Lord Jesus, we turn to you this day to be refreshed by God’s living Word in the Scriptures. Let the Holy Spirit open our eyes to your truth and shine truth on the way you set before us. Amen.
Gospel Reading: Mark 12:28-34
As we saw in last week’s lesson from chapter 12 of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is in the temple in Jerusalem during his final week prior to his crucifixion. While there he has been involved in a series of challenging encounters. The religious leaders, being the chief priests, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians, have been testing him—trying to trap him, discredit him, or force him into saying something that can be used against him. They challenge him with questions about taxes, about the resurrection, and about authority.
But now, in the midst of these debates, one scribe comes forward—not with hostility, but with sincerity—and asks a question that goes to the heart of faith: “Which commandment is the first of all?” And that’s no small question. The Law of Moses, from the Old Testament, had over 600 commandments. Faithful Jews debated which were the most important, which were central to their faith, and which were secondary. So, the scribe is asking, in effect, what truly matters most? What is at the core of our relationship with God?
Now the scribes had a very important role to play in the religious life of the Jewish people. They were trained scholars of Scripture, especially the Law of Moses, and were respected for their knowledge and authority in Scripture and religious practice. But while devoted to God’s Word, they were often challenged by Jesus for emphasizing legal detail and tradition over mercy, justice, and love.
And his answer to that scribe is clear, deliberate, and deeply rooted in Scripture. Jesus says, “‘The first is, “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 neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’”
These two commands come from the Old Testament. The first is from the Book of Deuteronomy, where Moses instructs the Israelites, saying, “‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.’” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) And the second is found in the Book of Leviticus where God gives this command to Moses, “‘You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord.’” (Leviticus 19:18)
The command from Moses in Deuteronomy that Jesus quotes here is a command that we are to love God. Yet that love is not possible until we first recognize that God has loved us. Our love, then, is not the beginning, but the response to God’s gracious initiative. Love never truly begins with our response. As the Disciple John reminds us in his first letter, “We love, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
To love God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength is to love God with the whole of our being. Jesus is not dividing us into neat compartments; He is saying that nothing in our lives is exempt from this love. Our emotions, our thoughts, our choices, our energy, our devotion—all are to be oriented toward God.
We are never to forget that the things we enjoy — the food, the air, the sunshine, the shelter — all these material things of life that we need, come from the hand of God. It is God who gives them. It is God’s goodness protecting us, sheltering us, and watching over us that keeps us from being overcome and destroyed by the forces that are at work for evil in our lives. God’s sheltering hand is protecting us. So, when we think about the love of God, and especially the love that redeems us, the proper and only response of the heart is to love God back with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
Yet Jesus does not stop there. Without hesitation, he adds a second commandment: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Love for God and love for neighbour are inseparable. One cannot exist without the other. Scripture repeatedly reminds us that devotion to God that does not result in compassion for others is not enough.
It is impossible to love God and hate those made in his image. The Disciple John made this clear when he wrote, “Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says, ‘I am in the light’, while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.” (1 John 2:7-11)
And to love our neighbour does not mean merely those who are easy to love, those who think like us, look like us, or agree with us. In Jesus’ teaching, “neighbour” consistently stretches beyond comfort. It includes the vulnerable, the overlooked, the difficult, and even the enemy.
And notice that Jesus says: “as yourself.” His command to love your neighbour is not a call to self-neglect, but an invitation to let the care, patience, and mercy we naturally show ourselves be extended to others.
These two commandments which Jesus said to the scribe, to love God and to love one’s neighbour sum up the Ten Commandments, which themselves are the core of God’s covenant, or partnership, with mankind. The first four commandments concern love for God, and the final six commandments concern love for neighbour.
Then the scribe replied to Jesus, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbour as oneself’—this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.” In this moment, something remarkable happens. A religious leader—one entrusted with the Law—acknowledges what the prophets had proclaimed for generations: that God desires faithful love more than empty ritual. The scribe understands that worship is not measured by the smoke rising from the altar, but by the posture of the heart. Sacrifice, prayer, and religious observance do matter—but only when they flow from a genuine love for God and a lived-out love for neighbour.
And what he says reflects the words of the Old Testament prophet Michah, “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8) In confirming Jesus’ words, the scribe recognizes that faithfulness is not found in outward performance alone, but in a life shaped by love—love that honours God and extends grace to others.
Seeing that the scribe is really listening—really beginning to understand—Jesus says to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Not far. That’s encouraging… but it’s also a reminder that he’s not there yet. Because knowing the right answers, even knowing the heart of the Law, is not the same as living under God’s reign. The kingdom isn’t entered by insight alone. It’s entered by trusting the One standing right in front of him—the One who doesn’t just teach about love but represents it.
The Kingdom—which is God actively ruling in the hearts and lives of his people—comes not by human effort or achievement, but by the grace of God, received through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. It is not built by mastering religious ideas or accumulating correct beliefs. Having sound theology is important, and knowing the Scriptures matters deeply, but neither can, on their own, bring a person into the Kingdom. Knowledge can inform the mind yet leave the heart untouched. The Kingdom is entered only when a person entrusts themselves to Christ—when faith moves beyond understanding and becomes surrender. It is in that trusting relationship with Jesus that God’s reign truly takes hold, reshaping our loves, our loyalties, and our lives.
So, what does this mean for us today? It means that our faith is not measured first by how much we know, but by how deeply we love. It means that worship on Sunday must be reflected in compassion on Monday. It means that love for God must shape how we treat those around us—in our homes, our communities, and even those we find difficult to understand.
It means that faith is not first about getting everything right, but about loving rightly. It means that devotion to God cannot be separated from compassion for others. It means that every act of kindness, every word of grace, every moment of patience participates in the life of the kingdom. And it reminds us that we never finish learning how to love. We grow into it, slowly, imperfectly, by God’s grace. And it means that every act of love—quiet, unseen, and faithful—is a sign that the Kingdom of God is drawing near. Jesus said to his disciples, “‘I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’” (John 13:34-35)
May God grant us the grace not only to know the greatest commandment, but to live it—loving the Lord our God with all that we are and loving our neighbours as ourselves.
Let us Pray:
Gracious God, we thank you that your Kingdom comes not by our knowledge or effort, but by your grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. Draw us beyond right answers into true trust, beyond understanding into surrender, that your reign may take root in our hearts and shape our lives.
Help us to love you with all that we are and to love our neighbours as ourselves, as we place our faith anew in Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.