Mark 12:28–37 (ESV)
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.
35 And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared,
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’
37 David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.
Do you know what a “blowout” is in sports? In sports, a “blowout” describes an easy, one-sided victory against an opponent. In athletic competitions, it usually means that one team dominates the other early on in the game to the point that there is little chance that the opposing team could possibly get back into the game. In professional sports, a blowout becomes a real challenge for play-by-play announcers who are tasked with keeping viewers and listeners engaged in the game.
“A blowout,” that is the sense that I get in this passage. During most of this chapter and even stretching back to the last part of chapter 11, Jesus has faced a series of questions designed to test Him and challenge His authority. Jesus has more than met the challenge, and He has shown that the religious leaders couldn’t possibly compete with Him.
However, in doing so, Jesus speaks volumes to us about who He is and this radical new life that He is offering to all who entrust their lives to Him.
In the first part of the passage, Jesus is questioned regarding which is the greatest commandment. There were 613 commandments in the law of Moses, and no one would have disagreed with Jesus’ answer. And yet, an unspoken question still hung in the air, “How do you actually keep all these commandments?”
The answer to that isn’t about what one does, it’s about a person’s heart, rightly related to the Lord.
We know, don’t we, that outward actions are not enough; this is about being with Jesus, spending time with Him, and trusting Him. As we center our hearts and lives on Jesus, suddenly loving the Lord and loving other people isn’t an obligation; it’s a response to the new life we have through the One who has loved us so completely.
The second part of the passage is similar. What we must realize is that the people were expecting the son of David, the Messiah, to be this military leader who would elevate the people of God and bring military victory over Israel’s enemies. That’s never been the image that Jesus has projected. In fact, it’s been a radically different image of the Messiah. Throughout our reading of Mark’s Gospel, the Messiah is the one who brings healing to the whole world, not just one people, and the enemies that are put under His feet are sin and death itself, not those people who are not “us.”
Now, let’s put this all together in a way that is staggering. Jesus’ response to all the challenges from the religious leaders and the question that He asks regarding the son of David is an amazing foreshadowing of things to come.
Very soon, Jesus will be arrested, put on trial, and crucified. In this way, He is fulfilling the two greatest commandments and showing Himself to be the son of David, the true king of Israel, as well as David’s Lord; the one who came not to be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10.45).
This is the same Jesus who is offering you new life through a relationship with Him.
What are you waiting for?
God bless you, and know that you are constantly in my prayers!
Scott