The Pharisees should have been very pleased that Jesus had silenced the Saducees (Matt. 22:23-33) who differed with them on the doctrine of the resurrection. However, their anger with Jesus made them oblivious to anything but getting rid of him.
The Law, given to Moses, had been the way the Covenant had been forged between God and his people, and it had bound them together as the chosen ones. They should have seen at as a way of love but instead it had been made into a complicated set of rules. The Pharisees took great pride in adhering to these, not for love of God or neighbour but to draw attention to themselves. The keeping of the Sabbath can be taken as a good example.
Jesus had said, “The Sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Isaiah had talked about calling the Sabbath a delight (Is. 58:13). It was created by God for people to take rest from work, spend time with him and enjoy a time of leisure and recreation so that they might be refreshed for the coming week; instead, it had made into a day of strict regulations.
The Law was fulfilled in Jesus. The two commandments complement one another: loving God leads us to love his creation, especially humankind, while loving neighbour draws us closer to a fuller knowledge of the God we cannot see.
“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are the members of my family, you did it me.” (Matt. 25:40-41)