No Greater Commandments than Love of God & Neighbors—Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 24B (Mark 12:28-34)

Mark 12:28-34 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

²⁸ One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; ³⁰ 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.’ ³¹ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³² Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; ³³ 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’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

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                At this point in Mark’s story of Jesus, Palm Sunday (Jesus’ Triumphant Entry) has already taken place, while Good Friday lies a few days hence. Thus, Jesus is now in Jerusalem and hanging out in the Temple. In Mark’s telling of the story of Jesus, this might be his first visit to the center of Jewish life. He’s been moving toward Jerusalem for some time. As he did so he tried to communicate to his closest followers that suffering and death, followed by his resurrection would come while in Jerusalem. They didn’t understand his message because it didn’t fit their expectations. Now that he is in Jerusalem, having been hailed as the Son of David and therefore the Messiah (Mk 11:1-11), he has been spending time in the Temple. Mark tells us that he cleansed the Temple (Mk11:15-25), causing a commotion. Now, a day removed from that event, he’s back in the Temple speaking in parables and dialoging with religious leaders. That’s where we find ourselves with this reading from Mark 12.

                Judaism is partly defined by its adherence to several commandments, which define the covenant relationship between God and God’s people. We know of the Ten, though there are different versions, that God gave the people through the mediation of Moses. There are another six hundred-plus commandments that define more clearly what it means to live in covenant relationship with God. Then there are two others that in many ways summarize all the commandments. They seem rather simple. Love God and love one’s neighbor. Of course, there’s nothing simple about loving either God or one’s neighbor. That’s why there are so many rules and regulations that help the people fulfill these two commandments, one of which is found in Deuteronomy and the other in Leviticus.

                Being the Temple, especially after disrupting things the day before, one should expect Jesus to have theological conversations with the religious leaders. He had a conversation with a group of Sadducees, a religious party whose members controlled the Temple and rejected the modern doctrine of the resurrection. Jesus, of course, defended the doctrine of the resurrection (Mk. 12:18-27). Before that, he had a conversation with a group of Pharisees and Herodians, two very disparate parties, on the subject of the lawfulness of paying taxes. Jesus’ response amazed both parties (Mk. 12:13-17).  Now, Jesus is approached by another figure, identified here as a scribe. In other words, this conversation partner is an expert in the law.

                Mark tells us that this expert in the law observed these parties debating with Jesus, and recognizing that Jesus had answered their questions quite well. So, this Scribe decided to ask Jesus a question regarding the Law (Torah). He asked the kind of question one might be asked when it comes to defining one’s faith. That is, what stands at the heart of this religion/community? The question was this: “Which commandment is first of all?” Jesus knew the answer. Every observant Jew knew the answer to that question. Mark’s rendition goes like this: “The first is, ‘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 mind and with all your strength’” (Mk. 12:29-30). It’s the Shema, the central credal statement that defines Judaism. The version found in Deuteronomy 6 is slightly different (it’s important to remember that the Gospel writers depended on the Septuagint):   “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:4-5). There is a slight difference, but the message is the same. The first commandment that defines Judaism, and Jesus’ vision of his faith is this commandment. As Rabbi Shai Held notes, the Hebrew word lev translated in Deuteronomy as heart includes the mind, both of which are spelled out in the Markan rendition. Here is the key point: “In Deuteronomy, we are commanded to love God with both emotion and intellect—and needless to say, with action too” [Held, Judaism Is about Love, p. 354]. So, we are called first of all to love God with our entire being. William Placher adds this word of wisdom for us as Christians: “Christian faith does not imply there are thoughts we should not explore, questions we should not ask, or subjects we should not investigate. To have faith in God with all our mind is precisely to believe that nothing we can learn or discover could ever be a threat to belief in God” [Placher, Mark: Belief Commentary, p. 174].

                After Jesus recited the Shema he added another commandment, a second one. That commandment had to do with loving one’s neighbor as oneself. This commandment is found in Leviticus 19:18. When it comes to this commandment, the question has always revolved around the identity of the neighbor. In Luke’s version, this question leads to a parable known as the Good Samaritan parable. Mark doesn’t have that part of the conversation. Nevertheless, the question remains. Who is my neighbor? Or, put differently, to whom am I to act neighborly, that is, love. Too often we try to limit the definition to include those most like us so we don’t love people outside our circle. But is that Jesus’ vision? The Lukan version says no. After all, it’s a Samaritan who acts neighborly. Who would have thought that? As we ponder this question, it’s worth considering the definition of love here. If love involves emotion, then we may not feel love for every neighbor. But perhaps we should think of love here as involving a commitment to the welfare of the other, whomever they may be. It might be stated this way. Loving our neighbors as ourselves could involve wanting for others what we want for ourselves. Remembering, therefore, that Jesus spoke here out of his Jewish understandings, then Rabbi Shai Held speaks to Judaism’s particularist and universalistic impulses when it comes to this command. So, Jewish ethics are both particularist and universalist. They apply to relationships with Jews and non-Jews. Thus, “Judaism gives voice both to the urge (and obligation) to love one’s people and to the impulse (and obligation) to love all of humanity. It refuses to choose one pole and deny the other; it includes and even celebrates both” [Held, Judaism Is about Love, p. 133]. I believe Jesus would embrace that vision.

                After Jesus recited the two commands, he told his interlocutor that there are no greater commandments than these two. The Scribe commended Jesus for answering correctly.  Then the scribe added that observing these two commands “is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mk. 12:33). In other words, love of God and love of neighbor is much more important than participating in religious rites, whether Jewish or Christian. Paul made a similar observation in 1 Corinthians 13, where he told his readers that speaking in tongues is nothing more than a noisy gong without love. Prophetic powers and understanding mysteries, even faith to move mountains, or even giving away all one’s possessions, if a person doesn’t have love, none of these acts of piety have meaning or value. Love is the greatest and most important attribute of life. Without it, nothing matters (1 Cor. 13).

                The Scribe had commended Jesus for giving the right answer. Jesus, in turn, recognized that the Scribe had also spoken with wisdom. Therefore, Jesus recognized that his conversation partner was not far from the Kingdom of God. After that, no one asked him any more questions.  

                As we ponder this passage, some may take a narrower understanding of these two commandments, especially the second one. In many ways, it’s the more difficult commandment to nail down and fulfill. As noted above there is the question about how broadly to interpret it. Are we to love only those who share our faith or everyone else? Is it a particularist calling or a universalistic one? People land in both places. It’s easier to love our own than those who live beyond our circles. That’s especially true of those who oppose us and even hate us. Of course, Jesus complicates things when he tells us to love our enemies (Matt 5:44; Lk. 6:27). It is worth pondering this word about loving our enemies when we’re seeing increasing polarization in the nation and even in our churches. With an election just days away, an election that reflects this polarization, this question has great value. How do I love those who embrace positions and candidates I detest? The fact is, we all have friends and family who live on the other side of the political divide. So, this passage does have resonance in this moment. As for the church, these commands should define how we live out our faith and engage in ministry in the world.