Bible scholars tell us that Moses gave the children of Israel 613 laws. These laws range from the worship of God, the temple ceremonies, even to the settlement of disputes amongst neighbours. Because there were so many laws, they was always a dispute amongst the religious teachers as to which of these is the most important. To some keeping the Sabbath was important while to others the sacrifices were non-negotiable. In answering the questioner, Jesus not only succinctly condensed the laws into two fundamental categories: Love God with your total being and love your neighbour as yourself, He also showed what the true spirit of law is. If you notice in the text the Pharisee, an expert in the law , asked Jesus the question not because he was sincerely seeking an answer but rather to put Jesus into a test or a trap. And the reason for doing so was because to the Pharisee, keeping the law was the way to find favour with God and they worked diligently at it. They kept the Sa...