Which is the first commandment of all?

 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?"  Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."  So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher.  You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is not other but He.  And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."  Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  But after that no one dared question Him.

- Mark 12:28-34

In yesterday's reading,  Jesus was questioned again in the temple in Jerusalem, after telling the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers.  They sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  So they brought it.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him.  Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died, nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."   Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."

  Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?"   My study bible tells us:  "The scribes are a professional class of experts in the Mosaic Law.  While most of them were hostile to Jesus, this scribe seems to be a sincere inquirer."  Repeatedly in the Gospels, we'll note that there are no groups of individuals who are entirely monolithic; that is, there will always be exceptions.  The Gospels teach us that Jesus had sincere followers among all classes of people, including Pharisees and others in the leadership.  His betrayal would come at the hands of His own handpicked apostle, one of the Twelve.

Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."   My study bible says here:  "In response, Jesus quotes Deut. 6:4-5, the greatest Jewish confession of faith, called the shemá (meaning 'hear,' the first word of the confession).  In verse 31, He quotes Lev. 19:18, combining what is already in the Old Testament to create a new understanding:  love of neighbor is an expression of love of God." 

So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher.  You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is not other but He.  And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."   A note here tells us:  "This scribe's insight has penetrated beyond the Pharisees' obsession with outward forms.  He understands that the condition of the heart is central to righteousness." 

Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  But after that no one dared question Him.  My study bible tells us:  "This scribe's wisdom and honesty bring him not far from the kingdom of God.  Only God can say who is, and who is not, far from His Kingdom."

Today's reading focuses us on matters of the the heart.  Throughout the time of His questioning, Jesus focuses on hypocrisy, one of the chief criticisms He will ever raise about the leadership.  In Matthew's Gospel, He elaborates quite a bit about hypocrisy, and teaches His followers not to be like hypocrites.  In yesterday's reading, Mark's Gospel told us that Jesus "knew the hypocrisy" of His questioners.  But here, something different happens.  Jesus praises the scribe, saying he's not far from the kingdom of heaven, and we go directly here into the matters of the heart, the place where we live our lives most truly, in terms of the way Jesus views us as human beings.  To love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength is to love God in a way that defines our whole being, the inner self.  Of course there's an obvious assumption that the truth of the inner self is expressed outwardly.  The condemnation here in the Gospel context of hypocrisy is of the outward show masking a different internal order of the heart, and that's where we come to the real crux of things here in today's passage.  Love of God comes first with all that we are and can be, and from there the second commandment teaches us about love of neighbor.  In the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, the language of this second commandment gets down to specifics, by forbidding vengeance and the nursing of a hostile anger.  But here in our context Jesus teaches us something more when He praises the scribe.  Because the scribe takes the commandment further than what it seems to say on its face and we recall where we are and exactly Who is being questioned.  The scribe tells us (and more specifically, tells Jesus) that to love God with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.  And that's where we come down to the contrast with the hypocrites.  To love with all the heart, understanding, soul and strength is more than all the outward show of devotion we can muster, because really and truly we are dealing here with God, as my study bible points out when it notes that "only God can say who is, and who is not, far from the kingdom."  God deals in matters of the heart and soul; God is the "knower of hearts."  That place where we really and truly live is within us, as is the kingdom of God.  Over and over again, Jesus will go preaching through the Gospels and asking us about what we really love, what we really treasure.  Because that's where the crux is.  It's all about what's in our hearts, what we nurture and nurse, and what we seek to let go of.  It all comes down to what we are really about, and what we truly devote ourselves to.  And those are the kinds of followers He wants, the ones who really love, and who are willing to ally themselves that deeply in the heart that such love becomes a full life, a ministry, a way to share in God's care and love with others.  We can't say what this will look like in every person, and that cements even more deeply for us the need to take care of the heart, and quit focusing on the externals.  We can't judge what every action or gesture means, but Christ knows what the heart is about, and where we put our trust.  Ritual and worship and devotion are all very important expressions not only of where we are, but of our intentions to love, our sincere desire for a heart that is cleansed and pure, and can follow these commandments truly.  But they can also be used as masks, and that's where today's teaching comes down.  Jesus will warn us about wolves in sheep's clothing, and warn us of betrayals even among those closest to us.  But all of these things come down to love, and what is in the heart, what we nurse and what we choose and what we treasure.  This is why the first commandment Jesus names is so important, because all things flow from there, especially a love of neighbor, and even "the least of these."