Sermon November 3rd, 2024
Mark 12:28-34; The Greatest Commandment
In our passage today, we find Jesus amidst a debate with religious leaders. A teacher of the law, a scribe, approaches Jesus with a question that had long been debated in Jewish circles: “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” This question reflects a desire to distill the complexity of religious law into something much simpler. The scribe asking this question is no ordinary man. He is a scholar of the Law, well-versed in the intricate details of the Torah. His question wasn’t born out of ignorance but rather a genuine desire for understanding. He sought the heart of the Law, the essential principle that undergirded all the commandments. We should note that, unlike the leaders before him, this scribe is not trying to debate Jesus or catch Jesus in a trap with a stumper of a question. This scribe has been impressed with what he’s heard from Jesus and wants to see if Jesus knows the most important part regarding their shared religion.
It was common in the first century for Jews to discuss and debate the foremost commandment. So the scribe asks Jesus the question, and Jesus responds not with a new teaching but with words that would have been familiar to every devout Jew: the Shema, a central prayer in Judaism, drawn from Deuteronomy 6:4-5: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” These two commandments together form the foundation of a life lived in harmony with God’s will. Let’s look a little further at what Jesus says in this passage and what it means for us to live out this greatest commandment.
The first part of Jesus' commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This is an all-encompassing love that affects every aspect of our being. This part of the commandment calls us to love God with our whole being. This is not merely a matter of intellectual assent or emotional affection. It is a total commitment, surrendering our hearts, souls, minds, and strength to God. It is a passionate, all-consuming, and unwavering love. How do we love God with all our being? We love God by seeking to know Him, spending time in God’s Word, praying to God, and worshiping God. We love God by obeying God’s commands and by living a life that is pleasing to God.
Loving God with all our heart speaks to the depth of our emotions and affections. Our love for God should be passionate and sincere, not half-hearted or lukewarm. It’s about letting God occupy the throne of our hearts. The soul represents our inner being, the essence of who we are. Loving God with all our souls is about giving our entire selves to God, finding our identity in God, and surrendering our will to God. God calls us to love God with our intellect. This means engaging with scripture, seeking to understand God’s truth, and growing in the knowledge of God’s character. Loving God is not just emotional or spiritual—it is also intellectual.
Loving God with all our strength refers to our physical actions and efforts. It means that every task we undertake, every resource we have, and every bit of energy we expend should be directed toward honoring God. When put together, these four aspects describe a holistic love for God—one that involves every part of who we are. But Jesus does not stop there. He adds a second part to the commandment, one that is inseparable from the first part.
It is important to note that the addition of “love your neighbor as yourself” is not common and provides some insight into Jesus’ theological understanding that love for the other is closely connected to one’s love for God. We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. This means we are to love others as we love ourselves, with compassion, kindness, and generosity. It means that we are to put the needs of others before our own, to forgive those who have wronged us, and to seek to reconcile with those who are estranged from us. But who is our neighbor? In Luke chapter 10, Jesus tells us who our neighbor is with the Parable of the Good Samaritan—we are all familiar with that story in some aspect. The lesson here is clear: our neighbor is not just the person who looks or thinks like us. Our neighbor is anyone who crosses our path, especially those in need. Jesus breaks down social, ethnic, and religious barriers, calling us to love with a universal, all-encompassing love.
There is a connection between loving God and loving others. There is a reason Jesus links these two parts of the Greatest Commandment together. You cannot have one without the other. Loving God leads to loving others because all people are made in the image of God imago Dei. How we treat others is a reflection of our love for God. We also see Paul echoing this sentiment in his letter to the church in Rome, Romans 13:10: “Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Every commandment, whether it is about honesty, generosity, or justice, is ultimately fulfilled in love.
Of course, love is more than just a feeling. It is also found in concrete expressions and acts. Jesus models this love for us throughout the Gospels and shows us how to love all people, regardless of who they are, what they believe, or where they come from in this world. To love God and neighbor with all our being is a challenging task. It requires a radical transformation of our hearts and minds. It requires us to let go of our self-centeredness and to embrace a selfless love. We are all human, and we all have our faults and foibles. It means we ought to love ourselves as we love our neighbors and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
We can be assured of God’s grace and strength as we strive to obey these commandments. It will be difficult, but we can count on God to help and show us. God will empower us to love as God loves. And as we love, we will experience the joy and fulfillment that comes from living a pleasing life to God. When we truly love God, we see the world through God’s eyes. We see people as individuals who are precious in God's sight.
But this is all more than just rituals and sacrifices. In verse 33, the scribe acknowledges that loving God and loving one’s neighbor is more important than “all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” This is a radical statement from someone steeped in religious rituals. We can look back to what the Prophet Hosea says: “God desires mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” God is not interested in empty rituals, doing something for the sake of doing it. God desires a genuine love expressed in relationships—with God and with others.
At the end of this exchange, Jesus tells the scribe, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” The scribe understood the core of what God desires from us: love. However, being close to the Kingdom is different from entering it. What is missing to enter the Kingdom? Faith in Christ. To fully enter the kingdom, we must recognize that Jesus himself is the embodiment of this love. He perfectly fulfilled the law by loving God completely and loving others selflessly. On this day, the church remembers those who have gone before us and demonstrated through their witness and example the kind of total love advocated here by Jesus…and as we choose to live out their example through our own lives, the saints become the channels through which we too might be “not far from the kingdom of God.”
Our passage today reminds us that Love is at the heart of our faith—love for God and love for others. This is not a superficial love but a deep, sacrificial love that mirrors the love of Christ. Let us embrace the greatest commandment: to love God and love neighbor. May we seek to continue living out this commandment in every aspect of our lives. And may we be a blessing to those around us, reflecting the love of God to a world in need. As we leave this place and return to the world, let us reflect on how we can continue growing in our love for God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Let us commit to continuing to show that love to our neighbors—through our actions, our words, and our attitudes.
To God be the glory this day and always. Amen.