PRACTICUM PAPER 1:
FIRST GREAT
COMMANDMENT
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Introduction
When Jesus gave the greatest commandment, “You shall love the Lord with all your
heart, and all your soul, and with all your mind” the Sadducees were testing Him. This
commandment came at what seems like the end of a long day of Jesus being tested. It started out
with the Pharisees wanting to seize Jesus, but they were afraid of His followers (Matthew 21:45).
The Pharisees instead tried to trap Him in His teachings, sending their disciples to do so. When
the Pharisees were unable to trap Jesus, they left and in moved the Sadducees. The Sadducees
asked Jesus several questions in their attempt to trap Him. Verse 18 says that Jesus knew what
they were doing and even called them hypocrites. Even though He perceived their wicked ways,
Jesus answered all their questions. There are many versus throughout the gospels that talk about
the greatest commandment; this commandment is very significant, and should be applied into our
daily lives.
Gospels Discuss the First Commandment
Loving God is the first great commandment and there are several verses in the Gospels
that talk about this commandment. The Key verse, of course, is Matthew 22:37 That says, “you
shall love the lord your god with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
This is repeated in Mark 12:30, and Luke 10:27. If a person loves God more than all else, they
cannot love anything else more than God. “Matthew 6:24 says, "No one can serve two masters;
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” As this verse states, a person must love God more
than anything else. Anything a person loves more than God becomes their idol. Jesus tells us
how we can love Him in John 14:15, when He says those who love Him keep His
commandments.
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Matthew 4:18 and Mark 1:17 shows the Apostles love Jesus with all their hearts and
souls, because they immediately leave their jobs and lives to follow Jesus. Mark 8:34 Jesus
summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me,
he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” He then says one must love Him
even than they love their own life, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it (Mark 8:35).” This is shown again in Luke
5:27, when Levi the tax collector leaves everything behind to follow Jesus.
In John chapter 5, Jesus had just healed a man at the pool of Bethesda. The Jewish
leaders were persecuting Jesus and wanted to Kill Him. They wanted to kill Jesus because He
was breaking the Sabbath by healing the man, and He was also calling Himself God. In verse 42
Jesus says they do not have the love of God in themselves. If they had loved God with all their
heart, mind, and soul, then they would have known Jesus. Jesus makes that clear in John 8:42,
when he says, if God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come
from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent me.” If one is to love God
more than anything else, that must include more than their own family. Luke 14:25-33 Jesus
explains that one must love Him more than their mother, father, and all their possessions. The
Gospels talk a lot about how we must love God, but it also talks about how much He loves us. In
John 3:16 Jesus describes how much the Father loves us by sending His only Son to die for the
sins of the world.
The Significance of the First Great Commandment
The first great commandment has great significance. The most important reason it has
such significance is because it came from Jesus Himself. Jesus said the most important thing is
loving God. Notice He did not pick any of the Ten Commandments, as the Pharisees were trying
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to get Him to do; Jesus came up with something unexpected, yet deep and meaningful, and that
is loving God above all else.
What Jesus called the greatest commandment came out of a day of testing. The
Sadducees were asking Jesus about the greatest commandment, because it was of great debate
back then. The teachers of the Law were divided over which commandment was most important
to be followed1. While they expected Jesus to pick one aspect of the Law over the other, He
instead defined the Law with Loving God over everything else2.
To love God with all your heart means loving nothing else as much as you love Him. To
love God with all your soul means to give up your life for Him, and to be deprived of certain
comforts, rather than to dishonor Him3. To give ones soul to the service of God means to be
concerned with the life after death, rather than the life here on earth. To love God with all ones
mind means to think constantly of God. Colossians 3:2 says that we are supposed to set our
minds on heavenly things, rather than earthly things. We are to be in constant communication
with the Lord.
When one loves God, as the first great commandment says, they will do anything He asks
of them. This was demonstrated through the verses above. In Matthew 4:18 and Mark 1:17 it
shows the Apostles immediately left their careers and all that they knew to follow God’s call for
their life. These men knew nothing, other than they were to Follow Jesus. Loving God with all
your heart means doing just that, answering His call on your life. The one thing all the verses
1Rhoderick D. Ice, The Bible Study New Testament: Volume 2: Bsts (New York: College Press, 1974), e-sword
2David Guzik, Commentary On New Testament (Enduring Word Commentary) (Simi Valley, CA: Enduring
Word Media, 2000) e-sword
3Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke's Commentary On the Holy Bible, Abridged ed. (Kansas City: Baker Book House,
1967), 177
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above have in common is the fact that they all talk about loving God and putting Him first. They
are important because it shows us how to live out this great commandment. It is one thing to say
we must love God with all of our heart, mind, and soul; however, it all comes together when we
have verses in the Bible that explain exactly how we can and should do this.
Practical Application
This is an interesting time in my life for me to be writing a paper on this subject. Over
the last two weeks, and most recently today, I have been having conversations over God’s will
for my life. I feel called into ministry and cannot figure out if this is a full time calling. One thing
keeps worrying me, and that is my financial stability. I make a large six-figure salary and have
an excellent retirement set up for myself. As I write this paper, it is as if I am writing it to
myself.
As I worry about material things and supporting my family, I am reminded of the first great
commandment. I am also reminded of how the Apostles implemented that commandment. I
must apply this to my life the same way the Apostles applied it to their lives. If the Lord calls me
into His service, as a full time vocation, I must immediately pick up and follow Him in the same
way the Apostles did. They did not worry about how they were going to make money or support
their family; they immediately left their nets, their boats, and their careers to follow Jesus. I
know I must apply this in my life just as the Apostles did. This does not only apply to me, but to
all Christians. If the Lord moves in our lives, we must pay attention. If God speaks, we must
listen, if He calls us into service we must act, and if He tells us to move we must move. We must
do all of this immediately and without delay. I do believe the key word here is immediately.
Conclusion
The first great commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart, and all your soul,
and with all your mind. There are many verses throughout the gospels that explain how to do
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this, but it seems if you follow the first great commandment everything else will automatically
fall into place. The most important part of this great commandment is applying it to ones life.
These are the words and commandments straight from the mouth of Jesus. He wants only the
best for our lives and us. If we dedicate ourselves to serving Him, we need not worry about
anything else because He will take care of us. We must remember this world is only
temporary and all that really matters is what we do to affect eternity.
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Bibliography
Ice, Rhoderick D. The Bible Study New Testament: Volume 2: Bsts. New York: College Press,
1974.
Guzik, David. Commentary On Acts (Enduring Word Commentary). Simi Valley, CA:
Enduring Word Media, 2000.
Clarke, Adam. Adam Clarke's Commentary On the Holy Bible. Abridged ed. Kansas City:
Baker Book House, 1967.
