Once again, the religious authorities tried to trip up Jesus with a difficult question. This question from one of their experts provides us an opportunity to learn from Jesus about the most important choice in life.
“When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, an expert in the law, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?'” (Matthew 22:34-36).
Jesus’ answer is well known, but often overlooked.
“He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.'” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Loving God
Contemporary culture often sees love as a feeling. We speak of falling in love when two people feel romantic attraction.
In the Old Testament and in Jesus’ time, love was defined more by obedience than by feelings. If you loved God, you did what God asked you to do.
I encourage you to read John, chapters 13 through 17. As you read, notice how often love is mentioned and how closely it is connected to following Jesus’ instructions. Below is but one of many examples:
“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (John 15:9-10).
Jesus applied the same standard to Himself and accentuated the fact that love for God is demonstrated by our obedience.
“I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father” (John 14:31).
Loving Others
If you read John 13 through 17, you will often find that following the Lord’s commands means loving others. Here is one example:
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
John connects loving God with loving others. He says we cannot claim to love God if we do not love other people.
“We love because he first loved us. Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate a brother or sister are liars, for those who do not love a brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.
The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also” (1 John 4:19-21).
A Practical Example
Below are two paragraphs and a bullet point summary of an article from the National Catholic Reporter, dated August 19, 2026. As you scan the information, praise God for living examples of followers of Jesus loving God and other people.
On the evening of Aug. 14, Philomene Philostin, a local youth pastor, business owner and nonprofit leader, stood on the street corner outside Springfield, Ohio’s City Hall, crying out in Haitian Creole. Pastor Fontil Daity, a Haitian immigrant who leads a local Pentecostal Haitian church, interpreted in English: “Haitians! Haitians! We cannot take it anymore. We ask for God in heaven to hear our cries!”
About 75 people gathered around them in the sweltering heat, many holding signs that read, “Love your neighbor”—a reference to the biblical command to love one’s neighbor as oneself. Philostin told RNS she initiated the gathering in response to a new flurry of ICE raids in the city starting the day before.
- Targeted ICE Enforcement: Following the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) on August 5, ICE has shifted to conducting rapid, small-scale detentions of Haitian immigrants in Springfield.
- A Difficult Choice: Former TPS holders are being forced to choose between self-deporting with a $2,600 stipend or wearing ankle monitors with a strict 75-mile travel restriction.
- Community Crisis: Without work permits, many are struggling to afford basic needs like rent and food. Fear of ICE has driven some into hiding and prompted parents to sign power of attorney paperwork to protect their children in case of separation.
- Local Support Overwhelmed: A local church-based support center is actively providing legal assistance, food, and basic supplies to those impacted by the detentions and monitoring requirements.
- Fear of Return: Despite the desperate situation in the U.S., immigrants are choosing ankle monitors over returning to Haiti, viewing deportation as a “death sentence” due to escalating, fatal gang violence in their home country.
- Child Separation: One of the primary concerns is the separation of over 1,200 children and infants under four from their parents. These children are U.S. citizens, but their parents are losing their temporary protected status. The dilemma for parents is the danger of returning to Haiti. Christian groups have stepped up with the financial aid of the Ohio government to provide these children with childcare until they can be reunited with their parents.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed Matthew 22:34-40 on YouTube today.
Real Voices 