Now, after two attempts to try and bait or trick Jesus into making a mistake (see Mark 12:13-27), this next question actually seems like it might be legitimate (especially considering what is written later in this chapter).
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?”
Mark 12:28 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.12.28.NIV
Matthew 22:34-40 identifies the asker here as a Pharisee, and presents the question as a test [ref. Black, p.215]; however, it still seems like less of a trap than the previous two. Maybe this teacher was still fishing for Jesus to make a mistake, or maybe he was just going back to standard “rabbi questions” (i.e., a question-and-answer method of teaching and testing that was used in that day).
“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.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:29-31 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.12.29-31.NIV
My understanding is that these two commandments – from Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19 – were already considered in that day to be the most important. And, rather than refuting that idea, Jesus affirmed it.
- Loving God – fully, completely, entirely, and with our whole self – is key. And, this wasn’t love for just any God, but specifically loving the One God of Israel, the great I AM.
- Then, the second most important commandment is loving people (who are, by the way, created by God, in the image of God). Jesus taught us in the parable of the “good Samaritan” that our neighbors include those who may not be like us externally, but who need our help. And, we aren’t just to love our neighbor superficially; instead, we are to love our neighbor like we love ourselves.
While I think that it is good for us to understand the whole passage, these two great commandments have been summarized simply as, “Love God; love people”, and that’s short enough for me to easily remember. The more that we remember to love God and love people, though, the more that we can also dig into the rest of the details (i.e., to do an even better job of loving both God and people).
Love God. Love people. Easy to say, but it can take a lifetime of learning and practice to live it out.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for November 23, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Mark, by Allen Black. © 1995 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 