NOT FAR FROM THE KINGDOM!

NOT FAR FROM THE KINGDOM!

Mark 12:28-34

28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

          When the Pharisees saw that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they sent one of their scribes to interrogate Jesus. According to one source, the scribes had determined that the Jews were obligated to obey 613 precepts in the Law, 365 negative precepts and 248 positive. One of their favorite exercises was discussing which of these was the greatest or most important. Jesus did not hesitate in answering.

          Our love of God must be all-inclusive! We must love Him with all our feelings – all our thinking – and all our strength. The answer engaged each of the three aspects of our being. We can pretend love with actions that hide a reluctant heart and a distracted mind. Jesus said that God demands us to be fully engaged!

          Our love of our neighbor (one nearby) must equal our love of ourselves. Hypocrisy in this is harder to hide. When we are hungry we feed ourselves. When we are thirsty we drink. When we are cold or hot we dress accordingly. Every moment of the day we are thinking of ourselves – responding to our senses – and working to meet our own needs. Jesus commanded that we treat our neighbor the same way.

          When the scribe responded with agreement and understanding, Jesus did not declare him to be justified but only “close.” Jesus said: “thou art not far from the kingdom of God?”

Warren Wiersbe commented by asking: “What does it mean when a person is "not far from the kingdom of God"? It means he or she is facing truth honestly and is not interested in defending a "party line" or even personal prejudices. It means the person is testing his or her faith by what the Word of God says and not by what some religious group demands.”

This scribe was very close because he had processed the information and had come to understanding. The only thing left to do was to ACT upon what he understood to be true!

Dear Lord, I confess that I do not – cannot – love you in the way you demand. I also do not love my neighbor as I love myself. I appeal to grace, ask for mercy and rest upon your sacrifice as my substitute. AMEN