Note 1 at Mt 22:36: Jesus revealed that all of the Old Testament Law was designed to instruct people on how to love God and love others. Therefore, the two commands that dealt directly with loving God and others (Le 19:18 and De 6:5) were the most important.

The religious leaders had become so obsessed with keeping every minor detail of the Law that they had lost sight of its ultimate purpose. They neither loved God nor their fellow man, yet they thought that they were keeping the Law. The same thing is happening today. Some of the cruelest acts toward people have been done in the name of the Lord by those who thought they were defending the holy commandments of God's Word. However, if people violate one of these two greatest commandments in an effort to enforce some other commandment, then they are misapplying God's Word, even as these religious Jews did.

The Old Testament Law and the New Testament grace compelled people to the same end, which was to love God and their fellow man. However, the motivations to this end were different. The Old Testament Law motivated people to love God and their fellow man through fear of punishment if they failed to comply, while the New Testament grace freely gives people this God-kind of love unconditionally and tells them to love as they have been loved (Eph 4:32).

It is possible to have actions of holiness and not love God, but it is impossible for this God-kind of love not to produce holiness. Holiness is a fruit (Ro 6:22) and not a root of loving God (see note 2 at Lu 11:42).