Luke 10:27
“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Context
Spoken by a lawyer who questioned Jesus about inheriting eternal life; Jesus affirmed the answer and then told the parable of the good Samaritan to define who a neighbour is.
What Does Luke 10:27 Mean?
This verse sums up the whole of God's law in two commands: love God completely, and love your neighbour as yourself. The words are spoken by a lawyer who had asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus turned the question back to him, and the man answered correctly by quoting these two great commandments from the law of Moses.
The first command calls for love of God with the whole person -- heart, soul, strength, and mind. The piling up of terms is not meant to divide us into parts but to leave nothing out; every faculty and every dimension of our being is to be devoted to loving God. This is the foundation of a faithful life. The second command, "thy neighbour as thyself," extends that love outward to others, using the natural care we have for ourselves as the measure of the care we should show our neighbour. Jesus affirms this answer and tells the man, "this do, and thou shalt live" (Luke 10:28). Then, in the parable of the good Samaritan that follows, He shows what loving a neighbour truly looks like. These two loves, vertical and horizontal, belong together. To love God wholly and to love others as ourselves is the heart of everything God asks of us.
In the Original Language
The verb agapao (love) appears for both God and neighbour -- love of deliberate devotion and action. The terms heart (kardia), soul (psyche), strength, and mind name the whole person.
Cross References
Application
Devote your whole self to loving God, and let that love overflow into genuine care for the people around you.