A bible study on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015 at Second Presbyterian Church, Chattanooga, TN.
Reading: Mark 12:28-44
Mark
12: 28 One of the scribes came near and heard them
disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him,
“Which commandment is the first of all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord
our God, the Lord is one; 30
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32
Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly
said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; 33 and ‘to love him with all the heart, and
with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s
neighbor as oneself,’—this is much more important than all whole burnt
offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When
Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the
kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.
Jesus
quotes the Shema, the Jewish monotheistic declaration found in every synagogue.
See Deut. 4:5-8, 6:4-9, for examples.
The power
of this commandment lies in the words of Moses, Deut. 4:32-40. Moses asks
Israel if anyone has ever seen in anything the equal power of God as when he created
us, when he freed them from Egypt, when he made a covenant never to destroy or
abandon them. Jesus cites the Shema as the first commandment and it stirs up in
every penitent Jew these images of creation, of deliverance, of an everlasting
covenant with the Creator. The Shema represents the solid rock foundation of
personal and corporate relationship between Israel and our Creator.
Luke
presents an interesting take on this event in Luke 10:25-37. Jesus ends this
interchange with a parable about who is one’s neighbor, the parable of the Good
Samaritan that pointedly defined our neighbor is everyone.
In the
Law, The teaching on who is one’s neighbor implicitly means another Jewish
person, Ex. 22:26; Lev. 19:9,13,15, 17(especially);
Deut. 5:21; Deut. 15:9-11. Until
this interchange with Jesus the latter passage (Deuteronomy 15:9-11) comes closest to
defining ”neighbor” as anyone by its admonition to provide for the poor and neighbor among Israel.
Consider
that these first few verses in our reading on the greater two commandments
actually address the question, “What does it mean to be “All In?” In a nutshell
Jesus is endorses and distills the Law into two principles that connect love of
God, love of self and love of neighbor. Jesus says that the ultimate objective
of righteousness is to honor the God who created us and loves us. The
penultimate objective of righteousness is to love one’s neighbor, who is anyone
who lives among us whether alien, or Jew, the way God loves us and we love our
self.
Verse 34
looms large in this gospel, “After this no one dared ask him any question.”
Jesus has achieved by implication of these words another cutting condemnation
of the priests and Temple leaders who are more preoccupied with
self-aggrandizement than leading the people in honoring God. Since Jesus is the
son of God, he also is pointing out their plotting against him is violating the
first and greatest commandment. Over the last several confrontations (for
example, the Tradition of the Elders,” tribute to Caesar, etc.), he has repeatedly
backed the religious leaders into a corner where they must see the error of
their ways in the light of the Law and repent honoring Jesus, or defend their
worldly attachment to status and wealth. The only other way out of this dilemma
for them is to eliminate Jesus.
Now Jesus
begins to address his divine identity:
35
While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that
the Messiah is the son of David? 36
David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,
‘The
Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit
at my right hand,
until
I put your enemies under your feet.”’
37
David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd
was listening to him with delight.
This passage is a very subtle move by Jesus. He states that the
Messiah is from God not David as
common Jewish understanding expects, but he does it without clearly saying in
those words. The logic is flawless, if Jesus is the son of David, then how can
he be his Lord? If Jesus is the Messiah then he is not a son of David but of
God. Jesus again has turned the scribes against them selves by using their
answer to declare he is the Messiah, the Son of God, though not once in this
interchange does he actually say it in these words.
He has
faced the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and priests multiple times in since he
entered Jerusalem, on each instance turning their words against them. Now again
he uses extremely powerful but obtuse and ironic comments that force them to
acknowledge who he is or back down. For example, referring to verse 36, who
does Jesus imply are his enemies that he will put under his feet? It appears
the crowd gets the point (v 37.)
38 As
he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long
robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39
and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at
banquets! 40 They devour widows’ houses and for the
sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater
condemnation.”
Throughout his ministry Jesus has criticized the religious
leaders’ interpretation of righteous behavior. In fact, he has actually said
that their behavior (e.g., tradition of the elders) drives people away. They
have become stumbling blocks.
Here he repeats his diatribe against the religious priesthood calling
them out as complete hypocrites. Do you recall earlier he referred to their
teachings as the ”tradition of the elders” (Mark 7:9-13)?
In Mosaic Law, the priests were set aside for duty of worship and
used portions of the sacrifices of the people for sustenance by order of the
Lord’s command. (Lev. 25:32-33,
Deut. 14:29, 18:8, Numbers 18:23-24, 30; Numbers 31, Numbers 35). Now the priests
have become wealthy from these gifts of the people. Their focus has become one
of ensuring their own wellbeing from income to the Temple, not proper worship. This
is the ultimate insult to the Lord and the greatest commandment. The people the
Lord has set aside to help and guide the people to honor and worship God have
become their oppressors.
And them, what does Jesus do? He sits down and watches the
rich people of the crowd returning an offering to the Lord that is a small part
of their wealth that is, by the way, the things of Caesar:
41 He sat down opposite the
treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich
people put in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two
small copper coins, which are worth a penny.
43 Then he called his
disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more
than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 For
all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty
has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Do we read
this well known passage understanding it for what it is describes? This woman
has defined what being “all in” truly means. She has defined what loving the
Lord with all one’s heart, soul, body and strength means. she has given the
Lord everything and her death is the consequence.
Reflection
This visual image of a poor woman putting into the offering her entire
fortune is poignant to the point of tears. The consequence of her act leaves
her nothing for sustenance, but leads to of her death unless her neighbors provide
aid to her. She has gone “all in” with her love of God giving true meaning to
the words of Mark 12:29-30.
The irony of the priests taking this money, the irony of the wealthy giving
small portions of their wealth by negative example give meaning to the second
commandment, Mark 12:31.
I am reminded in this passage of the current outcry by some in our American
society to bar persecuted immigrants from our country out of xenophobia, or fear
of strangers. This is where the value of Luke comes to play in this exchange between Jesus and the lawyer, Jesus follows
the question of who is my neighbor? by the parable of the good Samaritan who
ignored the potential of personal danger to aid someone in distress.
In closing, it is worthwhile to remember that Mark is a master of irony.
Mark frequently presents the message of Jesus using a subtle image that
conflicts with normal expectation.
Who would face death by starvation, giving every last cent to the Lord?
The only one who does this is one whose faith holds that they gain life from and
owe all to the greatest Benefactor.
Does
this image of the widow going “all in” remind you of what the Lord has done by
sending his son to us? Does it remind you how much Jesus is “all in” in the
Love of God for humanity during this last week of his human life? Does it
remind us of living water given to us
freely?
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