Mar 12:28-31 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Mark 12:28-34: 12:28-34 After the three hostile challenges of 11:27–12:27 , the reader might expect the next question to Jesus to be hostile (see 11:28 ; 12:13 , 15 , 19-23 ), but this was not a hostile counter. Earlier references in Mark to the teachers of religious law have portrayed them as antagonistic (2:6-7 , 16 ; 3:22 ; 7:1 , 5 ; 8:31 ; 9:14 ; 10:33 ; 11:18 , 27 ), and Jesus will warn the crowds against their hypocrisy (12:38-40 ), but this teacher was positively inclined toward Jesus (12:28 , 32 ) and praised him (12:32-33 ). Jesus described the man’s answer to his question as having understanding, and Jesus said that the man was not far from the Kingdom of God (12:34 ). 12:28 Of all the commandments: The Torah (Genesis—Deuteronomy) contains 613 separate commandments, and Jewish teachers frequently debated about which were more important than others. No command was considered unimportant, but some were recognized as more fundamental than others (see Matt 22:40 ). Rabbi Hillel’s answer to this question was, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor” ( Babylonian Shabbat 31a; see also Tobit 4:15). Other suggestions included Prov 3:6 ; Isa 33:15-16 ; 56:1 ; Amos 5:4 ; Mic 6:8 ; and Hab 2:4 .

Summary for Mark 12:28-34: 12:28-34 ^a After the three hostile challenges of 11:27–12:27 ^b, the reader might expect the next question to Jesus to be hostile (see 11:28 ^c; 12:13 ^d, 15 ^e, 19-23 ^f), but this was not a hostile counter. Earlier references in Mark to the teachers of religious law have portrayed them as antagonistic (2:6-7 ^g, 16 ^h; 3:22 ⁱ; 7:1 ^j, 5 ^k; 8:31 ^l; 9:14 ^m; 10:33 ⁿ; 11:18 ^o, 27 ^p), and Jesus will warn the crowds against their hypocrisy (12:38-40 ^q), but this teacher was positively inclined toward Jesus (12:28 ^r, 32 ^s) and praised him (12:32-33 ^t). Jesus described the man’s answer to his question as having understanding, and Jesus said that the man was not far from the Kingdom of God (12:34 ^u). 12:28 ^v Of all the commandments: The Torah (Genesis—Deuteronomy) contains 613 separate commandments, and Jewish teachers frequently debated about which were more important than others. No command was considered unimportant, but some were recognized as more fundamental than others (see Matt 22:40 ^w). Rabbi Hillel’s answer to this question was, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor” (Babylonian Shabbat 31a; see also Tobit 4:15). Other suggestions included Prov 3:6 ^x; Isa 33:15-16 ^y; 56:1 ^z; Amos 5:4 ^aa; Mic 6:8 ^ab; and Hab 2:4 ^ac.
Summary for Mark 12:29-31: 12:29-31 ^ad Jesus’ reply combined two widely separated commands from the Torah.

• The first, Deut 6:4-5 ^ae, was probably the best known passage in the Old Testament, for it was repeated twice daily by observant Jews. It is called the Shema because it begins with the word Listen (Hebrew shema‘). The first command corresponds to the first part of the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:2-11 ^af), which deals with a person’s relationship to God.

• The oneness of God is foundational to Jewish and Christian monotheism and is the basis for the command to love God with all one’s heart (thinking and affection), soul (desire and feeling), mind (understanding), and strength (energy and power).

• The second command is from Lev 19:18 ^ag. It corresponds to the second part of the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:12-17 ^ah), which concerns a person’s relationship with other people. The second command is based on the natural inclination of people to look after themselves. Its importance to the early church can be seen in its frequent repetition (Matt 5:43-44 ^ai; 19:19 ^aj; 25:31-46 ^ak; Rom 13:8-10 ^al; Gal 5:14 ^am; Jas 2:8 ^an; Didache 1.2; 2.7). The two commands are not independent, but are intimately associated as one commandment. Their integration precludes religious mysticism that addresses only a person’s relationship with God or humanism that addresses only human relationships.