Which Is the Great Commandment? Part 2
“And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
After telling us to love God with everything we’ve got, Jesus Christ gives the essential key to human relationships. Selfishness destroys relationships, and this love is the antidote. Loving others as ourselves means we will consider how our actions affect others. This is related to what is often called the Golden Rule: “Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
In the same way the great commandment summarized the first four of the 10 Commandments, loving our neighbors summarizes and gives life to the last six (Exodus 20:12-17). These two great commandments expand out to the 10 Commandments, which can be magnified to reveal the essence of the whole Bible—the Law and the Prophets, along with the New Testament as well.
Study more about God’s law in our series on the “10 Commandments.”
