How many commandments?

By Pastor Sunny

I stared at the wall and wondered, “Is it possible?”

Jesus’ response in Matthew 22:34–40 caught me off guard. When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus gives two: love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Two commandments. 

I had attended catechism and countless Bible studies. I had read the Bible from cover to cover more than once. I considered myself a student of the Bible. And yet, in my mind, the answer had always been ten commandments.

I had read this passage many times before, but this time I read it differently. For the first time, the Bible seemed to make sense in a new way. It was as though a cloud had been lifted and I could see more clearly. New insights into other passages of Scripture began to flood my mind. The Bible came alive, and I found a new joy in reading it.

As I studied the history of biblical interpretation, I discovered that Jewish tradition and the early church had understood the law through this larger framework: love of God and love of neighbor. Jesus connects whole of the laws and prophets to these two commandments.

When I realized that the bible does not have ten commandments, then the teachings of Jesus changed its meanings. Life of faith is not about keeping a long list of rules to get a reward. It is about living our lives recognizing God’s presence and showing love to everyone we meet.

That realization changed the way I understood the Bible.

The Bible was no longer simply a collection of rules telling me what I could and could not do. It became a source of life, showing me how to live in a way that honors God and others. God was no longer a harsh judge keeping score of my good and bad deeds, like Santa checking his list, God became the gracious God who invites us into a shared life of love and kindness.

Even my understanding of Christian life changed. Faith was no longer primarily about avoiding the things that might keep me out of heaven. It became about experiencing the grace of God here and now—and learning to live that grace in the world.

It changed everything.

Life became more important. The question was no longer simply, “What must I do to get to heaven?” but “How can I experience and share the life of Jesus here on earth?”

We all carry assumptions and misconceptions about the Bible. Some may seem harmless, while others can have serious consequences. That is why we are called to study Scripture seriously, not merely to memorize its words or read them literally, but to ask what the text is saying, what it meant in its original context, and how its deeper wisdom speaks to our lives today.

Let us be people who take the Bible seriously enough to look beneath the surface.

Pastor Sunny