Matthew 22:37 kjv
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Matthew 22:37 nkjv
Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
Matthew 22:37 niv
Jesus replied: "?'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
Matthew 22:37 esv
And 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.
Matthew 22:37 nlt
Jesus replied, "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.'
Matthew 22 37 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Dt 6:5 | "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." | Original command Jesus quotes; highlights totality. |
| Dt 10:12 | "...to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul..." | Connects loving God with fearing, walking in His ways, and serving Him wholly. |
| Dt 30:6 | "And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live." | Emphasizes divine enabling for this deep love; source of true life. |
| Mk 12:30 | "and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." | Parallel account; adds "strength," emphasizing physical and energetic devotion. |
| Lk 10:27 | "And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.'" | Parallel account by the lawyer; reorders "strength" and "mind." |
| Mt 22:39 | "And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’" | The second great commandment; linked inherently to loving God. |
| Mt 22:40 | "On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." | The essence of all divine revelation hinges on these two commands of love. |
| Lev 19:18 | "...but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD." | OT source for the second great commandment, echoing God's character. |
| Josh 22:5 | "Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and to cling to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." | Holistic dedication to God is a recurring OT theme for His people. |
| 1 Kg 8:23 | "...You keep covenant and show steadfast love to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart." | God's faithfulness encourages wholehearted devotion from His servants. |
| 2 Chr 15:15 | "...they sought Him with their whole desire and He was found by them..." | Blessedness found in seeking God with utter dedication. |
| Ps 119:1-2 | "Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart!" | Heartfelt seeking of God's ways brings blessing. |
| Jer 24:7 | "I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart." | Prophecy of new covenant, enabling wholehearted return to God. |
| Ez 36:26 | "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you..." | Divine renewal empowers adherence to God's ways and heartfelt obedience. |
| Heb 8:10 | "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts..." | New covenant internalizes God's law, aligning heart and mind with His will. |
| Jn 14:15 | "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." | Love for Christ is intrinsically linked to obedience. |
| Jn 14:23 | "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him..." | Reciprocal love and obedience define the relationship with God. |
| Ro 13:8 | "Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law." | Love is the summary and fulfillment of the Law's requirements. |
| Gal 5:6 | "...but faith working through love." | True faith is active and expressed through love. |
| Gal 5:14 | "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" | Highlights that loving others, springing from loving God, summarizes the Law. |
| Eph 5:2 | "...and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us..." | Christ's self-sacrificial love sets the example for believers. |
| Col 3:14 | "And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." | Love is supreme and unites all virtues. |
| 1 Jn 4:7-8 | "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God... God is love." | Origin of love is God's nature; true love is His outflow. |
| 1 Jn 5:3 | "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome." | Defines genuine love for God as obedience to His commands. |
Matthew 22 verses
Matthew 22 37 Meaning
Matthew 22:37 articulates the greatest commandment as declared by Jesus: to love God with one's entire being. This encompasses devotion of the will, intellect, emotions (heart), life force (soul), and thoughts/understanding (mind). It signifies a holistic, absolute, and undivided commitment to God, foundational to all other expressions of faith and obedience. This love is not merely an emotion but an active orientation of one's whole existence towards the Creator.
Matthew 22 37 Context
Matthew 22:37 occurs within a series of intense interrogations Jesus faces from various Jewish factions in Jerusalem during His final days before the crucifixion. After silencing the Sadducees regarding the resurrection (Mt 22:23-33), a Pharisee lawyer, seeking to test Him further, asks for the "greatest commandment in the Law" (Mt 22:35-36). This question was a common topic of rabbinic debate, often designed to trap a speaker into choosing one command over another, or minimizing an important part of the Torah.
Jesus's response not only avoids the trap but ascends to a profound level, quoting directly from the Shema (Dt 6:4-5), a daily declaration of faith for Jews. By affirming the comprehensive love of God as paramount, Jesus identifies the central truth of the Old Testament law. He then links it directly to loving one's neighbor (Mt 22:39), thereby fulfilling the spirit and intention of the entire Law and Prophets (Mt 22:40), demonstrating His authority and wisdom beyond that of the most learned scribes. The immediate historical context underscores Jesus's divine insight, showing that true righteousness originates from an internal devotion, not mere external adherence to rules.
Matthew 22 37 Word analysis
- "Jesus said": Emphasizes divine authority. This is Jesus's direct declaration, settling a contested issue among religious leaders.
- "to him": Refers to the "expert in the law," a Pharisee, signifying that even learned individuals needed this fundamental truth reaffirmed by Jesus.
- "You shall love": Greek: agapēseis (ἀγαπήσεις), future active indicative of agapaō (ἀγαπάω). Agapaō denotes a selfless, willed, purposeful, and unconditional love, distinct from emotional or familial affection (phileō) or physical desire (erōs). The future tense "shall" indicates a command, an obligation, not a mere suggestion or feeling. It's an active commitment, not passive sentiment.
- "the Lord": Greek: Kyrios (κύριος). A title acknowledging God's sovereignty, mastery, and ownership. It signifies His absolute authority and rightful claim over His creation.
- "your God": Greek: Theon sou (θεόν σου). This personal pronoun emphasizes the covenantal relationship God desires with His people. He is not a distant deity but your God, involved and accessible.
- "with all your heart": Greek: holēs tēs kardias sou (ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου). In Hebrew thought, the "heart" (lev or levav) is not just the seat of emotions, but the very center of one's being – the intellect, will, reason, conscience, and moral character. To love with the whole heart means undivided intention and disposition.
- "with all your soul": Greek: holēs tēs psychēs sou (ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου). The "soul" (nephesh in Hebrew) refers to one's life force, vitality, individual being, personality, and desires. It encompasses breath, existence, and animation. Loving with the whole soul means dedicating one's entire living essence and being to God.
- "and with all your mind": Greek: holēs tēs dianoias sou (ὅλης τῆς διανοίας σου). This specific inclusion in Matthew (and Luke) expands on the Septuagint version of Dt 6:5 (which has "strength") and highlights the intellectual aspect of loving God. "Mind" (dianoia) denotes understanding, thought, reflection, and intelligent engagement. It means engaging one's intellect, reason, and cognitive faculties in knowing, understanding, and worshipping God. True love for God involves intellectual pursuit and contemplation of His truth, not blind faith. This particular nuance differentiates Matthew from Mark, which has "strength" (ischyos) in its parallel account. Jesus here highlights that Christian devotion is not anti-intellectual but requires thoughtful engagement.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "You shall love the Lord your God": This foundational statement establishes the primary object of all true devotion: the one, true God, who is both transcendent (Lord) and personally accessible (your God). The command indicates a binding obligation for every individual.
- "with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind": This tri-faceted (or quadru-faceted in Mark/Luke) phrase emphasizes the holistic, total, and undivided nature of this love. It encompasses every faculty and dimension of human existence – inner being, life essence, and intellectual capacity. No part of a person's life or being is to be withheld from this supreme love. This totality signifies that this love is to be ultimate, consuming, and prioritized above all else. It contrasts with fragmented or partial devotion, challenging superficial religious adherence that lacks internal transformation.
Matthew 22 37 Bonus section
The Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5), from which Matthew 22:37 is quoted, traditionally includes Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." This precedes the command to love and emphasizes the singularity and uniqueness of God, underscoring why such an exclusive and total devotion is commanded for Him alone. It implies monotheistic fidelity against polytheistic or idolatrous inclinations. Matthew's account, while focusing on verse 5, inherently carries the weight of verse 4 in its Jewish context. The inclusion of "mind" (dianoia) by Matthew and Luke might be a distinct emphasis of New Testament authors or of Jesus Himself, reflecting the Hellenistic cultural context which highly valued intellectual engagement, thereby affirming that Christianity is not an unthinking faith. It means knowing God requires thoughtful application, understanding, and discernment.
Matthew 22 37 Commentary
Matthew 22:37 is more than just a theological statement; it's the supreme command for human existence, encapsulating the very essence of true piety and worship. By quoting Deuteronomy 6:5, Jesus anchors His teaching in the fundamental truth of the Hebrew Scriptures, confirming that His message fulfills, rather than abolishes, the Law. The demand for "all" — heart, soul, and mind — indicates that God seeks an absolute, undivided, and pervasive love that permeates every aspect of a person's inner and outer life. This love is not a passive emotion but an active, intelligent, and willed orientation toward God, compelling obedience and service. It implies a continual reorientation of one's deepest affections, thoughts, and life purpose toward Him. Such comprehensive love naturally leads to keeping His commandments (Jn 14:15, 1 Jn 5:3) and extending that love to others (Mt 22:39), fulfilling the entire Law. Practically, this means cultivating spiritual disciplines that engage every faculty: worshipping with passion (heart), living in conscious devotion (soul), and diligently studying God's word (mind).