After Jesus had silenced a challenge to His divinity by the Sadducees, the Pharisees gave it a try. One of them, an expert in the law, tested Jesus with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36) Jesus masterfully answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39). So true! The First Table of the Law (Commandments 1-3) outlines how we are to love and respect God. The Second Table of the Law (Commandments 4-10) presents how God expects us to love and respect all other people (“our neighbor”).
Truly, if we love God perfectly (First Commandment), we would never sin. What’s more, if we could keep that First Commandment flawlessly, we would automatically keep Commandments 2-10. Therefore, we concur with St. Paul, when he wrote this Spirit-directed statement: “Love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10). But there remains only One Who loved and loves perfectly: our God and Savior Jesus (John 3:16).