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This morning we are continuing our study of the Gospel of Mark.
If you are new to our church, it would be important for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.
What that means is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking a book of the Bible and then studying it from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, in order to understand what it means in our lives today.
With that said, we are currently working our way through the Gospel of Mark.
A gospel written primarily to tell us who Jesus is, what he came to do, and what it means for you and I to follow him.
Today as we come back to the gospel, we are picking back up in a conversation between Jesus and one of the religious leaders of his day.
A religious leader known as a Scribe.
You may recall, the Scribes were the scriptural theologians of Jesus’s day.
In other words, they were the interpreters of scripture.
And as we learned a couple of weeks ago, one of the Scribes had taken a special interest in Jesus.
This is worth noting because in general the Scribes were not fans of Jesus.
For the most part they were opposed to the teachings of Jesus.
But this Scribe is different.
This Scribe is impressed with Jesus.
This Scribe has a genuine interest in what Jesus has to say.
So, in a spirit of genuineness, he asks Jesus a question.
And as we learned a couple of weeks ago, it’s a question that we still ask today.
And while the Scribes in general didn’t like Jesus, this
The question is, “Jesus, out of all the commands of scripture, which one is the most important?”
In other words, “Jesus, if I really want to please God, I really want to be faithful to Him, what is the most important thing I can do?”
So, why this question?
Well, what we learned is the Scribes had determined there were 613 commandments in scripture that needed to be kept in order to truly please God.
So, what this Scribe wants to know is, out of those 613, Jesus, which one is the most important?
And the truth is, we ask the same question today.
Like the Scribe, we want to know, “What does it take to please God?”
What do I ultimately need to do.
What law or rule do I need to keep
What ritual do I need to perform
What level of commitment do I need to display
What class do I need to take
What baptism needs to be performed
What do I need to do in order to please God?
And what’s interesting, is not only does Jesus give the Scribe the answer, but in doing so, Jesus gives an unexpected answer.
Because Jesus doesn’t necessarily point to one of the 613 commandments.
He doesn’t say, “Above all, make sure you keep commandment #70”, which states, “Men must not wear women’s clothing.”
And in our day it would be stated as, “Men must not wear skinny jeans.”
He doesn’t say, “Above all, make sure you keep commandment #20”, which states, “One must never take revenge.”
No, he doesn’t say keep one of these specific commandments.
Instead, he points to a passage of scripture in .
A passage known as the Shema.
So, what’s the Shema?
The Shema was a ritualistic prayer in Judaism that was to to be recited when a person started their day and was to be recited again before they ended their day.
Of the 613 it was command #76.
In many ways, it’s similar to what the Lord’s Prayer has become for some churches and denominations.
For example, some churches begin or end their service with the Lord’s Prayer.
Same thing here.
The Shema was a prayer that had become part of the Jewish liturgy for worship.
Something they recited at the beginning and end of their day.
So,Jesus points to the Shema, and Jesus says, “Listen, you want to know what the most important commandment is?
The most important commandment is this…”, and he quotes the first part of the Shema in where the prophet Moses writes:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
(ESV)
In other words, “The most important commandment isn’t to recite the Shema twice a day, the most important commandment is to actually do it.
To to love the Lord God with your entire being.”
So, how do we do that?
As we learned a couple weeks ago, we accomplish that by putting our faith in Jesus and giving our life to him.
It’s what Paul is referring to in when he writes:
Because here’s
So, why is th
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (ESV)
Paul says, “As a Christ follower, your life is to now be fully devoted to living your life for Jesus.”
Because it’s through faith in Jesus that God gives you a new heart.
‘
It’s through your faith in Jesus that God writes his law on your heart.
And it’s through your faith in Jesus that you are born again and literally become a different person.
And now the question isn’t, “What rules do I need to keep?” Now the question is, “What kind of a Christ follower are you becoming?
What is the Holy Spirit doing in you?
How is He changing you?
What is He asking you to surrender today?
What is He showing you that needs to change in your life today?
How are you becoming more like Jesus today?”
What does that look like?
Because here’s what happens.
The bottom line is this.
Jesus says, “You want to please God? Then give him all of you and surrender everything to Him.”
That’s what it means to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
Now, Jesus could have stopped there.
After all, the Scribe only asked for one commandment.
But as we’re going to see today, Jesus has more to say.
And once again, Jesus says something unexpected.
Listen to what Mark records as we come back to this conversation today between Jesus and the Scribe.
Picking back up in verse 31, Jesus says:
“The second is this...” (ESV)
Now, we’re going to stop right there for a second, because I want you to notice something.
What I want you to notice is that Jesus is now answering a question he wasn’t asked.
I mean think about it.
The Scribe didn’t ask, “Jesus, what are the two greatest commandments.”
Plural.
He asked, “Jesus, what is the greatest commandment?”
singular.
But here in this moment Jesus offers up an answer to an un-asked question.
Jesus goes on to tell the Scribe there is another commandment he needs to be aware of.
Another commandment that is just as important.
So, what is it?
Well, before we get to it, and so we can better understand what Jesus is about to say, I’d like to begin by building some framework for this question.
And to do that I want to pose a question to you.
A question that may seem a little strange at first, but a question that I believe we can all relate with.
And the question is this:
Question - Have you ever loved yourself selfishly?
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