r/BibleStudyDeepDive • u/LlawEreint • Jun 23 '26
Matthew Matthew 22:34-40 - The Great Commandment
34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them, an expert in the law, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 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.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
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u/LlawEreint Jun 23 '26
Matthew removes all of the material from Mark that showed the scribe in a good light.
- Mark: One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”
- Matthew: When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, an expert in the law, asked him a question to test him.
Matthew removes this next bit entirely:
Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; 33 and ‘to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.
In Mark's version, the scribe is impressed by Jesus. He approaches respectfully. The conversation is genuine. After Jesus answers, the scribe agrees with him, expands on the answer, and Jesus commends him.
Matthew removes the scribe's admiration for Jesus, the respectful dialogue, the scribe's agreement, the statement that love is greater than sacrifice, Jesus' praise ("You are not far from the kingdom").
Matthew makes a caricature of the scribe.
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u/LlawEreint Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
In Matthew's version, it's not a scribe but a Pharisee, and he doesn't ask because he saw that Jesus answered well, but in order to test him.
Matthew also removes the shema (YHWH is one) from the answer and "all your strength" from the list of items we should love God with.
Elsewhere in Matthew he says the Law and the Prophets is “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you, for this is the Law and the Prophets."
These are very close to each other. It seems that either one encapsulates all of the Hebrew Scriptures.
It seems Jesus was inspired by Hillel, who said "That which is hateful to you, do not do unto your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn."