Mar 12:33 | KingComments | STEP | The scribe who now speaks has a good judgment of the Lord Jesus. He has stood by and listened. He also acknowledges that the Lord has answered well. It seems that he is honest and should not be counted among the hypocrites. He comes with a question answered by the Lord. The Lord judges that the man speaks intelligently and tells him that he is not far from the kingdom of God ( ). The Lord does not answer by simply quoting the first commandment of the Ten Commandments. He interprets “foremost” as the highest, the most important commandment. That is why He answers with the confession He Himself wrote down in Deuteronomy 6 ( ). Yahweh , the LORD, the God of the covenant, is a one and only LORD. He is “our” God, He is the common God of His people. He is the triune God and at the same time perfectly “one”, He knows no different faces or appearances. He is perfectly consistent in all His actions. He is absolutely sovereign and cannot be compared to anyone. The God Who is so perfectly “one” and excludes every other object, is entitled to the unlimited love and undivided dedication of His people, and of every human being. That is the first commandment. With this the Lord indicates what it is to give God what is due to Him ( ) and that is to give ourselves completely to Him and serve Him with all that we are and have ( ). Man is obligated to serve God 1. with all his heart, that is the inner being, 2. with all his soul, that is with all his feelings, 3. with all his mind, that is with all his deliberations and 4. with all his strength, that is with all his physical powers. Whoever does so will keep all ten commandments. The second commandment is about love for one’s neighbor. Here it does not say “with all your heart” etcetera but “as yourself”. The two commandments form one whole. Therefore the Lord does not say: “There are no commandments other greater than these”, but: “There is no other commandment greater than these”. It is impossible to love God and hate your neighbor, and it is equally impossible to love your brother without loving God ( ). If the love of God characterizes our lives, it cannot but be that God’s love is in us. Under the law, this is impossible. Israel has failed in this and anyone who tries to do so by keeping the law fails just as much. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins” ( ). Therefore grace goes far beyond the law. Grace leads to total self-denial. The grace of God that makes a Christian conformed to the revelation of God in Christ leads one to even lay down his life for his brother ( ). This teaching of love is also part of the Lord’s temple teaching. It shows that the house of God is a house of love where we love God and each other. This answer of the Lord is also acknowledged by the scribe as good, without any false assumption or expression of resentment. He agrees with what He has said. This is the beginning of the way to God. The scribe acknowledges in his conscience that loving God and one’s neighbor is much more than everything so much emphasized and valued by the Jews: external forms and ceremonies of the law. The reaction of the Lord shows that the scribe acknowledges what is in the law, but not what is in Christ. That is why he is close to the kingdom, but still stands completely outside it, for only grace brings one into it. With this the disputes have come to an end. Truth has triumphed in all respects, and man has been judged by truth and silenced in all respects.

‏ Mark 12:33

The Great Commandment

The scribe who now speaks has a good judgment of the Lord Jesus. He has stood by and listened. He also acknowledges that the Lord has answered well. It seems that he is honest and should not be counted among the hypocrites. He comes with a question answered by the Lord. The Lord judges that the man speaks intelligently and tells him that he is not far from the kingdom of God (Mk 12:34).

The Lord does not answer by simply quoting the first commandment of the Ten Commandments. He interprets “foremost” as the highest, the most important commandment. That is why He answers with the confession He Himself wrote down in Deuteronomy 6 (Deu 6:4-5). Yahweh, the LORD, the God of the covenant, is a one and only LORD. He is “our” God, He is the common God of His people. He is the triune God and at the same time perfectly “one”, He knows no different faces or appearances. He is perfectly consistent in all His actions. He is absolutely sovereign and cannot be compared to anyone.

The God Who is so perfectly “one” and excludes every other object, is entitled to the unlimited love and undivided dedication of His people, and of every human being. That is the first commandment. With this the Lord indicates what it is to give God what is due to Him (Mk 12:17) and that is to give ourselves completely to Him and serve Him with all that we are and have (Rom 12:1). Man is obligated to serve God

1. with all his heart, that is the inner being,

2. with all his soul, that is with all his feelings,

3. with all his mind, that is with all his deliberations and

4. with all his strength, that is with all his physical powers.

Whoever does so will keep all ten commandments.

The second commandment is about love for one’s neighbor. Here it does not say “with all your heart” etcetera but “as yourself”. The two commandments form one whole. Therefore the Lord does not say: “There are no commandments other greater than these”, but: “There is no other commandment greater than these”. It is impossible to love God and hate your neighbor, and it is equally impossible to love your brother without loving God (1Jn 4:20). If the love of God characterizes our lives, it cannot but be that God’s love is in us.

Under the law, this is impossible. Israel has failed in this and anyone who tries to do so by keeping the law fails just as much. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins” (1Jn 4:10). Therefore grace goes far beyond the law. Grace leads to total self-denial. The grace of God that makes a Christian conformed to the revelation of God in Christ leads one to even lay down his life for his brother (1Jn 3:16).

This teaching of love is also part of the Lord’s temple teaching. It shows that the house of God is a house of love where we love God and each other.

This answer of the Lord is also acknowledged by the scribe as good, without any false assumption or expression of resentment. He agrees with what He has said. This is the beginning of the way to God. The scribe acknowledges in his conscience that loving God and one’s neighbor is much more than everything so much emphasized and valued by the Jews: external forms and ceremonies of the law.

The reaction of the Lord shows that the scribe acknowledges what is in the law, but not what is in Christ. That is why he is close to the kingdom, but still stands completely outside it, for only grace brings one into it.

With this the disputes have come to an end. Truth has triumphed in all respects, and man has been judged by truth and silenced in all respects.