A Heart of True Devotion

Mark 12:28-34
28 One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all? ”
 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. 31 The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”
 32 Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher. You have correctly said that he is one, and there is no one else except him. 33 And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the 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.” And no one dared to question him any longer.

GOING DEEPER
Parallel, Related and Referenced Passages
Parallel Accounts: Matthew 22:34-40
 
1) A GREAT QUESTION

• Jesus’s Encounters with Scribes in Mark (2:6–10; 2:16–17; 3:22–30; 7:1–13; 9:14–16; 11:18; 11:27–12:12)
• Old Testament references the Rabbis looked to for a summary of the Law (Psalm 15; Isaiah 33:15–16; Micah 6:8; Isaiah 56:1; Amos 5:4; Habakkuk 2:4)

 
2) THE GREATEST ANSWER

• Deuteronomy 6:4–5 — The Shema: love God with your whole being
• Leviticus 19:18 — “Love your neighbor as yourself”
• Exodus 20:1–17 — The 10 Commandments: love God and neighbor
• John 14:15 — “If you love me, you will keep my commands”
• Galatians 5:14 — The whole law is fulfilled in loving your neighbor
• James 2:8 — Love your neighbor as yourself: the “royal law”
• Romans 13:8–10 — “Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law”
• Matthew 13:44 — The treasure in the field
• Luke 10:25–37 — The Good Samaritan: “Who is my neighbor?”
• Matthew 5:43–48 — Love your enemies

3) AN IMPERFECT RESPONSE

• Mark 7:21–23 — The evil that comes “from within, out of hearts”
• Romans 3:20 — The law brings knowledge of sin
• Romans 7:18–24 — Knowing right but lacking the power to do it
• Galatians 3:21–24 — The law exposes our need, leads us to Christ

 
4) OUR WAY IN

• 1 John 4:19 — “We love because he first loved us” 
• Romans 5:8–10 — Christ loved us while we were sinners
• John 15:9–13 — Christ’s love is the source and pattern of our love
• Ephesians 5:1–2 — “Walk in love, as Christ also loved us”
• Galatians 2:20 — Living by faith in the Son of God “who loved me and gave himself for me”