Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 12:28
And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
28 34. The Question of the Scribe
28. one of the scribes ] From Mat 22:34-35, it appears that he was a Pharisee, and a Master of the Law.
Which is the first commandment of all? ] This question, on which the schools of Hillel and Shammai were disagreed, the Lawyer put, tempting our Lord (Mat 22:35), hoping that He would commit Himself as an enemy of the Traditions. The Rabbinical schools taught that there were important distinctions between the Commandments, some being great and others small, some hard and weighty, others easy and of less importance. Great commands were the observance of the Sabbath, circumcision, minute rites of sacrifice and offering, the rules respecting fringes and phylacteries. Indeed, all the separate commandments of the ceremonial and moral Law had been carefully weighed and classified, and it had been concluded that there were “248 affirmative precepts, being as many as the members in the human body, and 365 negative precepts, being as many as the arteries and veins, or the days of the year; the total being 613, which was also the number of the letters in the Decalogue.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
See the notes at Mat 22:34-40.
Mar 12:28
Perceiving that he answered them well – That is, with wisdom, and with a proper understanding of the law. In this case the opinion of the Saviour corresponded with that of the Pharisees; and the question which this scribe put to him now seems to have been one of the very few candid inquiries of him by the Jews for the purpose of obtaining information. Jesus answered it in the spirit of kindness, and commended the conduct of the man.
Mar 12:29
Hear, O Israel! – This was said to call the attention of the Jews to the great importance of the truth about to be proclaimed. See Deu 6:4-5.
The Lord our God … – Literally, Yahweh, our God, is one Yahweh. The other nations worshipped many gods, but the God of the Jews was one, and one only. Yahweh was undivided; and this great truth it was the design of the separation of the Jewish people from other nations to keep in mind. This was the peculiar truth which was communicated to the Jews, and this they were required to keep and remember forever.
Mar 12:30
And thou shalt love … – If Yahweh was the only God, then they ought not to love any other being supremely – then they might not bow down before any idol. They were required to love God above all other beings or things, and with all the faculties of their minds. See the notes at Mat 22:37.
Mar 12:32-34
This answer of the scribe is not found in Matthew.
Is more than all – Is of more importance and value.
Discreetly – Wisely, according to truth.
Not far from the kingdom of God – Thou who dost prefer the internal to the external worship of God – who hast so just a view of the requirements of the law – canst easily become a follower of me, and art almost fit to be numbered among my disciples. This shows that a proper understanding of the Old Testament, of its laws and requirements, would prepare the mind for Christianity, and suit a person at once to embrace it when presented. One system is grafted on the other, agreeably to Gal 3:24.
And no man after that durst ask him any question – That is, no one of the scribes, the Pharisees, or the Sadducees durst ask him a question for the purpose of tempting him or entangling him. He had completely silenced them. It does not appear, however, but that his disciples dared to ask him questions for the purpose of information.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
See the notes on “Mat 22:35“, and following verses to Mat 22:40, where whatsoever Mark here hath is opened.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
28. And one of the scribes“alawyer,” says Matthew (Mt22:35); that is, teacher of the law.
came, and having heard themreasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well,asked himmanifestly in no bad spirit. When Matthew (Mt22:35) therefore says he came “tempting,” or “tryinghim,” as one of the Pharisaic party who seemed to enjoy thedefeat He had given to the Sadducees, we may suppose that thoughsomewhat priding himself upon his insight into the law, and notindisposed to measure his knowledge with One in whom he had not yetlearned to believe, he was nevertheless an honest-hearted, fairdisputant.
Which is the firstcommandment of all?first in importance; the primary, leadingcommandment, the most fundamental one. This was a question which,with some others, divided the Jewish teachers into rival schools. OurLord’s answer is in a strain of respect very different from what Heshowed to cavillersever observing His own direction, “Givenot that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast ye your pearlsbefore swine; lest they trample them under their feet, and turn againand rend you” (Mt 7:6).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And one of the Scribes came,…. Matthew calls him a lawyer, Mt 22:35, an interpreter of the law, as a Scribe was:
and having heard them reasoning together; being present at the dispute between Christ and the Sadducees, which he diligently attended to:
and perceiving that he had answered them well: in a most beautiful manner. The Jews have adopted the very Greek word here used, and make use of it in the same sense as n, “he answered him well”: or, as the gloss upon it, “praise worthily”; in a manner deserving praise; and is the same with o, “thou hast said well”, or beautifully; and so the answer here was with great solidity, and judgment, and strength of argument, to their utter confusion and silence; whereby he understood he had considerable knowledge in the law, and yet was willing to try if he could not puzzle him with a question relating to it:
asked him, which is the first commandment of all? of all the commandments in the law, moral and ceremonial.
n T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 108. 1. o Zohar in Lev. fol. 2. 3. & 15. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Hopeful Scribe. |
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28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
The scribes and Pharisees were (however bad otherwise) enemies to the Sadducees; now one would have expected that, when they heard Christ argue so well against the Sadducees, they would have countenanced him, as they did Paul when he appeared against the Sadducees (Acts xxiii. 9); but it had not the effect: because he did not fall in with them in the ceremonials of religion, he agreeing with them in the essentials, gained him no manner of respect with them. Only we have here an account of one of them, a scribe, who had so much civility in him as to take notice of Christ’s answer to the Sadducees, and to own that he had answered well, and much to the purpose (v. 28); and we have reason to hope that he did not join with the other scribes in persecuting Christ; for here we have his application to Christ for instruction, and it was such as became him; not tempting Christ, but desiring to improve his acquaintance with him.
I. He enquired, Which is the first commandment of all? v. 28. He doth not mean the first in order, but the first in weight and dignity; “Which is that command which we ought to have in a special manner an eye to, and our obedience to which will lay a foundation for our obedience to all the rest?” Not that any commandment of God is little (they are all the commands of a great God), but some are greater than others, moral precepts than rituals, and of some we may say, They are the greatest of all.
II. Christ gave him a direct answer to this enquiry, v. 29-31. Those that sincerely desire to be instructed concerning their duty, Christ will guide in judgment, and teach his way. He tells him,
1. That the great commandment of all, which is indeed inclusive of all, is, that of loving God with all our hearts. (1.) Where there is a commanding principle in the soul, there is a disposition to every other duty. Love is the leading affection of the soul; the love of God is the leading grace in the renewed soul. (2.) Where this is not, nothing else that is good is done, or done aright, or accepted, or done long. Loving God with all our heart, will effectually take us off from, and arm us against, all those things that are rivals with him for the throne in our souls, and will engage us to every thing by which he may be honoured, and with which he will be pleased; and no commandment will be grievous where this principle commands, and has the ascendant. Now here in, Mark, our Saviour prefixes to this command the great doctrinal truth upon which it is built (v. 29); Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord; if we firmly believe this, it will follow, that we shall love him with all our heart. He is Jehovah, who has all amiable perfections in himself; he is our God, to whom we stand related and obliged; and therefore we ought to love him, to set our affections on him, let out own desire toward him, and take a delight in him; and he is one Lord, therefore he must be loved with our whole heart; he has the sole right to us, and therefore ought to have the sole possession of us. If he be one, our hearts must be one with him, and since there is no God besides, no rival must be admitted with him upon the throne.
2. That the second great commandment is, to love our neighbour as ourselves (v. 31), as truly and sincerely as we love ourselves, and in the same instances, and we must show it by doing as we would be done by. As we must therefore love God better than ourselves, because he is Jehovah, a being infinitely better than we are, and must love him with all our heart, because he is one Lord, and there is no other like him; so we must love our neighbour as ourselves, because he is of the same nature with ourselves; our hearts are fashioned alike, and my neighbour and myself are of one body, of one society, that of the world of mankind; and if a fellow-Christian, and of the same sacred society, the obligation is the stronger. Hath not one God created us? Mal. ii. 10. Has not one Christ redeemed us? Well might Christ say, There is no other commandment greater than these; for in these all the law is fulfilled, and if we make conscience of obedience to these, all other instances of obedience will follow of course.
III. The scribe consented to what Christ said, and descanted upon it, Mar 12:32; Mar 12:33. 1. He commends Christ’s decision of this question; Well, Master, thou hast said the truth. Christ’s assertions needed not the scribe’s attestations; but this scribe, being a man in authority, thought it would put some reputation upon what Christ said, to have it commended by him; and it shall be brought in evidence against those who persecuted Christ, as a deceiver, that one of themselves, even a scribe of their own, confessed that he said the truth, and said it well. And thus must we subscribe to Christ’s sayings, must set to our seal that they are true. 2. He comments upon it. Christ had quoted that great doctrine, that the Lord our God is one Lord; and this he not only assented to, but added, “There is none other but he; and therefore we must have no other God besides.” This excludes all rivals with him, and secures the throne in the heart entire for him. Christ had laid down that great law, of loving God with all our hearts; and this also he explains–that it is loving him with the understanding, as those that know what abundant reason we have to love him. Our love to God, as it must be an entire, so it must be an intelligent, love; we must love him with all the understanding, ex holes tes syneseos—out of the whole understanding; our rational powers and faculties must all be set on work to lead out the affections of our souls toward God. Christ has said, “To love God and our neighbour is the greatest commandment of all;” “Yea,” saith the scribe, “it is better, it is more than all whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifices, more acceptable to God, and will turn to a better account to ourselves.” There were those who held, that the law of sacrifices was the greatest commandment of all; but this scribe readily agreed with our Saviour in this–that the law of love to God and our neighbour is greater than that of sacrifice, even than that of whole-burnt-offerings, which were intended purely for the honour of God.
IV. Christ approved of what he said, and encouraged him to proceed in his enquiries of him, v. 34. 1. He owned that he understood well, as far as he went; so far, so good. Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, and was the more pleased with it, because he had of late met with so many even of the scribes, men of letters, that answered indiscreetly, as those that had no understanding, nor desired to have any. He answered nounechos—as one that had a mind; as a rational intelligent man, as one that had his wits about him; as one whose reason was not blinded, whose judgment was not biassed, and whose forethought was not fettered, by the prejudices which other scribes were so much under the power of. He answered as one that allowed himself liberty and leisure to consider, as one that had considered. 2. He owned that he stood fair for a further advance; “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God, the kingdom of grace and glory; thou art in a likely way to be a Christian, a disciple of Christ. For the doctrine of Christ insists most upon these things, and is designed, and has a tendency direct, to bring thee to this.” Note, There is hope of those who make a good use of the light they have, and go as far as that will carry them, that by the grace of God they will be led further, by the clearer discoveries God has to make to them. What became of this scribe we are not told, but would willingly hope that he took the hint Christ hereby gave him, and that, having been told by him, so much to his satisfaction, what was the great commandment of the law, he proceeded to enquire of him, or his apostles, what was the great commandment of the gospel too. Yet, if he did not, but took, up here, and went no further, we are not to think it strange; for there are many who are not far from the kingdom of God, and yet never come thither. Now, one would think, this should have invited many to consult him: but it had a contrary effect; No man, after that, durst ask him any question; every thing he said, was spoken with such authority and majesty, that every one stood in awe of him; those that desired to learn, were ashamed to ask, and those that designed to cavil, were afraid to ask.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Heard them questioning together ( ). The victory of Christ over the Sadducees pleased the Pharisees who now had come back with mixed emotions over the new turn of things (Mt 22:34). Lu 20:39 represents one of the scribes as commending Jesus for his skilful reply to the Sadducees. Mark here puts this scribe in a favourable light, “knowing that he had answered them well” ( ). “Them” here means the Sadducees. But Mt 22:35 says that this lawyer () was “tempting” () by his question. “A few, among whom was the scribe, were constrained to admire, even if they were willing to criticize, the Rabbi who though not himself a Pharisee, surpassed the Pharisees as a champion of the truth.” That is a just picture of this lawyer.
The first of all ( ). First in rank and importance. Mt 22:36 has “great” (). See discussion there. Probably Jesus spoke in Aramaic. “First” and “great” in Greek do not differ essentially here. Mark quotes De 6:4f. as it stands in the LXX and also Le 19:18. Mt 22:40 adds the summary: “On these two commandments hangeth () the whole law and the prophets.”
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Well [] . Lit., beautifully, finely, admirably. What [] . Rather, of what nature.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
THE TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS, v. 28-34
1) “And one of the scribes came,” (kai proselthon eis ton grammateon) “And one of the scribes approached Him,” Mat 22:34, one of those who wrote and indexed the law, served as librarian and archives guardian of the law.
2) “And having heard them reasoning together,” (akousas auton suzetoun ton) “Having heard them (Jesus and the Sadducees) debating,” the resurrection issue, with our Lord leading in a distinguished, defensive and offensive manner.
3) “And perceiving that He had answered them well,” (eidos hoti kalos apekrithe autois) “Knowing that He had answered them well,” accurately, thoroughly, as He was a lawyer, Mat 22:35; Luk 10:25; Luk 10:27. He meant that Jesus had answered well for His side of the issue.
4) “Asked Him,” (eperotesen auton) “He inquired (of) Him,” of Jesus he inquired for a personal judgement and commitment regarding the commandments of God.
5) “Which is the first commandment of all?” (pois estin entole prote panton) “What is or which commandment is the first (in priority) or rank of importance, of all the commandments?” Mat 22:35-36. Matthew presents the lawyer as coming to Jesus with ulterior motives. The question as viewed by Mark seems to inquire relating to ethical and moral values of the commandments, as they relate to one’s neighbor. All commandments of God are great or important. None is to be considered as unimportant.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
Mar. 12:28. The scribes question wasOf what nature is the first commandment of all? Has it to do, that is, with Sabbath observance, or with circumcision, or with sacrificial ritesor what?
Mar. 12:30. Note the prep. , before heart, soul, mind, strength. The whole of mans complex being is to go out in love to God. The measure of our love to God is to love Him without measure.
Mar. 12:32. Finely (answered)! Teacher, Thou hast spoken from (the standpoint of) truth, for He is one, etc. This seems to suit both text and context better than R. V. rendering.
Mar. 12:34. Discreetly.With or discernmenthaving his wits about him, as we say.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Mar. 12:28-34
(PARALLEL: Mat. 22:34-40.)
Christs interview with a scribe.The character of the scribes and Pharisees, as a body, is held up by our Lord to the abhorrence of all who would serve God in spirit and in truth. See Mat. 16:6-12; Mat. 23:1-36. But experience teaches that no general description of a class of men, however just, is applicable to every individual in it. We are not, therefore, surprised to find here a notable exception to the rulea scribe who entertains such worthy notions of religion as to win the commendation of Christ.
I. The occasion.The Pharisees and the Sadducees had, one after another, put questions to our Lord, for the purpose of catching or ensnaring Him in His talk. He, seeing through their hypocrisy, gave them such answers as neither satisfied them nor afforded them a handle to use against Him. Then one of the scribes, struck with the appositeness of His replies, determined to put a question of his own, to try whether He who had so properly silenced the crafty and malicious would be as ready with a suitable answer to an honest and serious inquirer.
II. The scribes question.Which is the first commandment of all?
1. If his object was to test the merits and attainments of this new Teacher, and to see whether He had a correct notion of that law which He professed to expound, he could not have put a more appropriate question. It would be a parallel case if, in the present day, a professing Christian were to be called upon to state which is the greatest and most distinguishing doctrine of Christianity, or its most excellent privilege. Those persons who are ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, would either be unable to answer at all, or would answer in such a way as to prove that they were destitute of any clear and comprehensive views of Divine truth.
2. This question was one very frequently discussed in the schools of the Rabbis; and from many of them it received answers very wide of the mark. Some said the commandment relating to the Sabbath was the greatest of all; others set the highest value on the laws relating to sacrifices, or to purifications. This scribe appears to have come to a sounder conclusion, and to have been anxious to discover whether this new Teacher would confirm him in it.
III. Our Lords reply.This question being honestly put, Christ meets it in a very different manner from that in which He had silenced His enemies. Without hesitation, and without ambiguity, the Oracle of Divine truth delivers His infallible sentence.
1. Whereas the question referred to one commandment only, our Lord in His reply brings forward two. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, He says, is the first commandment. But the mention of a first naturally suggests a second, without which the first might appear incomplete. It is true that the love of God, if perfect and sincere, will constrain us, by a moral necessity, to love our brother also. Still, in a matter of so much practical importance, it is desirable that there should be no room for cavil or mistake. Therefore He proceeds: And the second is like, etc.
2. There is none other commandment greater than these.
(1) In comprehensiveness. Whatever commandments may be added to these, can they require of us anything greater than is already required by these?
(2) In fundamental importance (Mat. 22:40). These are the two great principles upon which all statutes, ordinances, and judgments, which can be given or conceived, are based. Take away the obligation of these two, and it will be impossible to maintain the authority of any others.
IV. The scribes remark upon Christs answer.
1. His language is that of a man who, having long considered the subject, and come to a conclusion not generally accredited among those of his own set, at last meets with one whose opinion agrees with his own.
2. In declaring his conviction that the observance of these two commandments is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices, he does not mean to imply that burnt offerings and sacrifices are nothing. To him, as a Jew, they were much. They were that wherewith man should come before the Lord, and bow himself before the high God; they were the suitable recognitions of the Divine bounty; and, what is still more to the purpose, they were the means appointed by God Himself for the acknowledgment and atonement of sin. What, therefore, though God had declared that to obey is better than sacrifice, since He had also declared that sacrifice was necessary to supply the deficiencies of obedience, and thus it became, in fact, a part of obedience! It was not for a Jew to ask how the blood of bulls and of goats could take away sin, or how that Great Being who owned every beast of the forest and the cattle upon a thousand hills should condescend to accept a bullock out of his house or a he-goat out of his folds. It was enough for him to know that God in His wisdom had provided for the continuance of these things till He came into the world who should provide a real sacrifice for sin, and by one offering perfect for ever them that are sanctified.
V. Christs commendation of the scribe.Here is
1. An approbation of the scribes remark. It was a discreet answer, i.e. moderate and judicious. If, in his admiration of inward and spiritual religion, he had spoken contemptuously of forms and ceremonies, we should have said his meaning was good, but his language indiscreet. As it was, however, he hit the happy mean of exalting the one without degrading the other. He shewed no disposition to disparage the most literal compliance with every jot and tittle of the ceremonial law; he was only anxious that the body and the spirit, the form and the substance of religion, should be estimated in their proper orderfirst purity of heart, and then scrupulousness of obedience. This was exactly in accordance with Christs own teaching (Mat. 23:23).
2. A commendation of the individual himself. Thou art not far from the kingdom of God, i.e. thou art in a favourable state of mind for embracing the gospel.
(1) The honesty of intention which distinguished this scribe was a very important qualification for his reception of the truth.
(2) His spiritual conception of religion was an even more valuable preparation. A Jew thus enlightened had, to a certain extent, forestalled the gospel; he would find most congenial to his mind those very sayings of Christ which to others were the hardest of all (Mat. 9:13; Mat. 12:7; Mar. 2:27; Mar. 7:15-23; Joh. 4:21; Joh. 4:23).
Love to God and ones neighbour.
I. The nature and properties of love.
1. It is a passion of the soul, that inclines it to unite to the thing beloved.
2. Its properties are chiefly these two:
(1) A desire to please, and
(2) A desire to enjoy.
II. The double object of love.
1. The first and great object of our love is God.
(1) He is the Lord; and so His power and sovereignty may command our affections.
(2) He is our God, in covenant and relation to us; and so His kindness and nearness to us may engage us to love Him.
2. The other object of our love is our neighbour. He is to be loved by us
(1) Chiefly for Gods sake, whose creature, child, and servant he is (1Jn. 4:20-21).
(2) For our own sake, because he has the same nature as ourselves (Pro. 22:2).
III. In what measure these two are to be loved.
1. The loving of God with all the heart, etc., denotes both the sincerity and integrity of our love to Him.
(1) The sincerity is signified by its being from the heart; what springs from thence is commonly sound and sincere.
(2) With all thy heart, etc., denotes the integrity. God will admit of no rival with Him in our affections. Though He loves a broken He hates a divided heart.
2. Thy neighbour as thyselfthat is, with a like though not always with an equal affection; for every one being nearest to himself may be allowed, first, to consult his own welfare. Charity begins at home, though it must not end there, but must extend to all that are round about us, making our own desires the measure and standard of our dealing with others, doing all that good to others which we would have done to us, and avoiding all that evil to any which we ourselves would be unwilling to bear.M. Hole, D.D.
Christs first and second commandments.
I. How is the love of God said to be the first commandment?
1. It is so in order of time, the love of God being the first thing to be taught and learnt of all that come to Him; for all true religion begins with it and is founded upon it: it is the first step we are to make towards our Maker, and that will lead us on to all the other parts of our duty and obedience to Him.
2. It is the first in order of nature, as being the root and spring of all other virtues. He that truly loves God will fear Him above all things, will trust Him in all conditions, will honour Him in all his actions, will worship Him at all times, and in a word will serve and depend upon Him in the whole course of his life.
II. How is the loving our neighbour the second and like unto the first commandment?
1. In respect of the authority that commands it, and our obligation to observe it, which is the same in both.
2. In respect of the ground and motive of our obedience, which are some Divine perfections residing in God and communicated to His creatures. Our love to man is grounded upon the love of God; and we depart not from the love of our Maker by loving our neighbour, but rather heighten and increase it; for it is for Gods sake, and on His account, that we pay this affection to His creature.
3. In respect of the extent and comprehensiveness of it; for as the love of God includes the whole of that duty and homage we owe unto Him, so the love of our neighbour comprises all the good offices we are to pay unto him.
4. In respect of the reward and punishment that attend the keeping and breaking of it, which is the same in both. See Mat. 25:31-46.Ibid.
Completeness of character in serving God.Jesus took this questioner back to the familiar beginning of thingsto a well-worn platitude of the Jewish systemand, leading this man to old and familiar ground, made him work the old machinery with a new leverage, as the life of Christ fulfilled the old command, and lighted up the letter of the Mosaic economy with the spirit of the new-found Christian faith.
I. By loving God with all our heart we mean the placing of our affections upon Him. By the heart we mean love, emotion, the vitality of the tender, responsive, emotional side of our being. But you say, How can I love God, for I have never seen Him? A mother who had lost an only child in her brooding grief adopted an unknown child in a foreign mission school. The Arab boy was at first an unknown quantity to her. She assumed that the child was and the child became in time real to her. Not her reason but her affections were set upon the child who took the place of her own lost one. She loved him with all her poor broken heart, and by-and-by they met, each having saved the other. In the same way, dear friends, you must assume that God is, until He becomes real to you. You must love Him who is unknown, in the light of all His righteousness, until He becomes known to you. Your affections must grow towards God; they must lead the way to Him, for the rest of our nature always follows the leading of the heart.
II. By loving God with all the soul we mean giving to God and His service that which is the very essence of a being, the internal, animating principle of our lives. What we mean by soul is that essence or spirit within us which is regardless of matter. The power of the soul is a very different quality from the power of the heart. We may defend a cause or a person, or throw our lives into a certain current, because the soul compels us to that course of action, regardless of the heart. The power of the heart is in idealising another. The power of the soul is in idealising some hidden strength within ourselves. You love your darling child with all your heart. You love the cause you have at heart with all your soul. This is what is meant by soulit is the rising above all the hindrances and limitations of our physical and material nature. Brethren, that is the kind of strength in us which God wants. It is that which we ought to give to Him, and which is always a great and commanding power when we find it ruling a strong character in the religious life.
III. By loving God with all the mind we mean putting into exercise our reasoning faculties with regard to Him. God can never be real to you unless you have real and definite thoughts with reference to Him. Begin with the fact of Jesus Christ, study out the meaning of the Christian Church, take in the grasp of the religious instincts and the moral faculties, study out God in history, believe in a definite Holy Ghost, and you will find that the mind will grow by what it feeds on, and that God will be a reality to your mind, when your mind has a real grasp upon God.
IV. By loving God with all our strength is meant the co-ordination of our powers and faculties in such a way as to shew the force of our character, the energy of our entire nature, the putting of our energies into exercise, and the command of our own personality over our mere circumstances and surroundings. We mean by the exercise of all our powers, through the unit of the individual will, what Frederick the Great meant when speaking of William Pitt. He said, England has been a long time in labour, but she has at last brought forth a man. In the same way heart and soul and mind, when they become united with a definite will and purpose, produce that strength which shews itself in actionthat belief which becomes a living force when it is translated into a life! How is it, then, that this wholeness of service ensures us against restlessness and unbelief and sin? The answer is very plain. Do you not see that if you have this much of the bulk of your nature on the side of the service of God, if God is real enough to you to claim a real and honest portion of your nature in every departmentin heart, in soul, in mind, and in strengththere will be no trouble either in your belief in Him or in your service for Him? You will have exalted the spiritual side of your nature over the tyrannous rule of the body with its material demands, and you will be living upward to God instead of downward towards self; and the Being who had claimed and has received your affection, your soul, your mind, and your concentrated force of living will give you as a reward those returns of a spiritual life which grow to great results in cur life in exact proportion to our daily practice.W. W. Newton.
Mar. 12:34. Obedience to God the way to faith in Christ.In these words we are taught, first, that the Christians faith and obedience are not the same religion as that of natural conscience, as being some way beyond it; secondly, that this way is not farnot far in the case of those who try to act up to their conscience; in other words, that obedience to conscience leads to obedience to the gospel, which, instead of being something different altogether, is but the completion and perfection of that religion which natural conscience teaches. Indeed, it would have been strange if the God of nature had said one thing and the God of grace another, if the truths which our conscience taught us without the information of Scripture were contradicted by that information when obtained. But it is not so; there are not two ways of pleasing God; what conscience suggests Christ has sanctioned and explained; to love God and our neighbour are the great duties of the gospel as well as of the law; he who endeavours to fulfil them by the light of nature is in the way towards, is, as our Lord said, not far from Christs kingdom; for to him that hath more shall be given.
I. Consider how plainly we are taught in Scripture that perfect obedience is the standard of gospel holiness.Rom. 12:2; 1Co. 7:19; Php. 4:8; Jas. 2:10; 2Pe. 1:5-7; Joh. 14:21; Mat. 5:19. These texts, and a multitude of others, shew that the gospel leaves us just where it found us, as regards the necessity of our obedience to God; that Christ has not obeyed instead of us, but that obedience is quite as imperative as if Christ had never come; nay, is pressed upon us with additional sanctions; the difference being, not that He relaxes the strict rule of keeping His commandments, but that He gives us spiritual aids, which we have not except through Him, to enable us to keep them. Accordingly Christs service is represented in Scripture, not as different from that religious obedience which conscience teaches us naturally, but as the perfection of it. We are told again and again that obedience to God leads on to faith in Christ, that it is the only recognised way to Christ, and that therefore to believe in Him ordinarily implies that we are living in obedience to God (Joh. 6:45; Joh. 3:21; Joh. 7:17; Joh. 15:23; Joh. 8:19; 1Jn. 2:23; 2Jn. 1:9; 2Co. 4:4).
II. If we look to the history of the first propagation of the gospel, we find this view confirmed.The early Christian Church was principally composed of those who had long been in the habit of obeying their consciences carefully, and so preparing themselves for Christs religion, that kingdom of God from which the text says they were not far (Luk. 1:6; Mat. 1:19; Luk. 2:25; Joh. 1:47; Luk. 23:50; Act. 10:2; Act. 10:13; Act. 10:17). But it may be asked, Did Christ hold out no hope for those who had lived in sin? Doubtless He did, if they determined to forsake their sin. When sinners truly repent, then indeed they are altogether brothers in Christs kingdom with those who have not in the same sense need of repentance; but that they should repent at all is, alas! so far from being likely, that when the unexpected event takes place it causes such joy in heaven (from the marvellousness of it) as is not even excited by the ninety-and-nine just persons who need no such change of mind. Of such changes some instances are given us in the Gospels, for the encouragement of all penitents, such as that of the woman, mentioned by St. Luke, who loved much. And, moreover, of these penitents of whom I speak, and whom, when they become penitents, we cannot love too dearly (after our Saviours pattern), nay, or reverence too highly, and whom the apostles, after Christs departure, brought into the Church in such vast multitudes, none, as far as we know, had any sudden change of mind from bad to good wrought in them, nor do we hear of any of them honoured with any important station in the Church. I have confined myself to the time of Christs coming; but not only then, but at all times and under all circumstances, as all parts of the Bible inform us, obedience to the light we possess is the way to gain more light (Pro. 8:17-20; Luk. 16:10; Mar. 4:25).
III. Some of the consequences which follow from this great Scripture truth.
1. First, we see the hopelessness of waiting for any sudden change of heart, if we are at present living in sin. To all those who live a self-indulgent life, however they veil their self-indulgence from themselves by a notion of their superior religious knowledge, and by their faculty of speaking fluently in Scripture language, to all such the Word of life says, Be not deceived; God is not mocked; He tries the heart, and disdains the mere worship of the lips. He acknowledges no man as a believer in His Son who does not anxiously struggle to obey His commandments to the utmost; to none of those who seek without striving, and who consider themselves safe, to none of these does He give power to become sons of God.
2. But, after all, there are very many more than I have as yet mentioned who wait for a time of repentance to come, while at present they live in sin. For instance, the young, who think it will be time enough to think of God when they grow old, that religion will then come as a matter of course, and that they will then like it naturally, just as they now like their follies and sins. Or those who are much engaged in worldly business, who confess they do not give that attention to religion which they ought to give, who neglect the ordinances of the Church, who allow themselves in various small transgressions of their conscience, and resolutely harden themselves against the remorse which such transgressions are calculated to cause them; and all this they do under the idea that at length a convenient season will come when they may give themselves to religious duties. All such persons do not, in their hearts, believe our Lords doctrine contained in the text, that to obey God is to be near Christ, and that to disobey is to be far from Him. How will this truth be plain to us in that day when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed! Now we do not believe that strict obedience is as necessary as it is. We put something before it, in our doctrinal system, as more necessary than it; one man puts faith, another outward devotion, a third attention to his temporal calling, another zeal for the Churchthat is, we put a part for the whole of our duty, and so run the risk of losing our souls. These are the burnt offerings and sacrifices which even the scribe put aside before the weightier matters of the law. Or, again, we fancy that the means of gaining heaven are something stranger and rarer than the mere obvious duty of obedience to God: we are loath to seek Christ in the waters of Jordan rather than in Pharpar and Abana, rivers of Damascus; we prefer to seek Him in the height above, or to descend into the deep, rather than to believe that the Word is nigh us, even in our mouth and in our heart. Hence in false religions some men have even tortured themselves and been cruel to their flesh, thereby to become as gods, and to mount aloft; and in our own, with a not less melancholy, though less self-denying, error, men fancy that certain strange effects on their minds, strong emotion, restlessness, and an unmanly excitement and extravagance of thought and feeling, are the tokens of that inscrutable Spirit who is given us, not to make us something other than men, but to make us, what without His gracious aid we never shall be, upright, self-mastering men, humble and obedient children of our Lord and Saviour. In that day of trial all these deceits will be laid aside; we shall stand in our own real form, whether it be of heaven or of earth, the wedding garment or the old raiment of sin; and then how many, do we think, will be revealed as the heirs of light, who have followed Christ in His narrow way, and humbled themselves after His manner (though not in His perfection, and with nothing of His merit) to the daily duties of soberness, mercy, gentleness, self-denial, and the fear of God?J. H. Newman, D.D.
OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Mar. 12:28-31. The scribes question, or catch, was a common one among the learned of that day; and this answer of Jesus was the recognised solution of it. Long before now another lawyer, when asked by Jesus, What is written in the law? How dost thou read it? had replied in similar terms (Luk. 10:25-27). So that our Lords answer was not original, was not His private solution of the problem; it was the common and accepted solution among the students and masters of the law, as indeed this master himself confesses in the next verse. The only wonder to those who heard it from the lips of Jesus was how He came to know it, He who had never learned, never sat at the feet of any of their rabbis or passed through any of their schools. An ordinary layman would have been posed by it. For neither the first and great commandment, nor the second, which is like unto it, was contained in the Decalogue, though obedience to them was far more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. The first, that which enjoins love to God, is only given incidentally, in a summary of human duty contained in Deu. 6:5; and, again, Mar. 10:12. The second, that which enjoins love for our neighbour, is hidden away among a crowd of Levitical enactments of the most minute and burdensome kind (Lev. 19:18). It took some knowledge of the law, therefore, to find these two commandments at all; and much knowledge, much spiritual insight and a deep sympathy with the animating spirit of the Hebrew law, to discover that they were the first and best commandments of all. And it shews, I think, what a real genius for religion the Jews had, that even the hide-bound rabbis and scribes had discerned for themselves that lovelove to God and manis the end of the commandment and the fulfilling of the law. But, though they would have used the very words which Jesus used, would they have used them in the same sense? They would have selectedthey had selectedthe same two commandments as the great commandments; but did they see in them the meaning that He saw? We know they did not. To them this answer was only the right answer to a legal catch; to Him it was the supreme fact of human life. For what else had He come into the world but just this?to induce men, by revealing Gods hearty love for them, to love Him with all their hearts, and their neighbours as themselves.S. Cox, D.D.
Christs two commandments and the Decalogue.Have the two commandments of Christ superseded the ten commandments of Moses? Yes and No: they abolish only by fulfilling them. So long as we are compassed about with infirmity, and come short therefore of the full height of the charity of love, it is very meet, right, and our bounden duty to bear in mind the commandments of the law, and to enforce ourselves to obey them. And yet, if we could but keep the two commandments, what need should we have of the ten, or of any other commandment? How can any man who loves God with all his heart have any other God besides Him? How can any man who loves God with the whole of his mind, with full and clear intelligence, make unto him any graven images, any idol, and bow down before it? How can any man who loves God with all his soul take the name of the Lord his God in vain? How can any man who loves God with all his strength forget to hallow every day to His service, and not only the seventh? Or how can any man who loves his neighbour as himself fail to honour all men, and not only his father and mother, or do any murder, or commit adultery, or steal, or bear false witness, or covet anything that is his neighbours? Within the compass of these two commandments the whole law does hang and move: love is the fulfilling of the law; and he that walketh in love both walks at large (i. e. in liberty) and keeps all the commandments of God.Ibid.
True religion.True religion can be no disjointed, fragmentary affair. As the forest tree is one tree, though it have a myriad branches and twigs and leaves, because it has one root, so the true religious life must be one because it can have but one rootsupreme love to God.
2. True religion engages the whole man, mind and soul and affections, while the strength and power to carry out its behests are not wanting. The intellect and the emotions, the spiritual nature, and the will and force to make the Spirit effective are all drawn upon.
3. Philanthropy is not religion; but there can be no true religion without philanthropy. We love God whom we have not seen because we have learned to love our fellow-men whom we have seen, and our love to our fellow-men is intense and pure and active in proportion to the strength of our devotion to the Lord our God.
4. True religion is an active influence, leading us to do as well as think, to act as well as feel.
5. While true religion demands our all, it demands no more than any one can give. No experience that is beyond us is demanded. No angels love, no seraphs might, not the devotion of the ripened saint unless his years and experience have been attained, but with all thy heart and soul and mind and strength, and thy neighbour as thyself.F. E. Clark.
Guidance in the religious life.These words of Christ form a noble guide for the religious life. You are concerned with religion in many of its varied aspects. You are interested in thoughts about God and His relation to the world and man; you give expression to your spiritual aspirations in one and another form of worship; you bear your share of the Christian activity of the congregation; and you can never escape from the demands made upon you for Christian conduct. Forget not what religion according to Christ means. Take heed lest you be so engrossed with its mere accidents that you lose sight of its substance. Strive that you may grow in love to God and man. Despise not creeds and theologies, but so use creed, theology, and Bible that you may gain that deeper insight into God and Gods ways with men which will waken a deeper love. In recoil from a ritualism which sets more store by the means than by the end which is subserved by the means, do not rashly sit too loosely to forms of worship, but so use these forms that they may serve to bring you nearer God and nearer man. In the sphere of Christian duty beware of the letter which killeth, rise above mere obedience to external law, and ever seek in your relations with others to have a fresh baptism of that love by which alone the law of Christ can be fulfilled. And in the work you undertake in Christs Church on behalf of others be not content with their acceptance of a creed, with their participation in religious worship, or with the observance of the respectabilities of social life; strive to lead them into the love of God and man; and that you may be successful in that work grow yourself in that love, for love is begotten by love.D. M. Ross.
Mar. 12:29. The unity of God.What a massive and reassuring thought! Amid the debasements of idolatry, with its deification of every impulse and every force, amid the distractions of chance and change, seemingly so capricious and even discordant, amid the complexities of the universe and its phenomena, there is wonderful strength and wisdom in the reflexion that God is one. All changes obey His hand which holds the rein; by Him the worlds were made. The exiled patriarch was overwhelmed by the majesty of the revelation that his fathers God was God in Bethel even as in Beersheba: it charmed away the bitter sense of isolation, it unsealed in him the fountains of worship and trust, and sent him forward with a new hope of protection and prosperity. The unity of God, really apprehended, is a basis for the human will to repose upon, and to become self-consistent and at peace. It was the parent of the fruitful doctrine of the unity of nature which underlies all the scientific victories of the modern world. In religion St. Paul felt that it implies the equal treatment of all the human race (Rom. 3:29).Dean Chadwick.
Mar. 12:30. Loving God with heart, soul, mind, and strength.We know what love is in the relation of husband and wife, of father and children, of friend with friend; and from time to time any thoughtful Christian asks himself somewhat sadly, Do I, with the same reality of love, love God? If we would endeavour to get some answer to this question in regard to ourselves, let us examine carefully this passage.
1. To love God with all my heart means that I do deliberately direct my life consciously to God as its first end, and that not generally only, but in detail also. I seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness in the small ordinary transactions of life as well as in the great movements of my life.
2. The soul or life means the sum of the faculties. There is the life of a plant, which means the sum of its facultiesthe power of absorbing moisture, developing the leaves, the flower, and the fruit. There is the life or soul of the animal; that is, in addition to its powers of assimilation, digestion, and reproductionpowers also of movement and expression of soundthere is the sum of faculties, which is the life of the animal. And there is the sum of the faculties which belong to man in addition to those which the animal sharesthose rational powers which constitute the true life of humanity. In part those powers belong to all men; in part they are the peculiar endowment of special individuals, as each of us has from Almighty God his special gifts and powers. To love God, then, with all our soul, is to take stock of the faculties which God has given us, and deliberately as we realise what they are with increasing assurance as life goes on to direct them one by one and altogether to the service of God.
3. To love the Lord our God with all our mind is to direct our faculties of intellect to knowing what we can of God. Let us run through the various traits of the being of God which He has revealed to us. There is, first, His revelation in nature. It is a scene which, by captivating the spiritual imagination and faculties of man, discloses something of the mind and spiritual being of that God who is at work in it: power, wisdom, beauty; and not so only, for this scene is also a storehouse of truth. Everywhere God is appealing there to the mind of man, informing it, enlightening it. God is there disclosed in His power, in His beauty, in His truth. And yet we have but begun to estimate what we can know of God. There is that other great natural witnessthe witness of conscience. So it is when man within himself becomes conscious of the altogether new work of self-revelation. God is disclosed in righteousness. And then, once more, there is the moral character remaining, which is the argument of the psalmist: He that made the eye, shall He not see? He that planted the ear, shall He not hear? And our great poet Robert Browning has taught men to argueHe that made love and righteousness the character of man, must not He in Himself be greater than this moral work? So it is with men. They look to human nature, and see in what is best in man once more the order of the uncreated God. And yet what a wild scene this human nature is! How are we to discriminate between what belongs to human nature, between love and cruelty, between justice and tyranny? How shall we know what here is proper to human nature, and what is but the corruption of it? At this point there comes in the rectifying disclosure which God has given of Himself in the humanity of our Lord. Jesus Christ, our Master, gives us the true standard of human nature. There we see what belongs to man, and what is only the corruption of the gift of God. And yet in Jesus Christ is not only the disclosure of perfect manhoodit is the disclosure, under the conditions of our humanity, of perfect Godhood. He in man is very God. We look at His life, His forbearance, His patience, His gentleness, His self-sacrifice, and we see nothing else than forbearance and patience and gentlenessvery God. So it is with point after point. Gradually we sum up what we can know of God, His power, His beauty, His truth, His righteousness, His love, His self-sacrificethat being of God which is summed up in St. Johns words: God is love. And yet one step more. In thus disclosing to us His character God has revealed to us something at least of His own being. We could not conceive of God at all in blank, monotonous solitude. We could not conceive of a personal God living in the enjoyment of spiritual life in monotonous solitude. There can be no life, no knowledge, no will, if there be no relationship, if there be no fellowship. But as God has come nearer to us in the person of His Son, He has disclosed to us something of those inner relationships which obtained eternally in His beingthe relation of Father and Son and Holy Ghost.
4. With all our strength! What does that add to the other? This surely: that everything in human nature degenerates very rapidly into routine is an experience with which we are all only too unhappily familiar. Therefore to love the Lord our God with all our strength is again and again to make fresh beginnings in the love of Godagain and again be as one who has not yet begun at all to learn the lesson of religion, so that new force of vitality may in each successive epoch of our life, in each successive morning of our life, be put into the service which we offer to God.Canon Gore.
Love to God.
1. The sentiments and actions wherein love to God is chiefly exhibited. It implies in general to regard Him from intimate conviction as our sovereign good, as the source of all our happiness; to delight more in Him than in all things else; to prize and covet His favour and fellowship above all things; and diligently to make it our business to be well pleasing to Him.
(1) Frequent meditation on God is the first particular by which the religious man evinces his love to the Supreme Being, and shews it to be operative in him.
(2) The delight with which the religious man attends on public as well as private worship is the second particular whereby his love to God appears and shews itself active.
(3) An enlightened and active zeal for the honour and glory of God is the third particular whereby the love towards God is manifested and effectively displayed.
(4) A constant and earnest endeavour to please God by a willing and unlimited obedience to His commands is the fourth particular whereby the love towards God is displayed and shewn to be effective. This, in fact, forms the most essential part of it.
(5) The love of God must manifest itself by a sincere and effective love of our neighbour. God is infinitely superior to all necessities. We cannot augment His perfection, or give Him anything which He has not first given us. But He has rational creatures who bear His likeness, He has children, He has friends and subjects here on earth, whom we may effectually serve, to whom we may be useful in various ways, whose temporal and eternal prosperity we may promote. These He recommends to our love, to our care, to our relief.
(6) Lastly, the love of God displays itself in sincere aspirations after heaven, where we shall be more intimately united with Him, and partake of His good pleasure in a superior degree.
2. How our love to God should be constituted, or what qualities it should possess, for being genuine. With all thy heart, soul, mind, strength. These accumulated expressions, which apparently denote the selfsame thing, serve generally to shew the sincerity no less than the force and degree of the love which we owe to God. They give us to understand an undissembled, an ardent, an effective, and a constant love, captivating as it were the entire soul, setting all its capacities and energies in motion, and becoming a ruling affection.
(1) It must be sincere.
(2) We must love God above or more than all things else.
(3) We must love all else that merits our esteem and affection, principally in regard and in reference to God as the author of it.
(4) Our love to God must be firm and immutable.
3. The reasons which oblige us to such a love towards God. Love is founded on the excellency of its object, or on the close relations wherein we stand towards it, or on the benefits which we receive from it, or on the good we have to hope for from it. In regard to our love for God all these reasons unite together; and who does not perceive how strong and indissoluble they render our obligation to it?
(1) Where is the being that is more excellent, more venerable, more amiable than God? Does He not comprise in Himself whatever is beautiful, good, perfect?
(2) Consider the close relation wherein you stand towards God, and the multitude, the greatness, the high value of the benefits you have received from Him. He is our Creator; we are the work of His hands. He is our Sovereign, and we are His subjects. He is our Father, and we His children.
(3) Add the intrinsic excellency and the manifold utility of this virtue. (a) What can more delightfully employ the soul of a reasonable and virtuous being; what is more adapted to elevate and enlarge his capacities and powers; what can procure him a more pure, a more noble, a more sensible pleasure, than the love of a God who possesses all the prerogatives and attributes which only merit love in the supreme degree, without limitation and change; who is the ever-flowing and inexhaustible fountain of light, of life, of joy, of happiness; whose goodness and grace continue for ever and ever; and who will never cease to bless His friends and worshippers, and to make them happy? (b) What is more adapted to facilitate to us the practice of all the virtues, the discharge of all our duties, than the love of God? (c) What is more adapted to comfort us in all adversities, to render us firm and undaunted in every danger, and to give us the most certain hope of the completest happiness, than love towards God?G. J. Zollikofer.
The meaning of this commandment for us is nothing less than this: that we are to cherish and maintain within ourselves an enthusiastic devotion to the highest vision that is vouchsafed us of the Eternal Reality, the Eternal Love, the Eternal Beauty.R. J. Fletcher.
Mar. 12:31. Duty to neighbour.Christ sums up all Gods law, all mans duty, in the word love. The love of God and its manifestation in the love of man.
1. The strictness of the commandment and the frequency of its iteration.
(1) Here it is put forth as the compendium of the law, and again Rom. 13:8.
(2) The breach of charity is a bar to the acceptance by God of ourselves and of our work (Mat. 5:23-24; 1Jn. 3:14).
(3) It is the new commandment given by Christ on the most solemn occasion (Joh. 13:34-35).
(4) It has attached to it the promise that its fulfilment shall cover a multitude of sins (1Pe. 4:8).
2. Its twofold channel of operation.
(1) Alms-deeds and the corporal works of mercy: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, harbour the stranger and needy, visit the sick, minister to prisoners and captives, visit the fatherless and widows, bury the dead.
(2) Intercession and the spiritual works of mercy: to instruct the ignorant, correct offenders, counsel the doubtful, comfort the afflicted, suffer injuries with patience, forgive offences and wrongs, pray for others.
3. Its scope and limit.
(1) It is to be universal in its scope, reaching even to our enemies (Mat. 5:43-48; Luk. 10:29-38).
(2) Its limit: we are to love our neighbour as ourself; not morea warning to those who neglect the cultivation of their own spiritual life for the active ministrations of Church work; but not lessa warning to those who think only of the needs of their own soul.A. G. Mortimer, D. D.
Motives to universal charity.
1. Wouldst thou love all mankind as thy brethren, rejoice in them and think of them with complacency, say sometimes to thyself, God loves them; He designs their good; He showers His benefits upon them; He rejoices in them as the work of His hands, as His creatures, His children; He beholds them with complacency.
2. Wouldst thou love all mankind as thy brethren, rejoice in them all, and think on them with complacency and esteem: in the judgment that thou passest on them be not biassed either by the homeliness of their figure, or the meanness of their apparel, or the humble situation in which they are placed, or by single actions, foolish or wicked, which they commit. Nothing of this detracts from the inherent worth of the man, his native grandeur and dignity, his essential excellences.
3. Wouldst thou awaken and confirm in thy soul the principle of love, inward, cordial love towards all mankind, as towards thy neighbours, frequently resolve in thy mind the various and generally useful connexions in which they all stand with thee and with human society at large. Not one is entirely useless, or absolutely and in all respects injurious to society, and no one can or will be so at all times and in every situation.
4. Wouldst thou excite and cherish in thy heart this universal charity, judge, esteem thy brethren, mankind, not merely by what at present, in this their infant state, they are and afford, but by what in all future times on every higher step of their existence they may and will be and afford.G. J. Zollikofer.
Mar. 12:32-34. The excellence of the moral law.
I. The great practical duties of the law are supremely excellent.
1. They are good for their own sake; whereas the institutions of the ceremonial law were good only as means to an end.
2. They can be performed only by a renewed heart; whereas the institutions of the ceremonial law may be performed by the most abandoned of mankind.
II. They are such as must commend themselves to the conscience of every candid inquirer.
1. Are they reasonable? What can be more reasonable than that we should love Him who is infinitely lovely, and who has so loved us as even to give His only dear Son to die for us?
2. Are they conducive to our happiness? Wherein does the happiness of heaven consist but in the exercise of love?
3. Are they perfective of our nature? The want of love is that which debases us even lower than the beasts that perish. No words can describe the full malignity of such a state. But let a principle of love possess our souls, and it instantly refines all our feelings, regulates all our dispositions, and transforms us into the very image of our God.
4. Are they instrumental to the honouring of God? We know of no other way in which God can be honoured, because these two commandments comprehend the whole of our duty. But by abounding in a regard to these we may and do honour Him.
III. An approbation of them argues a state of mind favourable to the reception of the gospel.When there is a readiness to approve the boundless extent of these commandments, there must of necessity be
1. An openness to be convinced of our lost estate.
2. A willingness to embrace the offers of salvation.
3. A readiness to receive and improve the aids of Gods Spirit.C. Simeon.
Mar. 12:34. Not far from the kingdom.
I. What is it to be near the kingdom?There are habits of life, traits of character which bring us nigh
1. A moral life.
2. Interest in religion. The Holy Spirit guides all sincere seekers of truth.
3. Knowledge of Scriptures. This is a long step nearer Christ. The seed lies ready for the sun and rain.
II. What is it to be in the kingdom?
1. Answer supplied in narrative. To know that to love God and man is more than all mere rites is to be near the kingdom. To have that love in the heart is to be in the kingdom.
2. To enter the kingdom love must be shed abroad in the heart. This love enters when we believe Gods love to us. The last step into the kingdom is then faithbelief in Gods love to me. Gods love enters the soul like a cascade, as we believe it. Then rises up our love to God, like the spray, the vapour-cloud of the fall, that fills our life with beauty, as the mossy banks of the cascade are full of flowers and ferns. Our love to God is the return of Gods love to its source. This love shews itself to our neighbour; if not, it does not exist.
III. Why do men not go all the way?
1. They love some secret evil. A hidden anchor holds the vessel when the tide is flowing.
2. They are not in earnest. It is necessary to strive.
3. They procrastinate; they lack the final act of decision; they miss the flood-tide which would have led to salvation.
IV. The responsibility of stopping short.
1. It is full of danger. To feel near the kingdom breeds the presumption, I can enter any time. Where despair of salvation slays one soul, presumption slays a thousand.
2. The position cannot be maintained; the habits of life, the traits of character, which bring us near, will fade, unless we ask Christ to guard them. We shall drift farther every year from heaven.
3. It is fatal. To be almost saved is to be altogether lost.J. H. Hodson.
Nearness not possession.It is with the kingdom of God as with other kingdomskingdoms both objective and subjectiveto be almost in possession is not sufficient. A man may be almost in possession of a fortune, but that adds not to his credit at the bank. A man may be almost honest or almost sober, but that will be no recommendation to a position of trust and responsibility. And as with these, so with the kingdoms of mental force, health, and social influence; nearness is not sufficient.
I. A man is not necessarily in the kingdom of God because an intelligent inquirer.Christ does not shrink from being questioned; but let us discriminate between questioning with a view to information and questioning with a view to disputation. Moreover it is worthy of notice that when Christ pronounces upon a mans condition that man does not farther presume upon his mere knowledge. Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. What then? No man after that durst ask Him any question.
II. A man is not necessarily in the kingdom of God because he knows truth when he hears it.Twice over in the narrative we find this scribe tacitly saying Amen to the utterances of Christ. But a man may do that and yet have no affection for Christ as Saviour. This man was thoroughly orthodox. But it is quite possible to make a false god of orthodoxy. At all events theoretical orthodoxy is not enough. A man may be ready to stand up for the truth, nay, ready to die for it, and yet be only not far from the kingdom of God (1Co. 13:3).
III. A man is not necessarily in the kingdom of God because he can answer questions bearing upon Christianity.We fear that not a little confidence is reposed in questions having only a very remote bearing upon religion. A man may know the creed without knowing the Christ, and the catechism while yet he knows nothing of charity, Farther, a man may answer according to the letter of Scripture and yet be only not far from the kingdom of God. We must repent, confess, believe, and serve.J. S. Swan.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 12
Mar. 12:30. Love, the most important thing.Father, asked the son of Bishop Berkeley, what is the meaning of the words cherubim and seraphim, which we meet with in the Bible? Cherubim, replied his father, is a Hebrew word, signifying knowledge; seraphim is another word of the same language, signifying flame. Whence it is supposed that the cherubim are angels who excel in knowledge, and that the seraphim are angels likewise who excel in loving God. I hope, then, said the little boy, when I die I shall be a seraph, for I would rather love God than know all things.
Mar. 12:31. Loving neighbour as self.A good old clergyman, living on the borders of Salisbury Plain, was admired by his bishop for having performed the greatest act of charity of which he had ever heard. It will amuse you to hear what that act was. When the Rev. Samuel Settlefor that was his namerequired a new suit of clothes, he used to send for the parish tailor to measure him; and when the number of inches had been correctly noted down, he would add, Make the things a size larger than the measure, Grant. Did he like his clothes very loose, do you think? Not a bit of it; but his reverence was a particularly small man, and the poor old parishioner to whom he usually gave his cast-off garments was a size larger. Now do you see the reason for the order to the tailor, and do you wonder at the bishops praise? Which of us would choose our coats or dresses to suit another person? Verily good old Mr. Settlenow gone to his restdid love his neighbour as himself.
Mar. 12:34. Not far from the kingdom.When, after safely circumnavigating the globe, the Royal Charter went to pieces in Moelfra Bay, on the coast of Wales, it was my melancholy duty (says one) to visit and seek to comfort the wife of the first officer, made by that calamity a widow. The ship had been telegraphed from Queenstown, and the lady was sitting in her parlour expecting her husband, with the table spread for his evening meal, when the messenger came to tell her he was drowned. Never can I forget the grief, so stricken and tearless, with which she rung my hand, as she said, So near home, and yet lost!
Half a point off the course.Almost is not sufficient. A gentleman crossing the English Channel stood near the helmsman. It was a calm and pleasant evening, and no one dreamed of a possible danger to their good ship. But a sudden flapping of a sail, as if the wind had shifted, caught the ear of the officer on watch, and he sprang at once to the wheel, examining closely the compass. You are half a point off the course, he said sharply to the man at the wheel. The deviation was corrected, and the officer returned to his post. You must steer very accurately, said the looker-on, when only half a point is so much thought of. Ah, half a point in many places might bring us directly on the rocks, he said. What avails being almost right, if destruction is the end?
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
6. THE TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS 12:28-34
TEXT 12:28-34
And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, What commandment is the first of all? Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. The second is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Of a truth, Master, thou hast well said that he is one; and there is none other but he: and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 12:28-34
666.
What were the circumstances of the questioning of Mar. 12:28?
667.
What was the motive of the scribe in asking this question?
668.
Why preface the greatest commandment with an expression concerning the nature of God? Cf. Deu. 6:4 ff, and Lev. 19:18.
669.
What is involved in loving God with all your heart? i.e. what is the heart?
670.
What is involved in loving God with all your soul?your mind?your strength?
671.
Specify areas of love involved in loving our neighbor as ourselves?
672.
In the answer of Jesus what was the first thing that appealed to the scribe? Why?
673.
Why mention whole burnt offerings and sacrifices?
674.
What is the meaning of the word discreetly as here used by Jesus?
675.
What kingdom was involved?
676
Had Jesus set up His kingdom? Discuss.
COMMENT
TIME,A.D. 30; Tuesday, April 4, same day as the last event.
PLACE.The temple in Jerusalem.
PARALLEL ACCOUNTS.Mat. 22:15-33; Luk. 20:20-40.
OUTLINE.1. Love the Lord thy God, 2. Love Thy Neighbor, 3. Not Far from the Kingdom.
ANALYSIS
I.
LOVE THE LORD THY GOD, Mar. 12:28-30.
1.
The Scribes Question. Mar. 12:28; Mat. 22:35.
2.
The Lord One Lord. Mar. 12:29; Deu. 6:4.
3.
The First Commandment, Mar. 12:30; Mat. 22:37; Luk. 10:27; Deu. 6:4.
II.
LOVE THY NEIGHBOR, Mar. 12:31.
III.
NOT FAR FROM KINGDOM, Mar. 12:32-34.
1.
None Other God, Mar. 12:32; Deu. 4:39; Isa. 45:6; Isa. 45:14.
2.
More than Burnt Offerings. Mar. 12:33; 1Sa. 15:22; Hos. 6:6.
3.
Near the Kingdom. Mar. 12:34.
4.
Christs Enemies Silenced. Mar. 12:34; Mat. 22:46.
INTRODUCTION
This was one of the busiest days of the Lords ministry, a day of bitter conflict with his enemies right in the citadel of their power. After the parable of the wicked husbandmen, Jesus utters one more parable, that of the kings son (Mat. 22:1-14). There was but one of two courses before them. They will see their sins arid repent; or, being thus accused, and refusing to repent, they will be still more enraged against him. They refused to repent, and, filled with a desire for vengeance, they take counsel with the Herodians how they may compel him to say something that will refute his claims as the Messiah, or give ground for an accusation against him before the government. The Herodians first asked a question that they hoped would be so answered that they could accuse him of sedition; then the Sadducees attempted to involve him in confusion; then the Pharisees put forward a scribe to ask another, still in the hope that he would betray some weakness that would destroy confidence in his wisdom.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
I.
LOVE THE LORD THY GOD.
Mar. 12:28. One of the scribes came. Matthew in the Parallel Account says he was a Pharisee and a lawyer, which was another designation for a scribe. The scribes were learned men who preserved, copied and expounded the Jewish law. They were called by Jewish writers, the schoolmasters of the nation. Many of them were Pharisees and members of the Sanhedrim. Having heard them reasoning together. The question of the Sadducees concerning the resurrection and the Lords remarkable reply. See Mar. 12:18-26. Asked. Matthew (Mat. 22:35) adds, tempting him. Not, perhaps, maliciously, but in the sense of testing on another question the wisdom of one who answered so admirably. I judge that he was neither a caviller, nor a disciple, but one curious to see what reply Christ would make to one of the puzzling theological problems of the day. Which is the first commandment of all? First in importance: the primary, leading commandment, the most fundamental one. This was a question which, with some others, divided the Jewish teachers into rival schools, and was a constant bone of contentionone of those strivings about the law against which Paul warns Titus (Tit. 3:9). The Jews divided the commandments of their law into greater and lesser; but they were not agreed in the particulars. Some contended for the law of circumcision; others, for that of sacrifice; others, for that of phylacteries; others, for that concerning ablutions. The Jewish Talmud reckons the positive laws of Moses at 248, and the negative at 365, the sum being 613. To keep so many laws, said the Jews, is an angels work, and so they had much question which was the great commandment, so that they might keep that in lieu of keeping the whole.
Mar. 12:29. Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord. Our Lord begins with the creed of Israel. This passage (Deu. 6:4-9) was one of the four places of Scripture inscribed on the phylacteries,Cook, It was called the Shema. To say the Shema, was a passport into paradise for any child of Abraham,Ellicott. This every devout Jew recited twice every day; and they do it to this day, thus keeping up the great ancient national protest against the polytheisms and pantheisms of the heathen world, the great utterance of the national faith in one living and personal God. This mighty text contains far more than a mere declaration that God is one, It asserts that the Lord God of Israel is absolutely God, and none other.
Mar. 12:30. Thou shalt love. We have here the language of law, expressive of Gods claims. What, then, are we here bound down to do? One word is made to express it. And what a wordLOVE! Had the essence of the divine law consisted in deeds, it could not possibly have been expressed in a single word; for no one deed is comprehensive of all others embraced in the law. But, as it consists in an affection of the soul, one word suffices to express itbut only one. But love is an all-inclusive affection, embracing not only every other affection proper to its object, but all that is proper to be done to its object; for, as love spontaneously seeks to please its object, so, in the case of men to God, it is the native well-spring of a voluntary obedience. It is, besides, the most personal of all affections. One may fear an event, one may hope for an event, one may rejoice in an event, but one can love only a person, It is the tenderest, the most unselfish, the most divine, of all affections. Such, then, is the affection in which the essence of the divine law is declared to consist.Brown. Heart, soul, mind, strength. We may understand this four-fold enumeration as a command to devote all the faculties to the love of God.Cook. Heart denotes in general terms the affection and will; affectionate choice, the love of conscious resolve, expressed with will, which must at once become a second nature. Soul is the individual existence, the person himself, the seat of the will, disposition, desires, character. The two words are united to teach that the entire, undivided person must share in that which it has to perform with the heart.Cremers Biblico-Theol, Lexicon. With all thy mind. This commands our intellectual nature: Thou shalt put intelligence into thine affectionin opposition to a blind devotion, or mere devoteeism. With all thy strength. Enjoins the full and entire devotion of all these powers. Such is the first of the commandments, in the order of importance. Taking these four things together, the command of the law is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy powerswith a sincere, a fervid, an intelligent, an energetic love. This subordinates the whole life to the love of God and brings the whole being into willing obedience. This is the first commandment. A precept so narrow as to measure the smallest thought of the smallest man; so broad, as to compass the mightiest outgoings of the largest angel; so perfect, as to bind all moral beings to the throne of God, and produce eternal and universal harmony and happiness and progress.
II.
LOVE THY NEIGHBOR.
Mar. 12:31. The second is like. To complete the lesson, and to leave no room for perverse distinctions between duties to God and man, our Lord makes the second commandment the necessary result and complement of the first. The first is the sun, so to speak, of the spiritual life; this the lesser light, which reflects the shining of that other. It is like to it inasmuch as both are laws of love; both deduced from the great and highest love; both dependent on I am the Lord thy God. Supreme love to God is to manifest itself in love to men. Alike binding, the two are correspondent, not contradictory. He who loves God must love those who are in the image of God. Thy neighbor. On Who is my neighbor? see Luk. 10:25-37, and Jas. 1:27. The words were found, strangely enough, in the book which is for the most part ceremonial (Lev. 19:18). As thyself. (1) Not as he does love himself, but as he ought to love himself. (2) After the same manner; i.e., freely and readily, sincerely and unfeignedly, tenderly and compassionately, constantly and preservingly. Cases arise where a man ought to love his neighbor more than his lifephysical lifeand has done so, sacrificing it for his fellows, his country, and the church, an imitation of the example of Christ and the martyrs.Schaff. None other commandment greater. The unity of the moral law prevents any discrimination between its precepts; it is one law of love, the hinge of the whole Old Testament revelation. There can be none greater. No one can love God without loving his fellowmen, and no one can truly love man without loving God. The former is the source of the latter. Hence the first table (the first five commandments) enjoins love to God; the second table (the last five commandments), love to our neighbors.Schaff. All duty springs from the single principle of love.
He only wanted (but the want was indeed a serious one) repentance and faith to be within it. The Lord shows us here, that even outside his flock those who can answer discreetly, who have knowledge of the spirit of the great command of law and gospel, are nearer to being of his flock than the formalists; but then, as Bengel adds, If thou are not far off, enter; otherwise, it were better that thou wert far off.Alford. This scribe saw that an outward, formal obedience would not satisfy God, but had yet perhaps failed to see that a heart wholly surrendered to God would require an implicit obedience, not only in the heart, but outwardly to the Divine will. If a man love me, says Christ, he will keep my words. The demonstration of love is a loving and faithful obedience, Whether this scribe finally decided to follow the Lord and entered into the kingdom, upon the borders of which he stood, we are not told, It may be that we are left in suspense concerning his fate in order to teach us how important it is that those near the kingdom should enter in.
III.
NOT FAR FROM THE KINGDOM.
Mar. 12:32. The scribe said unto him, Mark alone records the effect of our Lords answer upon the scribe. It came home to his heart with convincing power. Doubtless he never before saw so plainly the deep spiritual truths of these commands. Entering into our Lords reply, he cannot but express his approval, and even admiration.
Mar. 12:33. Burnt offerings and sacrifices. The scribe gathers up in his reply some of the great utterances of the prophets, which prove the superiority of Love to God and man over all mere ceremonial observances. See 1Sa. 15:22; Psalms 51; Hos. 6:6; Mic. 6:6-8. The reply shows that he had either read the prophets with much greater discernment than most of his fellow scribes, or that his understanding had been enlightened by the teachings of the Lord. To say that love was greater than burnt offerings and sacrifices was a daring utterance, directly opposed to the rigid ceremonial ideas of the Jewish leaders.
Mar. 12:34. Discreetly. With knowledge and understanding. Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. This man had hold of that principle in which law and gospel are one. He stood, as it were, at the door of the kingdom of God.
FACT QUESTIONS 12:28-34
776.
What two courses did Jesus place before the religious leaders of His day? Which one did they take? Why?
777.
Compare Matthews account of this incidentwas this man a lawyer or a scribe? What is meant by such a designation?
778.
In what sense was this man tempting our Lord? (Cf. Mat. 22:35).
779.
How was the word first used in the question about the first commandment?
780.
What choices had some made as to which commandment was first?
781.
How many positive, and how many negative laws given by Moses? Why worry over which one was the greatest?
782.
What was the Shema? How and why was it used?
783.
Show how love encompasses all that God wants us to be and to do.
784.
Attempt a definition and illustration of the use of the four words: heart, soul, mind, strength as related to love.
785.
Why does our Lord make the second commandment the necessary result and complement of the first?
786.
Why would it be impossible to keep the first commandment without keeping the second?
787.
How was the question of who is my neighbor answered? Cf. Luk. 10:25-37 and Jas. 1:27.
788.
Give three characteristics of the love we ought to have for our neighbor.
789.
How were the tables of the law divided in content?
790.
Read 1Sa. 15:22; Psalms 51; Hos. 6:6; Mic. 6:6-8 and show how the scribe arrived at his conclusion as expressed in Mar. 12:33.
791.
What did the scribe need to admit him to the kingdom?
792.
What had the scribe yet failed to see?
793.
Why are we left without a knowledge of what the scribe did?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(28-34) And one of the scribes came.See Notes on Mat. 22:34-40. St. Marks description is somewhat less precise than St. Matthews one of them (i.e., the Pharisees), a lawyer. The form of the question differs by the substitution of first of all for great commandment.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And one of the scribes came and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “What commandment is the first of all?”
‘Knowing that He had answered them well.’ The scribe had heard the dispute and was greatly impressed. Matthew says that in his question he was testing Jesus (Mat 22:35) but that need not necessarily be taken in a bad sense (compare Luk 10:25). It may have been in order to bring out that Jesus stood up well to testing. Many a student who respects his teacher also seeks to test him. He may have genuinely wanted to know how reliable Jesus was.
“What commandment is the first of all?” The Rabbis attempted to differentiate the importance of different commandments, separating them into ‘great’ or ‘heavy’ and ‘little’ or ‘light’, and would often seek to trace them back to a general principle. Thus Hillel is said to have summed up the Law as ‘what you hate for yourself do not do to your neighbour. This is the whole Law. The remainder is commentary. Go and learn.’ This did not, of course, signify that he did not see the remainder of the Law as important, for he saw it as God’s revelation to man.
But others frowned at seeking to select out one Law and considered all were important. There was none that could be omitted. So important was this principle considered to be that the Laws from the book of Moses were listed and they produced 365 prohibitions and 248 positive commands. They believed that every one of these had to be treasured and obeyed. But that this could lead to a cold, stern obedience lacking in love is obvious. And it took the eyes off God. In the light of all this Jesus was thus being called on to supply an answer which might solve the problem.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Approving Pharisee and The Law of Love (12:28-34).
The idea that God is the living God now leads on to an incident which demonstrates that at least one Rabbi was prepared to give genuine credit to Jesus and even to learn from Him. It showed that not all Rabbis were necessarily in the same mould (compare Act 5:34 on). Matthew suggests that he was sent by a group of Pharisees who had come together to see if they could do better than the Sadducees (Mat 22:34). He would not be the first to be sent for the wrong reasons and finish up convinced. There are often genuine men among questioners, and he would be chosen because he was of high repute.
Analysis.
a
b Jesus answered, “The first is, Hear Oh Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mar 12:29-31).
c And the scribe said to him, “Teacher, you have well said that He is one, and there is none other but He (Mar 12:32).
b “And to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love His neighbour as himself is much more than whole burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mar 12:33).
a And when Jesus saw that he answered thoughtfully, He said to him, “You are not far from the Kingly Rule of God.” And no man after that dared ask Him any question (Mar 12:34).
Note that in ‘a’ Jesus is questioned having answered questions well, and in the parallel none dared question Him again. In ‘b’ Jesus declares the two great commandments, and in the parallel the Scribe expounds on them. Central in ‘c’ is the fact that God is One, and that there is none other but He.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Scribes Tempt Jesus with a Question ( Mat 22:34-40 , Luk 10:25-28 ) In Mar 12:28-34 we have the account of the scribes tempting Jesus with a question about which is the greatest commandment. The scribes ask Jesus which is the greatest commandment. He answers by referring to the Ten Commandments, which he grouped into two sections. The first four commandments refer to our relationship to God, while the last six refer to our relationships with men. Jesus was quoting from Deu 6:4-5, which was a very famous passage of Scripture referred to by the Jews as “The Shema.”
Deu 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
The Shema was a passage of Scripture that every scribe knew by heart. Jesus was summarizing the first four commandments when He told the scribe to love the Lord thy God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. The first commandment refers to serving the Lord with our heart. The second commandment refers to serving the Lord with all of our soul, where our emotions, feelings and will exist. The third commandment refers to serving the Lord with all of our mind, and deals with the words of our mouth. The fourth commandment refers to serving the Lord with all of our strength, or bodies. He then summarized the last six commandments when He said to love our neighbour as ourselves. Perhaps the difference between the soul and the mind would be that one emphasizes our thoughts and attitudes, while the other emphasizes our words that we speak. Thus, our soulish realm has a two-fold aspect of thoughts and confession.
Mar 12:30 Comments – The Gospel of Mark describes a four-fold manner in which we are to love the Lord our God. Although man is a three-fold creature (spirit, soul, body), as is indicated in a number of Scriptures (Deu 6:4-5, 1Th 5:23), the soulish realm, or mind, is two-fold. The man’s mind can think and it can speak. This four-fold description of man follows the first four commandments of the Decalogue (Exo 20:1-17). The first commandment to have no other gods before Him speaks to man’s devotion from the heart. The second commandment tells us not to make a graven image of creation. This commandment addresses man’s devotion with his thoughts and the images in his mind of what God looks like. The third commandment tells us not to take the Lord’s name in vain. This commandment speaks to man’s devotion with words that come from his mouth. The fourth commandment to keep the Sabbath speaks to man’s devotion from his physical body. Thus, man can be accurately be described from a four-fold perspective, as Jesus does in Mar 12:30.
Deu 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
1Th 5:23, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The foremost commandment:
v. 28. And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, Which is the first commandment of all?
v. 29. And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord, our God, is one Lord;
v. 30. and thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
v. 31. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. It was not a mere harmless question or request for information which this scribe here uttered. He was rather one of the sharp-witted ones of the Pharisees, whose object was to tempt Christ and lead Him to make a statement which would in some way compromise Him. But it spoke in this man’s favor that he realized and was conscious that Jesus answered them well. Approaching, therefore, he put his question as to which was the first of all commandments. If Christ had singled out a separate precept, He might have been charged with unwarranted emphasis upon some individual form to the exclusion of the rest. Thus the Pharisees laid the greatest stress upon the law of circumcision, the keeping of the Sabbath, the proper width of the fringes of the mantles, the correct size of the phylacteries, etc. By giving the summary of the entire Moral Law, in all its various branches, in all its various precepts, Jesus intercepted and warded off any accusation regarding any disregard, on His part, of the sanctity of the Law. He places first of all the Shem a of the Jews, Deu 6:4. The fulfillment of the entire Law flows from love of God, which, in turn, is the fruit, the outgrowth of faith. The one Lord, who has revealed Himself in three persons, is the only Lord in earth and heaven; He requires the whole, undivided service and worship of the man that trusts in Him. With heart, soul, mind, and strength every believer should love Him, that is, to the uttermost degree, with every ounce of everything that is within, throwing all into the scales for the Lord and His service. And to this must be added the second great commandment: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The love toward one’s neighbor flows from the love toward God. He that truly loves God will also love his neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the entire Law, and all commandments can be summarized in that one word, love, Rom 13:10. Beyond this, higher than this, there is no commandment; this represents the pinnacle of accomplishment in fulfilling the Law.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mar 12:28-34 . See on Mat 22:34-40 .
Mark, however, has much that is peculiar, especially through the characteristic and certainly original amplification in Mar 12:32-34 .
The participles are to be so apportioned, that is subordinated to the , and belongs to as its determining motive.
] not inappropriate (Fritzsche, de Wette); but the scribe knew from his listening how aptly Jesus had answered them ( , emphatically placed before .); and therefore he hoped that He would also give to him an apt reply.
] neuter . Compare Xen. Mem. iv. 7. 70: , Thucyd. vii. 52. 2. See Winer, p. 160 [E. T. 222]; Dorvill. ad Charit. p. 549.
Mar 12:29-30 . Deu 6:4-5 . This principle of morality, which binds all duties into unity (see J. Mller, v. d. Snde , I. p. 140 f.), was named pre-eminently , or also from the initial word , and it was the custom to utter the words daily, morning and evening. See Vitringa, Synag. ii. 3. 15; Buxtorf, Synag. 9.
] LXX. . It is the moral strength, which makes itself known in the overcoming of hindrances and in energetic activity. Comp. Beck, bibl. Seelenl. p. 112 f., and on Eph 1:19 . Matthew has not this point, but Luke has at Mar 10:27 . [150]
Mar 12:32 . After there is only to be placed a comma, so that (comp. on Mar 12:14 ) is a more precise definition of .
] that He is one . The subject is obvious of itself from what precedes. As in the former passage of Scripture, Mar 12:29 , so also here the mention of the unity of God is the premiss for the duty that follows; hence it is not an improbable trait (Kstlin, p. 351), which Mark has introduced here in the striving after completeness and with reference to the Gentile world.
Mar 12:33 . ] a similar notion instead of a repetition of , Mar 12:30 . It is the moral intelligence which comprehends and understands the relation in question. Its opposite is (Rom 1:21 ; Rom 1:31 ), Dem. 1394, 4 : . Comp. on Col 1:9 .
. ] “Nobilissima species sacrificiorum,” Bengel. applies inclusively to . Krger, 58. 3. 2.
Mar 12:34 . , ] Attraction, as at Mar 11:32 and frequently.
] intelligently , only here in the N. T. Polybius associates it with (1:83. 3) and ( 2:13. 1, 5:88. 2). On the character of the word as Greek, instead of which the Attics say (its opposite: , Isocr. Mar 5:7 ), see Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 599.
. . .] The (future) kingdom of the Messiah is conceived as the common goal . Those who are fitted for the membership of this kingdom are near to this goal; those who are unfitted are remote from it. Hence the meaning: There is not much lacking to thee, that thou mightest be received into the kingdom at its establishment. Rightly does Jesus give him this testimony, because in the frankly and eagerly avowed agreement of his religious-moral judgment with the answer of Jesus there was already implied a germ of faith promising much.
. . .] not inappropriate (de Wette, Baur, Hilgenfeld, Bleek); but it was just this peculiar victory of Jesus that now the result of the questioning was even agreement with Him which took from all the further courage, etc.
[150] The variations of the words in Matthew, Mark, and Luke represent different forms of the Greek tradition as remembered, which arose independently of the LXX. (for no evangelist has , which is in the LXX.).
REMARK.
The difference, arising from Matthew’s bringing forward the scribe as (and how naturally in the bearing of the matter this point of view suggested itself!), is not to be set aside, as, for instance, by Ebrard, p. 493, [151] who by virtue of harmonizing combination alters Mar 12:34 thus: “When Jesus saw how the man of sincere mind quite forgot over the truth of the case the matter of his pride,” etc. The variation is to be explained by the fact, that the design of the questioner was from the very first differently conceived of and passed over in different forms into the tradition; not by the supposition, that Mark did not understand and hence omitted the trait of special temptation (Weiss), or had been induced by Luk 20:39 to adopt a milder view (Baur). Nor has Matthew remodelled the narrative (Weiss); but he has followed that tradition which best fitted into his context. The wholly peculiar position of the matter in Mark tells in favour of the correctness and originality of his narrative.
[151] He follows the method of reconciliation proposed by Theophylact: . Comp. Grotius and others, including already Victor Antiochenus and the anonymous writer in Possini Cat. ; Lange, again, in substance takes the same view, while Bleek simply acknowledges the variation, and Hilgenfeld represents Mark as importing his own theology into the conversation.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
5. The Scribe, first tempting, then half won. Mar 12:28-34
(Parallels: Mat 22:34-40; Luk 20:39.)
28And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving13 that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments Isaiah , 14 Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, 15 and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. 16 31And the second is like, namely this, 17 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: there is none other commandment greater than these. 32And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; 18 and there is none other but he: 33And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, 19 and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices. 34And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Comp. Matthew.The peculiarities of Mark: Matthew causes the tempting Pharisees, who were for the moment influenced by friendly feelings towards the Lord because He had put the Sadducees to silence, to advance; while Mark brings forward into the light their representative, a well-meaning scribe, whom Matthew designates more specifically as a lawyer. Matthew emphasizes the temptation, Mark the questioning; and, in addition, the transaction is clothed in a much richer form than in the Gospel by Matthew. The statement of Jesus is first introduced, that the greatest commandment is to hear that God is one, as therefrom proceeds the unity of the commandment of love out of the unity or absolute simplicity of the entire inner life. To this succeeds the joyful assent of the scribe, and his well-nigh literal repetition of the Lords words. And, lastly, the recognition by Christ that he had answered discreetly; to which the declaration is appended, that he was not far from the kingdom of God. The observation that the Jews dared not question further, forms the conclusion of this section in Mark. Luke appends this remark to the question of the Sadducees, Matthew to the counter-question of Christ. Considering the meaning, these three narratives form but one whole. For, after the Sadducees had been defeated, the hope to overcome Him was already destroyed. The temptation here narrated was only an ambiguous after-game, probably half devoted to the attempt of inducing Christ to allow Himself, in spite of all, to be won over as a partisan to the party of the Pharisees. But when Jesus had put His counter-question, to which no reply could be given, the mouths of His opponents were finally closed. Upon the allegation of Meyer, that a difference exists between Mark and Matthew, comp. Note to Matthews account.
Mar 12:28. The first commandment of all.The first, and that in the sense of the chief importance. See Note upon Matthew. The Jews enumerated six hundred and thirteen ordinances; three hundred and sixty-five prohibitions, according to the days of the year; two hundred and twenty-eight commandments, according to the parts of the body. The Pharisees distinguished between lesser and greater commandments. Braune.
Mar 12:29. Hear, O Israel; The Lord: Deu 6:4-5.Jesus gives the introduction to the ten commandments as the first command itself, not in so far as it forms one of the commandments, but in so far as it is the principle of the commandments,finding its full exposition in the words: And thou shalt love, etc. The inner idea of the introduction has been explained already in Deuteronomy, from which the citation is drawn. Directly in opposition to this qualitative conception, the modern Jews reckon, according to their division, the words: Hear, O Israel, etc., quantitatively, as the first commandment. Upon this division, as well as generally upon the various divisions of the decalogue, comp. Geffken, Ueber die verschiedene Eintheilung des Dekalogus, Hamburgh, 1838, p. 9 seq. This principle of all duties was termed specially, , or sometimes, after the initial word, ; and the words were usually recited daily, night and morning; see Vitringa, Synagoga Judaica, 2, 3, 15; Buxtorf, Syn. 9. Meyer.
Mar 12:30. With all thy heart.The Hebrew text has the three following specifications: with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength (, a might which is at once the manifesting of strength, and employing of strength; Gesenius, robur, vehementia). Instead of the first word, heart, the Septuagint reads, ; the second is of the same tenor; and the third it properly renders . Christs quotation, as given by Matthew, follows the original text in the first and second word, heart, soul; but substitutes, with a fulness of meaning, for the third, , the moral might of consciousness, of will. In Mark, the one word is expressed by two, and (=). On the contrary, in Mark, the scribe divides the first conception (heart) into two, and ; while the lawyer, in the narrative in Luk 10:27, where we have a similar, though not identical, interview, speaks as Jesus here does. Only precedes . From all this, it is evident that a freer mode of handling the Old Testament text prevailed in the apostolic circle; moreover, it is worthy of being noted that no Gospel contains the of the Septuagint. Whether the differences are only variations of the Greek tradition, occasioned by the habit of quoting from memory, or different points of view, is doubtful. In any case, it is noteworthy that the philosophizing Septuagint has explained by ; while, according to Matthew, Christ, spiritualizing , gives its force as , which is preceded by the heart and soul. Mark and Luke exegetically unite and . The lawyer, to indicate his legal stand-point, adds to , which the Septuagint had converted into , the . Upon biblical psychology (upon which Roos, Beck, and Delitzsch have written), comp. Note upon Matthew.
Mar 12:33. With all thy understanding.Signification of the intelligence, as it develops into understanding.
Burnt offerings and sacrifices.Psalms 51; 1Sa 15:22; Hos 6:6. This very comparison proved that the lawyer was overcome by an emotion of courageous faith, the giving utterance to which might have easily caused offence to his companions. It was in this situation a testimony.
Mar 12:34. Discreetly, : with knowledge and understanding.Attic, ; the opposite, .
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. See remarks upon Matthew.From the unity and spiritual harmony of God proceeds the essential unity of His law in one principlelove. This principle has already been brought into view in Deuteronomy. The true covenant-God, as the one God and the one Lord over hearts and in them,this makes one life-experience, one life-motive, love. So appears the royal law as given by James (Mar 2:8) and Paul (Rom 13:10). Upon the element of temptation in this question, comp. Note on Matthew. In the passage before us, religion is declared to be the central, concentrated direction of the whole man, especially of his souls powers, to the one God.
2. The man, in whose inward parts the law of God has been by love inscribed, loves at first from the heart, in the very core of his being; next, notwithstanding the varying frames of his soul, in his soul likewise, in the disposition of his soul-life; and then in his practical intelligence or mode of thought,in the practical resolutions and purposes of his life, with which all the powers of his life (as members and instruments of righteousness) enter into, and are spent in, the service of love.
3. Braune:These two commandments point to the two tables of the law. Upon the first are five laws, concerning Gods glory, Gods likeness, Gods name, Gods day, Gods representatives; upon the second, five concerning person and life, marriage and household peace, goods and chattels, honor and right, and the heart of man. The two tables are one; containing the commandments of one, inseparable, heavenly law of love.
4. To be rational (discreet), the Lord here calls, not to be far from the kingdom of God. The reason, ideally conceived, is the faculty of understanding or perceiving the divine in its ideas. This faculty perceives the idea of love in the law. Discretion and subtilty mark the contrast between the true and false use of reason.
5. Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.He who recognizes the law in its spiritual meaning, and in opposition to external forms and ceremonies (more than burnt-offerings and sacrifices), is on the road of the Spirit (rational in a moral sense), and on the way of return from self-righteousness and of turning back to self-knowledge, which conditions the entrance into the kingdom founded by Christ. Not far from, that is, near. What was still wanting was, the full surrender to his conviction, or the actual following of Jesus. This transaction is, accordingly, a sign and presage of Christs victory in the centre of His enemys camp.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
See Matthew.The three unities in religion, a type of the Trinity of the one God: 1. The one God; 2. the one faith (giving heed to Christs word); 3. the one commandment.The unity of God is not mere individuality, nor singleness, but chiefly, His being alone and His being one, to which the unity of man in the simplicity of the faith must correspond.Man is really a unity in obedience, when his inner life, in the trinity of heart (feeling), of soul (the will), and of reason or intelligence, is at one with itself and with Gods word.Unity and trinity, the secret of all spiritual life: 1. Of the highest life above us; 2. of the deepest life within us; 3. of the richest life around us.In the true love of God and his neighbor, man would re-obtain his true self-love, and recover from his diseased self-love.Thou art not far from the kingdom of God; or, the tempter transformed into the disciple. Or a meaning-fraught word,1. of recognition, 2. of warning, 3. of encouragement.Christ explained in the temple-court, in the circle of those who hated Him, the great law of love, as He upon the night of betrayal instituted the meal of love, and upon Golgotha overcame the curse of the entire world-hate, by His act, by His suffering, and by His sacrifice of love.
Canstein:Good men may be often so misled as to permit themselves to be employed against Christ: for such we must have compassion, pray for them, and endeavor to deliver them.Quesnel:True religion consists in hearing, believing, and loving.As thou lovest thyself, so act with thy neighbor.Hedinger:Who can withstand the truth? Where but a little good-will is found, it pierces through. But ah! how hard the hearts that strive against her!Osiander:External ceremonies are no doubt good; but where they are found without love, they are only a mantle covering secret sin, and will be rejected by God.Bibl. Wirt.:Courage, ye teachers and preachers! God moves the heart of many a one, who has not known the fact, in a sermon, so that he goes forth better than he came in.He who recognizes the worth of love, and what it is, is near the kingdom of God; but he who has experienced love, is in it.Hedinger:-Whosoever is, in the beginning, obedient and true to the divine leadings of grace, of him is there hope that he is won.He who is near, is not therefore within the kingdom, Mat 7:13.Canstein:Truth conquers.Quesnel:A silence of contentedness and obedience is a wholesome silence; but that of rude ignorance and obstinacy is a damning silence.
Rieger:Upon the commandment of love to God and to our neighbor is all dependent; and yet God, on account of mans lost state, could not leave all to be dependent on this alone, but had to reveal many other, special, explicit commandments, and make us conscious of our captivity to sin by them. Not till that institution (these laws) has fulfilled its part, can we be brought by the grace of Christ under the law of the Spirit.
Lisco:All external sacrifices are only weak types of the one perfect sacrifice, the perfect surrender of the heart to God.With thy earnest moral striving, thou art upon the way by which the kingdom of God may be reached; for thou recognizest the existence of true piety, and deceivest thyself not with an external righteousness by works. The entrance is by faith alone in the Saviour, who is the Way, Joh 14:6.Gerlach:Through a living acquaintance with Gods law, through heartfelt affection for its chief commandment, love, man comes near to the kingdom; but to come into the kingdom, he needs the knowledge of God, by which alone the conflict between pleasure in the law, and its constant transgression, can be stopped.Braune:God is one, says Paul, Gal 3:20, to prove that law and promise are eternally one. So, too, says the Lord here, in that He calls to His support the fundamental doctrine of the law: Hear, Israel, etc. It is always the heart upon which God first looks.The second command is the proof of the first. If a man say, I love God, etc., 1Jn 4:20.God says, No God beside Me; but man must say, Other men beside me.On Gods account we are bound to love our neighbor as ourselves.Thou shalt: it is accordingly no merit if thou do so; but it is sin if thou neglect. Thou shalt perfectly: It is not a portion which suffices. This must drive us to Him who fulfilled this law, and helps us to fulfil.The Master gives measured praise: of beautiful views and fine declarations He never makes too much, but recognizes these in all relations in such a way as to encourage to progress.Let each take heed, that in his case the separation between knowing and doing, between the acknowledgment of the faith and the work of faith, become not fixed, and ever grow more terrible.
Schleiermacher:See his Sermons, vol. iii. p. 765 ff.Brieger:To love God, who is the Love and the Life, is to live godly. But he who lives in and with God, or godly, loves also what God loves.Love is the only self-sacrifice, and it is the only sacrifice that God wishes.Gossner:One God, one heart, one love.
Footnotes:
[13][Mar 12:28.Lachmann reads for , after C., D., L.]
[14]Mar 12:29.Many variations. Tischendorf, adopting B., L., ., reads on ; Griesbach, , after A. and Minusculi.
[15]Mar 12:30.Tischendorf, following D. and some Minusculi and Versions, omits .]
[16]Mar 12:30. omitted by Tischendorf, following B., E., L., .; retained by A., D., &c.
[17]Mar 12:31.Tischendorf reads simply , and so B., L., .; this means, this is the second in importance. Lachmann, and the majority of the MSS., retain .
[18][Mar 12:32.The best MSS. omit after .]
[19][Mar 12:33.Tischendorf, following B., L., ., omits . Meyer defends the reading.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
DISCOURSE: 1449
LOVE TO GOD, THE GREAT COMMANDMENT
Mar 12:28-30. And one of the Scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; this is the first commandment.
IT is no uncommon thing for those who plainly declare the truth, to be beset by cavillers and objectors. Our blessed Lord, who spake as never man spake, endured continually this contradiction of sinners against himself. He had been captiously interrogated by Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees, and had put them all to silence. But he was again attacked by one of the Scribes, who either was, or thought himself, more subtle than any of those who had preceded him, and had already been confounded. It was a matter of controversy at that time whether were the greater, the rites of the ceremonial, or the commandments of the moral, law; and he applied to our Lord to give his opinion on the subject. The question being one of primary importance, our Lord referred to Moses, to whom all the disputants were ready to appeal, and by whose judgment they would consider the case as decided, and told them from him what they must consider as determined on the point [Note: Deu 6:4-5.].
But this point is of as much importance as ever: and therefore I will endeavour to shew,
I.
What is the first and great commandment of all
It is that which stands first in the Decalogue, and is marked with a solemnity peculiar to itself.
There is but one God, who is Lord of heaven and earth
[The heathen worshipped many gods: and even the better informed amongst them thought that there were two great principles or powers, the one the author of all good, the other the author of all evil. But, in opposition to all such errors, our Lord informed him, that there was One eternally self-existent Being, from whom all other beings emanated and derived their existence: and that, as He was the One source of all, so he was the Lord and Governor of all, inspecting, controlling, ordering all things both in heaven and earth.
We are not to understand this as militating against the doctrine of a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead. If we so separated these Persons as to make their actions independent of each other, then we should indeed do, what the Jews are ready to impute to us, worship three Gods. But we acknowledge and maintain the unity of the Godhead, as much as they: yet, as God in many passages of Holy Writ has shewn us, that there is in that unity a distinction of persons, one called the Father, the other the Son, and the other the Holy Ghost, and that each of these persons has his own proper office in the economy of redemption, we admit that distinction, and look to each of those Divine Persons to accomplish, in us and for us, his proper office. Still we deny, as strongly as the Jews themselves, a plurality of Gods, and maintain, as Moses has here asserted, The Lord our God is One Lord.
In fact, as learned Jews thought that in these words some peculiar mystery was contained, so some of the early Christians thought that they saw in them a strong intimation of the doctrine of the Trinity in unity [Note: See Bishop Patrick on Deu 6:4-5.]. But I am always afraid of indulging the imagination upon topics so sacred and mysterious: and therefore I wave all notice of such doubtful matters; and the rather, because that the doctrine of a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead is so clearly and unquestionably revealed in other parts of Holy Writ. I content myself therefore with affirming, that in this passage (to say the least) there is nothing repugnant to it.]
Our duty towards him is, to love him with all our heart, and mind, and soul, and strength
[We are to admit no rival into our bosom. The creature indeed may be loved by us, in subserviency to him; but he must possess our supreme regards, and be served on all occasions with the utmost energies of our souls. Nothing is for a moment, or in the slightest possible degree, to alienate our affections from him, or in any respect to divide them with him (he will not receive a divided heart): whatever we have of understanding, will, or affections, they must all be employed for him without cessation, without abatement, and to the remotest period of our lives.
This is the duty of every living man, whether under the law, or under the Gospel: The heathen themselves are not exempt from it. The law itself was inscribed on the heart of man in his first creation; and, effaced as it has been by the introduction of sin, it must be again written on our hearts before we can ever behold the face of God in peace. Not even God himself can absolve us from this law: it is universally and unchangeably necessary to be observed by every child of man.]
Having answered the question thus far, I will proceed to shew,
II.
Why this is called the first and great commandment [Note: Compare Mat 22:38.]
It is justly entitled to this honour,
1.
Because obedience to it was the very end for which all our faculties were given us
[We possess faculties far superior to any other creature upon earth. We have an understanding, whereby we may know God; a will, whereby we may devote ourselves to him; affections, whereby we may enjoy him; and bodily powers also, whereby we may serve and glorify him. These no other creature on earth possesses. Hence man has been called a religious animal; because he alone has those capacities which fit him for religious exercises. Now for what end were these peculiar faculties conferred upon us? Was it that we might exercise them upon earthly things? On earthly things indeed we may employ them in subserviency to God: but it was in order that we might know him, and serve him, and enjoy him, that they were imparted to us; and, if not so employed, they will ultimately prove a curse to us, rather than a blessing. It were better to have been born idiots or beasts, than to have been endowed with such high faculties, unless we improve them for the honour and glory of our God. Hence then this may well be called the first and great commandment, because it is that, for the observance of which all our faculties were conferred upon us.
It may also be called the first commandment,]
2.
Because, till we obey that, it is not possible that we should obey any other
[We are told in Scripture, that whatever knowledge we may possess, whatever faith we may exercise, whatever works we may perform, or whatever sufferings we may endure, it will be all of no account whatever, if it proceed not from a principle of love [Note: 1Co 13:1-3.]. This is true, even as far as man is concerned; we must have love to him, if ever we would be accepted of God. But much more must we have love to God; because without a regard for his authority, and a zeal for his glory, every thing we do, however good it may be in itself, is a mere selfish act; originating from our own will, and tending to the advancement of our own honour. Love to God is necessary to constitute a religious act; and without it our very best actions are no better than splendid sins.
But further, this may be called the first commandment,]
3.
Because obedience to it tends to the utmost perfection of our nature
[If the joints of our limbs were dislocated, they must all be replaced in their sockets before our bodily powers could be restored. So it is with respect to our souls. All our faculties and powers have been deranged by sin, and rendered incapable of those exertions which constitute the duty and felicity of man. But let love to God once pervade them all, and they will all be reduced to order, and enabled to discharge the offices for which they were originally given. The understanding will have its capacity for the comprehension of divine truth renovated and enlarged: the will of itself will turn to every thing which God requires: and the affections will all fix on God as their proper centre, from which neither force nor attraction shall be able to divert them. Love to God will assimilate us to God himself. By beholding and contemplating his glory, we shall be changed into his image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Once more: this may be called the first and great commandment,]
4.
Because by obeying it we shall of necessity be led to obey every other
[From which of the other commandments would any man who loves God desire to be released? There is not so much as one, that he would wish to have relaxed in any degree. They are all written in his heart; and he longs to have them inscribed there more and more clearly every day he lives. Could he have the desire of his soul, he would have every thought of his heart brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.]
I think we have now seen abundant reason why love to God may well be regarded as the first and great commandment.
And now I beg your attention to that solemn admonition with which the command itself, both as published by Moses, and cited by our Lord, is introduced, Hear, O Israel! Yes, Hear, all of you, my beloved brethren:
Hear this, first, for your instruction, that ye may know to whom alone your allegiance is due
[As for other gods, there are none that have any claim upon you, or indeed any existence, but in the imaginations of ignorant and ungodly men. There are men indeed who claim an authority over you: but their authority is not their own: it is Gods: and they are only as Gods deputies, to exercise it for him. Between husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants, magistrates and subjects, there is a bond of rule on the one part, and of subjection on the other: but the rule must be for God, and the subjection to God: and then only are the reciprocal obligations duly performed, when respect is had to Gods authority and honour in the discharge of them [Note: Act 4:19-20.].]
Hear this, secondly, for your humiliation, that you may see how grievously you have failed in your duty towards him
[In order to form a right estimate of your character before God, you must bring yourselves to this test, and try yourselves by this commandment. But who can abide this test? Who can find any one action in his whole life that came up to the demands of this holy law? The more we bring our lives to this standard, the more we shall see the extreme deficiency of our best deeds, and the absolute need of crying with holy Job, Behold, I am vile: I repent and abhor myself in dust and ashes.]
Hear this, thirdly, for the elucidating of the Gospel salvation
[It is a matter of offence to many, that they should be required utterly to renounce all dependence on their own righteousness, and to seek acceptance only through the righteousness of another, even the righteousness which is of God through faith in Christ. But who that tries himself by this commandment, will find so much as one righteous act performed by him throughout his whole life? Yet, in order to salvation, we must possess a righteousness fully commensurate with the utmost demands of the whole law. But where will such a righteousness be found? No where but in the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence then is the necessity for fleeing to him, and laying hold on him, and casting ourselves altogether upon him, and embracing him as all our salvation, and all our desire. Understand this matter well, and the whole Gospel will be as clear as the meridian sun, and as acceptable as it would be to one already in hell.]
Hear this, lastly, for the regulating of your entire conduct through life
From the very moment that you turn to God, you must aspire after the attainment here enjoined, and be satisfied with nothing less. And, in order to this attainment, you must contemplate deeply and continually the excellencies of the Divine character, and the innumerable obligations which he has conferred upon you. Above all, you must have impressed upon your minds the wonderful love he has manifested towards you in the gift of his only dear Son to die for you. This will have a constraining influence over your whole man, and will progressively transform you into his blessed image in righteous-and true holiness.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
(28) And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? (29) And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: (30) And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. (31) And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. (32) And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: (33) And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. (34) And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God, and no man after that durst ask him any question.
If we were not well acquainted with the general character of the Scribes, we might be led to hope, that this man’s question was with a better design than the Sadducees. But there is nothing neutral in the holy war. JESUS himself hath decided; he that is not with me is against me: Mat 12:30 . But whether a friend or foe, our LORD hath blessedly taught the divine unity existing in a threefold character of persons, and followed it up with all its blessed consequences. The precious passage from one of the books of Moses, which the LORD refers to in proof, is in itself more than half confirmation of the glorious truth of the whole Bible, that the LORD JEHOVAH, the one Eternal and true GOD exists in a threefold character of persons; for otherwise, wherefore is Israel called upon to hear that the LORD thy GOD (that is, GOD in covenant) is one LORD! It never could have entered the apprehension of the human mind untaught of GOD, Or anything beside. But when the LORD was pleased to reveal himself, as in a great variety of parts in scripture he hath done, in his persons and in the covenant engagements between the persons of the GODHEAD, it formed in the LORD’s grace great mercy to his people, to remind them at the same time of the unity of the Divine Essence. Reader! the LORD grant that you and I may so hear, and so love each and every person of the GODHEAD, and know them in all their office-characters and relations, that it may become a proof of our true regeneration of heart; since by nature there is no love, but enmity in us towards the Almighty Author of our being, till GOD who commandeth the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of GOD, in the face of JESUS CHRIST. 2Co 4:6 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
Ver. 28. Asked him, which is the first ] All Christ’s disciples must be , Questionists, and do the same to learn that this scribe here doth for a worse purpose.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
28 34. ] REPLY CONCERNING THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. Mat 22:34-40 , but with differing circumstances. There the question appears as that of one among the Pharisees’ adherents, who puts this question, , and in consequence of the Pharisees coming up to the strife, after He had discomfited the Sadducees. I should be disposed to take Mark’s as the strictly accurate account, seeing that there is nothing in the question which indicates enmity, and our Lord’s answer, Mar 12:34 , plainly precludes it. The man, from hearing them disputing, came up, and formed one of the band who gathered together for the purpose of tempting Him. Mark’s report, which here is wholly unconnected in origin with Matt.’s, is that of some one who had taken accurate note of the circumstances and character of the man: Matt.’s is more general, not entering, as this, into individual motives, but classing the question broadly among the various “temptations” of our Lord at this time.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
28. ] The motive, as shewn by the subordination of to , and of to , seems to have been, admiration of our Lord’s wise answer , and a desire to be instructed further by Him.
. . ] This was one of the ( Tit 3:9 ), which was the greatest commandment . The Scribes had many frivolous enumerations and classifications of the commands of the law.
, not : – is treated almost as one word , so that does not belong to . understood, but, q. d. ‘first-of-all of the commandments.’
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 12:28-34 . The great commandment (Mat 22:34-40 ). The permanent value of this section lies in the answer of Jesus to the question put to Him, which is substantially the same in both Mt. and Mk. The accounts vary in regard to the motive of the questioner. In Mt. he comes to tempt, in Mk. in hope of getting confirmation in a new way of thinking on the subject, similar to that of the man in quest of eternal life that which put the ethical above the ritual. No anxious attempt should be made to remove the discrepancy.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mar 12:28 . , , : the second and third of these three participles may be viewed as the ground of the first = one of the scribes, having heard them disputing, and being conscious that He (Jesus) answered them well, approached and asked Him, etc. , what sort of; it is a question, not of an individual commandment, but of characteristic quality. The questioner, as conceived by Mk., probably had in view the distinction between ritual and ethical, or positive and moral. The prevalent tendency was to attach special importance to the positive, and to find the great matters of the law in circumcision, Sabbath-keeping, the rules respecting phylacteries, etc. (Lightfoot). The opposite tendency, to emphasise the ethical , was not unrepresented, especially in the school of Hillel, which taught that the love of our neighbour is the kernel of the law. The questioner, as he appears in Mk., leant to this side.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar 12:28-34
28One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” 29Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; 30and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no one else besides Him; 33and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.
Mar 12:28 “scribes” These were usually non-priestly (i.e., not Levite), who became scholars in the Oral Traditions (i.e., the Talmud) of the Jews. In the OT local Levites interpreted the sacred writings to the people (cf. Nehemiah 8). As the local synagogue developed in Babylonian exile, the role of local teachers and interpreters grew in significance. By Jesus’ day most of these scribes were Pharisees. They developed historically (i.e., after the destruction of the Temple) into rabbinical Judaism. See Special Topic at Mar 2:6.
“heard them arguing” The parallel in Mat 22:34-35 seems to imply ulterior motives, but Mark’s Gospel implies he was truly interested in the theological question.
Mar 12:29 “‘hear'” Jesus quotes from Deu 6:4-5, but not from the Masoretic Text or the Septuagint (the parallel in Mat 22:37 is closer to the MT, but not exact). Jesus’ quote adds a phrase to both the Masoretic Hebrew text and the Septuagint Greek text. This exact quote is unknown from any OT text. The LXX changes the Hebrew “heart” to “mind” or “understanding.” But this quote adds the phrase “with all your mind” to the three-fold phrasing (i.e., heart, soul, strength) in the MT and LXX. The NJB recognizes this by printing the phrase as not part of the OT quote (i.e., not in italics). It is interesting that the Greek uncial manuscript D (i.e., Bezae) from the fifth century omits the phrase “and with all your mind” entirely. This may reflect the original because its absence matches the scribes’ response in Mar 12:33.
In the Matthew parallel (i.e., Mat 22:32) Matthew quotes Jesus as saying, “with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Here the Hebrew clause “with all your strength” is left out. It is so surprising that Mark and Matthew disagree with each other and with both the MT and the LXX. This is a perfect example of the looseness of many of the OT quotes in the NT (even those attributed to Jesus). Here is where precision is impossible. They all (i.e., LXX, Matt. and Mark) reflect the general sense of the quote from Moses.
This OT text (i.e., Deu 6:4-5) is called the Shema, which is the Hebrew word “hear.” It means to hear so as to do. It has become the Jewish affirmation of monotheism. It is prayed daily by faithful Jews and on every Sabbath. There are other texts on the oneness and uniqueness of God in the Prophets, but this one is in the writings of Moses (i.e., Gen. Deut.) and is, therefore, binding on all of Jesus’ listeners (i.e., Sadducees and Pharisees).
Mar 12:30 Jesus’ answer shows that there are two aspects to God’s primary commandment: (1) the unity and uniqueness of God and (2) our total commitment to Him and Him alone!
“heart” See Special Topic at Mar 2:6.
Mar 12:31 “‘you shall love your neighbor'” This is a quote from Lev 19:18 in the Septuagint. Jesus linked theological truth to practical, ethical demands (cf. Zechariah 7-8). It is impossible to love God and hate those made in His image (cf. 1Jn 2:9-11; 1Jn 3:15; 1Jn 4:20).
It is impossible to love your neighbor (i.e., covenant brother or sister) as yourself if you do not love yourself. There is an appropriate self-love which is based on God’s priority love for mankind. We are His creation, fashioned in His image (cf. Gen 1:26-27). We must rejoice in our giftedness and accept our physical, mental, and psychological makeup (cf. Psalms 139). To criticize ourselves is to criticize our Maker! He can transform our fallenness into a reflection of His glory (i.e., Christlikeness).
Christianity involves a personal faith commitment to God through Christ. It starts as an individual volitional decision of repentance and faith. However, it issues in a family experience. We are gifted for the common good (cf. 1Co 12:7). We are part of the body of Christ. How we treat others reveals our true devotion to Christ. The oneness of God and mankind made in the image and likeness of God demands an appropriate response toward God and toward other humans (i.e., especially those of the household of faith).
“‘There is no other commandment greater than these'” This statement is so hard for legalistic (i.e., weak; cf. Rom 14:1 to Rom 15:13) believers to accept. With a total love for God and covenant brothers (and even the lost) there are no rules. Rules are to flow from a changed heart and mind; they do not produce godliness!
Mar 12:32-33 “‘He. . .Him'” These pronouns refer to YHWH. Because of Exo 20:7, most Jews would have been uncomfortable pronouncing the Covenant name of God.
“‘there is no one else besides Him'” This phrase does not deny the existence of other spiritual beings such as angels. This literally meant that no one was before or beside YHWH. He is a unique category (cf. Exo 8:10; Exo 9:14; Deu 4:35; Deu 4:39). This scribe is expressing YHWH’s uniqueness!
Mar 12:33 “‘love. . .is much more than all burnt offerings'” This scribe had great understanding about the relationship between faith and rituals (cf. 1Sa 15:22; Isa 1:11-14; Hos 6:6; Amo 5:21-24; Mic 6:6-8). This is not to depreciate temple ritual, but to assert that proper motive and faith are crucial (i.e., joining the priestly and prophetic insights).
Mar 12:34 “‘You are not far from the kingdom of God'” This statement was another way that Jesus asserted the centrality of a positive and immediate faith response to Himself. The kingdom was available then (i.e., through faith in Jesus), not somewhere in the future. Although this man understood OT theology, he was not right with God without placing his faith in Christ. Correct theology does not assure salvation! Knowledge of the Bible does not assure salvation! The performance of religious ritual and liturgy does not assure salvation! Faith in Christ does!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
came = came up; or came to [Him].
perceiving. Greek. oida. App-132.
well = admirably, finely.
asked = questioned.
Which = Of what nature.
the first, &c. = the first of all the commandments.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
28-34.] REPLY CONCERNING THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. Mat 22:34-40, but with differing circumstances. There the question appears as that of one among the Pharisees adherents, who puts this question, ,-and in consequence of the Pharisees coming up to the strife, after He had discomfited the Sadducees. I should be disposed to take Marks as the strictly accurate account, seeing that there is nothing in the question which indicates enmity, and our Lords answer, Mar 12:34, plainly precludes it. The man, from hearing them disputing, came up, and formed one of the band who gathered together for the purpose of tempting Him. Marks report, which here is wholly unconnected in origin with Matt.s, is that of some one who had taken accurate note of the circumstances and character of the man: Matt.s is more general, not entering, as this, into individual motives, but classing the question broadly among the various temptations of our Lord at this time.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 12:28. , well) Admirably. The admirable character of Christs teaching is often conspicuous, even to those who do not comprehend it wholly [in all its parts]. To this we are to refer Mar 12:32, , well.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Mar 12:28-34
9. THE GREAT COMMANDMENT
Mar 12:28-34
(Mat 22:34-40)
28 And one of the scribes came,–Matthew (Mat 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 (Deu 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 Deu 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 Lev 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.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the First Commandment
Mar 12:28-44
To the young ruler our Lord named one command as great-the love of ones neighbor. Now, in answer to this scribe, he turned with unerring choice, first to Deu 6:4-5, and then to Lev 19:18, for the two pillars on which the collective and individual life of man must rest. The reverent answer of the scribe proves that he was no ordinary questioner; and our Lord acknowledged this when He told him that a few steps more would bring him into the kingdom of God. Our Lord was Davids son by human descent, but as Son of God, proceeding from the Father, He is exalted far above David and all mankind.
In terrible words, Mar 12:38-40, Christ denounced the moral and religious leaders of the time. They made a pretense and a gain of their religion. How great the contrast between them and this poor widow, who cast into Gods treasury all that she had to provide for her days living! Our Lord is quick to notice acts like these, which give evidence of the true heart.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 54
So Near Home, Yet Lost!
And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
(Mar 12:28-34)
No doubt this scribe came to the Lord Jesus with the same malicious intent as the others. The Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducees had come to the Master with the specific determination to catch him in his words (Mar 12:13). But as he listened to the Saviors conversation with the Sadducees, he realized that everything the Lord Jesus said made perfectly good sense. He perceived that he had answered them well, that is with purpose and understanding.
The Question
This scribe asked the Lord Jesus, Which is the first commandment of all? No doubt he had often debated that question with others. Religious people love to debate intricate points of doctrine, striving about words to no profit (2Ti 2:14). They imagine that they know much, though they know nothing. And their debate is but the outward display of their inward lust for recognition and praise (Rom 1:29). The religion of the self-righteous is all about themselves. They exercise their religion only for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness (Isa 58:4).
Be warned. Nothing spiritual is ever gained by religious wrangling. We all love debate, because we all love to impress others with our knowledge; but it is always carnal and sinful. Debate is not witnessing. It is only debate, the display of carnal pride. It is never for the glory of God or the good of immortal souls. Therefore, we are admonished to avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain (Tit 3:9). Witnessing is not showing people what you know, but telling them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee (Mar 5:19).
The Masters Answer
Wicked as this mans motives were, we have reason to give thanks to God that he asked it. Otherwise, we might never have been given the instruction of infinite wisdom given by the Lord Jesus in Mar 12:29-31. Here, again, we see our God overruling evil for good (Psa 76:10). He makes even the most malicious designs of wicked men beneficial to his elect, and uses them for his own praise. “Out of the eater came forth meat” {Jdg 14:14).
This scribe asked the Master, Which is the first commandment of all? He probably expected to receive some instruction about the observance of some outward ceremony, or some very costly duty. Instead, the Lord Jesus seized the opportunity to declare the supremacy of the triune God and that which he both requires and deserves of his creatures.
First, the Savior sets before this scribe the great supremacy of our God in the trinity of his sacred persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord (Mar 12:29). In Mar 12:29-30 our savior quotes a portion of Scripture with which the scribe had to have been very familiar (Deu 6:4-5), and asserts that this is the matter of utmost priority. Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord! That is the first thing God commands, that we recognize and worship him alone as God. He who is our God, the covenant God of his people, is alone God.
This simple sentence is bursting with meaning. First, the Lord, Jehovah, the triune God, is one Jehovah (1Jn 5:7). Second, he is the God of Israel in a special, distinct way. He is God over all; but he has made himself our God. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance (Psa 33:12).
I am not sure why, but Mark never uses the word law in his gospel narrative. But in Mar 12:30, quoting Deu 6:5, the Lord Jesus declares that the whole commandment of God, that is all the law of God, directs us to and requires faith in Christ, who is Jehovah the Son. We know that this is the meaning of our Saviors words here because that is what the Holy Spirit declares in 1Jn 3:23. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
The law of God has but one purpose. It is designed to shut us up to Christ alone as our God and Savior, and to faith in him as our God and Savior (Gal 3:19-25). And that faith that is given to and wrought in sinners by the grace of God is faith which worketh by love (Gal 5:6). The law of God demands that we love both God and our fellow man perfectly. Read the Masters words just as they stand.
And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
God does not simply command us to love him sincerely. He commands us to love him perfectly in all his character as God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. And he demands that we love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Though all hate God by nature (Rom 8:7), there is no question that every heaven born soul loves God in all his character as God; and every ransomed sinner loves his brother. But none would ever dare presume to assert that he loves God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, or that he loves his brother as he loves himself.
Yet, by faith in Christ, we establish and fulfill the law (Rom 3:31; Rom 8:1-4). God gives what he requires; and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ we offer to God that which he requires, perfection (Lev 22:21). As our Representative, covenant Surety and Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ lived the full age of a man, loving God and his neighbor, perfecting, fulfilling all righteousness, a righteousness of infinite merit and efficacy, for Gods elect. Then he died under the penalty of our sins, being made sin for us, satisfying Gods offended justice for the redemption of our souls that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2Co 5:21; Gal 3:13). When he accomplished this great work, we were one with him and in him, so really and truly one with him and in him that when he obeyed we obeyed, and when he died we died. Therefore he is called The Lord our Righteousness and we are called The Lord our Righteousness (Jer 23:6; Jer 33:16). In the words of John Kent
Twixt Jesus and the chosen race
Subsists a bond of sovereign grace,
That hell, with its infernal train,
Shall neer dissolve nor rend in vain
Hail! sacred union, firm and strong,
How great the grace, how sweet the song,
That worms of earth should ever be
One with incarnate Deity!
One in the tomb, one when He rose,
One when He triumphed oer His foes,
One when in heaven He took His seat,
While seraphs sang all hells defeat.
This sacred tie forbids their fears,
For all He is or has is theirs;
With Him, their Head, they stand or fall,
Their life, their surety, and their all.
Far Off, In or Near
On October 26, 1859 a Welsh ship called, The Royal Charter, safely sailed around the world, navigating treacherous waters in every part of the globe. When the ship docked briefly at Queenstown, Ireland, one of the sailors telegraphed his wife, telling her that he would be home in a few hours. You can imagine her excitement. She had not seen or heard from her husband in months, and months, and months. With joy and anticipation, she hurriedly prepared supper, set the table, and got all spruced up. Excitedly, she sat in the parlor, waiting for her husband to walk through the door. Instead, a messenger appeared at the door who told her that as the ship approached its homeport, it was smashed to pieces in Moelfre Bay, on the coast of Wales, and her husband was drowned!
As soon as her pastor, William Taylor, heard what had happened, he hurried over to minister to this shocked and grieving widow. He said later, Never can I forget the grief, so stricken, and tearless, with which she wrung my hand. As that lady held her pastors hands, these are the words with which she expressed her grief So near home, and yet lost! So near home, and yet lost! So near home, and yet lost!
That is precisely where our Savior said this scribe was, near the kingdom of God but not in it, near home but lost. He said, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.
And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question (Mar 12:32-34).
It is possible for a person to be very near the kingdom of God and not be in it. It is possible for a sinner to perish upon the doorsteps of mercy, not far from the kingdom of God. There are many to whom the Saviors words to this scribe apply, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. This Scribe was a man of far greater knowledge than most. He saw things most of the scribes and Pharisees could not see. His knowledge was such that our Lord said to him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. Yet, he was lost. He was near, but not in the kingdom. Be warned. You may have great knowledge of truths and never know him who is the Truth. Salvation is not knowing about Christ. Salvation is knowing Christ (Joh 17:3).
The kingdom of God is that kingdom of grace in which all are voluntary, loyal subjects, under the rule of Christ. It is a spiritual kingdom, governed by Christ through the power of his Spirit and the Word of his grace. The kingdom of God is the church and family of God in this world.
Some are in the kingdom of God. Some are far off from the kingdom of God. And some are near, but not in the kingdom of God. Those who are in the kingdom of God are sinners who have been quickened, regenerated and made alive by the Spirit of God (Mar 12:27; Eph 2:1; Rev 20:6). They have been brought to the obedience of faith by the Spirit of God (Rom 16:25-26). They have been adopted into the family of God (Eph 1:4-6; 1Jn 1:9). They are led, ruled, governed and directed in life by the Spirit of God (Rom 8:9; Rom 8:14). If you are in the kingdom of God, you are in it because God, by a work of his almighty grace, has put you in it. He hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son (Col 1:13).
Most are far off from the kingdom of God. They have no interest in the things of God, no interest in their souls, no interest in Christ, and no interest in the gospel of his grace. Like a brute beast, they live only for time and only for the physical, sensual pleasures of life.
But there are some of who, like this scribe, are not far from the kingdom of God. What did the Savior see in this man that he did not see in the Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducees who had come before him? Why did he say he was not far from the kingdom of God? Let me show you.
The Lord Jesus saw standing before him a man of sincerity and truthfulness. This scribe was something more than a religionist. He was no hypocrite. He sincerely studied the law of God, saw something of the supremacy of God and tried to order his life by the law of God. Like the Jews Paul spoke of, he had a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge (Rom 10:1-4).
This man seems to have understood something of the spiritual nature of the law. He saw that the law had more to do with the glory of God and the inward principle of love for God and man than it did with mere outward deeds. He saw that the worship of God was inward, not outward, spiritual, not ceremonial. He saw more than the papist, who makes worship nothing but ceremonies. He saw more than the doctrinalist, who puts head knowledge above heart experience. And he saw more than the legalist, who puts outward morality above love and kindness.
The Lord Jesus saw in this scribe a teachable spirit. What a rare thing that is! Here was a man who was willing to learn. He was willing to have his doctrine, his religion and his opinions examined and corrected by the Word of God.
This man appeared to be in a very hopeful condition. He saw the unity, the breadth and the spirituality of the law. And he appears to have realized something of his own inability to keep the law. He knew that God required what he could not give. There is reason to have hope for a man who knows that much. Few do!
Are you like this scribe? Do you, like the five foolish virgins, have the lamp of religion? If you do, do not be content. They perished with the lamp of religion. You must have the oil of grace. Like the rich young ruler, this scribe had much, but he lacked the one thing needful. He lacked faith in Christ. He was near, but not in the kingdom. Do not be content to live and die in such a position. If you die near, but not in the kingdom of God, eternal damnation will be your portion forever. The borderland is a place of danger. If you are satisfied with being not far from the kingdom of God, you will in the end be shut out forever (Luk 13:23-30). If you do not enter in by Christ into the kingdom of God, either you will go back into hopeless apostasy (Heb 10:25-31; 2Pe 2:1-2; 2Pe 2:20-22; 1Jn 2:19), or you will become content without Christ, indifferent, and gospel hardened.
The borderland of religion without Christ is the most dangerous place in all the world! If you die without Christ, you will be forever lost. So near home, and yet lost! God has opened the way by which sinners may enter into the kingdom (Heb 10:19-23) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned (Mar 16:16). The only Door by which sinners enter into the kingdom of God is Christ (Joh 10:9). We must enter in by his blood and his righteousness. Will you enter into the kingdom of God; or will you die not far from the kingdom of God? God help you now to enter in, for Christs sake.
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
one: Mat 22:34-40
Which: Mat 5:19, Mat 19:18, Mat 23:23, Luk 11:42
Reciprocal: Mal 4:4 – the law Mat 22:36 – General Mar 10:19 – knowest Luk 20:39 – thou 1Ti 1:5 – charity Tit 2:8 – Sound
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
A GREAT QUESTION ANSWERED
Which is the first commandment of all?
Mar 12:28
There can be but one, which to us is the first commandment of all. Open what part of the New Testament you please, and you find it, in one way or another, speaking of the love of God.
I. What is meant by the love of God?The Bible does not use words at random. When it uses a word, it means by it what that word stands for among men. When the Bible speaks of our being able to love God, of our duty and blessedness consisting in the love of God, it means not outward conduct only, but the feelings and affections of our hearts which God expects us to give Him. To believe in God, to obey Him, is necessary, but it is imperfect Gospel religion till the heart has learnt to love Him.
II. How can this be?These things you say seem above us. But was not the Gospel first preached to the poor? And do you suppose that the poor among whom Christ lived, out of whom He chose His Apostles, and to whom He sent them preaching, were so different from poor, hard-working men and women now? If any one should think it is of no use for them to think of loving God, I ask, How can you tell till you have tried? Have you ever really taken any trouble about it? Only Gods Holy Spirit can change your heart and teach you to love God. But He will not come and do His great work in your heart, if He sees that you do not care whether He comes to you or not.
III. Simple hints.If, then, you wish to come to love God, keep in mind these simple points:
(a) You must not have idols in your hearts.
(b) The way to fight against sin is in every ones power.
(c) We cannot hope to love God without knowing Him. We cannot hope to know Him without communing with Him in the only possible wayin prayer. As long as we do not try to pray, it is hopeless for us to learn to love God.
(d) Lastly, there is that one great means of blessing which is open to the poorestthe Holy Communion. If we loved God, how little we should be tempted by the sins that ruin mens souls, and make them miserable. If we loved God, how light would be the sufferings of this present time.
Dean Church.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Chapter 15.
The Great Commandment
“And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto Him, Well, Master, Thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but He: and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask Him any question.”-Mar 12:28-34.
The Scribe.
Matthew in his account of this incident says that this question, like the questions about authority and tribute and the resurrection, was asked with an evil motive. He says that the lawyer asked him a question, tempting him. Mark gives a kindlier interpretation of his action. It is obvious that the Scribe had been in the group of listeners who had heard Christ’s answers first to the priests, and then to the Pharisees and Herodians, and finally to the Sadducees. I believe that at the first he had desired the discomfiture of Christ. For like all his class he was prejudiced against Him, and bitterly hostile to His claims. But as he listened to Christ’s wonderful replies, as he recognised not simply their dexterity and ease, but also their reach and depth, his prejudice changed to a great wonder, and his hate became converted into an almost worshipful admiration.
-An Honest Enquirer.
This Scribe, in spite of all his prejudices, was a man of candid mind and honest heart. He did not try to explain away Christ’s answers, as the Pharisees tried to explain away his works by attributing them to Beelzebub. He recognised that there was Divine wisdom and truth in Christ’s answer. He recognised that here was a Teacher of rare and wonderful insight who trod firmly when the best of human teachers only faltered. And recognising that, “knowing,” as Mark puts it, “that he had answered them well,” he thought he would ask him a question of his own. I think he asked it because he honestly wished to know and because he believed that Jesus could tell him. If you will look at the question you will see it differs entirely from all the others that had been submitted to Christ. The others were every one of them tricky and obviously meant to ensnare Him. This question is plain, direct, straightforward. There is no “catch” about it. The other questions were obviously made up and dealt with paltry and imaginary difficulties, this question equally obviously goes down to root and deals with a vital issue.
His Perplexity.
It is a great question asked in all seriousness and earnestness. For the Scribe was seriously perplexed about this matter. This question about the first commandment was, indeed, one of the vexed questions of the schools. The Rabbis held that the Law contained six hundred and thirteen precepts, distinguished as “heavy” and “light.” Very keen was the disputation betwixt the strict school of Shammai and the more liberal school of Hillel as to the distinction between these precepts. It was commonly agreed that there were “heavy” precepts to which the penalty of death was attached: and these were, in the main, laws regarding circumcision, the eating of unleavened bread, Sabbath observance, sacrifice and purification. Now, I believe that this Scribe had had his doubts for long enough as to whether these ceremonial precepts were really the weighty and serious things of the law; that for a long time he had an uneasy consciousness that these things could not be the principal things in religion. He saw, now, an opportunity of resolving his doubts, of getting guidance upon what was to him an urgent and vital matter. Recognising the Divine Wisdom that spoke through the words of Christ, he braved the astonishment and scorn that revealed themselves in the faces of his companions, and as an “anxious enquirer” brought his difficulty to Christ.
-His Question.
“Of what kind,” he asked, “is the first commandment of all”? Our English rendering scarcely reproduces the exact force of the Greek. It was not numerical order he had in mind. “First in this context means principal,” or, as John Wesley put it, “the most necessary to be observed.” The Rabbis’ distinction between the “heavy” and the “light” was in his mind. Were the ceremonial precepts, upon which the Rabbis laid such immense stress, after all, the principal things in the law? Did the Law lay the emphasis upon the ceremonial or the moral obligation? Was ritual in very truth the principal thing in religion? That was the information which his question asked for.
The Lord’s Answer.
Jesus answered, “The first is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God the Lord is One: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. The second is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” When our Lord gave that reply, He answered all that was involved and implied in the Scribe’s question. He read this man’s heart like an open book. I believe that He saw there the incipient revolt against the deadly formalism and externalism of current Judaism. He saw before Him a soul genuinely anxious to know what was the essential thing in religion. And He gave him his answer. In effect He said, “The principal commandment, the essential thing in religion is love-love to God, and love to man. Among the six hundred and thirteen precepts of your law there is none greater than this.”
-The Answer Desired.
In giving that answer Jesus told the Scribe all he wanted to know. The Rabbis laid emphasis upon circumcision, upon sacrifice, upon Sabbath observance. These were to them the “weighty matters” of the Law. But of these external, mechanical, and merely ceremonial obligations the Lord said not a word. He declared to this Scribe and through him to the wide world and to all time that religion is not ceremonial but moral, that the thing that really matters is not outward rite but the love and consecration of the heart. As compared with the Judaism then practised and taught by the Rabbis this was an altogether new view of religion. The Jews had exalted the ceremonial at the expense of the moral. They had tithed mint and anise and cummin and neglected justice, mercy and truth. Jesus restored the moral obligation to its supreme place and left ceremonialism entirely out of account.
The Scribe’s Response.
The Scribe’s heart leaped up in joyful response to our Lord’s declaration. It met and satisfied the deep instincts of his soul. He set himself by the Lord’s side. He adopted the Lord’s view. To this extent at any rate he proclaimed himself in sympathy with Jesus. “Teacher,” he exclaimed, “Thou hast said truly that He is One and there is none other but He; to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself is much more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.” And upon this discerning answer of the Scribe’s our Lord put the stamp of His approval when He turned and said to him, “Thou art not far from the Kingdom of God.”
The Moral and the Ceremonial in Religion.
On the whole, then, this colloquy between Jesus and the Scribe resolves itself into a statement as to the relative place of the moral and the ceremonial in religion. And the teaching of the incident is that the moral demand is everything and that the ceremonial does not count. A certain amount of ceremonial appears to be inseparable from religion. We seem as if we cannot engage in worship without some amount of form. We have an order of service; we stand to sing; we kneel and close our eyes to pray; though these customs are not universal. A certain amount of ceremonialism seems, then, to be inseparable from religion. And at the beginning no doubt every ceremony was adopted as being helpful to worship. Much of such ceremony was, in its inception, symbolic. But the danger of all ceremonialism is that the thing signified should be lost sight of in the symbol itself. That is what happened in Judaism. The Jews thought everything of the visible and external act and nothing of the inward feeling the act was supposed to represent; everything of the offering and nothing of the surrendered will; everything of the lamb and nothing of the penitent heart. And so among the Jews religion was choked and smothered out of existence by ritual, and the prophet could say that amongst them wickedness and worship went hand in hand. It was so in Christ’s own day. But it was no new development of Christ’s time. It was the besetting peril of Israel all through its history. The people were always confusing ritual with religion. Against that confusion the prophets made ceaseless protest. It was the burden of the prophet’s witness that religion was not external but spiritual, not mechanical but moral.
Our Lord’s Testimony.
In this respect, Jesus Christ took up the protest of the prophets. He called men back to the true idea of religion. “The essential things,” said the Rabbis, “are circumcision and Sabbath keeping and sacrifice.” “No,” said Jesus, “the essential thing is to have the heart right with God. Religion is not outward but inward; its demands are not ceremonial but moral: it is not a posture of the body but an attitude of the heart.” “Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, and thy neighbour as thyself.” No man, in fine, is religious, however scrupulous as to ritual he may be, until he love God and his neighbour thus. And the man who loves God and his neighbour thus is religious though he observe no ceremonial at all.
-Its Application To-day.
Rites and Rifts.
We have not got beyond the need of this teaching of our Lord’s even in these days of ours. I have already said that I believe a certain amount of ceremonialism to be inseparable from religion, especially upon its public side; and further, that to certain natures ceremonialism may be helpful. At the same time we do well to look with a jealous eye upon any tendency to emphasise ceremonial. We know how quickly men lose sight of the spiritual in the mechanical; how easily ritual may come to take the place of religion. At the bottom, it is this emphasis upon rite and ceremony that, more than anything else, sunders the Church and keeps Christ’s people apart to-day. Our schisms and divisions spring not so much from differences on questions of faith, as from differences about questions of order, rite and ceremony. These divisions, which are our weakness and shame, could never have arisen if we had really taken to heart Christ’s teaching in this place that the essential thing in religion is love-love to God and love to one’s neighbour. And as this emphasis on ceremonial so largely occasions the divisions of Christendom, so is it also a peril to individual souls. Lay the emphasis on ceremony and is it not fatally easy for people to think that when they have performed the ceremony they have done everything? Here, to a large extent, may be the reason why religion to-day is so formal and barren and cold. The idea many people have of religion is that it means attending at public worship, possibly, also, paying a pew rent, subscribing more or less generously to religious objects, and participating in the Lord’s Supper. Unhappily it is possible to do all that and to have no scrap of true religion in the soul. The essence of religion is love to God issuing in love to man. Our Church going, our religious services, our holy sacraments are only means to an end; they are meant to teach and help us to love. When they are exalted into ends in themselves they become the death of religion. God is not satisfied with our outward religious observances. Do we love Him? that is the critical question. Religion is not a ceremonial demand, it is a moral and spiritual demand, and we are not religious until God is enthroned within and we love Him with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and with all our strength.
“Not far from the Kingdom.”
That the Scribe should recognise all this; that he should publicly declare that love was better than all burnt-offerings and sacrifices showed that he had an honest heart; and more, it showed that he was an earnest seeker after truth. This man was no dilettante in religion. He wanted the real thing. And the Lord, when He noted his candour, his earnestness, and his spiritual sympathy, said to him: “Thou art not far from the Kingdom of God.” “Not far from the Kingdom”: there is scarcely a phrase in the Gospels so pregnant with hope and fear as this little phrase. “Not far”-did he actually enter in? “Not far”-or was he after all shut out? Both possibilities seem wrapped up in the phrase. I would give a great deal to know the after history of this Scribe; but Scripture leaves him here-“not far from the Kingdom.”
Modern Parallels.
“Not far from the Kingdom,” bow aptly it describes the condition of many in our own midst. They have a wistful desire for the truth, they have an admiration for Christ, they have a keen interest in religion, they come regularly to worship and yet they never take the final step and openly avow their faith in Christ. “Not far from the Kingdom”-and yet not in it. For, as Dr Chadwick says, we may know and admire and confess the greatness and goodness of Jesus without forsaking all to follow Him.
A Tragic Position.
There is somethings especially tragic about the case of those who are “so near and yet so far.” The case of the young man who went away because he had great possessions has an additional note of tragedy in it because he came so near and yet fell away. “A miss,” we say, “is as good as a mile.” We may be Church goers, and Church members, we may take an interest in religious matters and yet come short of the Kingdom. To be in the Kingdom we must not only know what religion is, as this Scribe did; we must practise it. We must not only admire Christ and praise Him; we must obey Him and love Him. There is not one of us “far from the Kingdom.” But are we in it? Do we love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength? Do we really obey and follow Christ? Is there any one of us who after having come so near will yet fall away? Happy are we if we can say that “we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition; but of them that have faith unto the saving of the soul” (Heb 10:39).
Fuente: The Gospel According to St. Mark: A Devotional Commentary
8
In Matthew’s account of this conversation (chapter 22:34-40) it is stated that the purpose of this question was to tempt Jesus, while the present passage says nothing about that. Instead, the latter part of the conversation indicates a favorable attitude toward Jesus. Both phases of it are true and explanable on a reasonable basis. After the scribe put the tempting question to Jesus, the reply was so unanswerable that he was drawn over to the better view of it and brought forth the good remarks reported of him. The question asked of Jesus was unfair because no one of God’s commands is any more important or greater than another.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
[Which is the first commandment of all?] it is not seldom that this distinction occurs in the Rabbins, between the law; and the precept; by the latter they understand some special or greater rite (themselves being judges); such as circumcision, the repeating of the phylacteries, keeping the sabbath, etc. This question, propounded by the scribe, seems to respect the same: namely, whether those great precepts (as they were esteemed) and other ceremonial precepts of that nature, such as sacrifices, purifications, keeping festivals, were the greatest precepts of the law, or no: and if it were so, which among them was the first?
By his answer he seems to incline to the negative, and to prefer the moral law. Whence Christ saith, “That he was not far from the kingdom of heaven”: and while he suits an answer to him from that very passage, which was the first in the reciting of the phylacteries, Hear, O Israel; — he directs the eyes and the minds of those that repeated them to the sense and the marrow of the thing repeated, — and that they rest not in the bare work of repeating them.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
THESE verses contain a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and “one of the Scribes.” For the third time in one day we see our Lord tried by a hard question. Having put to silence the Pharisees and Sadducees, He is asked to decide a point on which much difference of opinion prevailed among the Jews: “Which is the first commandment of all.” We have reason to bless God that so many hard questions were propounded to our Lord. Without them the marvelous words of wisdom which His three answers contain, might never have been spoken at all. Here, as in many other cases, we see how God can bring good out of evil. He can make the most malicious assaults of His enemies work round to the good of His church, and redound to His own praise. He can make the enmity of Pharisees and Sadducees and Scribes minister instruction to His people. Little did the three questioners in this chapter think what benefit their crafty questions would confer on all Christendom. “Out of the eater came forth meat.” (Jdg 14:14.)
Let us observe, in these verses, how high is our Lord Jesus Christ’s standard of duty to God and man.
The question that the Scribe propounded was a very wide one: “Which is the first commandment of all?” The answer he received was probably very unlike what he expected. At any rate, if he thought that our Lord would commend to him the observance of some outward form or ceremony, he was mistaken. He hears these solemn words: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.”
How striking is our Lord’s description of the feeling with which we ought to regard both God and our neighbor! We are not merely to obey the one, or to abstain from injuring the other. In both cases we are to give far more than this. We are to give love, the strongest of all affections, and the most comprehensive. A rule like this includes every thing. It makes all petty details unnecessary. Nothing will be intentionally lacking where there is love.
How striking again is our Lord’s description of the measure in which we should love God and our neighbor! We are to love God better than ourselves, with all the powers of our inward man. We cannot love Him too well. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to deal with him in all respects as we would like him to deal with us. The marvelous wisdom of this distinction is clear and plain. We may easily err in our affections toward others, either by thinking too little or too much of them. We therefore need the rule to love them as ourselves, neither more nor less. We cannot err in our affection toward God in the matter of excess. He is worthy of all we can give Him. We are therefore to love Him with all our heart.
Let us keep these two grand rules continually before our minds, and use them daily in our journey through life. Let us see in them a summary of all that we ought to aim at in our practice, both as regards God and man. By them let us try every difficulty of conscience that may happen to beset us, as to right and wrong. Happy is that man who strives to frame his life according to these rules.
Let us learn from this brief exposition of the true standard of duty, how great is the need in which we all naturally stand of the atonement and mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Where are the men or women who can say with truth, that they have perfectly loved God and perfectly loved man? Where is the person on earth who must not plead “guilty,” when tried by such a law as this? No wonder that the Scripture says, “there is none righteous, no! not one.” “By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified.” (Rom 3:10, Rom 3:20.) It is only gross ignorance of the requirements of God’s law which makes people undervalue the Gospel. The man who has the clearest view of the moral law, will always be the man who has the highest sense of the value of Christ’s atoning blood.
Let us observe, for another thing, in these verses, how far a man may go in religion, and yet not be a true disciple of Christ.
The Scribe, in the passage now before us, was evidently a man of more knowledge than most of his equals. He saw things which many Scribes and Pharisees never saw at all. His own words are a strong proof of this. “There is one God: and there is none other but He: and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” These words are remarkable in themselves, and doubly remarkable when we remember who the speaker was, and the generation amongst whom he lived. No wonder that we read next, that our Lord said, “thou art not far from the kingdom of God.”
But we must not shut our eyes to the fact, that we are nowhere told that this man became one of our Lord’s disciples. On this point there is a mournful silence. The parallel passage in Matthew throws not a gleam of light on his case. The other parts of the New Testament tell us nothing about him. We are left to draw the painful conclusion that, like the rich young man, he could not make up his mind to give up all and follow Christ; or that, like the chief rulers, elsewhere mentioned, he “loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” (Joh 12:43.) In short, though “not far from the kingdom of God,” he probably never entered into it, and died outside.
Cases like that of this Scribe, are unhappily far from being uncommon. There are thousands on every side, who, like him, see much and know much of religious truth, and yet live and die undecided. There are few things which are so much overlooked as the length to which people may go in religious attainments, and yet never be converted and never saved. May we all mark well this man’s case, and take care!
Let us beware of resting our hopes of salvation on mere intellectual knowledge. We live in days when there is great danger of doing so. Education makes children acquainted with many things in religion, of which their parents were once utterly ignorant. But education alone will never make a Christian in the sight of God. We must not only know the leading doctrines of the Gospel with our heads, but receive them into our hearts, and be guided by them in our lives. May we never rest till we are inside the kingdom of God, till we have truly repented, really believed, and have been made new creatures in Christ Jesus. If we rest satisfied with being “not far from the kingdom,” we shall find at last that we are shut out for evermore.
Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels
Mar 12:28. Knowing that he had answered them well. This scribe no doubt rejoiced in the defeat of the Sadducees, but was also really pleased with our Lords answers. They accorded with his intellectual convictions, perhaps with his moral tendencies, and he probably desired further instruction.
What commandment it first of all? On this question as a temptation, see notes on Matthew. The fearfully belittling tendencies of Pharisaical legalism may be inferred from the following statement: The Jews enumerated six hundred and thirteen ordinances; three hundred and sixty-five prohibitions, according to the days of the year; two hundred and twenty-eight commandments, according to the parts of the body. The Pharisees distinguished between lesser and greater commandments(Braune). The phrase may mean: first of all things, however.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, 1. A question propounded to our blessed Saviour, and his answer thereunto. The question propounded is this, Which is the first and great commandment? Our Saviour tells them, It is to love God with all their heart and soul, with all their mind and strength; that is, with all the powers, faculties, and abilities of the soul, with the highest measures, and most intense degrees of love; this is the sum of the duties of the first table: This is the first and great commandment, and the second is like unto it. He doth not say equal with it: although the duties of the second table are of the same authority, and of the same necessity with the first, as no man can be saved without the love of God, so neither without the love of his neighbour.
Whence note, 1. That the fervency of all our affections, and particularly the supremacy of our love, is required by God as his right and due; love must pass through, and possess all the powers and faculties of our souls; the mind must meditate upon God, the will must choose and embrace him, and the affections must delight in him. The measure of loving God is to love him without measure; God reckons that we love him not at all, if we love him not above all.
Note, 2. That thus to love God, is the first great commandment; great in regard of the obligation of it. To love God is so indispensible a duty, that God himself cannot free us from the obligation of it; for so long as he is God, and we his creatures, we shall lie under a natural obligation to love and serve him.
Great also is this command and duty, in regard to the duration and continuance of it; when faith shall be swallowed up in vision, and hope in fruition, love will then be perfected in a full enjoyment.
Note, 3. That every man may, yea, ought, to love himself: not his sinful self, but his natural self; especially his spiritual self, the new nature in him. This it ought to be his particular care to strengthen and increase. Indeed 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, every man so to do. God has put a principle of self-love, and of self-preservation, into all his creatures, but especially into man.
Note, 4. That as every man ought to love himself, so it is every man’s duty to love his neighbour as himself; not as he doth love himself, but as he ought to love himself; yet not in the same degree that he loves himself, but after the same manner , and with the same kind of love that he loves himself. As we love ourselves freely and readily, sincerely and unfeignedly, tenderly and compassionately, constantly and continually, so should we love our neighbour also; though we love him not as much as we love ourselves, yet must we love him truly, as truly as we love ourselves.
Note lastly, That the duties of the first and second table are inseparable, namely, love to God, and love to our neighbour. These two must not be separated; he that loveth not his neighbour whom he hath seen, never loved God whom he hath not seen. A conscientious regard to the duties of both tables, will be an argument of our sincerity, and an ornament to our profession.
Observe, lastly, The favourable censure which our Saviour passes upon the scribe: he tells him, He was not far from the kingdom of God.
Note here, 1. Some persons may be far, and farther than others, from the kingdom of heaven; some are farther in regard of the means; they want the ordinances, the dispensation of the word and sacraments; others are far from the kingdom of God, in regard of qualifications and dispositions; of the former sort, are all heathens without the pale of the church; they are afar off, as the apostle expresses it, Eph 2:13. of the latter sort, are all gross and close hypocrites within the church; who, whilst they continue such, shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Note, 2. As some persons may be said to be far from the kingdom of God, so are there others which may be said, not to be far; such who have escaped the pollutions of the world, abstained from open and scandalous sins, are less wicked than multitudes are; but are strangers to an inward, thorough, and prevailing change in the frame of their hearts, and course of their lives: they have often said, I would be, but they never said, I will be, the Lord’s. When the work of regeneration is brought to the birth, after all, it proves an abortion.
Lord! what a disappointment will this be, to perish within sight of the promised land; to be near heaven in our expectation, and yet not nearer in the issue and event? Woe unto us, if this be the condition of any of us, who have all our days sat under the dispensation of thy gospel.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mar 12:28-29. One of the scribes came So Luke also, Luk 20:19; but Matthew, , one of them being a lawyer. In this diversity of words, however, there is no difference in sense. For the scribes not only transcribed the Scriptures, but were generally, also, teachers of the law, from which they had the name of lawyers: Having heard them reasoning together Having attended to the discourse between Jesus and the Sadducees; and perceiving that he had answered them well Had confuted their degrading doctrine of materialism, and proved, even from the books of Moses, the divine authority of which the Sadducees themselves could not but acknowledge, the certainty of a future state; asked him another question, with a view to make a further trial of his skill in the sacred volume. Which is the first commandment of all The principal, and most necessary to be observed? See the note on Mat 22:34-36. Jesus answered, The first of all the commandments And the foundation of all the rest, is, The Lord our God is one Lord One Jehovah, one self-existent, independent, infinite, eternal Being: one in essence; inclusive, however, of three, , subsistences, generally termed persons. See on Mat 28:19, and note on Exo 3:14. Dr. Campbell translates this clause, The Lord is our God: the Lord is one; in Deuteronomy, Jehovah is our God: Jehovah is one; and not as one sentence, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah. Among other reasons for rendering the words thus, he gives the following: 1st, That it appears to have been the purpose of their great legislator, to establish among them these two important articles, as the foundation of that religious constitution he was authorized to give them. The first was, that the God whom they were to adore, was not any of the acknowledged objects of worship in the nations around them, and was therefore to be distinguished among them, the better to secure them against seduction, by the peculiar name Jehovah, by which alone he chose to be invoked by them. The second was, the unity of the divine nature, and consequently, that no pretended divinity (for all other gods were merely pretended) ought to be associated with the only true God, or share with him in their adoration. 2d, That in the reply of the scribe, Mar 12:32, which was approved by our Lord, and in which he, as it were, echoes every part of the answer that had been given to his question, there are two distinct affirmations with which he begins; these are, There is one God, and there is only one, corresponding to The Lord is our God, and the Lord is one. The first clause, in both declarations, points to the object of worship; the second, to the necessity of excluding all others. Accordingly, the radical precept relating to this subject, quoted by our Lord, Mat 4:10, from the LXX., is exactly suited to both parts of this declaration. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God. This may be called the positive part of the statute, and corresponds to the article, The Lord is our God. Thou shalt serve him only. This is the negative part, and corresponds to the article, The Lord is one.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
CIX.
JEWISH RULERS SEEK TO ENSNARE JESUS.
(Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, A. D. 30.)
Subdivision C.
A LAWYER ASKS ABOUT THE GREAT COMMANDMENT.
aMATT. XXII. 34-40; bMARK XII. 28-34; cLUKE XX. 40.
a34 But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, gathered themselves together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, bone of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, aasked him a question, trying him [he was evidently deputed by those who counseled to ask this question]: 36 Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? bWhat commandment is the first of all? [According to the statement of Jewish writers, there had been an old and interminable dispute among the rabbis as to which was the greatest commandment. Some held that it was the law which commanded sacrifices; others, that which commanded the wearing of phylacteries; others contended for those about purification; others, for those about the great feasts. But as they reckoned the commandments of Moses as numbering over six hundred, there was plenty of room for argument. On this memorable day the answers of Jesus had hitherto been of such a nature as to put his questioners to silence. Therefore, in asking this question, they hoped to get an answer about which they could at least find room to wrangle, and thus discredit the wisdom of Jesus.] 29 Jesus answered, a37 And said unto him, bThe first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one: 30 And aThou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. band with all thy strength. a38 This is the great and first commandment. [ Deu 6:4-9. This command is first because it is the foundation of the entire law of God. It is greatest, because, in a sense, it includes all the other laws. Polytheism, atheism, idolatry, and all sins against God are forbidden by it. All sins against man are likewise, in [603] a sense, prohibited by it; for sin against man is sin against God’s image, and against the objects of God’s love. Those who truly love God can not consistently sin against man ( 1Jo 4:20). The curious may make metaphysical distinctions in the analysis of this required fourfold love, but the sum of it is that we are to love God with our whole being.] 39 And a {b31 The} second alike unto it bis this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. [Love is the cure for sin, for we can not sin against those whom we truly love. Where we love, we desire to bless. But sin always carries with it a willingness to injure or to curse.] There is none other commandment greater than these. a40 On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets. [The generic nature of the law of love is also noted by Paul ( Rom 13:8-10); but love without law is not sufficient. Love begets a desire to bless, but the law guides to the accomplishment of that desire. Perfect righteousness is the result of wisdom as well as affection. Love without law is power without direction, and law without love is machinery without a motor– 1Co 13:1-3.] b32 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: 33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices. [Here, as in the preceding subdivision, the answer of Jesus was so clearly right that it enforced admiration.] 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. [Prejudice is the great obstacle to entering the kingdom. In proportion as we overcome it we draw near to God.] And no man after that durst {c40 For they durst not any more} ask him any question. [They found it expedient to keep silence when their questions only exposed their own shallowness, and made more conspicuous the supreme wisdom of Jesus.] [604]
[FFG 603-604]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
THE THEOLOGIAN AND THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS
Mat 22:34-40; Mar 12:28-34. And one of the scribes coming to Him, and having them interrogating Him, knowing that He answered them beautifully, asks Him, What is the first commandment of all? And Jesus responded to him, The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these. [Deu 6:4; Lev 19:18.] And the scribes said to Him, Beautifully, Teacher, You spoke the truth, that He is one and no other beside Him; and to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the mind, and with all the strength, and to love the neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices. Jesus seeing him, that he answered intelligently, said to him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no one dared to interrogate Him any more. This theologian so meekly and intelligently corroborated and endorsed Jesus on the great plan of salvation, as He showed from the Scriptures the pre-eminence of love into God supreme, with all the heart, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves, that Jesus, reading his heart like a book, saw his sincerity and candor, and notified him that he was not far from the kingdom of God. You see, the attitude of this theologian, when he exalted Divine love to God supreme and to the neighbor as ourselves and so frankly confessed that this love was infinitely more important than all the sacrifices of the Levitical law, clearly demonstrated that he was on the fight line, recognizing the pure spirituality of the redemptive scheme, while sacrifices and oblations are merely subordinate and symbolic. This man clearly evinces that the light of the Holy Ghost was already shining in on his mind, and revealing to him the true way of salvation. What a beautiful exception to the hypocrites, legalists, and ritualists, who so constantly thronged about Jesus with their captious questions and occult intrigue!
Mat 22:40. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Hence you see that even the Old Testament teaches a religion of perfect love, its burdensome ritual constituting a symbolic school, in which the people were constantly and vividly reminded of the vicarious atonement of the Son and the Pentecostal baptism of the Spirit.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Mar 12:28-34. The Greatest Commandment.This further question does not seem to be put in a spirit of hostility. The scribe may have been a Pharisee who admired the answer Jesus had given to the Sadducees. There was no real doubt as to the greater commandment. The Shema (Deu 6:4 f.) was repeated daily by the Jews. It was the foundation-text of their monotheism, which was not a speculative theory but a practical conviction (pp. 618f.). Jesus adds to it Lev 19:18. Love to God finds its only adequate fulfilment in love to ones neighbour. Gods worship lies in social duty. Love to ones neighbour must be rooted in love of God. Wellhausen says, the combination was first effected in this way by Jesus; this is not certain, and, at any rate, in this Jesus stood in complete and conscious agreement with Pharisaism (Schlatter, Das Wort Jesu, p. 221). The commendation which Jesus gives to the scribe implies a kingdom already present. Loisy regards this story as an explanation of Luk 10:25-28. He considers the repetition of the answer to the question clumsy. But surely it is effective and original story-telling. Loisy also suggests with more justification that the fear to ask Jesus further questions would come more appropriately after the preceding story. There was nothing to frighten men in the scribes experience.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
Now the Lord has a change of pace. He has a Jewish leader that is there for honest interaction. He is a man who was seeing the validity of the Lord’s conversations with the other leaders and saw the truth in what He was saying.
Now pastor you wouldn’t know anything about this would you – you know someone coming to you with questions that has no ulterior motive? So many believers tend to skirt the real issues rather than come to the forefront of what they want to know. Indeed, some come with questions meant to trap another in some way.
Pastor, learn as you can to sense other peoples motives as they come to ask questions. Try to understand where they are heading for two reasons. First, try to understand peoples motives, to avoid getting trapped into something and second, to assist the true seeker with their questions. Some will question surface issues and leave before actually gaining an answer to their true and deep question.
A young man came with question upon question relating to dating and I could tell he was asking every question in the book other than the one he wanted an answer to. Finally I asked him carefully what he really wanted to know. He paused for a moment then asked me if I thought a certain girl might go out with him. I said, you will never know till you ask. He asked and the two ended up married – now what if he had never asked the question that he really wanted to ask?
We will never know, but be sure seekers of information leave with the assistance that they seek.
We see another aspect of the Old Testament. Many today feel that an understanding of the Old Testament law is needed for the lost to understand the New Testament Gospel. There might be weight here for that belief. The man knew and understood the law thus Christ suggests he was close to being a follower. Barnes introduces this truth as well. “This shows that a properunderstanding of the Old Testament, of its laws and requirements, would prepare the mind for Christianity, and suit a person at once to embrace it when presented. One system is grafted on the other, agreeably to Gal 3:24”
To the point of the Lord’s answer it would seem that He gave a summary of the Ten Commandments in two statements. If you look at the commandments the first section covers your commitment to God and the last section is about your commitment to man.
The man knew his commandments and knew that the Lord summed them up quite nicely.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
12:28 {4} And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
(4) Sacrifices and outward worship never pleased God unless we first did the things which we owe to God and our neighbours.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jesus’ teaching about the greatest commandment 12:28-34 (cf. Matthew 22:34-40)
The third attack by Jesus’ enemies involved a question about the greatest commandment (cf. Luk 10:25-28).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The rabbis counted 613 commands in the Mosaic Law, 365 positive and 248 negative. They recognized that all were not equally important or equally foundational. They debated which were the "heavy" commands and which were the "light" ones. They also tried to formulate principles that comprehended the rest of the Law. [Note: Wessel, p. 737.] These were the concerns of the law teacher who asked Jesus what type (Gr. poia) of command He regarded as first in importance.
"The scribe desired Jesus to indicate a principle of classification." [Note: Hiebert, p. 303.]
Matthew viewed his question as coming from the scribe who spoke as a spokesman for the Pharisees whereas Mark presented it as his personal concern. This difference reflects Mark’s interest in individuals.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
CHAPTER 12:28-34 (Mar 12:28-34)
THE DISCERNING SCRIBE
“And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that He had answered them well, asked Him, What commandment is the first of all? Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. The second is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto Him, Of a truth, Master, Thou hast well said that He is one; and there is none other but He: and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask Him any question.” Mar 12:28-34 (R.V.)
THE praise which Jesus bestowed upon this lawyer is best understood when we take into account the circumstances, the pressure of assailants with ensnaring questions, the sullen disappointment or palpable exasperation of the party to which the scribe belonged. He had probably sympathized in their hostility; and had come expecting and desiring the discomfiture of Jesus. But if so, he was a candid enemy; and as each new attempt revealed more clearly the spiritual insight, the self-possession and balanced wisdom of Him Who had been represented as a dangerous fanatic, his unfriendly opinion began to waver. For he too was at issue with popular views: he had learned in the Scriptures that God desireth not sacrifice, that incense might be an abomination to Him, and new moons and sabbaths things to do away with. And so, perceiving that He had answered them well, the scribe asked, upon his own account, a very different question, not rarely debated in their schools, and often answered with grotesque frivolity, but which he felt to go down to the very root of things. Instead of challenging Christ’s authority, he tries His wisdom. Instead of striving to entangle Him in dangerous politics, or to assail with shallow ridicule the problems of the life to come, he asks, What commandment is the first of all? And if we may accept as complete this abrupt statement of his interrogation, it would seem to have been drawn from him by a sudden impulse, or wrenched by an over-mastering desire, despite of reluctance and false shame.
The Lord answered him with great solemnity and emphasis. He might have quoted the commandment only. But He at once supported the precept itself and also His own view of its importance by including the majestic prologue, “Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all they strength.”
The unity of God, what a massive and reassuring thought! Amid the debasements of idolatry, with its deification of every impulse and every force, amid the distractions of chance and change, seemingly so capricious and even discordant, amid the complexities of the universe and its phenomena, there is wonderful strength and wisdom in the reflection that God is one. All changes obey His hand which holds the rein; by Him the worlds were made. The exiled patriarch was overwhelmed by the majesty of the revelation that his fathers’ God was God in Bethel even as in Beer-sheba: it charmed away the bitter sense of isolation, it unsealed in him the fountains of worship and trust, and sent him forward with a new hope of protection and prosperity. The unity of God, really apprehended, is a basis for the human will to repose upon, and to become self-consistent and at peace. It was the parent of the fruitful doctrine of the unity of nature which underlies all the scientific victories of the modern world. In religion, St. Paul felt that it implies the equal treatment of all the human race, when he asked, “Is He the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yea, of Gentiles also, if so be that God is one.” (Rom 3:29 R.V.). To be one, he seems to say, implies being universal also. And if it thus excludes the reprobation of races, it disproves equally that of individual souls, and all thought of such unequal and partial treatment as should inspire one with hope of indulgence in guilt, or with fear that his way is hid from the Lord.
But if this be true, if there be one fountain of all life and loveliness and joy, of all human tenderness and all moral glory, how are we bound to love Him. Every other affection should only deepen our adoring loyalty to Him Who gives it. No cold or formal service can meet His claim, Who gives us the power to serve. No, we must love Him. And as all our nature comes from Him, so must all be consecrated: that love must embrace all the affections of “heart and soul” panting after Him, as the hart after the water brooks; and all the deep and steady convictions of the “mind,” musing on the work of His hand, able to give a reason for its faith; and all the practical homage of the “strength,” living and dying to the Lord. How easy, then, would be the fulfillment of His commandments in detail, and how surely it would follow. All the precepts of the first table are clearly implied in this.
In such another commandment were summed up also the precepts which concerned our neighbor. When we love him as ourselves (neither exaggerating his claims beyond our own, nor allowing our own to trample upon his), then we shall work no ill to our neighbor, and so love shall fulfill the law. There is none other commandment greater than these.
The questioner saw all the nobility of this reply; and the disdain, the anger, and perhaps the persecution of his associates could not prevent him from an admiring and reverent repetition of the Savior’s words, and an avowal that all the ceremonial observances of Judaism were as nothing compared with this.
While he was thus judging, he was being judged. As he knew that Jesus had answered well, so Jesus saw that he answered discreetly; and in view of his unprejudiced judgment, his spiritual insight, and his frank approval of One Who was then despised and rejected, He said, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. But he was not yet within it, and no man knows his fate.
Sad yet instructive it is to think that he may have won the approval of Christ, and heard His words, so full of discernment and of desire for his adherence, and yet never crossed the invisible and mysterious boundary which he then approached so nearly. But we also may know, and admire, and confess the greatness and goodness of Jesus, without forsaking all to follow Him.
His enemies had been defeated and put to shame, their murderous hate had been denounced, and the nets of their cunning had been rent like cobwebs; they had seen the heart of one of their own order kindled into open admiration, and they henceforth renounced as hopeless the attempt to conquer Jesus in debate. No man after that durst ask Him any questions.
He will now carry the war into their own country. It will be for them to answer Jesus.