Mark 12:28-41

The Scribe

We are in the 12th chapter of Mark, it is during the last week before the crucifixion. On Sunday Jesus entered Jerusalem as the crowds declared his praises - Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. They greeted him as if he were a conquering king. On Monday Jesus returned to the city - entered the temple area and created a scene as he overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves — and he would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the court of the Gentiles — stopped those short cutting thru that court and declared the word of the LORD — Is it not written that my house shall be called a house of prayer?? You have made it a den of thieves!

Jesus’ actions on Monday caused the chief priests and the teachers of the Law to huddle together and develop a plan by which to kill Jesus without starting an uprising from the people who embraced his teaching.

On Tuesday morning when Jesus arrived back in the city he was met by the chief priests, teachers of the Law and some of the elders from the Sanhedrin — they tried to put him on the spot by asking by what authority he was doing the things he was - such as the clearing of the temple court — but Jesus trapped them in their own question by asking them one that left them no way to answer without offending someone in the crowd...then he went on to tell the crowd a parable while they were standing there — a parable that they understood very clearly was about them and their rejection of Him and what the outcome of that rejection would be… that just made them want to arrest him all the more — but they were afraid of the people.

So after a huddle they called another play — this time sending some of the Pharisees and Herodians to try and trap him with a question about taxes — thinking that no matter how Jesus answered someone would be able to discredit him — but again - they were amazed by his answer - to which they had no comeback.

But they attack was not over — Next there came a group of Sadducees who tried to trap him with a question regarding the resurrection - which they did not believe in. But they discovered they did not know the Word — for Jesus took them to a passage in the Torah that made it very clear those they thought were dead were still alive somewhere - for God is not the God of the dead but of the living — the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob....

Today we come to the fourth question posed to Jesus —-

We are on page 74 - still in your workbooks — where it says - READ Mark 12:28-34

The question on 74: Who steps up to the plate this time? What was the result?

So what does this mean for us? What’s Mark trying to point out? For those who’ve begun this journey of discipleship, the reality is we’ll face powerful people who want nothing to do with Jesus.

Maybe you have already. If you haven’t you certainly will. A boss. A family member. Maybe even a politician. The truth that Mark wants us to walk away with is simple. The powerful persecutors in our lives have no real power over us.

Has there been a situation in which your beliefs were held against you? How did you react?

In what ways did the situation impact your view of Jesus and the cost of following him? Is it still worth it? Was your faith shaken, or did it strengthen?

So. let’s look at little closer at this encounter between Jesus and the expert of the Law.

Mark 12:28 (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?” There is something I find interesting in the way that Mark wrote about this scribe — or teacher of the law. From this context it would seem this man came on the scene, heard the conversation taking place - and was totally impressed with Jesus - so he came with a sincere question — and if you remember our study with RVL — a question that was often brought up by the rabbis of the day — the Pharisees had 613 laws that they defined from the Torah —

Luke tells us this expert of the law came to test Jesus.

Matthew 22:34-35 (ESV) 34  But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35  And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.

Among the rabbis there were different opinions as to which part of the law was the weightiest — the most important. For some it was all about the ritual — tithing — the Sabbath — the sacrifices — the clothing

On the other side of the fence were those who wanted to emphasize the ethical or moral aspect of the law…

Jesus answered with the Shema.

What have we learned about the Shema?

Every practicing Jew recited the Shema every morning and every evening

They wore it in a tiny leather box, called a phylactery, on the forehead and on the wrist while in prayer

The Godly families hung the shema on their doors in a small round box called a Muzuzah

I read that it was the opening sentence of every synagogue worship service. The shema were the words that God gave to the Israelites in their days between Egypt and the Promised Land

God wanted them to understand he was fully committed to them and the proper response that would insure the best God had for them was to be total devoted to loving God.

It doesn’t take much of a man to be a believer, but it takes all there is of him.

The second part of the command — love your neighbor as yourself is a quote from Leviticus 19:18 ““ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

Who is my neighbor?

Luke 10 tells us of another expert of the law who wanted to know how to inherit eternal life —- Jesus asked him what is written in the law? How did he answer Jesus? the expert in the law quoted exactly what Jesus said — love God and love your neighbor — who is my neighbor — the story of the good Samaritan

What does loving yourself look like?

Mark 12:32-33 (ESV) 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.”

The expert of the law could not help but be impressed — you are right — well said! If he had studied the scriptures beyond the Torah — such as the Psalms and the prophets — he understood that God’s intention for relationship with people centered on reciprocating love...

Let’s look at a few verses from the Old Covenant that the people of Jesus’ day were raised on

1 Samuel 15:22 (ESV) 22  And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. Psalm 51:16-17 (ESV) 16  For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Jeremiah 7:22-23 (ESV) 22  For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23  But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

Hosea 6:6 (ESV) 6  For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Micah 6:6-8 (ESV) 6  “With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7  Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” 8  He has told you, O man, 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?

John 14:15 (ESV) 15  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Jesus complimented the scribe

Mark 12:34 (ESV) 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.

He was facing truth honestly

He had come to this meeting with a heart that was in opposition to whoever Jesus was — he was sent in to test Jesus … but he was honest enough to say Jesus has spoken the truth — I see it that way

He was testing belief by the Word of God

His response lets us know that he knew that scriptures backed up Jesus claim that the law that superceded all laws was the one about love and the relationships

He had the courage to stand up for truth

He wasn’t chosen to approach Jesus with affirmation — he was chosen to somehow discredit Jesus — but when he heard truth he was willing to declare it so even if it meant losing face in front of those who sent him in

You are not far from the kingdom is also a warning

One can be oh so close — but miss heaven completely

I want to share a true story that comes from these words that Jesus spoke to this expert of the law — you are not far from the kingdom of God

Mark—Jesus, Servant and Savior (2 vols.) Not Far from the Kingdom ( Mark 12:28-34 )

John Wesley was born in 1703, the fifteenth child of Samuel Wesley, the rector of Epworth, and his wife, Susanna. He enjoyed a good upbringing under his unusually talented and dedicated mother, and went on to a brilliant career at Charterhouse and Oxford, where he was elected fellow of Lincoln College in 1726. There he served as a double professor of Greek and logic. After serving on his father’s curate on two occasions, he was ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1728.

Returning to Oxford, he joined a group of undergraduates led by his brother, Charles, and the later-to-be-great evangelist George Whitefield, a group dedicated to building a holy life. It was derisively nicknamed by fellow Oxonians the “Holy Club.” Though Wesley was not yet truly converted, he met with these men for prayer, the study of the Greek New Testament, and devotional exercises.

He set aside an hour each day for private prayer and reflection. He took the sacrament of Holy Communion each week, and set himself to conquer every sin. He fasted twice a week, visited the prisons, and assisted the poor and the sick. Doing all this helped him imagine he was a Christian.

In 1735, still unconverted, he accepted an invitation from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to become a missionary to the American Indians in Georgia. It was a great fiasco. He utterly failed as a missionary—undergoing miserable conflicts with his colleagues, and almost dying of disease. When he returned to England, he wrote: “I went to America to convert the Indians; but, oh, who shall convert me?” His mission experience taught him the wickedness and waywardness of his own heart.

However, not all was lost, because in his travels aboard ship he met some German Moravian Christians whose simple faith made a great impression on him. When he returned to London, he sought out one of their leaders. Through a series of conversations, to quote Wesley’s own words, he was “clearly convinced of unbelief, of the want of that faith whereby alone we are saved.”

Then, on the morning of May 24, 1738, something happened that Wesley would never forget. He opened his Bible haphazardly, and his eyes fell on the text in

Mark—Jesus, Servant and Savior (2 vols.) Being Far from the Kingdom

Being almost there, is not being there!