Jesus said to him, “The greatest commandment of all is: ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is the one and only Lord.’
Christ begins from the foundation of faith: the oneness of God and His exclusive Lordship (Deuteronomy 6:4). The heart of the commandments does not begin simply with moral rules, but with the knowledge of God. Because God is one Lord, He requires complete and undivided love. A person’s moral life can be right only when it flows from the true knowledge of the true God. The words “Hear, Israel” are a call not only to hear with the ear, but to receive with the heart and to obey. God does not want a divided heart, because He is the only Lord and is worthy of complete devotion.