First, I’ll start with a quick overview of Part 1: What did He say?

Jesus was in the Temple in Jerusalem during the Passion Week when He was approached by a scribe with intentions to trick Him by asking, “What is the greatest commandment?” Paraphrasing, Jesus replied, “love God and love man.” He also said the first is greater than the second but that they are linked together, both fulfilling the Law and the Prophets.

Remember, Jesus was confronted by an expert in the Law of Moses who was prompted by the keepers of the Law, the Pharisees. They had been debating this issue for many years without coming to a clear consensus. In two seconds flat Jesus told them the greatest commandment was to love God (as Moses instructed the nation of Israel 1,000 years earlier). It wasn’t a hard command. Love God with every inch of your being. Love God with every word you utter. Love God with every thought and with every action.

The ultimate task of loving God is expressed through loving others. Jesus reveals this by quoting Leviticus 19:18 where Moses instructs the Israelites to be kind and generous to their fellow kinsmen.

“You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.” – Leviticus 19:18

The scribe who heard these words, being an expert in the Law, was familiar with them and probably weren’t impressed much. We know this because Mark 12:32-33 records that the scribe repeated them back to Jesus confirming what He said was true and worthy of carrying out.

However, don’t miss what Jesus says at the end of Mark’s version of the story which references the same setting. After repeating Jesus’ quote of Leviticus 19:18 and confirming He was right, Jesus said, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” As subtle as this may sound it was heart-piercing when directed towards a scribe or Pharisee.

Jesus was confirming his fervent knowledge of the Scriptures (Old Testament) when He said the scribe answered intelligently (Mark 12:34). But when He said he was not far from the Kingdom of God, Jesus was revealing that, although the scribes were familiar with the Law of Moses, they were far from obeying it.

The scribes and Pharisees had forgotten what was written later in the book of Leviticus, specifically 19:34 where Moses points out that the Israelites were to treat Gentiles as they treated themselves. Or, more specifically, they were to extend the same love they demonstrated to their own kinsmen to their neighboring foreigners. In Jesus’ day, the ruling class of Jews hardly lifted a finger to help those who were not Jews. On the contrary, they believed any Gentile was unclean and they did everything in their power to avoid such low-life persons.

To add credence to this point let’s take a quick look at Luke’s version found in Luke 10:25-37.

And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” – Luke 10:25-29

The same topic was discussed between Jesus and an expert in the Law. But one of the main differences here was the scribe asked Jesus to explain to him who his neighbor was. Jesus proceeded to tell the story of the Good Samaritan getting the scribe to finally admit that the Samaritan was his neighbor.

Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.” – Luke 10:30-37

What makes this part of the story interesting is the Samaritans considered themselves to be Jews whereas the ruling Jewish sects considered them to be outcasts, even lower than unclean Gentiles.

What did Jesus mean when He responded to the question of what was the greatest commandment? He meant for the scribes and Pharisees to validate their love for God by serving, helping, and meeting the needs of those whom they despised but God loved. He meant for them to live out the Law that they worked so hard to preserve. He meant for them to demonstrate their love for others as much as they loved the pomp and circumstance of flaunting their self-righteousness before the people of Israel. This is what Jesus meant when he told the scribe that although he knew the Law he was not far from the Kingdom of God.

Next time we’ll take a look at Part 3: What do we hear? and see what supporting Scriptures reveal to us today.

In case you missed it, here’s a link to the first article in this series: The Greatest Commandment (Part 1): What did He say?