What If We Followed Just Two Commandments Jesus Gave?

Why did Jesus Give Two Commandments Instead of Ten?

Most people spend their lives searching for the same things.

They want purpose.
They want peace.
They want to be understood.
They want meaningful relationships.
They want to know that their life matters.

Yet despite having more technology, more knowledge, and more ways to communicate than any generation before us, loneliness, division, anxiety, and conflict seem to be growing rather than disappearing.

The question is why.

According to JesusJesus of Nazareth, also called the Christ or the Messiah, is the central figure of the New Testament and the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. Born in the line of David, He taught with divine authority, performed miracles, and revealed the kingdom of God. More, the answer may be simpler than we realize.

When He was asked which commandment was the greatest, His response was not about wealth, success, power, education, or even religious rituals. Instead, He went directly to the foundation upon which every other principal rests.

(KJV)

JesusJesus of Nazareth, also called the Christ or the Messiah, is the central figure of the New Testament and the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. Born in the line of David, He taught with divine authority, performed miracles, and revealed the kingdom of God. More said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophetsProphets were God’s chosen messengers who spoke His word to Israel, calling the people to repentance, revealing God’s will, and announcing future events. In Scripture, “the Prophets” also refers to the second major division of the Hebrew Bible, which expands and applies the Torah’s covenant truths. More.

These words were spoken in response to a question designed to test Him. Religious leaders often debated which commandments held the greatest importance among the many instructions found throughout the Law. Rather than choosing one law over another, JesusJesus of Nazareth, also called the Christ or the Messiah, is the central figure of the New Testament and the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. Born in the line of David, He taught with divine authority, performed miracles, and revealed the kingdom of God. More reduced the entire matter to two foundational principles.

What is interesting is what He says next.

“All the Law and the ProphetsProphets were God’s chosen messengers who spoke His word to Israel, calling the people to repentance, revealing God’s will, and announcing future events. In Scripture, “the Prophets” also refers to the second major division of the Hebrew Bible, which expands and applies the Torah’s covenant truths. More hang on these two commandments.”

In other words, everything else is supported by these two commandments alone.

The phrase “the Law and the ProphetsProphets were God’s chosen messengers who spoke His word to Israel, calling the people to repentance, revealing God’s will, and announcing future events. In Scripture, “the Prophets” also refers to the second major division of the Hebrew Bible, which expands and applies the Torah’s covenant truths. More” was a common way of referring to the Scriptures known at that time. JesusJesus of Nazareth, also called the Christ or the Messiah, is the central figure of the New Testament and the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. Born in the line of David, He taught with divine authority, performed miracles, and revealed the kingdom of God. More was essentially saying that every command, every teaching, every warning, and every instruction ultimately connects back to a person’s relationship with God and their relationship with others.

This concept is not unique to Matthew’s account. It can be traced back to the beginning of Scripture itself.

establishes God as the source and origin of all things. If God is the Creator, then mankind was never intended to exist independently from Him. The first commandment reflects that reality by placing God at the center of your existence rather than yourself.

The second commandment addresses the natural consequence of that relationship. If every person is created by the same God, then how we treat one another matters.

This principle appears repeatedly throughout Scripture. instructs IsraelIsrael is the covenant people chosen by Yahweh, descended from Jacob, set apart to bear God’s name, receive His promises, and reveal His character to the nations. More to “love your neighbor as yourself.” connects how people treat the poor with how they honor God. Even points mankind back to the understanding that life finds meaning when it is lived according to the purpose for which it was created.

The remarkable thing is that these principles remain just as practical today as they were when they were first spoken. Many modern problems begin when people place themselves at the center of everything. Relationships fail when one person’s desires become more important than another person’s wellbeing.

Every day we see communities divide when people stop seeing their neighbors as people and begin seeing them as opponents and the news is consistently showing nations struggle when selfish ambition replaces responsibility of God and People.

JesusJesus of Nazareth, also called the Christ or the Messiah, is the central figure of the New Testament and the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. Born in the line of David, He taught with divine authority, performed miracles, and revealed the kingdom of God. More was not introducing a new philosophy. He was revealing the foundation that had been present throughout Scripture from the beginning. By loving God, you will want to honor him and feel a need, a drive to follow his commandments. Nor do we target our loved ones so by loving your neighbor as you love your own self, as you would not do these things to yourself, nor would you do them to others.

Everything else is built on this foundation. All other commandments such as Idolatry, Adultery, or Killing all fade away if you love someone. Those thoughts never enter our minds for people we love. We joy to see them, hug and kiss them, and welcome them with open arms.

The more our world drifts from those principles, the more we witness the consequences. The closer we return to them, the more clearly, we understand why JesusJesus of Nazareth, also called the Christ or the Messiah, is the central figure of the New Testament and the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. Born in the line of David, He taught with divine authority, performed miracles, and revealed the kingdom of God. More called them the greatest commandments. The wisdom of these words is found not merely in believing them, but in observing what happens when they are ignored.

Have you ever stopped to consider what the world would look like if love no longer existed?

Not romantic love. Not affection between friends. Not the emotional feeling that comes and goes with circumstances.

What if patience disappeared? What if mercy vanished? What if forgiveness no longer existed? What if nobody cared for the weak, protected their children, comforted the hurting, or sacrificed for another person’s well-being?

At first, it might seem like life would simply become more difficult. Yet the longer one considers it, the more obvious it becomes that society itself could not survive. Families would collapse. Communities would fracture. Trust would disappear. Every relationship would eventually become a contest of selfish interests.

The reason is simple. Love is not merely an emotion. Love is one of the foundational principles that allows life to function.

Scripture takes this understanding even further. It does not merely say that God possesses love. It says:

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” ( BSB)

Notice what the verse does not say. It does not say God is loving, though He certainly is. It says that love itself reflects His very nature. In other words, when we witness genuine patience, mercy, kindness, selflessness, and compassion, we are seeing characteristics that originate from God Himself.

This becomes even more significant when we look at how creation began.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” ( BSB)

The opening verse of Scripture establishes God as the source of everything. Nothing existed before Him. Everything that exists traces its origin back to Him. Yet when John opens his Gospel, he provides an even deeper insight into creation.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” ( BSB)

A few verses later John adds:

“Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.” ( BSB)

The Word is not simply speaking about creation. The Word is the means through which creation itself came into existence. Everything we can see, touch, measure, and experience owes its existence to the One who is called the Word.

If God is the Word, and God is love, then the connection becomes difficult to ignore. The very source of creation is the same source from which love flows.

PaulPaul is the apostle who carried the message of Jesus into the Gentile world, transforming early Christianity through his missionary journeys, his letters, and his profound teaching on grace, faith, and the New Covenant. More echoes this truth when speaking of ChristJesus of Nazareth, also called the Christ or the Messiah, is the central figure of the New Testament and the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. Born in the line of David, He taught with divine authority, performed miracles, and revealed the kingdom of God. More:

“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” ( BSB)

Consider that statement carefully.

PaulPaul is the apostle who carried the message of Jesus into the Gentile world, transforming early Christianity through his missionary journeys, his letters, and his profound teaching on grace, faith, and the New Covenant. More does not merely say that all things were created through Him. He says all things hold together in Him. The universe is not presented as something God started and then walked away from. Scripture portrays creation as continually sustained by its Creator.

This may explain why every time humanity moves away from God’s ways, the result is disorder. Throughout Scripture the pattern repeats itself. When mankind rejects God’s wisdom, chaos follows. Relationships break. Violence increases. Truth becomes distorted. What was designed to work together begins to pull apart.

All of this simply means, creation functions best when it operates according to the character and nature of God.

The Apostle PaulPaul is the apostle who carried the message of Jesus into the Gentile world, transforming early Christianity through his missionary journeys, his letters, and his profound teaching on grace, faith, and the New Covenant. More gives one of the clearest descriptions of that character:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.” ( BSB)

Imagine removing those qualities from the world.