The Greatest Commandment | Mark 12:28–34


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 besides Him” (v. 32).  This can only explain the Triune God of Scripture—three persons but one God, extending unity to us who believe.

The greatest commandment is also loving God.  Notice that this is a verb—love isn’t a feeling but an action.  The command to love God is so important that God repeats it two more times in Deuteronomy (10:12–13; 30:6).

Jesus enumerates the ways in which we are to love in v. 30, which includes all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  The heart represents the inner man, his thoughts and emotions, and it can defile a person (Mk 7:15).  The soul distinguishes individuals, but it can be lost to Hell (8:35–36).  The mind obviously focuses on a person’s thoughts, and it can be full of lusts and darkened in understanding (Eph 2:3; 4:18).  Everything must be changed with all our power, so the command to love affects every part of a person.  Where we find we fall short, we must repent, believe in the gospel, and live the life He commands.

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