Steven Garofalo
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WHAT EXACTLY DID JESUS MEAN BY THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT?
By Steven Garofalo, February 26, 2024 (Copyright 2024)
February 26, 2024

We often hear about speak on, and gloss over the three parts Jesus gave us in “The Greatest Commandment”. But why three things? Why didn’t Jesus just give us one thing? Today, I am going to show you that Jesus was speaking about just one thing but in three parts as the “Greatest Commandment”.

Matthew writes in 22:36, “But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

It’s important to note that Pharisees in the time of Jesus were religious “lawyers” or a student of the Law of Moses. We all know that layers in today’s age exist in many if not most cases to prove a point-whether true and honest or not. In today’s passage, this Pharisee put the Lord to a test with a question designed to reveal how much Christ knew about the law.

In reply, to answer the lawyer’s question, Jesus said:

“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)

Jesus was quoting from the great Jewish confession of faith called “the Schema”. The confession is called this because it begins with the Hebrew word “schema”, meaning “HEAR:” “Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God , the  Lord is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4, 5; 11:13-21)

The Pharisees knowing the Hebrew Scriptures knew the answer to their own question as it was clarified in Isaiah 33:15; Amos 5:4 and Micah 6:8 and Hab: 2:4. In the big picture when Jesus said to “Love the Lord your God”, he sharply defined he answer in three focussed ways as to how the Pharisees and all people were to understand and live out life on earth in light of God’s Word. As such, Jesus mentions that we are love with all of our HEART, SOUL and MIND. So what does this mean?

 

We are to “LOVE THE LORD OUR GOD WILL ALL OUR…”

  1. HEART: Includes our emotions, passions, desires, and motivations.
  2. SOUL: Simply means our “ALL”.
  3. And MIND: meaning our thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, memory, imagination and intelligence.

In the PHYSICAL this means our senses and actions.

In the NON-PHYSICAL this means our conscience, will, personality, temperament, and spirit.

All of these aspects are inter-related; each facet affecting and influencing the other, We cannot separate one aspect of our being from another. Nevertheless, it is beneficial to look at each one individually so that we can understand ourselves better and therefore love God more fully.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "GREAT" and "FIRST"?

Verses 38-40 go on to say, “This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbors as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law of the Prophets”.

Some Greek texts place “GREAT” before “FIRST”. Nevertheless, love for God takes priority over every other command is the point. Looking at verse 39, this command (love your neighbor) is from Leviticus 19:18 but is not an imperative to love one’s self. People naturally love themselves and are at least somewhat self-centered to begin with. Because we love ourselves, we want the best for ourselves: likewise, we should be concerned for the welfare of others.  Lastly, verse 40 wraps up nicely in that the Ten Commandments can be divided into two categories: those dealing with love for God (the first four) and those dealing with the last six). The same way he said for “all the Law and the Prophets”.

IN CONCLUSION: While we often hear about speak on, and gloss over the three things Jesus said about  “The Greatest Commandment”, the Bible makes clear that Jesus was speaking about three parts and not as three things. These three things in sum equal the single greatest commandment.

When Jesus said that we are to love God with all our heart, soul and mind, He was indicating that love for God is to come from every facet of one’s constitution or mental clarity as to how we will live our life. It is unlikely that the Pharisees would have taken exception to this part of His answer. “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR” meaning to taking delight in meeting the needs of others. Sometimes the phrase “AS YOURSELF” is used to prove the need for cultivating a positive self-image before being able to love others. But Moses and Jesus assume self-love as the basis for the comparison of loving one’s neighbor. When one is cold, he puts on a sweater; when he is hungry, he eats. As one happily meets his own needs, i.e. “loves himself”, he should similarly meet the needs of his neighbor. Those two great commandments are mutually exclusive, for if one loves God he will love what God loves, and God loves people (Matthew 25:31-46; 1 John 4:20).

In the end, if we LOVE the Lord our God with our ALL, we will naturally love our neighbor as ourself. And this is what Jesus meant by the Greatest Commandment.

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DO PETS GO TO HEAVEN?

When I was in seminary, the question was raised as to if pets or animals in general go to heaven. Our professor, Dr. Norman Geisler said this: “Jesus Christ came to earth and died on the Cross for the human race, not animals.” I was working out at the gym one day when one of the regulars, who had just moved to Charlotte, NC from California told me that one of her beloved dogs died; and would that dog go to heaven. I have her the same answer. But, was that the whole story? That’s what we are going to look at today.

In a peace by Michael Housman, Founder of GotQuestions.Org, Housman wrote that “The BIble does not give any explicit teaching on whether pets or animals in general have souls, or spirits, or whether pets and other animals will be in heaven.

His answer was short but the animals not having souls maybe up for debate.

We can use general biblical principles to develop some clarity on the subject though Housman wrote. The Bible states that both man (Genesis 2:7) and animals (Genesis 1:30; 6:17; 7:15 and 22) have the “BREATH OF LIFE” that is, both man and animals are living beings. Furthermore, the primary difference between human beings and animals is that humanity is made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27), while animals are not.

Being made in the image and likeness of God means that human beings are like God in some ways; they are capable of spirituality; they have a mind, emotion, and “will”; and part of their “being” continues after death.

If pets and other animals do have a “soul” (or spirit or immaterial aspect), it must therefore be of a different and lesser “quality”. This difference possibly means that pets and other animal “souls”  do not continue in existence after death.

Another factor to consider regarding whether pets will be in heaven is that animals are a port of God’s creative process in Genesis. God created the animals and said they were good (Genesis 1:25). Therefore, there is no reason why there could not be pets and animals on the NEW EARTH as described in (Revelation 21:1). 

In the end, there will most definitely be animals during the millennial kingdom (Isaiah 11:6; 65:25). It is impossible to say definitely whether some animals of these animals might be the pets we had here on earth. We do know that God is just and that when we get to heaven, we will find ourselves in complete agreement with His decision on this issue, whatever that turns out to be.

So, there you have it. I think that’s the best answer on the subject in all honest. Please remember to SUBSCRIBE to our channel and check out StevenGarofalo.Com for exclusive content and early release of our two weekly podcast.

Until next time, I’m your host Steven Garofalo, and this is your reason for truth for today.

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AN ETHICAL ECONOMY IS GOOD FOR ALL
By Steven Garofalo, May 2, 2025

WHAT MAKES A GOOD ECONOMY

Government corruption comes to the advantage of a few-but at the expense of many if not all the rest of society. Today, I am going to show you through Ecclesiastes 5:8-9 that vanity and wealth, if not kept accountable, will devour one’s honor and the honor or the nation in whole. Let’s get started.

The Vanity of Wealth and Honor is an interesting subject in light of wealth, corruption, and the human heart. This subject effects many things, including what makes a good economy. 

In the Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 5, verses eight to nine, Solomon says the following:

Ecclesiastes 5:8-9
“8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. 9 But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.”

COMMENTARY: There are two things king Solomon is saying here within the theme of the vanity of WEALTH and HONOR. Wealth and honor are two different things, as one can have wealth with or without honor or honor with or without wealth. That being said, let’s look at verses 8 and 9 independently to see the simple message God provides us today through Solomon.

BREAK DOWN
Ecclesiastes 5:8-9

THE ABUSE OF AUTHORITY & WEALTH
 “8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them." 

COMMENTARY: Verse 8 clearly illustrates that there is a corruption at every level of government, with higher level oppressors plundering the equally oppressive lower-level magistrates. This perhaps explains the st state of America and the world. With blackmail running. Rampant and the public sector unchecked, they have been robbing the everyday citizen of their hard earned money. As a result, the system became insulated and division between the haves and have nots became more defined. When the high level government officials rob and abuse those below them, someone above that person robs and abuses the higher level person himself.

In America, where we print money out of thin air for the world, in this short period of history, there is little need to plunder those under one authority because there is so much to steal that those in authority can simply pay them off or blackmail them; whichever is most convenient. Either way, Solomon makes abundantly clear that when there is nobody minding the ship, evil perpetuates to the point of overtaking the government in whole. As a result, we end up with a 2024 government, riddles with corruption, immorality, blackmail, lawlessness, and all other things evil due to the lack of God-ness which equates to “goodness”. 

Economically speaking, when this happens to a country, its own economy begins to decline into debt due to their insatiable desire and emotional need for more money and resources. When resources are stripped and money is squandered, the elite few are smart enough to collect those resources and money and we end up with a U.S. Stock Market where only 5% holds up to 80%  of the entire market wealth. 

WHAT IS THE ANSWER?
The answer and solution is to keep to return to the system we created in the first place which is free market capitalism that allows those who desire to work hard, to have a fair chance at success, making money and turning a fair profit. This is called “honor for everyone”.

HONOR FOR EVERYONE
"9 But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.”

CONCLUSION:

Government corruption comes to the advantage of a few-but at the expense of many if not all the rest of society. Vanity and wealth, if not kept accountable, devours one’s honor and the honor or the nation in whole. Solomon (Qohelet) considered goverment to be frustrating becuase it was a necessary evil, something deply flawed but indespsnsible. On the one hand people sould "not be shocked" when they see OPPRESSION and injustice in a governmental province (v.8). After all, bloated government bureaucracy tends to frustrate justice (v.8b). On the other hand, government has it advantages (v.9). Many hold to the belief that this verse continues the negeative assessment of government. Others see this passage better understood more positively since it fits with Qohelet's normal pattern of "on the one hand, on the other.." way of teaching. 

Even a corrupt government is better than anarchy, which devastates a country, it's culture and in Solomon's time, an agrarian economy that would lead to starvation. Keeping to God's ways is the only solution to man's sinful nature; especially in governmental rule. In the end, a king who devotes himself to developing the resources of the land ushers in a systems that brings the opportunity for profit to all, not just the corrupt few.

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SOLA SCRIPTURA
A Protestant & Catholic View Comparison

I grew up Catholic and now go to a Protestant or non-Catholic church in Charlotte, NC. Michael Houdmann, Founder and CEO of GotQuestions.Org writes that a major difference between the two boils down to believing in the Bible alone as God's word verses believing that God's word plus man's input as the divine inspired word of God.

WHAT DO PROTESTANTS BELIEVE?

A major difference is the issue of sufficiency and authority of Scripture. While Protestants believe that the Bible alone is the source of God's special revelation to mankind, it also speaks to everything we need to understand as necessary for our salvation from sin.

Protestants view the Bible as the STANDARD for Christian morality and ethics which governs our behavior. This is called sola scripture and is one of the five Solas in Christianity. (Solas meaning "alone" in Latin. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 makes clear that "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (ESV).

WHAT DO CATHOLICS BELIEVE?

Catholics do not believe in sola scriptura hence do not believe that the Bible alone is sufficient. They see both the Bible and sacred Roman Catholic tradition as equally authoritative and binding on the Christian. While not all Catholics hold to doctrines such as purgatory, praying to the saints, worship or veneration of Mary, etc., the Catholic doctrine hold to them even though they have little or no mention or basis in the Bible. In truth, these doctrines are based on Roman Catholic traditions based on the Catholic Church's insistence that the Bible and tradition are equal in authority. The problem with this is that it undermines the sufficiency, authority, and completeness of the Bible. The view of Scripture is at the root of many, if not all, of the differences between Catholics and Protestants.

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