Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 22:39

"And a second like [unto it] is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." — Matthew 22:39 (ASV)

You shall love your neighbor—The words were found, strangely enough, in the book which is, for the most part, pre-eminently ceremonial (Leviticus 19:18). It is to the credit of the Pharisees, as ethical teachers, that they also had drawn this law from its comparative obscurity, as our Lord now did, and gave it a place of dignity second only to the first and great commandment.