Holy Week Day Four: They Are All Wrong - Except One

We'll spend today and tomorrow looking at some other Day 3 events, because there's a lot that happens in Mark on Day 3 of Jesus' Holy Week. There also is not very much mentioned between Day 3 and Day 6. Likewise, there isn't anything mentioned chronologically between Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, so we'll continue with similar themes from Day 6 on Day 7.

Day Four: They Are All Wrong - Except One
Passages:
Skim Mark 12:1-27 (for context)
Read Mark 12:28-34 (main focus)

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+12%3A1-27%3B+Mark+12%3A28-34&version=NIV)

This chapter continues the debate that started with the questioning of Jesus' authority. Everybody takes a turn trying to trap him: Elders, priests, Herodians, Pharisees, Sadducees, and teachers of the law. Every man among them is trying to trap Jesus in his answers, instead of paying attention to what his answers are.

Except one.

Let's go in-depth into that main passage.

The set-up: "Noticing that Jesus has given them a good answer..." (verse 28b)

This is the first thing that sets this teacher of the law apart from the others. He noticed Jesus. He did not automatically reach for a defensive or offensive stance, hiding behind his own righteousness. He saw a good answer to what might have been a tricky question (Whose wife will she be?). He also witnessed true wisdom: getting straight to the point behind the question (is there a resurrection or not?). He noticed these things, and decided to pose his own test for Jesus. Notice that I said test, not trap. That's another thing that set this teacher apart from others: His question had a different motive than those of the elders, priests, Pharisees, and other teachers. He truly wanted to hear how Jesus would answer. It was a test of Jesus' knowledge, of his wisdom, and of his character.

The test: "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" (verse 28c)

This truly is a good test for one teacher to give to another. It cuts straight to the point: What do you believe about the Law? What do you believe about God? The answer to this question reveals both of those things. If Jesus had said something like "Keep the Sabbath holy" or "Do not murder" or "Sacrifice a pure animal", an astute observer such as this could have written him off easily. This teacher was basically saying, "When you read the law, what do you see?" Does Jesus see rules, or a God to be followed?

The answer:  "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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 this: 'Love your neighbor a yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (verses 29-31)

Here, Jesus proves that he sees the Law correctly: It all hangs on loving God and loving people. If you aren't doing that, you aren't fulfilling the Law no matter how many regulations you keep. Then the teacher agrees with Jesus, and Jesus tells him that he is not far from the kingdom of God. Both men are satisfied with the other's answer.

Right response:

We cannot go through this passage--with the goal of this Bible study being to re-dedicate our hearts to God--without addressing the Greatest Commandment.

Have you noticed how specific this commandment is? It does not simply say to love God, but it goes into all the different parts of our being, and tells us to give all of it in love to God. Do you have a heart? Give it to God. Do you have a soul? Give that too. Do you have a mind? Yeah, he wants even that. Do you have strength? Great or small, it's his.

I wonder what our answer would be if someone asked us this same question: "What is the greatest commandment in the Bible?" Some might say "The Golden Rule" or "The Great Commission" or "The Roman Road". It can be easy to get caught up in all the different directions that are given in the New Testament. I know that I have often fallen into the trap of focusing too much on whether or not I'm fulfilling one commandment or another. But even now, it all boils down to these two: Love God, and love people. There is no commandment greater than these.

So today's challenge is:

• Examine the object of your focus. What commandment in the Bible have you been treating as the most important?
• Examine the quality of your focus. Is your gaze straying to the worries of this life, or are you seeking the kingdom first? There is no renewal of faith until we fix our eyes on Jesus. And if we are truly seeking Jesus, there is no way we do not come away with renewed faith.
• This is also a good time to start evaluating if God has all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. However, we will go more in depth to giving everything to God in the study tomorrow about the Widow's Offering and Jesus' Anointing at Bethany.