Matthew 22:39

Like. Like it, that is, in being based on the great principle of love, and like it in requiring the concerted attention and cooperation of all parts of one’s being.

Love thy neighbour. See on Matt. 5:43; 19:19; Luke 10:27-29. Jesus here quotes from Lev. 19:18, where “neighbour” refers to a fellow Israelite. Jesus, however, widened the definition of “neighbour” to include all who are in need of help (see Luke 10:29-37). The law of love toward God and man was by no means new. Jesus was the first, however, to unite the thoughts of Deut. 6:4, 5 and Lev. 19:18 as summing up “the whole duty of man,” though Micah comes very close to the same idea (see on Micah 6:8).

As thyself. Man’s natural tendency is to make self first, irrespective of obligations incumbent upon him in his relations to God and to his fellow men. To be completely selfless in dealing with his fellows, a man must first love God supremely. This is the very foundation of all right conduct.