Not Far from the Kingdom of God



Mark 12:28–34
28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And 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.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

As Jesus faces the barrage of insulting questions and interrogation by the Jewish leadership, one man comes forward with whom He actually has a positive interaction. The question of which commandment was most important was a loaded one because the Scribes and Pharisees were in sharp disagreement over those “laws”. There were no less than 613 additional laws (not including the 10 Commandments) that had been put into place during the 400 years before Jesus birth. These were the laws that the Pharisees were so smug about as they spent their lives adhering to that man-made system. It was in keeping those man-made laws that they found their salvation.

So once again, Jesus’ answer must be carefully crafted as He could easily incite a huge argument with His answer. And once again, Jesus’ answer is brilliant and godly. He leans back into the Old Testament for His answer and of course, it’s brilliant. He recites the ancient. The Shema is one of only two prayers that are specifically commanded in Torah (the other is Birkat Ha-Mazon--grace after meals). It is the oldest fixed daily prayer in Judaism, recited morning and night since ancient times. It consists of three biblical passages, two of which specifically say to speak of these things "when you lie down and when you rise up."

Deuteronomy 6:4–5
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Leviticus 19:18
18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

That Jesus would recite this prayer would have satisfied even the most strident of Jews, for in these words we find a covering for every human and spiritual interaction. The Shema has been a part of my life for several years. I have engaged my phone to bring up this prayer to the screen twice a day. And while I can most certainly remember these words without the prompt, I find that the auditory and visual reminder is quite helpful. I may not be Jewish, but I do find this little “liturgy” in my life to be quite helpful. The Scribe who asked the question is impressed with Jesus' answer, as well he should be, for it was brilliant. Jesus’ heart softens to this man, for in him Jesus finds the beginnings of genuine faith. We are not told who this scribe was, but one would not be surprised to learn that he did indeed become a believer.

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