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.”
Mark 12:28 - 31
The author is Mark the evangelist; the book of Mark is like a fast action packed movie. Mark is only interested in showing us Jesus in the way he wants to portray, highlighting only the key moments of Jesus.
In Mark 12:28-31, Jesus was having a conversation with a scribe who knew that the Mosaic Law has 613 commands. He asked Jesus what the greatest commandment is. And of course, Jesus Christ gave the familiar answer that most of us can memorize. But if we were to unpack it, it has great profound theological truths and challenging personal application.
In this verse, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which is the beginning of the Shema prayer.
When Jesus said that “the Lord our God, the Lord is one”, the phrase refers to the Godhead, the Trinity. God the Father loved the Son, the Son loved the Father. The Son obeyed the Father and his will, the Son went to the cross in full obedience to glorify the Father. And just as the Father has sent the Son, now the Son sent the Spirit to fulfill God’s mission on earth.
There was perfect love and unity within the Trinity. Each of the Godhead knew his role. With this great theological truth of love, Jesus went on to talk about what it means for us to love God and love our fellow men and women.
Jesus only quoted the part about loving God from the Shema. But He didn’t stop there, he continued that we are to love others.
What is the definition of love? “Love” is from the Greek word “Agapao”, it means to love, to show love, demonstrate love, take pleasure in, to love something based on its regarded value. Most of us would be familiar with the noun, “Agape.” Jesus commanded us to love God, who is worthy of our love, because God is God alone, and none can be compared to Him.
According to the New Bible Dictionary, heart (Greek word, “kardia”) means the center of one’s life. This includes the physical, spiritual and mental. The heart also drives one’s beliefs, purposes, character, emotions, thoughts and intentions. Soul (Greek word, “psyche”) is quite similar to the heart, it focuses on the vital force that keeps us alive. Mind (Greek word, “dianoia”) refers more to understanding, attitude, outlook or perception, it includes the point of view or standards by which one evaluates one’s life. Strength (Greek word, “ischyos”) means the might, effort and passion in which we love God. In short, our whole being is to love God in totality.
Loving God involves every aspect of us. It involves all our heart, all our soul, all our might, and all our strength. There is no room for “quiet quitting” at all. What is “quiet quitting” in today’s culture? This phrase does not mean that you are quitting the job or task, but rather you are doing the bare minimum that the job requires. It is not possible to do that when we are following Christ. It is either all or nothing. Likewise in our love for others.
R. T. France posited it sharply for us, that the “love of other people finds its true place only on the basis of a prior love of God [1]”
Saint Augustine of Hippo explained, “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.”
Rev Ron Tan
Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church
Comments