The Greatest Commandment (Mark 12:28-31)

"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?' Jesus answered, 'The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall 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: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these'" (Mark 12:28-31 ESV).

Quoting from the Old Testament

The religious leaders were debating what the most important commandment was, and one of the scribes asked Jesus about it.  Jesus actually responded with quoting the Old Testament.  In Deuteronomy, it states, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). For the second portion Jesus quotes from Leviticus, which states, "You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord" (Leviticus 19:18).  

Breaking it Down

Love God

He is telling the nation of Israel to listen to the greatest commandment that is also the most prominent one. He starts off by saying that there is only one Lord and that it is the Israelite/Christian God.  He then goes on to say that they should love God.  This means that one should have a special devotion, affection, and warm regards to God.  They are to do this with all of the following:
  • heart - love involving the center and source of whole inner life with thinking, feeling, and will
  • soul - center of the inner human life and its various aspects including feelings and emotions
  • mind - thinking, comprehending, reasoning, intelligence
  • strength - capability to function effectively, might

The only way to come to the Father is through Jesus Christ.  

Love Neighbor as Oneself

Jesus then goes on to say that they should love their neighbors as themselves. A neighbor is someone who is close by and a fellow human being.  We are to love them as ourselves.  We should also not take revenge on them or have a grudge against them.  This basically means that we should not inflict harm on another person because of them harming us and not have a constant bitterness against one who has harmed us. 

NOT Self-Love

This is NOT an indicator of self-love.  In fact, Paul states, "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth" (1 Corinthians 13:4-6). It is basically the following:

  • patient- tolerating something that would annoy or cause anger 
  • not boastful - not praising oneself or bragging
  • not arrogant - no exaggerated praise of oneself, not proud
  • not rude - not behaving dishonorably, unacceptably
  • not irritable - not having inward anger 
  • not insist on own way - not striving for own advantage
  • not resentful - not bad or evil
  • not rejoice in wrongdoing - not having a state of happiness because of unrighteousness 
  • rejoice with truth - state of happiness because of the truth of Christianity centering around Jesus Christ


Reflection

Do you have special devotion, affection, and warm regards to God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? If not, what is stopping you from coming to God through Jesus Christ?

Have you taken revenge on anyone who has hurt you?  Do you still have bitterness toward them? Do you think you could come to the Lord for help to end the pain and hurt and reconcile with that other person?

Have you strived for your own advantage? Why? Does it have to do with pride or arrogance?








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