Love is the greatest commandment

by Don Hite

Do you know what the bible says about love? In the bible, love is the greatest commandment - The love of God and the love of your neighbor or your fellow man.

Jesus himself said that there is no commandment greater than love:

Mark 12:28-33: - NIV

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?"

"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."

"Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

Here Jesus was referencing the love of God by quoting scripture from the Old Testament passage:

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 – NLT

Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.

Jesus was also referencing the love of your neighbor by quoting scripture from the Old Testament passage:

Leviticus 19:18 – NIV

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

So in the Bible, love is the greatest commandment given to us and love includes the love of God, the love of your neighbor and the love of yourself. When God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses he promised us in Exodus 20:6 – NLT that he will:

“lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.”

Elsewhere Paul wrote in his epistle to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – NIV the following about it:

Love is patient
Love is kind
Love does not envy
Love does not boast
Love is not proud
Love is not rude
Love is not self-seeking
Love is not easily angered
Love keeps no record of wrongs
Love does not delight in evil
Love rejoices with the truth
Love always protects
Love always trusts
Love always hopes
Love always perseveres
Love never fails

Undoubtedly you have heard the old expression: “Love Makes the World Go 'Round” but for Christians love is a commandment in fact as noted above it is the greatest of all the commandments.

It is also important to note here that as Christians we should joyfully return the love that God first showed us when he sent his son Jesus Christ in human form down to earth to redeem us and give us eternal life.

John 3:16 - NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus Christ did not have to die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins but he wanted to.

With the blood he shed on the cross he became our sacrificial lamb perfect and blameless as our atonement of sin:

1 John 4:10 - NIV

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

As the writer of Hebrews stated without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

Jesus Christ shed his blood for us because he loves us. He loved us even though we were not yet born when he gave himself for us on the cross.

If God loves us enough to send us his son and if Jesus loved us enough to die for us we should show love as well to them as well as to our neighbors and ourselves. This is the reason love is the greatest commandment.