Mark 12:28-34 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Mark 12:28-34. With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage. Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage? After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
Mark 12:28-31 (NIV)
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
On verses 28-31: After answering questions from the Pharisees, the Herodians, and the Sadducees, now Jesus is confronted by a representative of another group: the teachers of the law. This teacher asks Jesus, “what is the most important commandment in the Jewish law?”
Jesus identifies two. The most important commandment, Jesus says, is from Deuteronomy 6:4-5: love God with all that you are. The second is from Leviticus 19:18: love your neighbour as yourself. The first deals with our vertical relationship with God. The second deals with our horizontal relationships with people. Together, like a cross, these two commandments summarize what God requires of us.
In other words, in God’s eyes, what matters more than anything is how you love God and how you love people. It’s not how much you know or how much you accomplish or what people say about you. What matters most is how you treat God and how you treat people.
Mark 12:32-34a (NIV)
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.
33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”…
On verses 32-34a: What did Jesus mean when Jesus said to the teacher, “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (v34)? Was Jesus understating the situation, just like at other times when Jesus would say, “Don’t worry. You are worth more than many sparrows” (i.e. you are really loved by God!)? Or was Jesus describing it like it really is: that this teacher of the law was not quite in God’s kingdom yet, but he was getting there? In this case I believe it’s the latter.
This teacher of the law recognized the importance of loving God and neighbour. He saw that Jesus was a wise teacher with an excellent understanding of Scripture. He had even started to seek Jesus for guidance. But as of this moment, this man still had at least one more step to take: he needed to recognize his utter helplessness to get to God by himself and fully trust in Jesus to help him get there.
Maybe you’re in a similar place. You acknowledge the importance of loving God and loving your neighbour. You see wisdom in Jesus’ words. You may even have started to seek Jesus for guidance in certain areas of your life. But you have yet to put your full trust in Jesus. You have yet to say to Jesus, “I am a sinner who needs a Saviour and I believe You are the Saviour I need.” Entering into God’s kingdom requires that final step. All the other steps you have taken are good and can help you get a little closer to God’s kingdom. But that final step of trusting Jesus is the essential difference maker, the real destiny changer, the key that takes you through the door and into the kingdom of God. For in the end, entering into God’s kingdom is not about how much you know or how much you’ve done; it’s about trusting in Jesus.
Another thing I learn from this passage: don’t write off or cancel out whole groups of people as worthless, useless or beyond hope. Granted, this teacher of the law belonged to a group that was known for misunderstanding, slandering and ultimately sending Jesus to the cross. But Jesus didn’t write him off and say, “You’re just like the rest of them. Get out of my face. I want nothing to do with your kind.” Rather, Jesus looked past this man’s appearance and associations and into his heart. He saw that there was something of substance there. So don’t judge a person just by the group they belong to. Focus on what’s in the heart.
Mark 12:34b (NIV)
34 …And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
On verse 34b: Jesus had just completed an obstacle course of questions from different groups with different belief systems, and he did so brilliantly. You can’t stump the Son of God. If you try to trap Jesus with your question, you’ll only end up trapping yourself. That’s the matchless wisdom of Jesus.
Jesus, wisdom of God, who can match Your wisdom and beauty? Who can compare to how great You are? I praise You for showing us what life is all about. I praise You for not writing off people based on what group they belong to, but looking at each person’s heart. All of us need You, desperately. Without You we have no way of living the life that God wants us to live or having anything to do with God at all. You’re the Saviour that we need. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
copyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
