The Savior and the Scribe Mark 12:28-34

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1 The Savior and the Scribe Mark 12:28-34 I m not a leper s handmaid, caught And bound to serve through heat and cold, Nor yet a mercenary, bought By blessings, serving but for gold. I ve always been Mephibosheth, Deposed, deformed, and derelict, Deserving little more than death. Yet I was hunted and handpicked To sit and feast beside my King. But who can eat when, like a flood, I cannot stop remembering He gave His life and shed His blood That I might know Him as my Friend. So with the flutter of His Dove Within, I ll serve Him til the end, A royal bond slave, bound by love. Wherever He went, from Cana to Capernaum, from Jericho to Jerusalem, Jesus was seldom out of His enemies sight. For three long years, powerful Sadducees, legal minded scribes and fundamental Pharisees constantly dogged the Savior s steps. When He healed paralytics and lepers, they were always there, watching with icy eyes and folded arms. And when He reached out to deliver demoniacs and derelicts, publicans and prostitutes, our Savior s enemies were watching, searching for something, anything they might use to defeat Him. Ah, and there were questions. Always questions, carefully crafted questions, each one concealing a dark dilemma. Among the shadows and pillars of Solomon s Porch, in small town synagogues, even in busy marketplaces, they stood at the back of every crowd ready to pepper Him with pointed, probing problems. And every question was a trap waiting to be sprung. Finally, just three days before He would be nailed to a Roman cross, the Master received the last question His enemies would ask Him. After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions. Verse 34 Like countless others, the last questioner was a scribe: a temple lawyer who spent his life poring over scrolls and studying the Scriptures. But his question was worlds away from all the others our Lord s enemies hurled at Him. For one thing, it didn t come from a man who was hostile to Jesus. In fact, this scribe was

2 openly impressed with what He heard from our Lord s lips. One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, Verse 28 The scribe was a Pharisee. So he was delighted when Jesus shamed the Sadducees by affirming the truth of the resurrection. The man had spent his life studying God s Word. And he knew how wisely and well our Lord answered the Sadducees smirking question about the widow and her seven husbands. So the scribe did something very few of his colleagues ever dared to do. He asked the Savior a serious question without wicked motives or hidden traps. What commandment is the foremost of all? Verse 28 We would do well to be as earnest and eager as this scribe was. He wasn t looking for an argument or probing for a flaw. He was dead serious about serving God. And in that, he is a model for us. One Lord The Master s first answer was hardly a surprise. He quoted a verse from Deuteronomy every faithful Jew chanted twice each day. Jesus answered, The foremost is, Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; Verse 29 That statement does not sting our ears as it did first century Gentiles. To them, there were many gods. At Athens, Paul found a forest of statues honoring a pantheon of gods. And the streets of Corinth were lined with sparkling temples where a myriad of gods and goddesses were worshiped. But like deities worshiped around the world today, they were all hatched in the imaginations of men....we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. 1 Corinthians 8:4 Among the Jews, the word God described not a person but a position of preeminence. It called to mind the One who created the heavens and the earth. But then Moses stood barefoot on Mount Horeb in the presence of that God and asked Him what His name is. God said to Moses, I am Who I am ; Exodus 3:14 Gentiles sometimes pronounce God s Name as Yahweh or Jehovah. But then as now, Jews never dared to speak it at all. Instead, each time the ancient Scriptures contain that Holy Name, they substitute the word Lord. So we might translate our Savior s answer to the scribe, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah. Our Savior s statement reminds us that there is really only one God. People might kneel in mosques and cry out to Allah or bow down in temples and pray to Buddha. But those gods are merely imaginations and inventions men have created. They aren t alternative representations of the one true God, either. The one and only true God is the personal Lord: the eternal Jehovah of the Bible. However, to Gentiles who came to Christ, the word Lord also meant something more. To them, it referred to a commander and king who not only ruled over those who served him, but also owned both them and all they possessed.

3 So there is yet another lesson in our Lord s statement. If any man is to serve God, he must not only recognize Him as the one and only God. He must also submit to Him as the living Lord who alone has the right to rule over the lives of men. The scribe put it best. The scribe said to Him, Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is one, and there is no one else besides Him; Verse 32 There is an important lesson in the scribe s summary of our Savior s words. If we are to come to our Creator, we must not only worship Him as the one and only God. We must also serve Him as the one and only Lord of our lives. Many people spend their entire lives striving for possessions, pride, or pleasure. But those are more than goals we seek. They are lords we serve. And Jesus said our sovereign God simply will not share our devotion with any other lord. No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 6:24 (NIV) Believing God is one is commendable. But it is hardly enough to save our souls. Even the demons believe that. You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. James 2:19 Service to God also demands a complete commitment to Him as our one and only Lord. But that is not sufficient for salvation. One Love The Old Testament passage Christ quoted continued. And so did our Savior as He answered the scribe on the temple courtyard. Hear, O Israel! The Lord is 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 might. Deuteronomy 6:4-5...and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, and all your mind, and all your strength. Verse 30 Jesus began by saying that we are to love God with all our heart. Paul taught that is so important, if we fail to love God, we are cursed and condemned. If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. 1 Corinthians 16:22 The word Paul used in that verse refers to a love flowing from our emotions and affections. But we are also to love the Lord our God with our souls, with our very lives. We are to love Him with our minds, too. Beyond any emotional feeling, we are to love God as an act of will. Our Lord also said our love for God is to be absolute and intense. We are to love Him with all our strength. And both our Savior and the scribe underscored just how complete our love for God must be. In five short verses the word all is repeated seven times. Jesus said used all four times, and the scribe added three of his own....and to love him with all your heart and with all your understanding, and with all the strength, Verse 33 The Bible uses repetition for emphasis. And a seven-fold repetition speaks of an absolute totality.

4 We cannot merely love God. He must be first: the greatest and supreme love of our lives. We can t even love our families more than we love God. Jesus said that is utterly unacceptable. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. Matthew 10:37 In the end, it does not really matter what we do. We might well obey God s commandments as carefully as the Pharisees did, even counting out seeds to tithe garden spices. We can make startling sacrifices, too. But if we do not love God, all our efforts are empty and useless....if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 1 Corinthians13:3 Love is the only motive that is worthy of anyone who would serve the Savior. Duty will not do. Neither will fear of punishment or a desire to satisfy some sense of guilt. No, God demands that we love Him fully and fervently in every aspect and area of life. And we are to obey, Jesus said, out of nothing more and nothing less than a pure and perfect love for our Savior. If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. John 14:15 The same is true of both service and sacrifice. We are to give our gracious God our time, our talents and our treasures simply because we love Him. Any other motive renders all we say and all we do as nothing more that wood, hay and stubble. The fire of God s eye and the fury of His righteousness will burn away every motive but a sincere and absolute love for our precious Savior. That is our loving Lord s perfect will. But even that is not sufficient to save us. One Law Trusting and loving God might be considered our vertical relationship. But as we live out our lives in this world, we must also carry on horizontal relationships with other human beings. And both our Savior and the scribe described how we are to honor God in this world of men. The second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. Verse 31...to love one s neighbor as himself is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. Verse 33 Our Savior cited yet another verse from Moses law to emphasize this second essential commandment. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:18 If we believe God is one, if we have submitted to Him as our only Lord, and if we have chosen to love Him absolutely and intensely, we cannot avoid acting in accord with His basic nature. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him. 1 John 4:16 The Lord Jesus taught that we are to offer practical help to people in need out of that love. And He added He takes it very personally when we fail to do so. I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me. Matthew 25:42-43 But merely feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and receiving strangers is not enough. We must do so out of love, not only for God, but also for them. That is Christ s commandment.

5 If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. 1 John 4:20-21 Loving others, even those who hate and misuse us, is not an option for those who would serve the Savior. It is essential. The argument is a chain that cannot be broken. And if we truly love God, we will love others. And if we really love others, we will do whatever we can to help them....whoever has the world s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 1 John 3:17 The conclusion is obvious. God s love cannot and does not dwell in anyone who claims to love others yet fails to help them in whatever way they need help. Both the scribe and our Savior insisted that loving God and loving others is the very essence of what God demands of men. But even that is not enough to insure our salvation. At the end of this short conversation between Jesus and a temple lawyer, the scribe was impressed with our Lord. And the Savior was impressed with the scribe. When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. Verse 34 The temple lawyer was both earnest about serving God and eager to hear what Jesus had to say. He not only understood the details of God s law, but also the very essence of it. So Christ concluded that man was close to the kingdom of God. And while that is highly significant, it is not sufficient. Being close is not enough. The scribe was still outside God s kingdom. So he was still lost in his sin. He had come as close to the God of his fathers as the Old Testament Law could bring Him. But somehow he missed the main purpose of the Law....by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20 The message is stunningly clear. If we limit our devotion to faith in God as our one and only Lord, we are still slaves to sin and lost in darkness and death. Even if we have chosen to love Him and serve Him with all we have and all we are, willingly loving and helping others, it is not enough. We might well be close to the Kingdom of God. But we are still outside of God s mercy. We simply cannot become children of God and coheirs with Christ if we miss the message the Master offered Nicodemus. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3 If we are to know God s great kindness and experience His full forgiveness, we must be born again. And to do that we must receive Jesus Christ as our crucified and risen Savior. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16 Salvation doesn t begin with loving God and loving others. Those are the results of repenting and trusting in the blood our Savior shed on the cross as the full and final penalty for our sins. We must start by turning away from our sin and placing personal faith in Jesus as both our Savior and our loving Lord. Only then we can begin our life of loving Him and loving others.