“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Parallel translations
- WEB “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”
- KJV Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
- BSB “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?”
- NASB “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
- NLT “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
He asks which is the greatest commandment in the law. The question seeks the central principle of God's requirements.
Overview
Jewish teachers debated how to weigh the many commandments, so the question carried real significance. By asking for the greatest, the lawyer probes Jesus' grasp of the law's essence. Jesus' answer will distill the whole law into love for God and neighbor.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Mark 12:28–33One of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together. Knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?”
- Matt 5:19–20Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Luke 11:42But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you bypass justice and God’s love. You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.
- Matt 23:23–24“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.
- Hos 8:12I wrote for him the many things of my law; but they were regarded as a strange thing.
- Matt 15:6he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 22:36 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.