#DailyDevotion What Is The Greatest Commandment?
Mark 12:28–35
28One of the Bible scholars came to Him. Hearing the others argue with Him and seeing how well Jesus answered them, he asked Him, “Which is the most important of all the commandments?” 29Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God alone is Lord. 30Then love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31The next is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” 32“Right, Teacher!” the Bible scholar said to Him. “You told the truth: ‘He is the only One, and there is no other beside Him, 33and loving Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all Your strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself is more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.'” 34When Jesus saw how sensibly he answered, He told him, “You’re not far from God’s kingdom.” No one dared to ask Him another question.
So that’s kind of interesting. Among the crowd of bible scholars (Scribes) who were trying to trip Jesus up, there was one who was impressed with how Jesus was answering them. It appears the question he asked Jesus really cuts to the chase and how you answered it would reveal to him all he needed to know about your teaching or theology.
What is the greatest commandment? We’ve looked at this before from Deuteronomy. “Listen, Israel, the Lord our God alone is Lord. 30Then love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Is it important Jesus added all your soul? Was it perhaps from a variant tradition from a Syriac or Greek version of Deuteronomy Jesus was familiar with? Was it from a copy of the text different from the Masorites? I tend to think Jesus was getting at the real spirit of the Law here as he does in the sermons on the Mount and on the Plain. There just simply any part of your being that is not called to love the LORD our God. All our being is called to love the One who created us. There is no compartmentalizing with God. Everything about out life is to one in which God is loved.
Oh, but I skipped something. “Listen, Israel, the Lord our God alone is Lord.” Of course this identifies who our God is whom we are to love. Part of loving him is listening to him. As one member once told me, listening includes doing what is said. Probably why he thought I wasn’t listening to him. We disagreed and I wasn’t going to do what he said. But I did honestly hear and think about it. Well we don’t have a choice with the LORD. If we are to love him, we are listen and then do—with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Just doing what God commands outwardly is not good enough. It may keep us out of trouble with our fellow man but it doesn’t impress the LORD.
To not leave the greatest commandment incomplete Jesus adds, “The next is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” Paul says in Gal. 5, “14You keep the whole Law when you do one thing: “love your neighbor as yourself.” Your neighbor is made in God’s image and likeness. How you treat him and how you God. Now the bible scholar says doing these two things is greater than all the sacrifices and offerings. We don’t do either of these things perfectly. Jesus has though and he has become our sacrifice and offering to God which he accepts to atone, ransom, propitiate and expiate for all our sins.
Heavenly Father, grant us you Holy Spirit that we may love you and love our neighbor. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.