12:28
We now get the last question in this series. One of the teachers of the Law had been impressed with Jesus’ answer, so he comes with his own question, namely “which is the most important commandment?” Why is he asking this question? The first question (on tax) was devised to trap Jesus, to get Him into trouble. The one from the Sadducees was designed to prove their own ideas, or to ridicule the ideas of their opponents. The reason for the question isn’t clear in this case.
12:29-31
Jesus gives a most orthodox answer. First He quotes from Deut 6:4,5, love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind. Then He quotes from Lev 19:18, love your neighbour as yourself. As an aside, it is worth noting that “love your neighbour as yourself” comes from Leviticus. The reason is that non-Christians are keen on quoting this, at the same time as being critical on the Biblical stance on homosexuality. On the latter topic they dismiss Leviticus (which contains two laws clearly forbidding homosexual practice), not realising that Leviticus also commands us to love one another.
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