possessed, Mark 6:13, Luke 9:6, and Luke 10:17. (These miracles were done by the disciples, but with power given them by Jesus, and on his orders.)
10. Healing of a great multitude, Luke 6:17-19.
11. Healing of many people after he raises the widow’s son at Nain, Luke 7:21.
12. Healing of Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna and others, Luke 8:2-3.
So we see that the extra miracles that Jesus performed were also miracles of healing. Lots and lots of miracles of healing.
Jesus Commands His Followers
In Matthew chapter 10, Jesus sends his apostles out into the world, and this is what he orders them to do:
Matthew 10:7-8
As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.
He tells them to heal.
In Matthew chapter 11, John The Baptist sends his disciples to ask Jesus if Jesus is really the Messiah. How does Jesus answer?
Matthew 11:2-5
Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”
In the 25th chapter of Matthew, Jesus makes it clear that he’s not just kidding around about helping people who need help:
Matthew 25:31-46
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand, and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and give you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did it not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”