Final answer:
The two great commandments as stated by Jesus are to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself, which align with Judaism's ethical teachings. Option a) is the correct answer to the student's question.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Two Great Commandments
When asked about the greatest commandments, Jesus referenced two core commandments that summarize the ethos of Christian moral teaching. According to the gospel of Matthew 22:39, Jesus stated: “The first and greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart” and the second is similar: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” These commandments encapsulate the essence of the Ten Commandments given to Moses and align with the ethical teachings found within Judaism, as reflected in Leviticus 19:18 and the teachings of Hillel from the Talmud, Shabbat 31a. The selection a) Love your neighbor as yourself, and love God with all your heart is the correct answer to the student's question. The other options provided reflect other commandments, but they are not the two commandments highlighted as the greatest by Jesus.
The question points to a deeper concern about the practice of these commandments in the real world and observes a tendency among some Christians to limit their love to those who are similar to themselves. This is contrary to the universal scope of the commandment to love one's neighbor, which is meant to extend beyond the boundaries of likeness and familiarity.