No One Dared Any More Questions

 PK Joey asked, "Dad, what's the difference between cherubim & seraphim?" Pastor Dad explained. "Both are angels. Cherubim may come from Hebrew to know. Seraphim comes from Hebrew to burn. Seraphim were known for their burning love for God. Joey thought. "I wanna be a seraphim when I die. I'd rather love God than know stuff." Mark 12:28-34's teacher of the law faced that issue. Did he want to know the law? Or love God? Let's look. It's Tuesday. Palm Sunday? Past. Monday? Repeatedly, authorities tested Him. Today, Jesus is trying to teach in the Temple. All day, Sadducees, Pharisees, & Herodians have debated with Jesus. They're trying to trap Him. It's a war of wits & words. They ask seemingly honest questions. 28aOne teacher of the law came & heard the others debating with Jesus. And 28bhe noticed Jesus giving them good answers. Their questions? No win. Or so they think. "Are you still stealing from the offering plate?" You can't say yes. And if, "No"... "You were?" Jesus has answered each one brilliantly. So, the scribe asks the question that keeps troubling him. 28d"Of all the commandments, which is (lit.) 1st?" Which is most important? For centuries Jewish scholars have debated that question. Rabbis said Moses received 613 laws on Mount Sinai. 365 for the days of the year. 248 for all the generations. But can anyone keep track of 613 laws? Scribes noticed that laws aren't all the same. Laws are weighty or light, ethical or ritual. (Murder vs. hand washing, e.g.) They started looking for principles to cover all the laws. In Ps 15, they said David reduced the 613 to 11. And Is 33:15 reduced the 11 to 6. And Micah 6:8 reduced the 6 to 3. Act justly. Love mercy. And walk humbly with God. And Is 56:1 brought these 3 down to 2. Maintain justice. Do what's right. Some said Hab 2:4 reduced them all to one. The righteous will live by his faith. For Scribes, it's still a hot topic. But they can't agree on one summary. All they can agree on? Dt 6:25 says obeying the law is righteousness. So, what do they have to do to be saved?? Jesus has answered all prior questions brilliantly. Hopeful, this scribe asks his burning question. Lit., "Which commandment is 1st?" Other scribes hope Jesus will say He & the Father are one. Saying He's God goes against the heart of Jewish law, Dt 6:4-5 (the Shema). Devout Jews recite it, morning & evening. It's the call to worship & confession of faith. It's on their doorposts (mezuzahs). They pray with it on their foreheads & wrists (phylacteries). In the Shema, Jews confess one God. If Jesus says He's one with the Father, it'll be blasphemy. A capital offense. This scribe has listened to Jesus answer other scribes, brilliantly. So, he's interested. How will Jesus answer his question? Jesus starts with what scribes know is the Law's heart. 29"The 1st (lit.) is: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. What's the proper response to one true God? The Shema answers. Jesus continues. 30Love (agape) the Lord your God with all your heart & with all your soul & with all your mind & with all your strength.' Love God with heart, soul, mind, & body. Why add mind to Dt's list? Jesus is emphasizing that we're to love God with our whole selves. All we are. In love, God already gave Himself to His people. Totally. Why? The only way to get love is to give love. And God wants His people to love Him. How does God want us to show our love? Jesus points to Lv 19:18. 31aThe 2nd is: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Love God & love others. We can't separate the two. Loving others proves we love God. Not feelings. Agape love. What's it like? 1 Cor 13:4-8a. Agape love never fails. Think about what Jesus just said. In 2 short commands, He sums up the Law, prophets, & Gospel. If we love only God, our unity is incomplete. For complete unity, we share God's love. Love transforms us-heart, soul, mind, & strength. Loving others proves God is one & we're one with Him. Scribes & pharisees think the law to love others is lighter than the law to love God. Jesus corrects them & unites the 2. How we relate to God & how we treat our neighbor is as one as God is. Jesus has united the 2 commands into 1 simple, inseparable command. Love God AND love others. "31bThere is no commandment greater than these." 32a"Well said, teacher!" the man replied. Once again, Jesus' answer is brilliant. By answering from the OT, His answer has all Scripture's authority. 32b"You're right. God is one & there's no other but Him. This Scribe isn't just a scholar. He's also a good student of the law. 33To love Him with all your heart, understanding, & strength, & to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings & sacrifices." He's been reflecting on 1 Sam 15:22 & Hos 6:6. Both Scriptures point in that direction. The scribe gets it! 34aJesus saw that the scribe had answered wisely. 34bHe replied, "You aren't far from the KoG." Not far. But not in. Standing before the King. Once again, Jesus answers brilliantly. Each question to trap Him? Jesus turned it back on His accusers. He used their Scriptures. The ones they tried to trap Him with! 34cFrom then on no one dared ask him any more questions. Silence in Jesus' presence is wisdom. But that wisdom isn't complete. Complete wisdom? Listen. That's what God says in Mk 9:7 on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured. 7"This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him." When God says, 'Listen,' it isn't just 'Hear Him & keep doing whatever we want. God means for us to obey Jesus. What should we take away from this passage? For one, look where Jesus started in His answer to that Scribe. Salvation starts with loving God. If we love Him, we'll obey Him. And we can't really obey Him unless we obey the 1st command He gives us. "This is My Son. Listen to Him." And what does the Son say? Jn 3:16.16God so loved the world that He gave His one & only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Love God 1st & foremost by accepting His Son as our Savior. From then on, God sees Jesus' righteousness, not our own. (Don't forget: all have sinned. We have no righteousness apart from Jesus.) Only in Christ, through faith, can we obey God in any way He'll accept. The Good News is this. The instant we trust Jesus for salvation, we're saved. We're justified. And He gives us His Spirit help us. Our part? Cooperate with His Spirit with all our heart, soul, mind, & strength. As we cooperate, He slowly transforms us into His Son's likeness. What else? Jesus says if we love God, we can't skip loving our neighbor. That raises a question only Luke shared. (Lk 10:29.) 10"Who's our neighbor?" To Jesus' hearers, only Jews were neighbors. In Lk 10:30-37 (parable of the Good Samaritan), Jesus' answer shows us. Neighbors aren't just those like us. Anyone we meet is a neighbor. Everyone in our home. Everyone we work with-bosses, coworkers, customers, & clients. Everyone in our church. Everyone we hang out with for fun. Those who serve us are neighbors. Clerks in the stores. Tech support on the phone, Garbage collectors. Those who clean, plow, & maintain our roads. Those who maintain the parks. Everyone we meet, whether from a country we don't like or one we admire. All neighbors. If we love our neighbors as we love ourselves, we'll want for them what we should want for ourselves. Finally, what about the issue in Mk 12:34b? 34bNo one dared ask Him any more questions. Is that for us? It depends. What were the Scribes, Pharisees, & Sadducees doing as they kept asking Jesus questions? Trying to trap Him. They were not listening. How are we speaking to Jesus? Do we intend to ignore His answers? If that's the case, remember Who He is. All power & authority belong to Him. If we don't intend to obey Him, don't dare ask Him questions. But what if we do intend to obey Him? What if we're trying to get closer to the Father / Son / Holy Spirit? Trying to press into God? If that's us, ask away. Remember that we're His children. Beloved sons & daughters. And God loves His children's questions! In summary, do we intend to honor God with our questions? Ask away. Are we not intending to honor God? Remember who He is, & don't dare ask. No One Dared Any More Questions - Mark 12:28-34 Page 1 of 1