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The Scribe’s Comment (Mark 12:32-33)
“And the scribe said to him, ‘Very good, teacher, you speak truthfully that He is one and that there is not another besides him. And to love Him with the whole heart, with the whole understanding, with all strength, and to love a neighbor as ourselves is far greater than all of the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
(Mark 12:32-33)
It is obvious that the scribe is pleased with Jesus’ response, and this sets up an interesting dynamic, for Jesus will commend (at least on one level) the scribe as well. This makes for one of the more unusual interactions that Jesus has during this week. Prior to this question, Jesus has been bombarded by challenges to his authority and traps to try and trick him into siding with this group or that. Here, as we discussed above, is at least an underlying question again as to who Jesus will side with in his interpretation of the law. Some have made the suggestion that this comment by the scribe is rather insincere, but that seems rather odd given the context of Jesus’ statement in response. So how are we to understand this dialogue and how are we going to understand the variation between what Jesus taught immediately before and how this scribe paraphrases his statement?
To begin with, we see the scribe giving the briefest summary of the Shema. Jesus has quoted it verbatim and the scribe is giving his own interpretation of what Jesus said, tying in Deuteronomy 4:35 to support his answer. This was a common rhetorical technique amongst the Jewish Rabbis. Theology was done in the form of dialogue, so one might begin with a question, and the discussion that ensued would be in the form of more questions, answers, and interpretations in the hopes of arriving at a better understanding of the question at hand. We should not see the Scribe as being incompetent and unable to quote the Shema back to Jesus, but that he is interpreting Jesus’ statement in the context of the discussion. With this in mind, it sets the stage for the second part of the scribe’s statement. The scribe misses the language of yuch/ (psuche), or life, altogether and he replaces Jesus’ language of dia/noia (dianoia), or understanding, with the language of su/nesiß (sunesis), or intelligence. In addition, the scribe ties in passages like Hosea 6:6 and 1 Samuel 15:22, to speak of our loving obedience to God is far better than the ritual sacrifices of the temple. Again, what we find is that the scribe is responding to Jesus’ statement by offering an interpretation of it, and Jesus will respond favorably.
One of the major issues that Jesus battled with during his earthly ministry was the issue of people missing the intent behind the law in their pursuit of the letter of the law. The Pharisees, especially, were guilty of this. In their zeal for obedience, they had allowed the law to be understood in a legalistic way and had become blinded to the truth behind what God was commanding. God demands love and obedience from his people in every aspect and area of their lives. As Abraham Kuyper commented, “There is not an inch of this whole life that Jesus, as Lord of creation, does not put his finger on and declare, ‘Mine!’” And in the case of this scribe, it seems that he got it. He understood the intent of the law and demonstrated that understanding by the way he tied in other passages of scripture that spoke of similar things. So, beloved, what should we be reminded of from our scribe’s answer? We should be reminded that in all that we do, in whatever capacity that we serve the church, we are to be wholly committed to the Lord Jesus Christ. This commitment must never take the form of a list of “dos” and “don’ts” apart from what scripture commands to be a “do” or a “don’t,” but instead, we are to pursue God and his righteousness in service to our fellow man. This is our calling, to share the gospel with all and to make disciples by baptizing and teaching people to obey all that Jesus taught. Beloved, what a task we have before us; pray that the Holy Spirit will bless that task and empower it in such a way that God is glorified in all we do.
Love your Neighbor as Yourself (Mark 12:31)
“Second is this: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”
(Mark 12:31)
Jesus now adds to the first command about loving God with the second—that we are to love our neighbors. This is a direct quote from the Greek LXX of Leviticus 19:18, but the difference is found in the application. In the passage from Leviticus, God is specifically giving this command in the context of dealing with other Jews. Specifically, the passage speaks of how the Jews were forbidden from stealing from one another and that they were not to be partial to the rich or do injustice to the poor. Finally, the passage states that they are forbidden to hold grudges against one another and to take out vengeance against the sons of Israel, but were to love their neighbor as themselves. In the context of Jesus’ teaching, though the same word for neighbor is used, we find a far broader application of the concept. No longer should neighbor be understood only as other Jews, but also as gentiles as well. When Luke records Jesus as using similar words in an earlier context, Jesus applies the principle of the neighbor to a Samaritan, hated half-breeds from the region north of Judea. No other statement could have been more poignant to the Jewish people at that time; they were show grace and mercy and indeed love to even those they despised the most. In fact, such a commandment no longer allowed them to despise their gentile or Samaritan neighbor, but required them to reach out and minister to their needs.
How radical a thought that this is, that we are to serve those around us regardless of race, creed, likeability, looks, or preference. That we are to not hold grudges based on what someone might have done to us in the past—did not Paul plead with Philemon to receive Onesimus as a brother and not as a runaway slave to be punished? Oh, loved ones, what a radical call to rethinking the way we live! Sometimes we take a great deal of comfort in holding on to the grudges that we have. These grudges make us feel justified in grumbling about someone or speaking poorly of them. Let us repent of these things and seek to live out the commandment of God in every aspect of our lives! Let us seek to love even those we might despise like the Jews despised Samaritans (and visa versa) that the glory of God might flow through our lives and actions. Oh, beloved, what a call to service we have been assigned, to work to care for and minister to even the un-lovely of our society and of our world.
The question then that we are left with is that of whether or not Jesus is redefining the law. Some would say that he is, but I would say that he is simply clarifying the intention of the commandment that God gave to his people through Moses. Indeed, the immediate context of Leviticus 19 is that of God’s people dealing with one another, but the broader context of God’s covenant with his people is one of blessing to the nations. God’s promise to Abraham is that through his seed the people of the world will receive God’s blessing (Genesis 12:2-3). How are the nations to be blessed if they never enjoy the grace of God’s people in their lives? How will they be blessed if God’s people hold a grudge of anger over their heads? Oh, loved ones, let us recognize this not as a new law or a redefinition of the old law, but as a clarification of what the old law was always meant to be: God blessing his people so that his people would be a blessing to the nations; or, to rephrase it in a slightly different way: God blessing his people so that through his people the gospel would go out and men and women from every tribe, tongue, and nation would proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord because of the way God’s people live their lives. In many ways, this is a call to evangelism, let us order our lives in such a way that we might live it out.
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