Mark Chapter 12: Verses 28-34 (NLT Translation)
One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these.”
The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”
Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Sometimes the teachers of religious law from Jesus’ time get a bad press because of what we learn about their behaviour and attitude towards Jesus, but just as we should never tar everyone nowadays with the same brush, the same is true here. This man was different from his colleagues who had earlier set out to try and trap Jesus. He watched and listened to the debate, and recognised the truth and authority with which Jesus spoke, and so he came with his own genuine enquiry to which Jesus responded. Verse 34 shows us that Jesus also recognised the earnest desire and seeking after God in the man’s heart – so different from some of his peers who only wanted to catch Jesus out.
What struck me about this story is that as Christians we don’t always realise who is watching what we say and do, and that’d why it’s so important to live out our faith and not put a face on. People can tell if our faith is genuine, and we definitely can’t fool God.
We may be surprised at who comes to us with a genuine enquiry about our faith. We need to be wise and let the Holy Spirit guide us in our response, because the person we are talking to might also not be far from the Kingdom of God, and we want to point them in the right direction.
Dear Lord,
Thank You that You see the real person behind the image that we sometimes try to portray and You know our heart. May I be guided only by Your Holy Spirit when I am talking about the things of God, and not just my own thoughts and ideas. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.