Matthew 22:39 (LSB)

Passage

And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Nearby Context

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.”

Matthew 22:41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "second", "like", "shall", "love", "neighbor", and "yourself". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "second" and "like", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 38's "This is the great and foremost commandment..." into verse 40's "On these two commandments hang the whole...", so "second" and "like" 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 "second" and "like" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.