Mark 12:28-34 — You are right, Teacher... but

Mark 12:28-34
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.” 

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. 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.”

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.

Comments:

A man had been watching Jesus answer the trick questions of the Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees and reached the conclusion in his own mind that Jesus had answered all of their trick questions well. This was no ordinary man but one of the scribes, men whose job it was to be experts in the Scriptures. He saw how Jesus was not intimidated by anyone but answered honestly and rightly. It was to such a One as this that the scribe would ask his heart question—his doctrinal litmus test (one that went beyond the normal understanding).

In response to Jesus’ good answer, the scribe couldn’t contain himself from responding in verses 32-33, “You are right Teacher. You have truly said…” I am impressed with this scribe for not being a party to the first group of Pharisees and Herodians (odds are he was himself a Pharisee) nor a member of the Sadducees. He seems to have been a bit of an island unto himself. Even better, it seems that this skeptical scribe had finally found someone he could call “Teacher”! And Jesus saw the truth in him as well.

v. 34 "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."

Here are five other observations I would like to make:

1)    There are always people watching our lives, observing how we handle tough situations. What do our responses reveal?

2)    The greatest command is to love God with all of our being and the second is to love our neighbor as ourselves (See Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18). As a sidebar comment, does it come as a shock to Christians that the second most important commandment comes from Leviticus, a book which we too rarely read?

3)    To understand that to do these things is better than to sacrifice for your failure is to be near to the kingdom that we can enter through the justification by faith.

4)    Jesus was able to shift gears from dealing with enemies to dealing with a faith-filled seeker without missing a beat. Why? Because He was no respecter of persons but spoke the truth in love to all no matter what their attitude towards him was. We would do well to be so discerning.

5)    No one dared to question Jesus after this answer that he gave. This doesn't mean we can't come to him with questions, only that those who thought they could trip him up with difficult questions and scenarios realized that they couldn't do it.

There is probably much more to learn from this passage, but I am reminded that this a devotional post, not a commentary.

I know I am glad, that in my Lord Jesus Christ, both grace, and truth are met together (John 1:14, 17)! As we follow him, that should become more descriptive of our lives as well.