The Least Commandment

As humans we sure seem to like to rank things. Just think of all the sports leagues and competitions that we have. They are always ranked. We also have our favorite things, our best friend, and our worst enemies! Even when you see a doctor you may be asked to rank the pain you are experiencing. Is it a one? Or is it an eight?

But the Bible is also full of rankings. Here are just two of the many possible examples:

Luke 22:24 (KJV)
²⁴ And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.

Matthew 22:36 (KJV)
³⁶ Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Jesus Himself ranked things. In the above Matthew passage, Jesus' answer was this:

Matthew 22:37-39 (KJV)
³⁷ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
³⁸ This is the first and great commandment.
³⁹ And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Did you know that Jesus also spoke about the least commandments? We find this passage also in Matthew.

Matthew 5:17-19 (KJV)
¹⁷ Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
¹⁸ For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
¹⁹ Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.


In verse 19 Jesus said that anyone who broke one of the least commandments or would teach others to break them, he or she would be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus does not go on to delineate what commandments He was referring to. Rather, He speaks about an increased righteousness and makes the Law even more stiff by saying things like hating someone is the same as murder, or looking at someone with lust is the same as adultery. So the point is not so much that we know what is the least commandment, but that we obey all the commandments and don't teach others to disobey.

But it is interesting to wonder about what God might consider as the least commandment. According to Jewish thought the prime example of a "light" commandment was Deuteronomy 22:6-7. (See "The Least of the Commandments: Deuteronomy 22:6-7 in Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity" by Robert M. Johnston.)

Deuteronomy 22:6-7 (KJV)
⁶ If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young:
⁷ But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.

This passage is an example of God's care for animals. Although it was acceptable for mankind to take the young for food, the mother had to be left to raise more young. In many ways this really is a "least" commandment in that it seems so inconsequential. Yet, look at the result of obedience to this little commandment, " that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days".

In speaking about the least commandments God was telling us how important all of the commandments are. Do we try to rank commandments? Which ones do we need to absolutely obey, or are there some less important ones, like supposed white lies, that we can safely ignore? From Matthew 5:17-19 it appears that we were meant to obey every commandment and to ignore none.