On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus concludes by showing that the whole biblical Law and the teaching of the prophets rest on these two commandments. They are not merely two separate rules, but the foundation of all divine truth. If a person loves God and his neighbor, he fulfills the entire substance of the Law, because all the other commandments are only practical expressions of this love. Without love, the Law takes on an empty form, but with love, it comes alive. Thus, Jesus summarizes the whole divine revelation in one principle: love as the foundation of the Law and prophecy. This word reveals the essence of the Christian life: love toward God, which inevitably extends toward the human being.