The Question...
Mk 12:28-34 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
The Answer...
And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
The Response...
And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
The Assessment...
And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.
LESSON - Be sincere!! Of all the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus detested their religiosity because of the underlying motive of pride which drove them. In this conversation, Jesus had met one scribe who apparently lived his life with sincerity. Jesus reveals his lost condition in the last verse, but was impressed with his sincerity and acknowledged how close he was to being saved. Take time today for some self analysis. Stop doing right things with wrong motives. Don’t simply “do” right, “be” right.
~Mike
Comments