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Matthew

About this book
Chapter 22

1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.⁠ 3 He sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready. My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”’ 5 But they were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death and set their city on fire.⁠ 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy. 9 So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.⁠ 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say.⁠ 13 Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’⁠ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”⁠ 15 Then the Pharisees went out and planned together to entrap him with his own words. 16 They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality. 17 Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”⁠ 18 But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said, “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” So they brought him a denarius. 20 Jesus said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?”⁠ 21 They replied, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”⁠ 22 Now when they heard this they were stunned, and they left him and went away. 23 The same day Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to him and asked him, 24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and father children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children he left his wife to his brother. 26 The second did the same, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 Jesus answered them, “You are deceived because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.⁠ 31 Now as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God,⁠ 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living!”⁠ 33 When the crowds heard this, they were amazed at his teaching. 34 Now when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together. 35 And one of them, an expert in religious law, asked him a question to test him: 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’⁠ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”⁠ 41 While the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How then does David by the Spirit call him ‘Lord,’ saying, 44 “‘The Lord said to my lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’? 45 If David then calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one was able to answer him a word, and from that day on no one dared to question him any longer.

Texts in conversation

Compare Matthew 22:40 and Pirkei Avot 2:9

New Testament · Rabbinic

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Summary

In Matthew, Jesus teaches that the love of God and neighbor is the foundation of the Torah, language also found in Rabbinic tradition in Pirkei Avot, which teaches that love of your neighbor is a central rule in the Torah.

Passages

Matthew 22:40

New Testament
34 Now when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together. 35 And one of them, an expert in religious law, asked him a question to test him: 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

Pirkei Avot 2:9

Rabbinic · Mishnah
9 He said to them: go out and see which is the right way to which a man should cling. Rabbi Eliezer said, a good eye; Rabbi Joshua said, a good companion; Rabbi Yose said, a good neighbor; Rabbi Shimon said, foresight; Rabbi Elazar said, a good heart. He said to them: I prefer the words of Elazar ben Arach, for in his words your words are included. He said to them: go out and see which is the evil way that a man should shun. Rabbi Eliezer said, an evil eye; Rabbi Joshua said, an evil companion; Rabbi Yose said, an evil neighbor; Rabbi Shimon said, one who borrows and does not repay, for one who borrows from man is as one who borrows from God, blessed be He, as it is said, "the wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous deal graciously and give" (Psalms 37:21); Rabbi Elazar said, an evil heart. He said to them: I prefer the words of Elazar ben Arach, for in his words your words are included.
190–230 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Pirkei Avot

References

"... The imperative to neighborly care, the command to ‘love your fellow as yourself (Leviticus 19:18),’ functions as another important theme to which Jewish religious anarchists appealed. In talmudic literature, we find two variations of the same fundamental claim. R. Akiva called it the ‘great general rule of the Torah (J. Nedarim 30b),’ while Hillel the Elder paraphrased it as ‘that which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah (Shabbat 31a).’ Here, we discern a fine distinction. For R. Akiva, the principle is ‘of the Torah;’ this implies that the Torah circumscribes it. Moreover, it suggests that the imperative to love extends only to the people of the Torah. For Hillel, however, it is the whole Torah; the Torah is circumscribed by it. Accordingly, it extends to all humankind. Elsewhere, the embeddedness of the Torah in the imperative to love the neighbor is coupled with the love due God. R. Simlai taught both that ‘its beginning is an act of kindness and its end is an act of kindness (Sotah 14a)’ and that ‘Amos came and established the 613 mitzvot upon one, as it is stated: “So says the Lord to the house of Israel: seek me and live” (Amos 5:4; Makkot 24a).’ The Torah is contained within works of love toward others and stands on the love of God; for R. Simlai, the two function as synonyms. Later, this synthetic conception of universal love came to constitute the core of the Christian teaching. In the book of Matthew Jesus teaches that ‘the greatest commandment in the law’ is a composite of imperatives to love God and the neighbor, which includes the stranger, the wrongdoer, and even the enemy (Matthew 5:43–45). Like R. Simlai, he contends that ‘on these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:40).’ ..."
Hayyim Rothman, No Masters but God: Portraits of Anarcho-Judaism (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2021), 23.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Matthew 22:40 and Pirkei Avot 2:9

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