Mark 12:28-44

Almost caught up....who am I kidding.  There are four chunks in this short 16 verses.  You'll be lucky to see this post tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon. I was doing so good!!!!

South's SOAP for the Day
S-Read Mark 12:28-44.
O-Love God with everything you have.
A-Do you truly love your neighbor as much as you love yourself?
P-Pray that you completely surrender your time, talent, and money to God.

Ok.  We may go into high gear here.  We'll see what comes out.  Its now 9:30pm.  Afternoon.  What was I thinking?

Jesus has just had a battle of questions with some of the Jewish leaders.  The first encounter questioned the authority of Jesus--where it came from.  That one is bookmarked by Jesus clearing the temple and a parable about unfit keepers of the vineyard.  Then the Pharisees and the Herodians come to him and ask about taxes.  On the heals of them are the Sadducees, to ask about brothers and marriages and heaven.

This leads us to the beginning of today's (yesterday's) passage.

One of the teachers of the law is in the crowd.  He's heard at least the last discussion between the Sadducees and Jesus.  He's ready to take his turn with Jesus.  Mark tells us that he understood the "good answer" that Jesus had given the Sadducees, one based on the Torah.  As a teacher of the Law, this seems to peak his interest.  I wonder why that is.  Maybe this is the first time that this teacher of the Law has come face to face with Jesus.  Maybe he's been hearing about Jesus from all the other religious leaders and his view has been tainted.

This guy comes in and begins to put Jesus to a test.  He asks him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

"The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.   Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no commandment greater than these.”

Jesus responds with the Shema--the beginning statement of both the morning and evening prayers of the Jews.  It grounds them in knowing that their God, Yahweh, is the one and only God.  Jesus then states the greatest commandment, which follows the Shema in Deuteronomy 6.  Then he quotes a scripture from Leviticus 19 about loving your neighbor.

His response pleased the teacher of the Law.  He affirms what Jesus has said and highlights that these commands--the whole love of God and loving your neighbor are more important than burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Lets stop for a minute and think here.  Did the the teacher of the Law just say that?  That these two commandments are greater than offerings and sacrifices?  Isn't this what Jesus was hinting at a few passages earlier when he ran the money changers, the sellers, and the buyers of temple sacrifices out of the courtyard?  Does this teacher actually get it?  I wonder what is going through the heads of the crowd at this point.  Jesus has dogged on each of the people who have come after him before this, and here this guy is agreeing and encouraging Jesus?

He almost got away with it.  Mark tells us that when Jesus heard the teacher's response, he responded back to him saying, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

Not far means, close, but not there yet.  Is Jesus telling this guy, "You know the right things to say and we are all good on paper, but does your life match what you know?"  It certainly seems that way since Mark follows up Jesus' statement by saying that no one else challenged him after this.  I certainly wouldn't have said anything to him.  He was on fire!

Since no one else comes and asks questions, Jesus starts teaching in the temple courts.  He starts asking a questions about the Messiah.

Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David?  David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: 

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
    under your feet.” 

David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

The teachers of the Law say that the Messiah will be one of the descendants of David.  And this is partially right.  However, Jesus wants to add something more to it.  His quoting of Psalm 110 shows that there is something more to this Messiah than a simple earthy heir of David.  Jesus is beyond that. He is something greater than David.  He doesn't fully affirm here in front of the crowd that he is the Messiah, but that he is talking about this certainly encourages them to think that.  They've possibly heard Bartimaeus, the blind guy from Jericho who Jesus healed right before the triumphal entry, call him Son of David.  They've heard the crowd at the triumphal entry declare the same thing.  There is not a doubt in my mind that the crowd partially gets it because they listen to him "with delight."  Though, I think they are still wanting him to become the hero/national messiah.

After almost affirming himself as Messiah, he then tells the crowd to beware of the teachers of the law.  He says,

They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.  They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.

Flowing robes were to show they were important, worthy of respect, and above others.  They also want the best seats everywhere they go.  They are distinguished and worthy of the honor.  This all seems to go against "the first shall be last, and the last shall be first."  And, you probably wouldn't see a teacher of the law interacting or caring for a little child.  They were too good for that.

"They devour widows houses" means that they didn't care for the poor, which as you read the prophets in the OT, that was one of the main things that the Israelites failed at in their covenant with God.  Yet, they show that they are "religious" by praying long prayers.

The teachers of the law are fakes.  They are full of show and want for the places of honor, yet their lives show that they care for no one other than themselves.  Mark affirms this in the next section.

After Jesus is done warning about the law teachers, Mark gives us a visual to affirm what Jesus had said.  He and his disciples are hanging around where the offerings are collected.  Scholars tell us these would have been large trumpet like looking receptacles for offerings most likely made out of some sort of metal.  Put yourself there in among the crowd.  You see one of these flowing robed fakies coming to throw in their offering.  Maybe they are walking beside a couple rich people that they have befriended. They are walking them to give their offering, being very showy about it.  You see one of the rich people take a large purse full of coins out of his robe.  You hear the money clanking on the metal offering receptacle.  Clang, clink, clang, clink.  They pour them slowly so everyone will take notice of the offering going in.

After the hubbub of the big offering, the mass of people clears.  In comes a widow who puts in a couple copper pennies--the smallest of coins in that day.  Jesus notes that she's put in everything she has--"all she had to live on."

She has come to give everything she has to the temple system, the religious institution of the Jews.  They are to care for people like her, since she has no one to care for her since her husband has passed.  The rich people gave much more than her, but gave out of excess and for show.  They didn't give everything.  At this point, my mind flashes back to the rich man that asked what he needed to do to be in the Kingdom.  "Sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and follow me."

So, what's the point for us?  The point is, "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first."  "You must die to yourself, pick up your cross, and follow me."  "You must be servants (slaves) to these little ones."  "Love God with everything you are, AND love your neighbor as yourself."

One cannot read these things, believe, and not live differently.  The belief must become lived out action.  Otherwise, we are no different than the teacher who questions Jesus about the greatest commandment or the rich man who questions Jesus about how to get into Heaven.  Jesus is staring directly at the cross.  He is telling us it is go time.  Will you change?  Will I change?  Its our move.

Lord, help us to move.  Help us to die.  Help us to follow!