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Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. A second likewise is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
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Interpretation

Jesus teaches a greatest commandment that is practiced in daily practice in Matthew 22:37-39—consider "love" and "jesus". Work out greatest commandment in prayers we actually pray—honor God behind closed doors.

Context

This passage belongs to Matthew, a gospel narrative witness, developing greatest commandment. Read in Matthew 22, its force becomes clearer. Listen for “love” alongside “jesus”.

Authorship & Historical Background

Early attribution points to Matthew the disciple (a former tax collector) for Matthew. Critical study of Matthew often concludes: Anonymous in earliest copies; attributed to Matthew in later tradition; reflects Mark and a sayings source.. Scholars commonly date Matthew AD 80–90. Matthew seems aimed at Jewish‑Christian community.. Kingdom teaching links ethics to identity. Catechetical structure appears in the discourse blocks.

More details
Traditional:Matthew the tax collector
Modern scholarship:Anonymous; attributed to Matthew; uses Mark + Q source.
Date:AD 80–90
Audience:Jewish‑Christian community.
Manuscripts & Textual Witnesses
The Greek text is preserved in more than 5,800 manuscripts, exceeding other ancient writings in manuscript count. 2nd-3rd century papyri like P46, P66, P75 provide text roughly 100-150 years after composition. Major uncial codices (Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, 4th century) contain complete or near-complete texts. The Byzantine text family represents the majority of later manuscripts. Textual variants exist but are mostly minor: word order, articles, spelling. No central Christian doctrine depends on any disputed text. Modern critical editions compare all manuscript families to determine the best reflects the earliest recoverable text reading.
Sources & witness notes
SinaiticusVaticanusP46