loudandclear

Mark 12:28-43

 ²⁸ One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

 ²⁹ Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. ³⁰ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these.”

 ³² The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. ³³ And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”

 ³⁴ Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

 ³⁵ Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple, he asked, “Why do the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David? ³⁶ For David himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said,

   ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
   Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
      until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’

 ³⁷ Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with great delight.

 ³⁸ Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. ³⁹ And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. ⁴⁰ Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.”

The Widow’s Offering

 ⁴¹ Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. ⁴² Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

 ⁴³ Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions.

(((This passage contains what some have come to know as the Jesus Creed.  One of the teachers of the law came up to Jesus in an attempt to trap him into saying something that would offend liberal and conservative Jews…but Jesus, being incredibly intelligent and always seeing to the deeper issue, summarizes the entire law into loving God with all we have and loving others. The entire 613 laws in the Old Testament can be summarized accurately in the Jesus Creed.)))

((( In v. 36, Jesus explains an Old Testament passage from Psalm 110:1 to explain that the Messiah will not only come from David’s family, but the Messiah will be even higher than David.)))

(((Jesus then continues his trend to rail religious people and teachers of the Law for their ridiculous hypocrisy and inauthentic faith.  He sees a very poor widow (a widow was the lowest rung of society) give 2 small coins and Jesus commends her for giving all that she has.  It is not about the amount of money that we give in generosity, but the heart and intent of worship behind it.)))