GOALS TO UNDERSTAND God s desires for us. TO CENTER our wills on loving and obeying God. TO EXTEND our love for God into love for others.

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1 8 Session 1 March 6, 2016 A PRAYER TO PREPARE Gracious Father, I come before You and thank You for Your Son, Jesus. As I study His life, may Your Spirit work in me so that I might encounter Him in a special way. As I read each story, may the truth of His actions and words penetrate my heart. As I study His teachings, help me to think about things the way He would. As I learn about His ministry, help me to follow in His footsteps. It is my desire to be His faithful follower. Amen. SESSION GOALS TO UNDERSTAND God s desires for us. TO CENTER our wills on loving and obeying God. TO EXTEND our love for God into love for others. The Greatest Commandment Unit 1: Messiah: Message and Mission, Part 2 Scripture Focus Mark 12:28-34 SESSION 1 The Word to Live By Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30). Session Truth Loving God with our whole being and our neighbors as ourselves is the foundation of Christian life. These commandments... are to be on your hearts.... Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads (Deuteronomy 6:6, 8). Orthodox Jews bind small boxes filled with Scripture to their hands and foreheads, a literal reminder of the importance of God s Word. xxxxxxxxxxx is the password to access SundayTeacher.com Refer to the Illustrated Bible Life commentary for further insights into this week s passage. QUESTIONS? O Call our toll-free teacher help line, Monday Friday, 8:00 AM 4:30 PM O us through Ask the Editor on our website at O Write us at 2923 Troost Ave., Kansas City, MO The Story Before the Story In the story that precedes our passage, Jesus tells a parable about a vineyard that exposed the evil in the hearts of the Pharisees. They recognized the meaning of the parable. Christ had characterized them as the offending parties, and they were now more determined to kill Him. The Pharisees were the legalists of the day, who had expanded the Old Testament Law to include hundreds of commandments. They sent representatives to trap Jesus, so they would have an excuse for His execution. Their question about whether it was right to pay taxes to Caesar was not an honest inquiry (12:13). It was designed so that if Jesus said Yes, He would be in trouble with the people for seemingly legitimizing the power and control of Rome. If He said No, He would be in trouble with Rome for encouraging the people to defy Roman power. However, Jesus avoided the trap with an answer that stopped them in their tracks: Give back to Caesar what is 2 March 6, 2016 ADULT FAITH CONNECTIONS

2 9 Notes Caesar s and to God what is God s (v. 17). It satisfied the Romans, acknowledged the supremacy of God, and irritated the conniving Pharisees. Not to be outdone, the Sadducees got in on the act. As Mark notes, these leaders of the temple (the religious liberals of their day) did not believe in the resurrection. They tried to prove their wisdom and embarrass Jesus with their question about the issue of marriage after the resurrection. Jesus affirmed that the resurrection would come, but He pointed out that the Sadducees didn t understand heavenly realities. Jesus answer meant that their trap was also empty. Today s passage occurs within that context. Scripture Exposition The Centrality of Loving God Mark One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, Of all the commandments, which is the most important? 29 The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. A RABBI (a teacher who was an authority on the Hebrew Scriptures) was in the crowd. He was impressed with the answers Jesus gave, so he asked an honest question that was seeking the honest truth. He stood in contrast to the earlier questioners with their evil motives and agendas. He really wanted to know what Jesus believed was the most important commandment of all. Jesus rewarded his honesty. In answer to the rabbi s question, Jesus quoted from the Shema: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30; see Deuteronomy 6:5). In other words, love God with your whole being. This love is not simply an emotional attachment. It is not physical love (eros in the Greek). It is not familial love (phileo in the Greek), nor even family love (storge in the Greek). The Greek word used is agape, which means God s sacrificial love... love that seeks the holistic good of the beloved... love that gives itself away without counting the cost or demanding a return. It is significant that Jesus answer was not to select one of the Ten Commandments. Instead, He quoted the Shema. That passage is at the heart of Jewish religion and tradition. It was to be written on the doorposts of their ENGAGE INTEREST God s Commandments Ask the following question to open the session: E Do you think that all of the commandments of God are equally important, or are some more important than others? (After some discussion, you might find a mediating position that is consistent with today s passage. No commandment of God can be ignored because it is unimportant, but there are some primary commandments that enable the keeping of other commandments.) Transition: Let s look deeper into today s passage and discover how Jesus dealt with this issue. MARCH APRIL MAY March 6,

3 10 EXPLORE THE WORD The Centrality of Loving God Have someone read Mark 12: Our story takes place in Jerusalem, during Passion Week. It seems as if the entire assembly of those who were against Jesus were doing their best this day to trap Him into saying or doing something that would enable them to arrest and kill Him. All these people were asking questions, not to find answers but to find reasons to stop His ministry. Among all the questions, one was asked by a teacher of the Law. This one person asked a different kind a question from all the rest. E Why do you think the religious leaders wanted to debate Jesus? Why do you think Jesus took time to respond to them? (The question/answer format was a typical way of teaching and dialogue for early Jews.) E What made this man s question stand out? (He was the only one who realized that Jesus had given them a good answer [v.28].) E What was Jesus answer? (Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6:4-5. This is known as the Shema, a portion of Scripture known and quoted twice a day by pious Jews, worn in phylacteries on the head and arm, and found on every door frame in mezuzahs.) Notes homes and bound on their foreheads and hands. (This is still the practice of Orthodox Jews.) The words were placed in a mezuzah and mounted on the doorframe of their homes, then kissed or touched each time they entered or departed. Parents were to impress these words upon their children and talk about them throughout the day during the regular routines of their lives (see Deuteronomy 6.) Loving Yahweh was one of the things that separated Jews from Gentiles. It declared their faith in the Creator God of Abraham and their rejection of the pagan gods of their neighbors. It enshrined the essence of the first four commandments. It shaped their worldview, defined their philosophy of life, and reminded them of their responsibility to represent Yahweh well. By focusing on these words from Moses, known to all of them, Jesus did WORDpicture One of the teachers of the law... asked [Jesus], Of all the commandments, which is the most important? (Mark 12:28). Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6:4-5. The opening word is the Hebrew word shema, a term that has come to identify the entire phrase. What is the Shema, and why did Jesus say this was the most important commandment? Find out in this week s Illustrated Bible Life article, The Shema and Loving God. more than make a historical reference or articulate an important religious belief. He connected His message to the age-old story of Yahweh s love, care, protection, and guidance for His chosen people. Jesus message was not an attempt to establish a new religion focusing on a new god. Rather, He was validating the ancient truth declared by Moses and the prophets. He was advancing, enhancing, and fulfilling what His Father had been revealing all along. Jesus was not a heretical impostor. Instead, He was the culmination of their faith... the one for whom they had waited... the one they should have welcomed. Jesus affirmed the truth of God as the first object of our love, our whole being as the comprehensive source of our love, and a pure, holistic, sacrificial concern for the other as the nature of our love. Yet, there are other reasons behind why Jesus would declare this to be the most important commandment. First, it is because God is first. He existed first and He is first in importance. Secondly, as Jesus says later, all other commandments are summed up in this one and what Jesus identified as the second one. Thirdly, as implied above, if we do not keep this commandment, then none of the others are possible. Moreover, in the Garden of Eden, the only commandment had to do with obeying God. Disobeying Him breaks the covenantal relationship He desires 4 March 6, 2016 ADULT FAITH CONNECTIONS

4 with His creation. Also, as suggested above, four of the Ten Commandments Jesus Corollary to Loving God Mark The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. JESUS couldn t leave it there. He made it clear that it is not possible to love God without that love spilling over onto others. So He added an addendum. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). This statement is part of the Old Testament holiness code that described how the love of God was to be lived out in relationship to others. The word used here is once again agape. If we love God we are bound to love those whom He loves. John writes in his first letter that if we do not love our brother and sister whom we have seen, we cannot claim to love God whom we have not seen (1 John 4:20.) We must love others with the kind of love God has for us. We must love them in the same way and to the same degree that we love ourselves... and that we love God himself. Paul will pick up that theme in Ephesians 4:21 and following when he writes about the relationship between husbands and wives and Christ and His church. Jesus was summarizing here what we hear repeatedly in His teaching. Love in multiple directions is the theme of the Upper Room Discourses recorded in John 13 17: Love for God, love as obedience, God s love for us, and God s love in focus on maintaining our loving, obedient relationship with God. us. This love is the essence of holy living. John mentioned love 20 times. Jesus said that the love of the disciples for each other would demonstrate to a watching world that they were truly Christ s disciples. This kind of love is not just a natural feeling for those to whom we are close. It encompasses, as Jesus makes clear, those with whom we normally would not associate. This love does not come spontaneously or easily. It can only exist in us as an outgrowth of that divine love that is alive in us because the God who is love is abiding within us to empower and transform us. That relationship only exists with those who obediently follow God and nurture His presence within them. WORDsearch The two Old Testament passages Jesus quoted in His statement of the Greatest Commandment (Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18) both contain the Hebrew word aheb, which is translated love. The love that we are called to offer to God and to other people is a love that is shaped by God s love. It is to reflect the love that we have received from Him. EXAMINE LIFE The Commandment in Everyday Life E Why is the command to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength something we should continually keep in mind as we go about our daily lives? E How is our obedient love for God the main motivation behind our relationship with Him and others? EXPLORE THE WORD Jesus Corollary to Loving God Have someone read Mark 12:31. E Why do you think Jesus expanded on the rabbi s question by adding another commandment? Can two be most important? E How is love for our neighbors an essential component in our love for God? E In what ways is loving God linked to our love for others? EXAMINE LIFE Loving Others 11 E What kind of love do you think Jesus was talking about (romantic, friendship, godly)? E Why do you think loving God must be first and foremost before we can truly love others? E What are some of the barriers to loving our neighbor? What are the ways we can overcome those barriers? MARCH APRIL MAY March 6,

5 12 EXPLORE THE WORD The Divine Compliment for a Wise Response Have someone read Mark 12: E Jewish worship consisted of burnt offerings and sacrifices. Why did the rabbi assert (and Jesus affirm) that keeping these two commandments was more important than worship? E What do you think Jesus meant when He said to the teacher of the Law, You are not far from the kingdom of God? (He was telling him that he had found the right path to God s kingdom.) E In what ways are these two commands the key to being a part of the kingdom of God? EXAMINE LIFE Our Love E Although Jesus reply was twofold: In what ways is Jesus response singular? In what ways are the two commands inseparable? E How do we express our love for God? (We show love for God in our worship, praise, in obedience to His commands, and by loving others as Christ would.) E How do we express godly love toward others? (We love them by allowing God s love to pervade our entire being. It is a love that is shaped by God s love and is to reflect the love that God has shown us.) Notes The Divine Compliment for a Wise Response Mark Well said, teacher, the man replied. You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. THE RABBI recognized the depth of Jesus answer. He complimented Jesus and also granted Him the title of rabbi as well. In response, Jesus complimented the wisdom of the rabbi and declared that he was not far from the kingdom of God. God s kingdom is about love; when we exhibit that love, it indicates that we are near God s kingdom in our understanding, in our lifestyle, and in our relationships. That nearness is enabled by the love of God at work within us. Love is both the goal and the enablement to reach that goal. In a similar situation reported in Luke s gospel (10:29), another rabbi followed up with, Who is my neighbor? Jesus made clear in that exchange that my neighbor includes people we look down upon and think of as our enemies. Even then, God expects us (requires us) to love. The response of the rabbi also reminds us that God is more concerned with loving obedience than with our participation in religious ceremonies. It is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices (v.33). This point is made by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 6:1-18), and also by the prophets like Isaiah (1:10-20) and Micah (6:6-8). Throughout the Bible we are reminded that what we profess in our religious ceremonies must be a true reflection of who we are and how we live. If not, those celebrations are empty and meaningless. Today s Word to Live By prompts us to note the different avenues by which we love God. Heart: emotion and affections Soul: our inner being, our spiritual selves WORDsearch The word translated neighbor (12:31, 33) has the literal meaning of the (one) near. Jesus was once asked, Who is my neighbor? (Luke 10:29). Our Lord s response was, in effect, that this is the wrong question. It is better to ask, To whom can I be a neighbor? (see v. 36). The first question was legalistic. Our Lord s approach demonstrates grace. 6 March 6, 2016 ADULT FAITH CONNECTIONS

6 IN THESE EXCHANGES: Jesus was shown to be aware of the inner reality, nature, and motivation of each of the participants. He is indeed the Master of the kingdom. His replies are evidence of His deity. The Pharisees were shown to be conniving: Unworthy of the kingdom. The Sadducees were shown to be ignorant: Unlearned about the kingdom. Conclusion Mind: thinking clearly, deeply, honestly Strength: energy (perhaps including our bodies; see Romans 12:1) in other words, the whole person The rabbi was shown to be perceptive: Ready for the kingdom. As we personally interact with this passage, with God, and with life, we must each find ourselves in the story. That prompts an introspective question: Are you like the Pharisees, the Sadducees, or the rabbi? by JOHN M. NIELSON Associate Professor of Religion, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Mount Vernon, Ohio. EXERCISE FAITH Love and Obedience 13 Share with the group that the early church leader Augustine summarized the words of Jesus greatest commandment with the following statement: Love God and do what you like. E In what ways does this statement accurately summarize the great command of Jesus? (No one who truly loves God will purposely do anything contrary to His will. For the Christian to do as he or she likes is to do what God would desire, namely, to love his or her neighbor.) Follow up by inviting your group to silently reflect on the following questions: E What is more difficult for you: to love God, to love your neighbor, or to love yourself? E Are you ever tempted to think that you can get away with loving God without truly loving others? E Think of one way you can express your love for God this week. Then, think of one way you can express godly love to another this week. Close by reciting today s Word to Live By as a group: 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: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these (Mark 12:30-31). MARCH APRIL MAY March 6, Go to SundayTeacher.com For expanded teaching helps and Creative Presentation Options.