By: Dale Weckbacher
Mark 12:34
And when Jesus saw
that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom
of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
(ESV)
Jesus’ mission on earth is about
to come to a dramatic climax. However,
like a movie mystery, the ending is uncertain with some believing this will end
with Jesus marching in to take over, kicking the Roman occupiers out in some
demonstration of power from God. For the
religious leaders in Jerusalem, the anticipated and hoped for ending is proving
Jesus is a fraud which is the motivation behind the attempts to entrap Jesus by
asking potentially entrapping questions regarding payment of taxes and the
resurrection (Mark
12:13-27). However, like any
mystery, the solution lies in the evidence in scripture that Messiah must
suffer to crush the serpent, Satan (Genesis
3:15). Isaiah
53 and Psalm
22 prophetically describe death by crucifixion which did not exist at the
time of their writings, foretelling how Satan will bruise the Messiah. However, the good news is that Jesus will
conquer death and be able to ask death where its sting is because Jesus has
conquered the enemy of death that was the greatest punishment brought upon
humanity for their sins.
The size and scope of the
biblical narrative can be intimidating indicating that it is complex and only understandable
by an elite few. The scribe approaching
Jesus in Mark
12:28 would have been familiar with the complexities of scripture because his
duties as a scribe involved transcribing scripture to make copies for others to
use. In the digital age where text is
easily available with the push of a button, it is difficult to imagine one
tediously writing each letter of a text by hand. While the text does not provide the reason
for the Scribe’s approaching Jesus with a question like it did with the
Sadducees and Pharisees, but Jesus’ direct answer to the question indicates
Jesus discerned his question as genuine.
The question of the scribe is
which of the commandments is the most important. This scribe may have transcribed the 10
Commandments portion of scripture many times leading to him wondering which of
the ten was the greatest. The lesson
from this text is making the complexity of ten commandments simple to
understand and obey by laying a foundation of two commandments that build a
foundation upon which the other ten can firmly rest. Let us look at the other commandments and how
they rest on the foundation of putting God first and loving our neighbors as
ourselves.
1) Idolatry,
taking the Lord's name in vain, and honor of the Sabbath (Exodus
20:4-11) – One honoring the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and
strength will not practice idolatry or take the Lord's name in vain for God has
a prevalent place in their hearts. However,
honoring the Sabbath is something that provides confusion with some claiming Saturday
is the only day reserved for honoring God, with others honoring God on Sunday
for it is the day of Jesus’ resurrection, and others claiming every day is a
day to honor God. The Levitical law of
the Old Covenant forbids doing any work on the Sabbath, meaning Jesus may have violated
this law by healing on the Sabbath (Luke
4:31; Mark 1:21). In two instances
Jesus asked the religious leaders seeking to make accusations against Jesus if
it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath (Luke
14:3; Matthew 12:10). The solution
to the dilemma of honoring the Sabbath is found in it representing a symbol to
old covenant believers testing their obedience and illustrating the need to
take time to find rest in the Lord daily and not just one day of the week.
2) The
last six commandments relate to interactions between people Exodus
20:12-19 – The Israelites who had lived under slavery for 400 years were now
free. However, this freedom could become
disastrous for the community if there were no laws in place to govern societal behaviors.
The last six of the 10 Commandments provide the foundation for the laws that would
govern the nation. So powerful is this
foundation that it still provides the foundation for laws governing civilized
societies today. However, Jesus makes it even simpler by
telling the scribe to love his neighbor as himself. One loving their neighbor will honor those in
authority over them, especially their parents.
They would not murder a neighbor they love. They would not commit adultery against one
they love for that would bring emotional harm to them and their spouse. They would not steal from a neighbor they
love but instead ask if they could borrow something they need and then promise
to pay them for it or bring it back when finished. They would not lie to the neighbor they love
but be honest and transparent with them.
They also would not covet what their neighbor has for that could lead to
stealing it. A foundation of loving one’s
neighbor makes obedience to the last six commandments something one wants to do
and not something they have to do.
The scribe in this text is indeed
close to the kingdom of God with his understanding the simplicity of the Gospel
message by acknowledging the importance of putting God first in our lives
through receiving justification for sins by accepting Jesus’ substitutionary
taking our death penalty for sin on the cross (Romans
3:23; 6:23). The response to this
extension of grace from God should be a life of transformation to godly
thinking (Romans
12:2). There should also be a
demonstration of love for our neighbors by sharing the message of the Gospel
both in what we say and most importantly in how we live. Imagine the change that would occur in the
world if people put God first and loved their neighbors as themselves. I pray believers in Christ would live lives
of submission to God and loving service to neighbors out of godly love for them
so godly living becomes contagious bringing transformation to our society. May God bless everyone reading this.
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