Matthew 22:38 (DBY)

Passage

This is [the] great and first commandment.

Nearby Context

Matthew 22:36 Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?

Matthew 22:37 And he said to him, Thou shalt love [the] Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy understanding.

Matthew 22:38 This is [the] great and first commandment.

Matthew 22:39 And [the] second is like it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Matthew 22:40 On these two commandments the whole law and the prophets hang.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "great", "first", and "commandment". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "great" and "first", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 37's "And he said to him Thou shalt..." into verse 39's "And the second is like it Thou...", so "great" and "first" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "great" and "first" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.