Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 12:31

"The second is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." — Mark 12:31 (ASV)

Jesus brought Lev 19:18 together with Dt 6:5 to show that love of “neighbor” (GK 4446) is a natural and logical outgrowth of love for God. These two commandments belong together; they cannot be separated. Thus, although the teacher of the law had asked for the one most important commandment, Jesus gave him two. Though the Jews had a narrow view of who was a “neighbor” (fellow Jews and proselytes), Jesus redefined the term to mean anyone whom we deal with (see Lk 10:25-37 and comments).