Mark 12:28-34 9. THE GREAT Mark 12:28-34 (Matthew 22:34-40) 28 And one of the scribes came,--Matthew (Matthew 22:35) says "A lawyer." He was both a scribe and lawyer. and heard them questioning together,--The Sadducees and Pharisees were consulting and planning together after the defeat of the Sadducees and the lawyer heard them. and knowing that he had answered them well,--This was the decision of the lawyer relative to the answer given by Jesus to the Sadducees. asked him, What commandment is the first of all?--This point was often disputed by the doctors of the law, and the scribe's question was to further test Jesus' knowledge of the law. The Pharisees had been trying to entrap Jesus, and he had replied successfully to them in such a way as to silence them. The Pharisees, it seems, had given up the contest in regard to the miracles of Jesus, and now they hoped to defeat him in a trial of his knowledge. The purpose of the lawyer, as the nature of his question implies, was not to incite Jesus to evil, but to test his knowledge of the law. All commandments of God are, in one sense, equally binding, and the spirit of obedience is tested by all:but some relate to matters intrinsically more important. Those commandments are greatest which are most spiritual, most opposed to selfishness, most comprehensive. Duty to God is in itself the highest duty, and comprehends all other duties. 29 Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one:--"The words in which every Israel-ite, each morning, confessed his faith in Jehovah." (Geikie.) These words are found in Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 6:4). They announce the great foundation truth of the whole theocratic system. The unity, the aloneness of God, and the identification of Jehovah or Jahveh as that one God, is the basis upon which it is all built, and this truth permeates its entire history. Its maintenance distinguished Israel from all the nations round in the days of Israel's theocratic purity; its disregard brought all Israel's wars upon it. Christ well quotes it as the introduction of his answer, although in different words from its form in the body of the commandments. It is, however, an exact quotation from Deuteronomy. 30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God--These words also are not in either of the formal lists of the Decalogue (Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5); but are a quotation from Deuteronomy 6:5. As the first words present the great underlying truths with regard to Deity, so these present what should be the attitude of the heart, the entire man in fact, toward Jehovah. This forbids their loving any idol. They could not how down before an idol. with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.--Love to God must fill the whole heart, the entire inner sphere in which all the working of the personal consciousness originates, the whole soul, the whole faculty of feeling and desire, and the whole understanding, all the powers of thought and will, and must determine their operation. It is called "the great and first," as the sequel shows (verse 40), not because, apart from all others it is great, but because in observing it all others are observed. 31 The second is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.--This is a quotation from Leviticus 19:18. Even the love of God itself is to manifest and actualize itself by love to man--more generally, by love to all men, more particularly by brotherly love. There is no express command in scripture for a man to love himself, because the light of nature directs, and the law of nature binds and moves every man to do so. God has put a principle of self-love and self-preservation into all his creatures, but especially in man. Note that your neighbors and yourself are to be loved by you in the same degree, and by the same standard, even if your neighbor is your enemy. You have two parties to love and in loving your neighbor you are to apply to him the degree and standard you apply to yourself. You cannot apply one standard or degree to your neighbor and a different one to yourself and meet God's approval. It is another expression of the golden rule "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets." If you love your neighbor as yourself, you apply the commandments in your conduct toward him as scrupulously as you wish him to apply them to you. You must not injure him or lie to him, or steal from him, or covet his success; you must treat him exactly as you in his place wish to be treated or ought to be treatd by him. The same principle of love underlies both the first and second great commandments. There is none other commandment greater than these.--For the reason, these embrace and include all others. When love is working as it should, every cog in the spiritual machine is moving. None greater because a part cannot be greater than the whole, for every commandment is included in these. 32 And the scribe said unto him, Of a truth, Teacher, thou hast well said that he is one; and there is none other but he -- None of the schools of thought among the Jews could deny this proposition without laying the axe at the root of the whole system of the law and revelation. The acknowledgment of the one true God must accompany all right views of his law. 33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,--Though the order of the departments of loving is a little different in the scribe's answer, and there is a change in the wording, yet the idea is essentially the same, the complete consecration of every faculty and power in his love. and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.--When we remember the legalism of the whole Rabbinical fraternity, the stress they had put upon the minutest acts in and for themselves, the practices which had led Jesus to charge them with tithing garden herbs while neglecting judgment, mercy and truth, we must realize the immense stride this man took in this explicit endorsement of Jesus. The form in which he states it was especially calculated to displease his companions, and bears testimony to the enthusiasm which must have filled his heart at the moment. 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.--One's proximity to the kingdom of God is not an estimate of feet or inches, but in the preparation and purpose of the heart. The scribe, by virtue of his approval of this discreet classification of God's law, gave evidence of his nearness to the kingdom of God; while some of his associates (verses 36-40) were like those Ephesians, who, while walking according to the course of the world, were "afar off." And no man after that durst ask him any question.--The result of all their questioning had been to silence the incorrigible and convince the teachable, and it was a losing business to his enemies. Christ becomes the questioner and the accuser, and the drama rushes on to its tragic close. The scribe was near the kingdom, he needed another step to get into it, the unreserved committal of himself to follow Jesus in love. We know not whether he took this step, but we know that it will be madness for us to stop at the point where he leaves us. To acknowledge is to be near, the experience and practice is to be in. Where are you? This closes the wicked attacks to which Jesus was subject on Tuesday of the Passion Week in the temple. All his opposers are silenced, and the last one who represented them is almost brought into the number of disciples.