Passage
This is the great and foremost commandment.
Matthew 22:38 (LSB)
Nearby Context
Matthew 22:36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
Matthew 22:37 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 22:38 This is the great and foremost commandment.
Matthew 22:39 And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
Matthew 22:40 On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "great", "foremost", and "commandment". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "great" and "foremost", 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 You shall..." into verse 39's "And the second is like it You...", so "great" and "foremost" 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 "foremost" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.