“And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.”
My Notes
What Does Luke 10:27 Mean?
A lawyer stood up to test Jesus and asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus turned the question back on him — what does the law say? And the man answered with this stunning summary: love God with everything you have, and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus told him he answered correctly.
What's remarkable is that this answer combines two separate Old Testament commands — Deuteronomy 6:5 (love God) and Leviticus 19:18 (love your neighbor) — and weaves them into a single, inseparable ethic. Heart, soul, strength, and mind covers every dimension of human experience: your emotions, your inner life, your physical energy, and your intellect. Nothing is held back.
The addition of "and thy neighbour as thyself" makes this more than private devotion. Loving God with everything you are naturally flows outward. It's not enough to have a rich interior spiritual life if it never touches the person standing next to you. These two loves are presented as one commandment because, in practice, they are inseparable.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Which dimension — heart, soul, strength, or mind — do you find easiest to engage in your love for God? Which feels most neglected?
- 2.What does it look like practically to love your neighbor 'as yourself' — not more, not less?
- 3.Is there someone in your life right now who you know God is asking you to love more fully?
- 4.How do you navigate the tension between loving God privately and loving people publicly — do they feel connected or separate in your daily life?
Devotional
We tend to compartmentalize love. We love God in our quiet time and deal with people separately. We give our hearts to worship but keep our minds skeptical. We're emotionally invested in faith but physically passive. Jesus — through this lawyer's own mouth — refuses to let love be partial.
Heart, soul, strength, mind. That's your emotions, your deepest self, your physical energy, and your thinking. Loving God isn't just a feeling or a belief — it's a full-body, full-life orientation. It's how you spend your money, what you do with your anger, where your thoughts go when no one is watching.
And then there's the second half — "thy neighbour as thyself." Not more than yourself (that's martyrdom, not love). Not less than yourself (that's selfishness). As yourself. With the same instinctive care and advocacy you naturally extend to your own needs. That's a staggeringly high standard, and it's also deeply practical.
The beauty of this verse is that it doesn't give you a checklist. It gives you a compass. In every situation, the question is simply: am I loving God with all that I am, and am I loving this person the way I'd want to be loved?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And he answering said, thou shalt love the Lord thy God,.... This was part of their phylacteries, which they recited…
Thou shalt love the Lord - See this important subject explained at large, on Mat 22:37-40 (note).
Thy neighbor as…
We have here Christ's discourse with a lawyer about some points of conscience, which we are all concerned to be rightly…
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God This was the summary of the Law in Deu 6:5; Deu 10:12; Lev 19:18.
and thy neighbour as…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture