What Do You Know? (Mark 12:28-34)

“The Lord is good and upright; therefore He shows sinners the way. He leads the humble in what is right and teaches them His way. All the Lord’s ways show faithful love and truth to those who keep His covenant and decrees” (Psalm 25:9,10). The scribes devoted themselves to the law so that they were considered experts in showing sinners the Lord’s way.

Religious leaders had discovered 613 commandments in the Law; 365 were negative and 248 were positive. The scribes had debated among themselves about which law was the greatest. We know from Matthew 22 that when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had put the Sadducees to silence, that they had gathered together for their turn to trap Jesus. It was with a sense of pride in his knowledge of the Law that the scribe presented his question to test Jesus, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

There was no hesitation in Jesus’ response. “Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The scribe was very familiar with Deuteronomy 6:4, because it was recited twice a day, morning and evening. But Jesus gave more than He was asked for. “The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31). These two commandments go together, because a man cannot love God whom he does not see unless he loves the one whom he does see.

The scribe, who had occupied his life with the study of the law, could not fail to see the wisdom of Jesus’ response. The scribe went on to add from 1 Samuel 15:22, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” “When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God’” (Mark 12:34). The scribe was an expert; he had studied, and what he knew brought him close to kingdom of God.

How could it be that the religious leaders who had devoted their lives to the study of God’s word would fail to see the Word Incarnate when He stood before them? I believe it was because they first failed to see themselves for who they truly were, sinners. Psalm 25 says that “He shows sinners the way.” I also believe that their study and expertise in God’s law had made them proud, and their pride had blinded them to the truth. Psalm 25 goes on to say, “He leads the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.” They were so close, but it takes more than knowledge of the law to enter the kingdom of God. Knowledge of the law must first cause you to humble your heart and show you your sin. This knowledge brings you close to the kingdom, but only the Savior can bring you into the kingdom.

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