Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. --Deuteronomy 6:4-9
About 10 years ago there was a progressive socio-political movement called the Occupy movement. In September and October, 2011 many independent but loosely associated groups met together to protest social and economic injustices worldwide. I recall seeing a news clip of one such group, either in New York, Los Angeles, or Portland, Oregon (I forget which location). The group was too large to hear the one speaking, so messengers would repeat what the leader had said in waves outward toward the fringes of the crowd. "We must work together!" said the leader. Then, like an echo, someone about 10 yards away would shout, "We must work together," and someone about 10 yards further out would repeat the same line, until the message was relayed to the edge of the crowd. I have since learned that the military would use the same tactic when there was no public address system available.
Clearly, some in the group would hear the message, line by line, reiterated several times, especially if one of the repeaters had a voice that carried well. The repetition served several purposes: first, it allowed all to hear the message at least once; second, it reinforced the message with those who heard it multiple times; finally, it was memorable--by hearing the message and repeating it for others, it became a part of their lives.
Clearly, the Scriptures were written well before the invention of PA systems and loudspeakers, not to mention radio, television, social media, podcasts, etc. If a message was to be heard, learned, and remembered, it had to be repeated often by leaders of tribes, leaders of families, and heads of households. That's why the Law of Moses commanded children to be taught this way: their parents were to repeat the message, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God; the Lord is One." They were to tell it to their children when they awoke from sleep. They were to repeat it to them when they sat in their houses, and when they walked by the wayside. They were to tell their children again when they lay down to sleep at night. Not only that, the parents were to keep these words affixed to their persons, either sewn in their clothing or worn as an adornment on the fronts of their turbans on top of their heads. And just so they would not forget what they were wearing, the words should be inscribed on the doorposts of their homes. Many people today have a mezuzah in their doorways that include these words. Orthodox Jewish families will kiss their hand and touch the mezuzah as they enter or leave through the doorway. These words were meant to be a reminder, not just to worship God, but that there was only one God. They were not to worship idols, or to follow the gods of other nations.
In our passage today from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus quotes this command when asked about the greatest commandment.
Then one of the Scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?" Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." So the Scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him will all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." But after that no one dared question Him. --Mark 12: 28-34
A bit of background might be helpful here. Traditionally, Scribes were keepers of the written scriptures. They laboriously hand-copied the scrolls kept in each synagogue. As such, they were considered experts in the Mosaic law, and were sought out to provide wise counsel on difficult matters. Unfortunately, their interpretations added to the Scriptures, which went above and beyond the original text. For example, when God's law said do no work on the Sabbath, the Scribes added so many layers of meaning on them that modern Orthodox Jews who still follow their teaching will not even push a button on the Sabbath.
So this was a Scribe who approached Jesus with a question, but the question was a bit different than the previous questions from the Priests, Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducees. Each of those groups intended to trap Jesus, so that He would be caught in His own words and they could arrest Him. This Scribe, however, appeared to have some degree of wisdom and insight. Verse 28 says that this particular Scribe perceived that Jesus had answered well all of the prior questions. It appears, then, that his question was not meant to trap Jesus, but to confirm His orthodoxy and His adherence to the Word of God. This is commendable. Later in Scripture we see that when Paul and Silas went on their missionary journey, going from synagogue to synagogue preaching the gospel of Jesus, the Jews in Berea heard the message that Paul preached. Acts 17:11 says, "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." In the same way, this particular Scribe was said to have answered Jesus discreetly (or wisely in the NKJV) in verse 34. The Greek word used here is nounechos and it means prudently--as in having his own mind. Jesus saw that the man was making up his own mind, and had not bought into the groupthink of the other Scribes and Pharisees.
This is not to say he did not have an expectation of the way he thought Jesus would answer. He undoubtedly thought that Jesus would say something out the preeminence of sacrifice. The writer of Hebrews said, "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). This is a reference to Leviticus 17.11, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul." Without sacrifice, there is no atonement for sin, and if we are lost in our sins, we have no access to God.
Jesus surprised him. Knowing that the Scribe was a religious conservative, Jesus replied in a conservative manner. Every religious Israelite would know the Sh'ma y'israel (hear, O Israel), the beginning of a prayer that acknowledged there is one God. Jesus went further than that, however, quoting the whole commandment from Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Then He went one step further. He said this was the preeminent command, but there was a second command that was as important as loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and that was to love your neighbor, even as you would love yourself. Just as James said, "Faith without works is dead," Jesus implied that even if you loved God perfectly, without it spilling over to love for other people who are made in the image of God, then it rings hollow. Don't misunderstand: this passage is not about self love, or that love is supreme, or that half-truth that the world loves to quote, "God is love." Taken in its entirety, Jesus is saying to this man, "Since you asked, following the commands of God are important because God is greater than all--He is greater than all other gods, he is greater than other people you may look up to and profess affection for, He is even greater than you yourself. So with that mindset, the greatest commandment is to love God more than anything--with all of yourself: your entire body, as well as all of your mind, will and emotions. And the best way to show you love God totally and completely is to love your neighbor as much as you love yourself."
Jesus went beyond the question asked of Him. The Scribe did not say, "Well, then, what is the second greatest commandment." Jesus went beyond what he had asked because He knew what the Scribe needed to know in his heart. When it became clear that the Scribe had heard Jesus' answer and had taken it to heart, Jesus said that he was very near to finding God and serving Him.
By way of application, we can bring our questions to God, but we must be open to the answer He gives. Whatever new thing we hear, we must verify with the Scriptures--if the new teaching aligns with Scripture, we can follow it; if not, then the new teaching must be discarded. If God is the one and only Supreme Being, then we must acknowledge Him as being the one authority for our lives, and we must treat Him as Lord and Master. We must follow Him body and soul, mind and spirit. We must love Him unconditionally, and love others as well.
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