09/03/2026
Matthew 22:34–40 is one of the clearest teachings Jesus gave about what God desires most from His people: love for God and love for others.
📖 Matthew 22:34–40 — KJV
The Pharisees asked Jesus a question designed to test Him:
> “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” — Matthew 22:36
Jesus answered:
> “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
— Matthew 22:37
Then He said:
> “This is the first and great commandment.”
— Matthew 22:38
And immediately He gave the second:
> “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
— Matthew 22:39
Then Jesus made an extremely important statement:
> “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
— Matthew 22:40
1. What does “love the Lord thy God” mean?
Jesus is saying that God must have first place in our lives.
He names three areas:
All thy heart — your desires, affections, and devotion.
All thy soul — your very life and being.
All thy mind — your thoughts, understanding, and will.
This isn't merely saying, “Believe that God exists.” It means to devote yourself to God.
Deuteronomy 6:5, which Jesus is quoting, gives the same command.
In simple terms:
God comes first.
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2. What does “love thy neighbour as thyself” mean?
Jesus' second commandment concerns how we treat other people.
To love your neighbour doesn't mean that you will always agree with everyone or approve of everything they do. It means you should seek their good rather than deliberately harming, exploiting, or hating them.
This principle is reflected throughout Scripture.
For example:
Romans 13:10 KJV:
> “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”
So genuine love produces righteous behavior.
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3. What does “hang all the law and the prophets” mean?
This is probably the most important part of the passage.
Jesus isn't saying that the Old Testament commandments were unimportant. He is explaining that the entire moral purpose of God's law is centered upon these two relationships:
Our relationship with God → love God.
Our relationship with people → love our neighbour.
The commandments concerning worship, righteousness, honesty, mercy, relationships, and treatment of others all fit under these fundamental principles.
You could picture it like this:
LOVE GOD
↓
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR
↓
RIGHT ACTION TOWARD GOD AND PEOPLE
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🎯 What is the purpose of Matthew 22:34–40?
1. To show what God considers greatest
The Pharisees were concerned with the Law and its commandments. Jesus brought them to the heart of the Law.
It's possible to know many Scriptures and commandments while failing to love God and others.
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2. To reveal the proper order of our lives
Notice the order Jesus gives:
First: Love God.
Second: Love your neighbour.
Our love for other people is supposed to flow from our relationship with God.
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3. To expose hypocrisy
The Pharisees were testing Jesus, but Jesus' answer went deeper than their question.
Later, Jesus strongly condemned religious hypocrisy in Matthew 23.
A person can have religious knowledge, outward works, and religious position while having a heart that isn't right with God.
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4. To teach that love produces obedience
Jesus isn't teaching that love means ignoring God's commandments.
Rather, true love for God leads us toward obedience to God.
Jesus said in John 14:15:
> “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
So biblical love isn't merely an emotion. It produces action.
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✝️ The deeper message
Matthew 22:34–40 can be summarized this way:
If you truly love God, your relationship with God should change the way you treat people.
And if someone claims to love God while deliberately living in hatred toward others, Scripture challenges that claim.
1 John 4:20 KJV says:
> “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar...”
Therefore, Jesus gives us a powerful test of genuine faith:
Do I love God with my whole being?
And:
Does that love cause me to treat other people with love, mercy, honesty, and righteousness?
The purpose in one sentence:
Matthew 22:34–40 teaches that the entire purpose and spirit of God's commandments is fulfilled in rightly loving God first and loving our neighbour as ourselves.
