One of the most memorable commands for Christians today is the command from Jesus, stating, “Love the Lord Your God with All Your Heart, soul, and mind. Then, what is the origin of this command, and what is the way to ensure we are keeping this command? Also, what relationship does the Passover(the Last Supper) have with this command? Let us study this today.
Exodus 20:1-3 And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.
Exodus chapter 20 details the origin of the ten commandments. The first commandment is “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Concerning this command, Jesus said:
Matthew 22:35-40 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Concerning the first commandment, Jesus said “Love the Lord Your God with All Your Heart, Soul and Mind.” However, the first commandment of the ten commandments is, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Why did Jesus say that loving God with all your heart is the first commandment?
Certainly, Jesus knew the first commandment of the ten commandments. Jesus, however, spoke these words with the intention to teach a lesson. Jesus wanted to inform us that the way to keep the first commandment, which is, “You shall have no other gods before Me”, is by loving the Lord God with all our heart, soul, and mind.
Then, how do we love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, in order to keep the first commandment? There is a Bible character acknowledged by God to have obeyed this commandment. As the biblical character, King Josiah was acknowledged to have obeyed the first commandment, we, too, should follow his example in order to also be acknowledged to have obeyed the first commandment. Concerning King Josiah, the Bible says:
2 Kings 23:25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.
It is written that King Josiah loved God with all his heart, soul, and strength. Then, what did he do to receive this approval from God?
2 Kings 23:21-23 The king gave this order to all the people: “Celebrate the Passover(the Last Supper) to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover(the Last Supper) been observed. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover(the Last Supper) was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.
King Josiah ordered the Israelites, including himself, to celebrate the Passover(the Last Supper), and afterward, was approved by God to have loved God with all his heart, soul, and strength. This shows that the way to love God with all your heart and soul is by keeping the Passover.
Concerning the Passover(the Last Supper), Jesus said:
Luke 22:19-20 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Jesus spoke these words, stating, ‘Do this in remembrance of me.” In other words, to commemorate the love and sacrifice of Jesus who shed his blood on the cross to forgive our sins, we should keep the Passover(the Last Supper).
This is why Paul spoke the following words:
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
The early church members, who continued to follow the truth after the crucifixion of Jesus, consistently kept the Passover(the Last Supper) of the New Covenant even after the death of Jesus, inscribing His words on their hearts, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.”
1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover(the Last Supper) lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
As those who love God with all our hearts, let us, too, keep the Passover(the Last Supper), remembering Jesus’s sacrifice that resounds throughout the ages for the salvation of mankind.