Pastor Shaun Marksbury

We’re continuing to examine a question Jesus was asked by a scribe.   His question is, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” (v. 28), and we saw Jesus’s response yesterday.   Unprompted, Jesus went on to list the second in v. 31.   What do we learn? This is the second, not the second and third.   One of the most common misconceptions about this command is that it’s actually two commands.   The reasoning goes that you cannot love a neighbor “as yourself” if you do not love yourself, so Jesus is commanding that you must love yourself and your neighbor.   However, Jesus gives no indication that this command contains a hidden one, nor does Scripture ever command someone to self-love. The second command is to love one’s neighbor instead .   This command sums up the last six commandments, the ones which either positively or negatively tell us to deny ourselves and care for others (our parents, spouses, or neighbors).   When James talks ...

Since Mark 11:27, Jesus has been accosted by questions in the temple.   One now comes from a scribe, an expert in the Law of Moses.   He was one from the Pharisees, meaning he would have been pleased with Jesus’s response to the Sadducees, but he came to Jesus to test Him (cf. Mt 22:34–35).   Setting aside this scribe’s motives for now, this question grants us an invaluable lesson on righteous living, which we will examine today and tomorrow. The greatest commandment is knowing God.   In vv. 29–30, Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:4–5, a passage known as the Shema (Hebrew for “hear”).   This important passage became a creed devout Jews recited every morning and evening. The command starts by defining Who He is.   First, a believer must see Him with the possessive—“The Lord our God”—not just the God of the Bible or of the forefathers.   Second, a believer must understand that He “is one Lord”—meaning unique , for “there is no one else beside...