One scribe listened - Mark 12:28-34
There was at least one scribe who listened honestly to Jesus and was not trying to trap him.
613 Commandments - Mark 12:28
The rabbis counted 613
commandments in the Books of Moses and argued over which were the most important.
Jesus answered - Mark 12:29-31
Jesus answered the question by quoting the Shema, which was prayed daily by the Jews. The name
Shema is the first word of Deut. 6:4, 5,
Hear. The most important commandment is to
love God with all one's being. Jesus went further and referred to Lev. 19:18 saying that the second most important grows out of the first, love your
neighbor.
Not far from the kingdom of God - Mark 12:34
The scribe's honest searching and wise response led to Jesus' encouraging words that he was
not far from the kingdom of God. His reaction to Jesus was so different from so many other Jewish leaders in this section of the gospel. The chief priests, scribes, and elders (in 11:18), the Pharisees and the Herodians (in 12:13), and the Sadducees (in 12:18) had all tried to trap Jesus. Jesus' ability to answer all their questions discouraged them all from challenging him in public any further.
Jesus quoted Ps. 110:1 - Mark 12:35-37
Jesus seized the initiative and asked his own question. He quoted Ps. 110:1 and asked why the scribes called the Christ
David's son when David himself calls the Christ,
Lord? The title
Christ is simply the Greek translation of the Hebrew
Messiah. The
large crowd in the
temple courts gladly listened to Jesus stumping the teachers of Israel. Mark began this long section of Jewish challenges with the question about Jesus' authority back in 11:27. In 12:35-36 Mark began to draw the section to a close by giving Jesus' answer to that question. Jesus was the Christ. Jesus was David's Lord. Jesus spoke in his own authority.
Hypocritical religious leaders - Mark 12:38-40
Jesus warned the people about hypocritical religious leaders again. See 7:6; 8:15. Jesus condemned their proud displays of religious piety and their abuse of their privileges. This is the end of Jesus' public ministry in Mark's Gospel. Jesus and the Jewish leadership are completely at odds and this antimony had now become very public.
Offering box - Mark 12:41-42
The
offering box was located in the Court of Women. That gave both men and women access to it. The
two mites were two small copper coins of very little value.
The widow's coin - Mark 12:43-44
Jesus
called his disciples because they had not yet fully learned this lesson. God looks at things differently than people do.
The widow's small coins were more than the large amounts of the wealthy. Literally, Mark reported that Jesus said she gave all the
money she had
to live on. The fact that this was a
widow emphasized her lack of status in the community. She was a woman in a patriarchal society. And more than that, she was a woman without a husband. She had no one to stand up for her and represent her. The fact that Mark said she gave her
whole life is an echo of the first commandment of 12:30 where Mark used the same Greek word.
Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole mind, and your whole strength. Jesus was still teaching his disciples that to follow him required total commitment. This paragraph is similar to 5:25-34 where Mark used another helpless woman as an example of faith and trust in Jesus. This is a complete reversal of the human perspective.
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