LUKE 10:25–28
THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT
BRIEF INTERPRETATION
Text – Luke 10:25–28
25 There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”
27 He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
28 He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”
Historical and Jewish Context
The “scholar of the law” was an expert in the Torah, trained to interpret Scripture and apply it to daily life. His question reflects a common rabbinic concern: identifying the core of the Law. Jesus responds in typical rabbinic fashion—by turning the question back to the questioner. The scholar quotes two well-known passages: Deut 6:5 (love of God) and Lev 19:18 (love of neighbor). Jewish teachers often debated how to summarize the Law; combining these two verses was already part of Jewish thought, but Jesus affirms their unity and centrality. “Inherit eternal life” reflects Jewish belief in the resurrection and life with God.
Catholic Theological Perspective
Jesus reveals that the heart of the moral life is love—total love of God and genuine love of neighbor. Love is not merely an emotion but a wholehearted commitment of heart, soul, strength, and mind. The unity of these commandments expresses the inseparable connection between love of God and love of neighbor. Catholic theology emphasizes that eternal life is not earned by works alone but received through grace, yet lived out through the obedience of love. Jesus’ affirmation—“Do this and you will live”—points to the transformative power of charity, the highest theological virtue.
Parallels in Scripture
Deut 6:5 – The Shema, central Jewish confession of faith.
Lev 19:18 – Call to love one’s neighbor.
Mt 22:34–40; Mk 12:28–34 – Jesus identifies these as the greatest commandments.
Rom 13:8–10 – Love fulfills the entire law.
1 Jn 4:7–12 – Love of God and neighbor as inseparable.
Key Terms
Scholar of the law – Expert interpreter of Torah.
Inherit eternal life – Participate in God’s life through covenant fidelity.
Love the Lord… and your neighbor – Foundation of all moral and spiritual life.
Do this and you will live – Call to active, lived charity.
Catholic Liturgical Significance
This teaching is proclaimed frequently in both weekday and Sunday Masses, forming a cornerstone of Christian moral instruction. It guides catechesis on the Ten Commandments, virtue, and Catholic social teaching. It also provides the foundation for examining conscience and understanding the primacy of charity in Christian life.
Conclusion
Jesus brings the scholar to articulate the heart of God’s law: love of God and neighbor. This commandment is the path to true life. Christianity is not merely a set of rules but a relationship rooted in love.
Reflection
Do I love God with all my heart, mind, and strength? How do I show love to my neighbor, especially those who are difficult? Jesus invites me to live out this commandment daily, allowing love to shape every part of my life.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, fill my heart with genuine love for You and for my neighbor. Help me to live Your commandments fully and joyfully. May every thought, word, and action reflect the love that leads to eternal life. Amen.
DETAILED INTERPRETATION
The Greatest Commandment
(25) There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
A scholar of the law
The scholar of the law does not mean secular lawyer expert in civil or criminal law. The lawyer who questioned Jesus was an expert in the Mosaic Laws given in the first five books of the Bible called Torah or Pentateuch. Some identify the teacher as a scribe. The scribe was an expert in the whole Old Testament who used to make copies of the Holy Scripture and served in the synagogues as the reader and interpreter of the Bible. The difference between a scribe and scholar of the law is that the scholar of the law was a scribe who specialized in the Mosaic laws than in the other sections of the scripture. There was much demand for such teachers of Torah because the laws and their interpretations governed the lives of the Israelites.
Who stood up
This gives us a setup of the situation. Jesus might have been preaching in a house like that of Lazarus or a synagogue. The listeners might have been sitting around him. The scholar stood up to get Jesus’s attention.
To test him
The scholar questioned Jesus to assess his knowledge in the field rather than to enlighten himself. He is like some people who raise spiritual or moral questions to religious leaders not to enhance their understanding but to test the preacher or to show their own expertise in the subject.
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
A rich man also had asked the same question to Jesus (Mk 10:17). The inheritance of eternal life was a controversial issue between Sadducees who denied the resurrection (Mk 12:18-27) and Pharisees who believed in the eternal life (Acts 23:8). Even for those who believed in life after death, what one must do to inherit eternal life was a concern.
There were teachings on life after death in the Old Testament, but they were scant and largely obscure. “Your dead will live, their corpses will rise again. Awake and sing for joy, you who lie in the dust! For your dew will be a sparkling dew, and the earth will give birth to those who have been long dead” (Isa 26:19). Daniel 12:1- 3 is another example of the prophecy of the resurrection and ultimate reward or punishment. However, the issue was that these and similar writings on life after death were in the prophetic works or Psalms. The scholars of the law specialized in the Mosaic laws, where this theme is unavailable. Moses gave importance to a long and fulfilling life in the Promised Land in Canaan for those who keep God’s commandments. “Honour your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you” (Ex 20:12). Jesus gave more clarity on the resurrection of the dead, the last judgement, and reward or punishment after death.
(26) Jesus replied, “What is written in the Law? How do you understand it?”
The orthodox Jews wear two small square leather boxes containing selected texts from the Torah. They wore them one on the wrist of the left arm and the other on the forehead. Jesus was pointing to these phylacteries which the lawyer was wearing when he asked for the writings in the law. When the expert in the law attempted to assess Jesus, he made the lawyer to answer by asking him a question.
(27) The man answered, “It is written: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
This combined passage from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18 was a favourite of the Jews, and they wrote that on their phylacteries. They used to recite this everyday morning and evening. “Engrave on your heart the words that I command you today. Repeat them over and over to your children, speak of them when you are at home and when you travel, when you lie down and when you rise. Tie them around your arm as a sign and let them be as a band on your forehead. Engrave them on your doorposts and on your city gates” (Deut 6:6-9). So, Jesus knew that the Jewish lawyer would answer this central message of the Holy Scripture to his question.
(28) Jesus replied, “You have answered correctly! Do this and you shall live”
Jesus added: “do this and you will live” into eternity. He had noticed that though the Jews recited this central theme of the scripture every day twice, but were not practising it. The mere recitation of the law of the love of God and neighbour was not enough. Religion is not just for theorising but equally for practising.