Why the Ten Commandments?
Awaiting theological review
What you will understand today
What the Ten Commandments are, why they begin with freedom, and how Jesus summed them up.
In simple words
God gave the Ten Commandments to Israel at Mount Sinai, after freeing his people from slavery in Egypt. They begin not with a rule but with a reminder: I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt. The commandments are the way to stay free.
The first three are about love of God: no other gods, respect for God's name, keeping the Lord's day holy. The other seven are about love of neighbour: honour your parents; do not kill, commit adultery, steal or lie; do not covet your neighbour's spouse or goods.
Jesus did not abolish them. When a young man asked what he must do to have eternal life, Jesus answered: keep the commandments — and then follow me. He summed them up in two: love God with all your heart, and your neighbour as yourself.
Key Bible passage
The first words of the Ten Commandments: before any rule, God says who he is and what he has done.
2I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Exodus 20:2 · Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
Love of God
Commandments 1–3
Love of neighbour
Commandments 4–10
Go deeper
The Hebrew name is the ten words. They were given as part of a covenant, a bond of love between God and his people: first God acts and saves, then he invites a response. Moral life is an answer to love received, not a way of earning it.
Many commandments are phrased negatively, but each protects a good: life, marriage, property, truth, the dignity of each person. Jesus pushes them deeper, to the heart — not only do not kill, but do not nurse anger; not only do not commit adultery, but guard your desires (Matthew 5).
Because they express our basic duties to God and neighbour, the Church teaches that the commandments oblige always and everywhere. They are a minimum, not the summit: the summit is the love Jesus shows in the Beatitudes and on the Cross.
Questions people ask
Are the commandments still valid for Christians?
Yes. Jesus said he came not to abolish the Law but to fulfil it. Christians are no longer bound by the ritual laws of the Old Testament, but the Ten Commandments express what love of God and neighbour always requires.
Why do Catholics keep Sunday instead of Saturday?
The Sabbath was the seventh day. From the beginning Christians gathered on the first day of the week, the day of the Resurrection, and Sunday became the Lord's day that fulfils the Sabbath.
What if I have broken a commandment seriously?
That is exactly what God's mercy is for. The sacrament of confession exists so that anyone, after any sin, can be forgiven and start again.
Read more in the Bible
- Exodus 20:1–17 — The Ten Commandments
- Matthew 19:16–21 — Keep the commandments — and come, follow me
- Matthew 22:35–40 — The two great commandments
Did you know?
The Bible does not number the commandments, so Churches divide them differently. Catholics and Lutherans follow the division of Saint Augustine; other Christians and Jewish tradition count them another way — the content is the same.
CCC 2066A common misconception
The commandments are a list of prohibitions that limit freedom.
In fact
The Catechism reads them in the light of the Exodus: they are the path of a people God has set free, showing what love of God and neighbour requires.
A question to take with you
Which commandment do you find hardest to live? What would freedom look like there?
One small thing for today
Read the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1–17, slowly, and choose one to pay attention to this week.