51. Mark 12:28-34: The Great Commandment
Jesus impresses a scribe during these controversies with the religious leaders and he tries to cut to the heart of the matter: “Which commandment is the first of all” (v.28). Jews of Jesus’ day believed that if they kept the Torah for one day the kingdom of God would come. So this scribe honestly presses Jesus for what finally and fully matters to God for humankind. Jesus’ answer comes as a two-sided revelation. The first side, the Godward side, comes from Dt.6, the famous Shema: “ ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” This is not doctrine or philosophy, it’s life and ethics. To confess the oneness of God is not an intellectual conviction. It is a battle cry – there’s only one God, whatever any other peoples or nations may claim. This God we trust and live for! Then, from Lev.19 Jesus spells out the humanward side of this great commandment: “ You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This “commandment” (singular!) is greater than all the others (v.31). ...