{"id":37315,"date":"2025-09-10T22:00:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T05:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=37315"},"modified":"2025-09-02T21:07:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T04:07:13","slug":"mark_12_28-34","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/mark_12_28-34\/","title":{"rendered":"The Key to Entering God\u2019s Kingdom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark\u00a0 12:28-34\u00a0 (CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 12:28-34.\u00a0 With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Mark 12:28-31 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0One 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?”
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 28-31:\u00a0 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.\u00a0 This teacher asks Jesus, \u201cwhat is the most important commandment in the Jewish law?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus identifies two.\u00a0 The most important commandment, Jesus says, is from Deuteronomy 6:4-5: love God with all that you are.\u00a0 The second is from Leviticus 19:18: love your neighbour as yourself.\u00a0 \u00a0The first deals with our vertical relationship with God.\u00a0 The second deals with our horizontal relationships with people.\u00a0 Together, like a cross, these two commandments summarize what God requires of us.<\/p>\n

In other words,\u00a0in God\u2019s eyes, what matters more than anything is how you love God and how you love people.\u00a0 It\u2019s not how much you know or how much you accomplish or what people say about you.\u00a0 What matters most is how you treat God and how you treat people.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark 12:32-34a (NIV)<\/strong>
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0To 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.”
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 32-34a:\u00a0 What did Jesus mean when Jesus said to the teacher, \u201cYou are not far from the kingdom of God\u201d (v34)?\u00a0 Was Jesus understating the situation, just like at other times when Jesus would say, \u201cDon\u2019t worry.\u00a0 You are worth more than many sparrows\u201d (i.e. you are really loved by God!)?\u00a0 Or was Jesus describing it like it really is: that this teacher of the law was not quite in God\u2019s kingdom yet, but he was getting there?\u00a0 In this case I believe it\u2019s the latter.<\/p>\n

This teacher of the law recognized the importance of loving God and neighbour.\u00a0 He saw that Jesus was a wise teacher with an excellent understanding of Scripture.\u00a0 He had even started to seek Jesus for guidance.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Maybe you\u2019re in a similar place.\u00a0 You acknowledge the importance of loving God and loving your neighbour.\u00a0 You see wisdom in Jesus\u2019 words.\u00a0 You may even have started to seek Jesus for guidance in certain areas of your life.\u00a0 But you have yet to put your full trust in Jesus.\u00a0 You have yet to say to Jesus, \u201cI am a sinner who needs a Saviour and I believe You are the Saviour I need.\u201d Entering into God\u2019s kingdom requires that final step.\u00a0 All the other steps you have taken are good and can help you get a little closer to God\u2019s kingdom.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 \u00a0For in the end,\u00a0entering into God\u2019s kingdom is not about how much you know or how much you\u2019ve done; it\u2019s about trusting in Jesus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Another thing I learn from this passage:\u00a0don\u2019t write off or cancel out whole groups of people as worthless, useless or beyond hope<\/strong>.\u00a0 Granted, this teacher of the law belonged to a group that was known for misunderstanding, slandering and ultimately sending Jesus to the cross.\u00a0 But Jesus didn\u2019t write him off and say, \u201cYou\u2019re just like the rest of them.\u00a0 Get out of my face.\u00a0 I want nothing to do with your kind.\u201d\u00a0 Rather,\u00a0Jesus looked past this man\u2019s appearance and associations and into his heart.\u00a0 He saw that there was something of substance there.\u00a0 So don\u2019t judge a person just by the group they belong to.\u00a0 Focus on what\u2019s in the heart.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark 12:34b (NIV)<\/strong>
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u2026And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 34b:\u00a0 Jesus had just completed an obstacle course of questions from different groups with different belief systems, and he did so brilliantly.\u00a0 You can\u2019t stump the Son of God.\u00a0 If you try to trap Jesus with your question, you\u2019ll only end up trapping yourself.\u00a0 That\u2019s the matchless wisdom of Jesus.<\/p>\n

Jesus, wisdom of God, who can match Your wisdom and beauty?\u00a0 Who can compare to how great You are?\u00a0 I praise You for showing us what life is all about.\u00a0 I praise You for not writing off people based on what group they belong to, but looking at each person\u2019s heart.\u00a0 All of us need You, desperately.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 You\u2019re the Saviour that we need.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 12:28-34.\u00a0 With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Mark 12:28-31 (NIV)
\n28\u00a0\u00a0One 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?”
\n29\u00a0\u00a0“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.<\/p>\n

On verses 28-31:\u00a0 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.\u00a0 This teacher asks Jesus, \u201cwhat is the most important commandment in the Jewish law?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37317,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37315"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37318,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37315\/revisions\/37318"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}