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This page gathers a consolidated reference list of the principal commands Jesus gives in the four Gospels, arranged under the two “greatest commandments” that He identified. Each command is phrased in Christ’s own imperative language and keyed to its first clear occurrence; parallel passages are noted in parentheses.

Not a Checklist for Earning Salvation

The commands of Jesus are not optional. Obedience is not the root of salvation, but rather, obedience is the fruit of the salvation Jesus promised.

Scripture is clear: we are saved by grace through faith, not by doing enough good works (Ephesians 2:8–9). I encourage you to read Why Works-Based Salvation Doesn't Work. Scripture is also clear that a profession of faith without these works is dead; and dead faith cannot yield eternal life.

Commands of Christ

Viewed Through the Two Greatest Commands

Jesus gives two great commands, and we find that all of His individual commands are simply how those two commands take concrete shape in real life.

According to the Scriptures, obedience to these commands is demanded and expected—not as the price of salvation, but as the necessary evidence that we truly know and love God. Grace does not nullify this call to practical obedience; it teaches, empowers, and produces it in the believer, and we are warned not to receive this grace in vain.

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
— Matthew 22:37–40

1) Love the Lord Your God

These are primarily Godward: worship, trust, loyalty, and inner allegiance.

Core Call of the Gospel

  1. Come unto Me. — Matthew 11:28
  2. Repent and believe the gospel. — Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15
  3. Follow Me. — Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17; Luke 5:27; John 21:19
  4. Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them… and teaching them to observe all I commanded. — Matthew 28:19–20 (Mark 16:15)

Worship, Trust, and Devotion

  1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. — Matthew 22:37 (Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27)

  2. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. — Matthew 6:33

  3. Abide in Me. — John 15:4

  4. Remember Me (in the supper). — Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24

  5. Pray, “Thy will be done.” — Matthew 6:9–10

  6. Ask, seek, knock. — Matthew 7:7 (Luke 11:9)

  7. Enter into your closet and pray in secret. — Matthew 6:6

  8. When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face. — Matthew 6:17

  9. Render to God the things that are God’s. — Matthew 22:21 (Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25)

  10. Have faith in God. — Mark 11:22

  11. Believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me. — John 14:11

  12. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me. — Matthew 11:29

Inner Life, Holiness, and Guarding the Heart

  1. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad in persecution. — Matthew 5:12 (Luke 6:23)

  2. Let not your heart be troubled; neither let it be afraid. — John 14:1, 27 (Luke 12:32)

  3. Take heed that no one deceives you. — Matthew 24:4 (Mark 13:5; Luke 21:8)

  4. Remember Lot’s wife. — Luke 17:32

  5. Deny yourself, take up your cross daily. — Luke 9:23 (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34)

  6. Be holy, be merciful, and be perfect as your Father is holy, merciful, and perfect. — Matthew 5:48; Luke 6:36; 1 Peter 1:16 [1]

  7. Beware of hypocrisy (the leaven of the Pharisees). — Luke 12:1; Matthew 16:6

  8. Take heed and beware of the leaven of Herod (worldly politics). — Mark 8:15

  9. Beware of covetousness. — Luke 12:15

  10. Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, not on earth. — Matthew 6:19–20

  11. Take no thought (anxious care) for your life. — Matthew 6:25–34 (Luke 12:22–31)

Life in the Spirit and Readiness

  1. Receive the Holy Spirit. — John 20:22

  2. Take heed, watch and pray; be ready, for you do not know when the time is or when the Son of Man comes. —
    Mark 13:33–37; Matthew 24:42–44; Luke 21:36; Matthew 26:41 (Mark 14:38)

  3. Remember how you have received and heard, and repent; hold fast till I come. — Revelation 3:3; 2:25

2) Love Your Neighbour as Yourself

These are primarily horizontal: mercy, reconciliation, generosity, and witness.

  1. Love your neighbour as yourself; whatever you would have others do to you, do also to them. —
    Matthew 22:39; 7:12 (Luke 6:31)

  2. Love one another as I have loved you. — John 13:34; 15:12

  3. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven. — Mark 11:25 (Luke 6:37)

  4. Be reconciled to your brother before offering your gift. — Matthew 5:24

  5. Love your enemies; bless those who curse you; pray for those who spitefully use you. —
    Matthew 5:44 (Luke 6:27–28)

  6. Resist not evil; turn the other cheek. — Matthew 5:39

  7. Give to him that asks of you. — Matthew 5:42 (Luke 6:30)

  8. When you make a feast, do not call your friends to be repaid, but invite the poor, maimed, lame, and blind. — Luke 14:12–14

  9. Let him who has two coats impart to him who has none. — Luke 3:11

  10. Judge not; do not condemn; first cast the beam out of your own eye. — Matthew 7:1–5 (Luke 6:37–42)

  11. Swear not at all; let your “Yes” be “Yes.” — Matthew 5:34–37

  12. Freely you have received, freely give. — Matthew 10:8

  13. Give in secret; let not your left hand know what your right hand does. — Matthew 6:3

  14. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. — Matthew 10:8

  15. Let your light so shine before men. — Matthew 5:16

    • Neighbor-facing witness that also glorifies the Father.

A Lens, Not Legalism

Seen this way, every command is an expression of the two loves:

If a “command” doesn’t serve one of those two loves, it’s probably a tradition or personal conviction, not a command of Christ.

How to Use This List

  1. Meditate on one command each day; read the context in your Bible.
  2. Pray for grace to teach you to obey it (Hebrews 12:28; Titus 2:11).
  3. Teach others: Jesus said, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” — Matthew 28:20

“If you know these things,
happy are you if you do them.”
— John 13:17

See Also:
FOOTNOTES

  1. This line combines three closely related “be like your Father” commands—be holy (1 Pet. 1:16), be merciful (Luke 6:36), and be perfect (Matt. 5:48). For the sake of brevity and emphasis on their shared thrust, I’ve summarized them here as a single consolidated command while keeping the original references listed. ↩︎