An honest question goes a long way. It can open doors and discover important information. Among the questions the religious leaders asked Jesus during the passion week is an honest question. Up to this point, the questions have been gotcha questions designed to trap Jesus. But this question is different.
“One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.” Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher. You have correctly said that he is one, and there is no one else except him. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question him any longer.” (Mark 12:28–34, CSB)
Which command is the most important of all? Observationally, the most important commands during Jesus’ day seemed to be those related to the Sabbath. The Scribes and Pharisees seemed to have these commands foremost in their minds. Or perhaps we could point to one or several of the Ten Commandments as being the most important ones. But Jesus moves past the performative commands and points directly at the heart.
Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.” In another account, Jesus adds that all the commands in the Law and Prophets are contained in these two commands. Get these right and everything else falls into place.
If we fully love God and love others, we will automatically honor God and our time with Him. We won’t speak His name in anything but worship and reverence. All of our days will be focused on Him, even as we go to work and live our lives, not just one day out of seven. We will honor our parents. Murder, adultery, theft, coveting, and the rest will not even darken our minds or tempt our souls. Loving God and loving others are the most important commandments.
We do, however, grow in this. Jesus said that we are to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our minds, and all our strength. All. But most of us can’t honestly say “ yep, I love God with everything I am.” The Holy Spirit is continually showing us areas in our heart, soul, mind, and strength where we aren’t loving God. That growth is part of our continued journey of faith.
Often, the loving God part is easy, but the loving others thing is difficult. If only they wouldn’t act that way or say ignorant things, or offend us with their actions, then we could love them. Jesus doesn’t give us any qualifiers. He doesn’t let us love some and not others.
The scribe listened and affirmed Jesus’ answer in his own words. The scribe noted that these are more important than all the performative religious acts. Jesus replied, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
An honest question, an insightful answer, and a listening ear go a long way.
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