It’s all about love
Mark 12:28-34
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 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: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.It’s all about love.
And it’s always been all about love.
In this section of Mark, several groups of religious leaders come to try and trap Jesus by asking him questions. First came the Pharisees (Mark 12:13-17), then the Sadducees (Mark 12:18-27), and now this teacher of the law. Jesus’ answer revealed that the whole Torah (teachings) was about love (In Matthew’s account of this he says the whole of the law and the prophets are summed up in these two commandments Matthew 22:40)
Jesus says love God first, with the totality of our being – our whole heart, soul, mind and strength. Why? Because “He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). God loved us from the very beginning, creating a beautiful world for us to live in, desiring relationship with us and leading His people. The whole of the Old Testament shows that God was always there for his people – even though their love for Him was fickle and often poor. Jesus was about to reveal the totality of his love for humankind by dying on the cross to save us from sin and death.
When I truly consider God’s love for me, how can I not love Him too? How can I not put aside time to spend with Him? Sadly, I sometimes do make other things more important than Him – but I am encouraged by this passage to prioritise Him afresh.
The second most important commandment – to love my neighbour as myself – flows from the first. God’s love for me is not just so that I feel warm and fuzzy – it’s also meant to flow through me to others. John13:35 says that it’s our love for others that will show people that we are his disciples.
Once again, it’s all about love.
Heavenly father, thank you for loving me with a love so complete, so unconditional, so enduring and so sacrificial. I love you too. Help me to let your love flow through me to others around me. Amen
Written by Megan Cornell