When upon a certain occasion Jesus was asked which is the "first" or great commandment in the law, he answered his questioner by referring him to the Old Testament, saying, "What is written in the law?" He then quoted from the sixth chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy: "Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: ... And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Thus it appears that he who spake as never man spake before, and who said that he came to fulfil the law, so comprehended the spiritual unity declared by the Mosaic Decalogue that he could with authority reduce the ten commandments to two, a first and a second, and then to one by finally declaring that the second is "like unto the first." How is this possible?
It will be interesting if we may comprehend in some measure the spiritual thought which enabled Jesus to see the fulfilment of all the commandments in this one, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." And to this end we may profitably follow the topics of the commandments in the order in which the Master himself stated them in his reply to the man who sought of him the way of eternal life. Jesus spoke first of idolatry, and it must be clear to every one that this commandment forbidding the making and bowing down to "false" or "strange gods" of whatever description, whether objects of wood and stone, or the more subtle forms of idolatry practised by a material-loving, material-serving civilization, is but a repetition or restatement of the first commandment. If this had been fully kept, the second commandment, forbidding the setting up of material objects of affection and worship, would never have needed to be written. Because Jesus knew that every form of materialism is idolatry, and that idolatry is simply digression from the first commandment, he saw that the second commandment would have its fulfilment in the first, which calls for a pure spiritual relation or union with the Father-Mother God whose nature is comprehended as Life, Truth, Love, Spirit; and the condemnation of idolatry calls for the putting off of the false condition which deprives man of the conscious enjoyment of that spiritual relation.
Jesus next referred to murder, which is also seen to be in violation of the first commandment. What is murder? From the standpoint of the first commandment man is spiritual; he is the image and likeness of God; he lives, moves, and has his being forever in Him; hence does not die. He inherits the perfect qualities that inhere in Deity,—everlasting life, truth, love. Murder is a departure from this divine order stated in the first commandment. It begins with opposite qualities,—anger, malice, hatred, revenge,—and from these springs the murderous act. The command, "Thou shalt not kill," could have arisen only by way of infringement of the truth,—the lie that man springs from matter and lives in matter, instead of Spirit, a lie which would dethrone and dishonor God. The commandment "Thou shalt not kill" will become obsolete when the sin which it forbids is overcome through the conscious recognition and obedience of the spiritual significance of the first commandment of all, in which there appears no mortal in the flesh that can be hated or killed.
Jesus next named adultery. According to the first commandment all sensuality is adulterous and unspiritual, and if the sin against which this commandment is specifically directed were overcome, there would be no longer any need of the commandment against sensuousness. Belief in a material sensuous creation violates the first commandment, since it does not acknowledge God as the only creator. The belief that matter is substance and has sensation can only be overcome through obedience to the first commandment. This commandment is based upon the Science of being, which reveals man as wholly spiritual, born of God, as Jesus declared in the words, "Call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven." And Jesus' own origin was an illustration that as man rises in the scale of spirituality he departs from the grosser human concept of material origin and birth. The first commandment is not fulfilled until extended to include all belief of sensuous life in matter. Only then will it be seen that the commandment against sensuousness is "like unto the first."
Jesus next enumerates the commandment forbidding theft, which clearly originates with the first commandment. "Thou shalt not steal," simply interpreted, means, Thou shalt cease doing that which is contrary to and in violation of the first commandment. According to this commandment God is the all-sufficient source of supply. His bestowals are abundant, so that there need be no fear of lack and no occasion for greed or avarice. In the divine provision all things needful are at hand awaiting acceptance; God is recognized as the only power and the plentiful sustainer of life. The desire to rob or steal is based upon a misconception of God's unfailing supply; it parts with Spirit and looks to matter only to meet with failure, and finally concludes that one can gain something by appropriating that which rightfully belongs to another. The commandment which forbids this points to the first commandment.
The commandment "Thou shalt not bear false witness" was given against perjury, deceit, hypocrisy, lying. It is a prohibition to every form of dishonesty, injustice, cheating, unfair dealing, and betrayal. The integrity and flawless rectitude of the spiritual order of the first commandment is in marked contrast to the evils which are here forbidden. They are departures which conflict with the divine character. Man as the offspring of God does not inherit such qualities as these. Hence the commandment which forbids man to practise them supports the spiritual creation and uprightness of man in Science. This serves to connect this commandment with the first,—makes it "like unto it."
Again, covetousness is the desire to possess what rightfully belongs to another, it is a trespass that makes way for theft and all dishonesty. Covetousness is a propensity wholly inconsistent with the first commandment. Therefore the commandment which forbids covetousness points in the direction of the first commandment; it would lead men away from "the desires of the flesh." God provides freely all things, "without money and without price." To covet is to forsake the law of Love which supplies plentifully our every need. When this standard is complied with, the command "Thou shalt not covet" will be fulfilled.
The commandment which prohibits profanity, broadly speaking, includes all thoughts and actions expressing anger or hatred directed against God and man,—that which "takes his name in vain." This surely is the very opposite of the first commandment—a sad departure. When that command is obeyed, man can only praise God and love his fellow-man. Hence the command forbidding to take God's name in vain, points to the restoration in consciousness of that perfect spiritual state declared by the great commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
The commandment which inculcates that children honor and obey their parents plainly points to a more ideal human relationship, as Jesus taught: "Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." Or, as the beloved disciple John wrote, "He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" This pure attitude for a parent upon the child's part, serves to elevate his thought and prepares him to understand a little better the relationship with his true Father. When this sublimer union is once begun, the spiritual connection between the commandments, "Honor thy father and thy mother" and "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," will be better comprehended.
The command to keep the Sabbath day holy is, primarily, to prevent irreligion, sacrilege, atheism. When we have learned to think of man as God's child, the conception of the Sabbath as a mere physical-rest-day is meaningless. This day is set apart as a testimony to man's faith in the reality and permanence of spiritual things. If the first commandment were kept, every day would be a Sabbath, because the materialism with which this commandment has to do would be no longer present in human experience.
Thus considered, it is clear that all the other commandments are prohibitions against every possible form of departure from the first, and that they cover every phase of sin. This explains why Jesus classed together as one these concluding nine commandments of the Mosaic Decalogue, and called them "the second" and as "like unto the first." In a general way they all relate to human brotherhood,—loving one's neighbor as one's self. Every one of them stands in opposition to materiality and its dire effects. Jesus saw the underlying spiritual connection which links them to the first commandment, in which there is no reference to a material creation, for Spirit and its manifestations constitute all real being; wherefore our Master saw that all these commandments have their fulfilment in this one. Paul also recognized this unity of all the commandments when he wrote, "All the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
To-day our Leader is leading the world, through Christian Science, into a closer observance of the Ten Commandments. She has recomprehended and reaffirmed the exalted spiritual vision of Christ Jesus, who could see all the commandments fulfilled in this one, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength." This commandment, she writes (Science and Health, p. 340), "is my favorite text." And the insight which has enabled the writer to prepare this imperfect outline has been gleaned from that marvelous summary of Scriptural exposition which closes the sublime chapter on the "Science of Being": "The divine Principle of the First Commandment bases the Science of being, by which man demonstrates health, holiness, and life eternal. One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself;' annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry,—whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed."
