In Matthew 19:17, Jesus explicitly teaches the importance of keeping the commandments when He tells the rich young man, “If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” In response to the man's follow-up question, Jesus lists several of the Ten Commandments, affirming their relevance and centrality to righteous living. While Jesus doesn't always provide a direct list of all Ten Commandments in His teachings, the core principles of the commandments are evident throughout His ministry. For example, in Matthew 5:19, He emphasizes that anyone who breaks even the least of God's commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus also summarizes the commandments when He highlights the two greatest commandments in Matthew 22:37-40: to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself, which encapsulate the essence of the first four commandments (dealing with God) and the last six (focused on relationships with others). These teachings suggest that Jesus upheld the Ten Commandments in their entirety, not just in specific instances but as a foundational part of His message. His discussions about the Sabbath, such as in Matthew 12:8, where He declares, "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath," further emphasize that the commandments, including the Sabbath commandment, remain important and are meant to be understood in light of His fulfillment of the Law. While not every instance involves an explicit enumeration of all Ten Commandments, Jesus’ teachings reflect a consistent respect for and reinforcement of the moral and spiritual principles that they represent.
