The Greatest Commandment - and its Jewish roots

As believers and followers of Yeshua, we are faced with many questions every day. Some are less important than others. But this one is the greatest:
"Do you love God?"

Every Christian—even those denying the Torah—would answer in a heartbeat: "YES!"

Yet this one great question which defines us as believers leads to more questions:

• Why do you love God?
• How do you love God?
• How do you know that you love God?
• How would God know that you love Him?

To love God is not only the greatest of the commandments according to Yeshua and the Torah, it is also the beginning of the Shema—a significantly important Jewish prayer.

How can Christianity today reconcile this Jewish context with a doctrine that is neglecting or even denying the Torah (God's Law) and the Jewishness of Messiah?

Let us dive deeper into the Jewish context of the greatest command ever given to believers.

Yeshua on the Greatest Commandment

Have you ever wondered why Yeshua says "Hear, oh Israel"? Was he speaking to Israel, or to Pharisees?

Not without a little bit of digging into Scripture will we see the reason why. And we will also see that this commandment - as many a Christians nowadays proclaim - is by far a new commandment. Neither is it the only one that God gave us.

Yeshua's Jewish Roots: The Shema

Open your Bible at Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verses 4 and 5.

Does that not sound very familiar?

Think about it for a moment:

We follow a jewish rabbi, who taught from a jewish book, and we continue to read a book with foundations deeply rooted in judaism.

Reciting the Shema prayer is one of the most prolific Jewish traditions, done at least once or twice a day. Would Yeshua have done it? We must assume He did because he was blameless. Does He expect this from His followers? This depends on one's definition of "Follow Me". Sounds pretty clear to me.

Does it sound legalistic to you to? Or would you not rather say that speaking to and with the Father at least once a day should come naturally to every believer?

Did Yeshua not tell us to "Ask, and ye shall receive"?

Did he not say to the Samaritan woman at the well to worship in Truth and Spirit?

The Significance of the Shema in the context of Yeshua's ministry

The Shema is a fundamental Jewish prayer that affirms the oneness of God and the command to love Him wholeheartedly. It's recited twice daily by Jewish people.

Yeshua, being the blameless, sinless Son of God, would most likely have recited the Shema as was common practice—in the same way as it was His custom to go to the synagogue on Shabbat.

Yeshua claiming to be God in One?

In another passage, namely John 10:30, Yeshua says to the Pharisees: "I and my Father are one"

Did the Pharisees understand what Yeshua meant when he said "My Father."? The Gospel of John shows us that Yeshua tried to tell them who this Father is that He was speaking about: The One who sent Yeshua. The One God.

The Pharisees did not understand at first that Yeshua was referring to God when he was referring to His Father.

Now, fast forward, look at Yeshua's remarkable statement that He and the Father are one.

Regardless of any theological exegesis, we can simply assume that now that Pharisees understood very well that Yeshua was claiming to be One with God.

The understanding of the One-ness of God can be found in the Shema, which Yeshua quotes from Scripture to make the statement that this is indeed the greatest of all the commandments. Not the only one, but the greatest.

The jewish Shema prayer is the fundamental basis of what many Christians consider Yeshua's commandments—even though He did never speak on His on accord, and he clearly quoted Jewish Scripture in Mark and Matthew when asked about the greatest commandment.

Practical consequences of Yeshua's commandment

Although it is not a new commandment, Yeshua puts great emphasis on the Shema.

Look at how much more importance we can draw from His word when we continue reading in Deuteronomy:

What does it mean to 'Love' God?

https://bibleproject.com/articles/what-is-the-shema/

The Shema gets its name from the first Hebrew word of the prayer—”hear” or “listen”, a translation of the Hebrew word shema. Ancient Jewish people combined lines from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 with other passages from the Torah (Deut. 11:13-21; Num. 15:37-41) and prayed these words every morning and every evening. This prayer has been one of the most influential traditions in Jewish history, functioning both as the Jewish pledge of allegiance and a hymn of praise.

The opening line, “Hear, O Israel,” does not simply mean to let sound waves enter your ears. Here, the word shema means to allow the words to sink in, provide understanding, and generate a response—it’s about action. In Hebrew, hearing and doing are the same thing.

The next instruction in the prayer is to love the Lord your God. What we translate into English as “love” here is the Hebrew word ahavah. Ahavah is not about the warm, fuzzy, emotional energy we feel when we like someone. Much like listening, biblical love is about action. You ahavah someone when you act in loyalty and faithfulness. For Israel, loving means faithful obedience to the terms of their covenant relationship with Yahweh. Those terms are the laws and commands that will make up the body of the book (Deut. 12-26).

Obedience to these laws is not about legalism or trying to earn God’s favor—it’s about love and active listening. If an Israelite loves God, they can more easily listen and respond to his teachings and guidance. This is why the words “listen” and “love” are so tightly connected and repeated through these opening speeches of Deuteronomy.

Does the Shema apply to Christians today?

The Theology of many Christians today says to ignore God's Law and His commandments. This doctrine is based on the sentiment that the Law—even the Ten Commandments—was given to Jews only, not Gentiles. It is further based on the sentiment that the Law was nailed to the cross.

Both these doctrines have a fundamental flaw in their logic:
They contradict Jesus Christ Yeshua.

The Lost Sheep of the House of Israel

Yeshua said that he came for the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Little did His followers know at the time when he said this to a gentile woman that God would graft the gentiles into the new covenant, effectively becoming part of the house of Israel.

Are we not all lost sheep? Jew and Gentile alike?

Paul gives explicit explanations on the topic of 'grafted in' in Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians.

It is therefore understandable that Yeshua would teach the Torah.

What does that mean for us followers of Christ Yeshua?
Yeshua taught Torah. He deepened its spiritual application. The Torah was exalted—not abolished—in Him.

When Yeshua says "follow me", he doesn't mean for us to stand on the sidelines.
It means to be grafted into His covenant—Jew and Gentile—and to become like Him as much as we can.