The Greatest Commandment
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.[e] 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.’[f] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[g] There is no commandment greater than these.”
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.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
Horsham: 16th June 2025
The preceding verses of Chapter 12 have outlined an orchestrated attempt by religious and political leaders to catch Jesus out so that he could be arrested. First the Leaders of the Temple, then the Herodians and Pharisees, and then the Sadducees. These people want Jesus out of the way. They want him dead.
Mark turns our attention to an entirely different situation. This time a normal question comes from someone referred to as a scribe. As their name implies, the key role of the scribes was to make accurate copies of the scriptures (For more info click here: article by Christianity.com). They were educated, learned and respected men.
‘In Judaism, there was a kind of double tendency. There was the tendency to expand the Law limitlessly into hundreds and thousands of rules and regulations. But there was also the tendency to try to gather up the law into one sentence, one general statement which would be a compendium of its whole message. ‘(Barclay, Loc 5902)
Throughout history, there have been attempts to summarise the core of Scripture. King David did it (Psalm 15). Isaiah did it at least twice (Isaiah 33.15 and 56:1). Micah did it (Micah 6:8). (for a simple discussion of these summaries see Barclay Loc 5902)
It was common for a rabbi to be asked to offer his own summary of the Law, so in the days leading up to Passover, it was reasonable for a scribe to approach a famous rabbi and put this question. “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”.
The first response is from Deuteronomy 6:4, the opening verse of the Shema, the words which committed Jews use at the start of every day, and which were carried by orthodox Jews in black boxes called phylacteries on their forehead or wrist. Every Jew knows this verse. Neither the scribe nor any other person listening would not be surprised that Jesus offers this verse.
The second part of his response is from Leviticus 19:18. Again, this is a deeply familiar verse. It was familiar to Jewish people, and it’s familiar to us, although for different reasons. To us, the phrase reminds us of the parable of the Good Samaritan. To the Jewish mind, the ‘neighbour’ means anyone who is part of the family of Israel. Importantly, the way in which Jesus quotes it, he drops that restriction. The teaching of Jesus has a radical edge which we can easily miss.
Unlike those who are seeking Christ’s death, the scribe is not humiliated. He recognises the nuance of what Jesus has said. He affirms Christ’s summary and is himself commended. He is not far from the kingdom of God.
End Piece
‘What does it mean when a person is ‘not far from the kingdom of God’? It means he or she is facing truth honestly and is not interested in the ‘party line’. or even personal prejudices. It means the person is testing his or her faith by what the Word of God says and not by what some religious group demands. People close to the kingdom have the courage to stand up for what is true even if they lose some friends and make some new enemies.’ (Wiersbe, p142)