The great commandment: Coping with difficulties

The great commandment to love God and love ones neighbor should be the main thing that influences what Christians say and do. It should be the main thing in their lives. In this post we look at how these loves work.

This post is based on a presentation by Dr Darrell Bock of the Dallas Theological Seminary.

In the United States, there used to be a famous American Express commercial with the line: “American Express card: Don’t leave home without it”. I’ve changed this to: “Great commandment: Don’t leave home without it”. That’s where we’re going.

When Jesus was teaching in the temple two days before His crucifixion, “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?'” (Mk. 12:28NIV).

It’s an important question because according to tradition there are 613 commandments in the Torah. If you make a list from 1 to 613, that’s a lot of things to follow! So, someone asked, “What’s the most important one to do?”

“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’” (Mk. 12:29-30). This is the Shema (Dt. 6:4-5), with the addition of “the mind”.

“The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’. There is no commandment greater than these”.

“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 [Jesus] any more questions” (Mk. 12:31-34).

This occurred after a sequence of controversies raised in the last week of Jesus’ life.

1. Authority: Jesus had just come into Jerusalem and overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple—the most sacred spot on earth to a Jewish person. The Jewish religious leaders asked Him, “Who gave you the authority to do this?” (Mk. 11:28). They hadn’t. Jesus replied by raising the issue of John the Baptist’s baptism (“Was it from heaven or from earth?”), trapping the leaders (if they said “from earth” all the people thought He was from God; and if they said “from God” they’ll be asked why didn’t they respond to him). So, they refused to answer Him.
2. Parable of the wicked tenants: Then Jesus told them a parable about farmers who had rented a vineyard (Mk. 12:1-8). When the owners’ steward sends messengers to gather the fruit that has been harvested, there was no fruit to gather. So, they beat up the messengers and killed the owner’s son.
3. Taxes to Caesar: Jesus was asked another trick question about paying taxes to Rome (if Jesus said “no” they would tell the Romans, and if He said to pay the taxes then some of the Jews would be upset). Jesus answered with the famous, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Mk. 12:17). And they were unable to respond.
4. Resurrection: The Sadducees posed a scenario where a woman was married successively to seven brothers under levirate law, asking whose wife she would be in the resurrection (Mk. 12:18-25)? They were trying to show that resurrection doesn’t work. Jesus corrected them, explaining that life in the resurrection functions differently.

It is in this context of disputes that Jesus presents the great commandment. But how do these loves work?

The loves are linked

Mark 12:29-31 unites two texts: Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18. And it calls to mind Micah 6:1–8, where God brings an accusation against Israel for their unfaithfulness. When Israel asks if they should increase their sacrifices (to a thousand rams or even a child) to show their desire for restitution, Micah 6:8 responds: “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”.

This is the ethical core of the Bible. In the church we often focus on right doctrine and belief, but right practice is equally important. That’s the point that Jesus is making. Jesus links loving God and loving our neighbor.

Notice He says, “There is no commandment [singular] greater than these” (Mk. 12:31). He takes the two and links them together because if I am properly related to God, it will directly impact the way I relate to others. The two belong together. And that is how love works. The loves are linked.

So, when He’s asked the question about what’s the most important of all the 613 commandments of the Torah, He says love is the most important. But that love goes in two directions; to God and to others. And that love is linked – It’s not two commandments.

The loves work outward: The golden rule

This introduces the ethical triangle: my relationship to God, my relationship to others, and the other’s relationship to God. That’s the way God wants us to live. It’s the core ethical call of the Bible. For example, the Ten Commandments work the same way—Tablet 1 (commands 1-4) is about your relationship with God; Tablet 2 (commands 5-10) is about your relationship with your neighbor.

When we come to know the Lord, God takes the arrow that was previously pointing inward at ourselves (what’s best for us) and turns it outward (what’s best for others), making us sensitive to those around us. “Love your neighbor as yourself” is like the golden rule – “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.

Variations of the golden rule existed across ancient cultures (Rabbi Hillel, Sirach, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, Seneca, Confucius), but they were often stated negatively (“What is harmful to you, do not do to your neighbor”) or in limited contexts. Jesus states it in an unlimited, active manner: “Love your neighbor as yourself”. Don’t think about yourself first, think about your neighbor first.

This is illustrated in two passages in Luke. First, John the Baptist came to prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. His mission was to “bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God” (Lk. 1:16) and to “turn the hearts of the parents to their children” (Lk. 1:17). A prophet is designed to turn people back to God and to turn people back to one another (in the family and in society). And the people who are ready to go there are prepared for the coming of the Lord

Second, ^“John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him … Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Lk. 3:7-8). It is followed by verses showing what repentance looks like and where repentance and reconnecting to God is supposed to take us and what it means to be prepared for the coming of the Lord.

Then he said that you’re accountable to God for how you live before Him (Lk. 3:9). And then the crowds, tax collectors, and soldiers asked John, “What should we do to produce fruit worthy of repentance?” John told the crowd, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same”. He told the tax collectors, “Don’t collect any more than you are required to”. And he told the soldiers, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay” (Lk. 3:11-14).

Repentance is about your relationship with God. You repent before God. But after that they are told how to treat other people. Repentance toward God expresses itself horizontally in how we treat others. It involves the ethical triangle in the great commandment. Love God with all your heart mind soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. And because the two are linked, the way in which I relate to God is supposed to impact the way I’m relating to others. That’s the point that’s being made here.

The loves are our worship

The loves are also our worship. When Israel found itself in the dilemma of Micah chapter 6 the question it asked was maybe we should increase our worship. Maybe we should bring more calves to sacrifice to God. Or maybe even a child. We need to improve our practice of what happens within the temple.

But in Mark 12:33, the Jewish teacher notes that loving God and neighbor “is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” This is saying the worship that matters is tied to the great commandment. The worship that matters is how you love your neighbor as yourself. Such love is more important to God than the praise of our lips.

Now there’s another way to see this. In Luke 10:25-37 an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus saying, “Teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” The expert answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your strength with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself”. Jesus said to him “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live”. What this is telling us is when God moves to reconnect us to Himself, He’s moving to reconnect us to our love for Him and our love for others.

The means to get there is what comes next and what triggers this response interestingly enough because when we get a variation of this in Luke 18:21 the rich young ruler says, “I’ve done this from my childhood”. And so, Jesus says, I want you to give all that you have and come and follow me. The means to reconnect comes through Jesus. But this is where God’s trying to take us. He’s trying to take us into the great commandment. Our ability to love God and love others because our ability to love others will produce shalom. Our ability to love others will bring reconciliation. Our ability to love others will bring peace.

And there’s a second question. A teacher of the Jewish law wanting to justify himself said to Jesus “And who is my neighbor?” (Lk. 10:29). Now he’s asking a technical question. There’s a question underneath this question. In asking who is my neighbor, he’s actually asking this question, “Who’s not my neighbor”. Who doesn’t count. And he’s trying to limit who the neighbor is. So, his love is limited. That’s what he’s really trying to do.

So, Jesus tells the parable of the good Samaritan. A man was attacked by robbers and left for dead by the side of the road. First a priest comes and you think surely help is coming. But he hurries past the man. Then a Levite comes and you think surely help is coming. But he also hurries past the man. Then a Samaritan comes and you think that he is not going to help this man. But he stops and then in eight consecutive actions he cares for the man who was attacked by robbers.

And Jesus asked the teacher “who proved to be a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?” And the teacher knows the answer, but he can’t say the word “Samaritan”. So, he says “the one who showed mercy”. And Jesus says in effect, go and do likewise. The question is not who is my neighbor. The attitude is to be a neighbor. He flips the question. He changes the question from thinking about who that other person is to what our responsibility is.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart mind soul and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself. And so, the loves are worship and they show our worship and they’re designed to be the place where God is taking us. And now the really painful part of this passage. Not only is love supposed to extend to a Samaritan who didn’t count as a real person to true Jewish people, they thought they were a mixed breed, and Samaritans were dismissed. That’s why the teacher couldn’t say the word Samaritan.

But Christians are supposed to love their enemies. This is distinctive and unique. That’s in the sermon on the mount (Mt. 5:43-48) and in the sermon on the plain (Luke 6:27-36), where it says, “Love your enemies”. That reflects the character of God. It’s supposed to make us different. In fact, Jesus says “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them”. We’re supposed to be better than sinners. We’re not supposed to live in the world like a sinner does. We’re supposed to be distinct from the way sinners live. And so, we’re called to love not just those who love us, but we’re supposed to love our enemies. I’m not supposed to ask who my neighbor is, I am just supposed to be engaged in the love of my neighbor because of the security I have in loving God and the security He gives me out of His love. And sometimes neighbors might be like Samaritans!

The loves are where God wants us to go most of all

In Matthew 19:16-30 a rich young man asked Jesus, “Teacher what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” Jesus said to him “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only One who is good. If you want to enter into life keep the commandments”. “Which ones?” he asked. Jesus answers with the second half of the ten commandments, plus Leviticus 19, plus the second half of the great commandment – how I treat other people. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not give false testimony. Honor your father and mother. And love your neighbor as yourself.

That’s where God is trying to take us when He reconnects us to Him. Our devotion to God is supposed to be so deep and so total it impacts the way we relate to those that He’s made. The young man said that he had obeyed all these laws and asked, “What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him “If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me”. Of course, when the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful for he was very rich. And then Jesus said “It is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. … It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven”. The disciples were greatly astonished when they heard this and asked, “who then can be saved?”. The belief in Judaism was if you are rich you are blessed. So, if a rich man is going to have trouble getting into heaven what does that say for the poor man and everybody else? Then Jesus said that salvation only comes from God and can’t it be bought or earnt.

Then Peter said “We have left everything to follow you! What then will be there for us?” He’s asking, have we done what you just asked the rich man to do? And remember that the answer to the question is to follow the commandments. The only way I’m going to be able to follow commandments is to be connected to Jesus. The restoration that He brings and the changed heart that He brings, that’s what He’s saying.

Then Jesus said “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life”. There’s the answer to our question. The connection to Jesus changes the way people live. It allows us to love God fully and to understand God’s love. And it allows us to love our neighbor as ourselves because the loves are where God wants us to go, most of all He wants us to be lovers of others.

The loves reflect God

When we love as God loved, we reflect God. And that’s the call of the passage. This is why the great commandment is the main thing. It’s comprehensive. It’s stunning in its scope. It lives in a space called love for God and love for others. And to love God and others is the ethical call of the Bible from Micah all the way into the New Testament. And they’re to be linked: my love for God and my love for others. To love God and others is our call. It’s a call to the real worship of God. To love God and to love others is how we reflect what eternal life is to be about because it takes us to shalom. To love God and to love others is to reflect the character of God. It is all relational, just as the fruit of the spirit is relational (Gal. 5:22-23).

It’s that central. And the main thing is never what we believe alone, but how we believe it. So how does our text in Mark 12 end? It says “No one dared ask Him any more questions” because in presenting the great commandment Jesus was not only answering a question, He was also showing where God wants to take us all along. In saving us and in giving us life, God calls us to focus on the main thing. So, love God thoroughly. Love your neighbor as yourself, including enemies. And you will please God by the way you reflect Him to others. Because God loved us the same way. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” And I like to simplify this down to this “God so loved the world that He gave”. That’s supposed to be our heart. That’s how we’re supposed to reflect God. And so, you will please God by the way you reflect Him to others. You will go where God was taking you all along when He saved you. And that’s to the one who connects us to God and to the one who shows the way of love and to the love that makes for shalom. A love for God and a love for others.

Lessons for us

The great commandment to love God and love our neighbor should be the main thing that influences what we say and do. It should resolve and settle controversies, debates, disputes and questions because it’s the best way to cope with the difficulties of life.

We have looked at how our loves work. They are linked. Our love for God is linked to our love to another. The loves work outward like the golden rule – “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. I’m supposed to be sensitive to the people around me. The loves are our worship They involve what our worship is all about. The loves are where God wants us to go most of all. When we ask where God is supposed to take us in our relationship with Him our devotion to Him means we’re going to be devoted to the people He’s made in His image. And the loves reflect the character of God, particularly His love.

Let’s keep the great commandment as the main thing in our lives.

Prayer

Father we thank you for your goodness and your grace. We thank you for the greatness of the great commandment. It’s called great for a reason. And so, our prayer is that we might reflect your heart in reaching out and touching us when we were not interested in being connected to you. And that you would help us to relate to others well. And the challenge of this passage isn’t just that we’re called to love our neighbor, but we’re supposed to love our neighbor no matter who that neighbor is. Whether they are positive towards us or negative, we’re supposed to love them. We can’t do it without your Spirit. We can’t do it without your guidance. We can’t do it without your example. And we can’t do it without appreciating your love for us. So, help us to do all those things well and teach us to be good lovers of our neighbor as a reflection of our love for you because in that way we take one step closer not just to reconciliation but to shalom.
In Jesus name, Amen.

This post comes from a presentation by Dr Darrell Bock of the Dallas Theological Seminary.

Posted, August 2026