Mark 12:28-34
This morning, we see a 4th conversation between Jesus and different groups of the religious leaders all back to back. Jesus is 3-0 in His responses, and this morning’s is a bit different than the others. The man in our account this morning does not come at Jesus out of frustration and a desire to trap Him, but instead from a place of a real desire to hear from Jesus. It is a genuine encounter in which Jesus recognizes the man’s heart as purely motivated.
Read Mark 12:28-34
Big Idea: Our priority as Christians is to love God with our whole lives, and to love all people selflessly.
The first thing we notice is that a scribe approached Jesus recognizing that He taught with great wisdom. He “answered them well.” The scribes were another group of Jewish religious leadership who were “recognized as the experts in the Law of Moses, as well as in traditional Jewish laws and regulations.” Of all the people who had approached Jesus thus far, and even in that culture, the Scribes would have known the Scriptures better than anyone else. It’s interesting, then, that this man would approach Jesus with a genuine desire to hear what He has to say.
We need to understand the nature of this question as well. See, the Scribe isn’t asking Jesus which is the most important commandment like we might read out of it at first. Instead, what he is asking is, “Is there a commandment which supersedes all others.” In other words, “is there a commandment that all others might fall under.” I think this man genuinely wants to know!
Jesus begins by affirming the supremacy of the Father. “The Lord our God, the Lord is One.” We must begin here. We must have a proper understanding of the uniqueness and holiness of God. If we are to love Him like Jesus implores us to, then we must have a proper high view of the one we are called to love. It is, after all, a radical kind of love that we are called to. So we must start here.
Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy 6 from the famous passage called the Shema. Everyone listening would have been familiar with it, because they recited it every morning and evening of every day. They would wear small boxes called phylacteries on their foreheads and their wrists containing this and other passages. They knew it well.
The Lord our God - Hebrew YHWH. “I will BE.” When the Jewish people would read the Scriptures and come to this name, it was so holy and revered and feared, that they stopped saying it, and instead started saying “Adonai,” which means “Lord” in Hebrew. If you notice in your Old Testaments that the word Lord is always capitalized, that is an English change to Adonai, changed from YHWH that happened over time. We could go down a really cool word study hole here, because there is so much more to be said about this word. But perhaps another time.
The Lord is One -. When Moses was delivering the law to Israel, they were surrounded by nations who served many gods. The Egyptians, who they had just been freed from, worshiped various gods and goddesses. So when God delivered this mandate originally, He was reminding the Israelites that He alone was God. There is no other. He stands alone. It is a statement of monotheism. We believe in the One and ONLY God.
This is who we are talking about. The supreme Creator of the Universe who spoke everything into existence. He Who parted the seas, Who caused the sun to stand still, Who shut the mouths of lions. That God. The Only God.
Jesus says, “you want to know the greatest commandment? Love the Lord your God with everything that you are.” Your whole being crying out in worship. There are 4 different areas of our lives from which we are called to love God: heart, soul, mind and strength.
1.. Heart
Proverbs 4:23 says to “keep your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” Our heart is the literal life-blood of our being. From our heart flows our passions, our desires, our emotions. In the Old Testament, the heart can also speak to intent or purpose. So it isn’t as simple as just what I feel, but it is connected to the truths and realities that are seated in my mind. All of these are very connected, there will be overlap. What drives me? What am I pursuing? What are my hopes and dreams? This is the heart.
What would it look like to love God with all my heart? To align my desires and my passions in such a way that the Lord is honored through them. We have to start by replacing anything that is seated in our hearts that leads to selfish gain and empty pursuits with a gospel-driven desire to represent Jesus in the way that we live. We have to work out the pride that leads us to anger, impatience and stubbornness. Do I desire to make a name for myself, or to make the name of Jesus great in my life? Am I pursuing things that leave me empty at the end of the day? Or am I pursuing things that bring me spiritual joy and fulfillment?
2.. Soul
In the first 5 books of the Bible, the “soul” refers to everything about us. Interesting that Jesus would separate this out from the others, since it really does encompass everything else. In Genesis 2:7 we see that “the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul.” The soul is synonymous with life. We should long for the Lord from the very depth of our being! Our soul is connected to our identity and personality. It is the deepest and most intimate part of my being.
Psalm 42:1-2 - As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
How do I love God with my whole soul? The best way that we can do that is to allow the identity that we have been given in Christ to shine through, rather than trying to create an identity that may fit the cultural mold. Do my deepest convictions reflect a desire to see Christ magnified? Do I allow the Holy Spirit to drive my intuition? Is my deepest longing a thirst for Jesus?
3.. Strength/Might
We tend to think of might or strength as loving God with our physical strength. How hard I work. How hard I serve. How much energy I expend. And while this is true, there is more to it than that. The Hebrew word for might in the Old Testament is the adverb, “very” or “exceedingly.” The meaning behind it is “to a great degree.” When translated into Greek, the word becomes “power.” When translated into Aramaic, the word becomes “wealth.” Many commentators would agree that beyond the physical strength this word carries the idea that we love God “exceedingly” with “everything we have at our disposal.”
So how do we love God with all our might? Do I work hard and pursue excellence in whatever occupation I currently hold? Do I exercise in whatever way my body can handle, taking care of my physical health? Am I generous in my giving? Do I give open handedly? Do I give sacrificially? This isn’t just with my money, but with my time. How am I honoring God by managing well the things that I have been given?
4.. Mind
If you’ve ever wondered why Jesus seems to add to the Shema, there’s actually a really good explanation. In Hebrew, the word “heart” can also speak to our thoughts.
Genesis 6:5 - “every intention of the thoughts of his heart.”
1 Chronicles 29:18 - “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you.”
Proverbs 15:28 - “The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer…”
In the Greek language, the thoughts don’t happen in the heart, but in the mind. So, for Jesus to get the full meaning of “heart” that comes from the Hebrew, He needed to speak to both the heart and the mind because He was speaking in Aramaic. Mark in turn would tell the story in Greek.
The mind speaks to our thoughts. Our intellect. How we think about things. How we process information and solidify worldview. It’s how we think about cultural issues.
So how do I love God with all my mind? I think we have to first look at what we are allowing to penetrate our minds. What am I watching that is forming my view of certain things. What am I reading that is influencing how I think about certain things. What am I listening to that is influencing how I feel about certain things. To love God would look like letting in the information and material that align with the things of God, and rejecting those things that don’t!
And so we have in front of us a command to love God with our hearts, our souls, our minds and our strength. With every ounce of our being we are called to love God.
Love Your Neighbor As Yourself
“And then,” Jesus says, “love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus is again quoting a well known Scripture from Leviticus 19:18. “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” These 2 commands are intertwined with one another. Love God and love your neighbor. But don’t miss that loving our neighbor begins by loving ourselves. When we commit our whole lives to loving the Lord, we have a proper view of ourselves in light of how God views us. We are made in His image, and we treat ourselves accordingly. Then, we look outward and we see a world that is corrupt and broken, but nonetheless made in the image of God.
Our neighbor is not our traditional view of our neighbors. It’s not simply the one next door or across the street. The word “neighbor” means “anyone that is nearby.” So wherever we go, whatever time of day, whoever we encounter is considered our neighbor. Kind of broadens the meaning of what Jesus is saying.
And here’s the cool thing about what Jesus is saying. The 10 commandments that created the foundation for the Mosaic Law are wrapped up in these 2 commands. The first 4 commandments speak to our love for God, and the last 6 commandments speak to our love for our neighbor. If you have some time today, check it out.
The scribes response is so cool. “You are right, Jesus! Everything you have said is correct!” And then he adds this phrase that demonstrates his level of understanding. “All of what you said, Jesus, is correct. Loving God and loving neighbor is far more important than ALL whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” In other words, loving God and loving neighbor is priority, even over the religious systems and standards that the scribe upholds. It’s really remarkable when you think about what he is saying! As an expert of the Law, he is placing the Law as secondary in comparison to offering our lives to the Lord.
Proverbs 21:3 - “To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”
Jesus sees the condition of this man’s heart. He sees His genuine quest for the truth. He sees His willingness to change, and so He tells Him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” This is both an encouragement and a warning. He is so close, but yet even one small step from heaven means you are still standing on the outside.
Paul speaks to this in Romans 12:1-2: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
By the power of the Holy Spirit we give up the desires of our flesh, replacing them with desires for the glory of God and the expanse of His kingdom on Earth as it is in heaven.