They say a picture paints a thousand words. Well, sometimes, a thousand words can be conveyed in a short statement. I am reminded of the question posed to Jesus by those wishing to trip Him up. They asked what the greatest of all commandments was. Under the Law of Moses, there were the Ten Commandments, but many more do’s and don’t’s which were found in the old law. It has been noted there were a total of 613 commandments in the Old Law. So, the question was meant to force Jesus to choose one of the 613 to be the greatest, and, of course, there would be controversy following. But, with the short answer Jesus gave, one could study and write volumes.
Jesus said that the first and greatest command was to love GOD. Mark 12:30 reads, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment.” It should be noted the first four of the Ten Commandments would be covered by this one command.
Jesus went a little further in verse 31 by saying, “And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.’” Observe that the last six of the Ten Commandments would be covered by loving your neighbor.
To go a little further with His reply, notice that there are five areas involved in His response: the heart, soul, mind, strength and neighbor.
Note the parallel between the five and Luke 2:52. Here it is said that Jesus grew in the four areas of life. “And Jesus increased in wisdom (mind) and stature (strength), and in favor with God (soul) and men (heart and neighbor).” One should strive for a balanced growth in these areas.
Further think how this compares to the areas in which we work for optimal health. And in the last column, note the correlation to work of the church.
Emotionally Heart Compassion
Spiritually Soul Worship
Intellectually Mind Education
Physically Strength Stewardship
Socially Love of Neighbor Missions/Evangelism
Jesus not only met the adversaries’ challenge to identify the greatest commandment, He also laid out many lessons for us in our personal lives, as well as the church as a whole.