Table of Contents
When one reads about “The Greatest Commandment” in the Scriptures, immediately, one thinks that it is something hard to accomplish. Human beings have many flaws that make their Christian lives very challenging. But, as they read the Sacred Scriptures, they are able to find the hope and certainty of God’s will for their lives that are only possible through the understanding of His Word. Matthew 22:40 states that “all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments,” meaning the first two commandments of the Law of Moses. It is necessary to understand that the greatest commandment can be seen: through the fear of God and obedience, through the love towards God and one’s neighbor, an act of love demonstrated by Jesus himself, and by showing love through personal praise. Ultimately, in order to fulfill the statutes of God can only be achieved through love that goes in two directions: towards God, and towards the other.
Fear of God (Deuteronomy 6:2-6)
In Deutoronomy, which means “the second law,” one finds Moses giving direction to the people of Israel with a long sermon. They were about to enter and own the land of Canaan, and Moses, as their leader and spiritual pastor, taught them the statutes and commandments that Yahweh had given him. In chapter 6:2, the fear of God is mentioned, which is defined as “our proper attitude toward God”. Thus, to fear God is to “love him” by keeping his commandments. For instance, in Genesis 17:1 God tells Abram, known later as the Father of the Faith: “I am Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless”. Walking correctly before God brought many blessings to the life of Abram, like becoming the Father of the Nations when his name was changed by God to Abraham.
Subsequently, those blessings were inherited to his son Isaac, then to Isaac’s son, Jacob, father of the 12 tribes of Israel (Gen 49:28). Similarly, in Deu 5:31, God tells Moses: “stand here by me” and instructs him to teach his people the statutes and ordinances. Likewise, if the people of Israel obeyed the statutes and commandments, they would have rewards and blessings from God; their children and their children’s children, including the land and the fruit of it would prosper; the cattle would be multiplied and they would have abundant health, seen later in chapter 7:12-17.
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However, fear of God and obedience were only possible in one way. According to Deuteronomy 6:5-6, to walk uprightly before God was not an easy task for the people of Israel. It would only be possible through a love of God, that is, the commandments had to be fulfilled with sincerity, placed directly in the heart. But, to love God is not just from one perspective; it is clearly stated in verse 5: to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might, which might be considered three levels of love expected by God. According to Duane L. Christensen, “our love for God is to embrace the whole of our mind, both conscious and unconscious. Self-discipline is required, in that one needs to love God with all one’s might as well.”
Finally, when Moses says “these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart,” it is not literal, but means that the people ought to internalize the law, clearly seen in Jeremiah 31:33 when God declares: “I will put my law within them, and I will write upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” This is a foreshadowing of what God does to those who love Him and follow his statutes.
To Love God and our Neighbor (Mark 12:28B-34)
In the New Testament, one finds a person greater than Moses, the Lord Jesus Christ who dedicated a great part of his ministry teaching the Sacred Scriptures. As a result, there were different groups of people who came to listen to him, like disciples, scribes, and pharisees among many. For example, the pharisees were great connoisseurs of the law given by Moses and they were able to recite it from memory. Also, they were responsible for teaching the law and liked showing-off in front of everyone. As it is stated in Luke 18:9, they “trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others.” Nevertheless, they honored God with their lips, but their heart was far away from Him (Mk 7:6).
In Mark 12:28, one scribe comes with an open heart to learn from the Master (Jesus) and asks him “which is the first commandment of all?”, then Jesus talks about how they have to live according to his commandments and statutes. Evidently, this teaching exhorts them to love in a sublime way. For example, Jesus Christ teaches that all the fulfillment of the law and of the prophets consists of the two precepts of love for God and for our neighbor. These precepts of love, that is, of charity, are of such a nature that if man believed that he had done something good, but without charity, he is totally wrong.
Furthermore, perfect love is in three parts because human living consists of the unity of three things: our body, our soul, and our spirit. In other words, Jesus teaches the scribe that he should prefer to love God with all his heart, all his soul, and all his mind, above all things. Literally, his heart refers to the temperament of the body, his soul as the medium, and finally with all his mind meaning the most excellent faculty, through which one understands and does everything. Then, in verse 31, Jesus adds “you should love your neighbor as yourself.”
According to the Church Fathers, this is the peak of all virtues, and also the foundation. When one loves God, consequently, one will love one’s neighbor because one cannot love God without loving others, and one cannot love others without loving God; these two loves cannot be perfect without one another . Evidently, the words of Jesus brought the scribe a revelation where he understood that to love God with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your soul, and to love your neighbor as well, is more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices, as it is written in 1 Samuel 15:22, when prophet Samuel said “obeying the voice of the Lord…is better than sacrifice”.
Certainly, loving God with the whole being, being merciful with the neighbor, elevates to a dignity superior to any sacrifice and holocaust. In fact, Jesus Christ does not look for anything or desire anything but the love of his people and their obedience of his statutes. When one loves their neighbor, he procures everything that makes that person happy. Similarly, if one loves God sincerely, one will strive to fulfill God’s will and not try to anger Him. Love can be shown through charities towards others, putting them first, sacrificing one’s comfort to help them, etc. Truly, love is fundamental to become a virtuous man or woman of God.
The Act of Love Demonstrated by Jesus (Hebrews 7:23-28)
In the old testament there were people who dedicated themselves to the priesthood in the service of God; Aaron was one of the priests chosen by God (Ex 28:1). Priests were the mediators between God and His people (Ex 28:41) In fact, they were all a foreshadowing of the divine ministry of the Messiah (comes from the hebrew “māšīah” meaning the “anointed one”)(Heb 8:6). During the history of the people of Israel, there were always priests in office. In fact, there were numerous priests throughout history because death prevented them from continuing (Heb 7:23).
God, in his infinite grace, commanded Jesus Christ to present himself as an excellent offering, according to Hebrews 7:24-26. Therefore, Jesus is in the position to save in a definitive manner those who approach God through him, since he is always alive to intercede on their behalf (v.23-25) . According to the Law of Moses, people lived in relation to those statutes and commandments, so they received good things and blessings from God because it was an act based on rules given by the commandments. In fact, the Jews were told to write the commandments literally in their hands, in front of their eyes and on the posts of their houses (according to Deu 6:9), but now the word of God has to be applied on a more personal level (Psa 119:48).
Therefore, all the law given in the Old Testament is now reduced to only two commandments that are based on love for God and one’s neighbor; and this is because Jesus Christ has amended the old covenant (Heb 7:27). For that reason, the passage concludes with a portrayal of the ideal high priest, Jesus Christ, who evidently transcends the high priests of the Law of Moses (v.26-28). As it is stated: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘Thou art a priest for ever.’” This makes Jesus the surety of a better covenant.” (Hebrews 7:21B-22). Ultimately, the Holy Scriptures reaffirm that God is interested in writing his word in people’s hearts, this way, their thinking and acting will be with love, which is the covenant of grace that Jesus Christ brought to humanity (Heb 8:10).
Showing Love to God through Personal Praise (Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51)
Truly, Psalm 18 doesn’t need to be interpreted because it is so clear that king David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote a song of praise to the Lord for his salvation from his enemies and from the hand of Saul. In fact, all David is doing is repaying all these favors and blessings from God with love. As Theodoret of Cyrus commented, “service to the beloved follows on love” because “love bears everything…believes everything, hopes everything, endures everything; love never disappears” (1Co 13:7-8). In the end, love is the only way one can repay God for all his goodness. In the beginning, it was required by law to “love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your might (Deu 6:5)”, but according to Theodoret’s commentary, David is so blessed that he promises to love God “because he could not bear to have satiety of love.” In other words, he could not contain the feeling of love towards God so he composes a song with words that describe God’s goodness in different ways.
According to James Luther Mays, Psalm 18: 2 can be considered a declaration of praise that contains a large number of qualifications towards God found in the Sacred Scripture . Using the possessive pronoun “my” before every predicate is repeated every time to emphasize the dependence of the person of the psalmist on the person of God . For example, David says: “I love you, Lord, my strength.” He calls God strength as though he had share in it,” just like Moses sang with the people of Israel after crossing the Red Sea (Ex 15:2).
Also, David calls God rock of refuge as though having God as a wall. Furthermore, the phrase “my rock” is frequently seen in the Psalms and in poetry elsewhere and, in a metaphorical sense, appears to lie in the character of rock as support . In verse 3, David exalts God by saying: “Praised be the Lord, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies”(Psa 18:3). Truly, this exclamation of praise gives David a sense of hope like in Hannah’s prayer when she said: “my mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in thy salvation” (1Sa 2:1). As a matter of fact, after praising, there is a sense of victory ahead of time, which comes through faith.
In Psalm 18:47 one finds the ratification of praise. In other words, David is proclaiming that God lives, meaning that he is a God that acts and moves in favor of his faithful. Then, he says “blessed by my rock,” reiterating that he is dependent of God’s protection; and lastly, he proclaims “exalted be the God of my salvation,” praising Him for his salvation from his enemies. Lastly, in verse 50, David speaks to the human audience about himself. He’s saying that the victory was given to him, but not only to him, but to God’s chosen people. Furthermore, the victory then tells of the future of David’s descendants forever, all the families of the earth.
Truly, this needs to be understood as a prophecy that remained to understand David’s seed, who has “eternal luster, as Christ the Lord, born of David according to the flesh,” who rejoiced as a human being at the end of his days, even before the ages as creator and God . Clearly, David is considered a man after God’s own heart because of his attributes, which are a great road map for how Christians should live their lives. To name a few, he was loving (Psa 18:1), trusting (Psa 27:1), faithful (Psa 23:6), and obedient (Psa 119:34). David’s life is an example of a person who truly loves God and shows it through personal praise, as Christians ought to do.
In conclusion, to love God with all our heart, soul, and might is important to all Christians, and in order to fulfill the “Greatest Commandment” is only through the fear of God imprinted in our heart. This sincere love is directed in two ways: towards God and one’s neighbor. To love one’s neighbor as oneself is the peak of all virtues, demonstrated by Jesus himself. To walk upright before God is not an easy task, but if Christians just love God and their neighbor, everything else becomes easier because love bears everything (1 Cor 13:7). Finally, everything comes together through love: blessings, uprightness before God, obedience, a heart full of worship, a virtuous life, and ultimately, a life full of victories.
Bibliography
- O’Collins, Gerald and Edward G. Farrugia. A Concise Dictionary of Theology. New York, N.Y.: Paulist Press, 1991, 77.
- Christensen, Duane L. World Biblical Commentary: Deuteronomy 1:1-21:9, revised, volume 6a. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001, 143.
- Oden, Thomas C. And Christopher A. Hall. La Biblia Comentada por los Padres de la Iglesia: Evangelio Según San Marcos (English original title: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture). Downers Grove, I.L.: Inner Varsity Press, 1998, 235-237.
- Vanhoye, Albert SJ. Old Testament Priests and the New Priest According to the New Testament. Petersham, Massachusetts: St. Bede’s Publications, 1986, 163.
- Hill, Robert C. Theodoret of Cyrus: Commentary on the Psalms 1-72. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2000, 123-124, 131.
- Mays, James Luther. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1994, 91.
- Charry, Ellen T. Psalms 1-50: Sighs and Songs of Israel. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press, 2015, 91.
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 152.” USCCB.org. http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110418.cfm (accessed September 27, 2018). - Bible. Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, Second Edition (Electronic App version). San Francisco, C.A.:Ignatius Press, 2001.
