Daily Bread 2010 - Mark 12
Daily Bread 2010 – Mark 12
As of 2/25/10 we have reached the end of the first eight weeks of 2010. By my calculations that would put us 40 chapters into the New Testament (eight weeks times five chapters per week = 40). Since we have read all of Matthew (28 chapters) and now have gone through chapter 12 of Mark we are on target to read through the entire New Testament. If you have kept up with the reading, great job! If not don’t worry the consistency of being in God’s Word is more important than how much you have read!
The Greatest Commandment
28One 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. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31The 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. 33To 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."
34When 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.
Throughout these chapters we see the religious leaders trying to trap Jesus in how he answers questions pertaining to the Jewish Law and other matters of life and faith. They ask him questions about divorce, marriage, the resurrection, paying taxes etc… Each time they try to trip him up, but Jesus who is the very Word incarnate, evades their traps because He is privy to a higher wisdom.
Then a teacher of the Law, perhaps a good one, overhears the debate and realizes that Jesus might be worth listening to, so he gets down to “brass tacks”. He asks him of all the commandments which is the most important. Jesus answers him simply, “Love God with all that you have, and love your neighbors as yourself.”
Jesus simplifies all of the many commandments into these two overarching challenges to love God and love others. He then clarifies, and says to do these two things are more important than any religious ritual or sacrifice one could make. Given how big the sacrificial system was in those days, this is a huge paradigm shift.
I wonder if we were to focus on these two things, how much better our lives would be. How about if every day we did our best to love God with all that we have in our bodies, minds and souls, and then made a commitment to love others as ourselves. What kind of transformation would we see in our lives? I think it would be substantial.
This might be a great Lenten disciple to take up (it’s not to late to start!). Each day you could journal on how to love God and others. You could note challenges and pray for strength when loving others becomes hard. Part of loving God might be spending time each day in His Word and then communicating back what you think God is saying to you through a prayer journal.
Prayer: God thanks for the simplicity of what you require of us. To love you with all of our being, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. God we know we often don’t love you or our neighbors. Often we are more concerned about loving ourselves than either you or others. Forgive us of our sin, and help us to focus more on the two things you have commanded us to do and send Your Spirit to help us in Jesus’ name, Amen.
As of 2/25/10 we have reached the end of the first eight weeks of 2010. By my calculations that would put us 40 chapters into the New Testament (eight weeks times five chapters per week = 40). Since we have read all of Matthew (28 chapters) and now have gone through chapter 12 of Mark we are on target to read through the entire New Testament. If you have kept up with the reading, great job! If not don’t worry the consistency of being in God’s Word is more important than how much you have read!
The Greatest Commandment
28One 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. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31The 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. 33To 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."
34When 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.
Throughout these chapters we see the religious leaders trying to trap Jesus in how he answers questions pertaining to the Jewish Law and other matters of life and faith. They ask him questions about divorce, marriage, the resurrection, paying taxes etc… Each time they try to trip him up, but Jesus who is the very Word incarnate, evades their traps because He is privy to a higher wisdom.
Then a teacher of the Law, perhaps a good one, overhears the debate and realizes that Jesus might be worth listening to, so he gets down to “brass tacks”. He asks him of all the commandments which is the most important. Jesus answers him simply, “Love God with all that you have, and love your neighbors as yourself.”
Jesus simplifies all of the many commandments into these two overarching challenges to love God and love others. He then clarifies, and says to do these two things are more important than any religious ritual or sacrifice one could make. Given how big the sacrificial system was in those days, this is a huge paradigm shift.
I wonder if we were to focus on these two things, how much better our lives would be. How about if every day we did our best to love God with all that we have in our bodies, minds and souls, and then made a commitment to love others as ourselves. What kind of transformation would we see in our lives? I think it would be substantial.
This might be a great Lenten disciple to take up (it’s not to late to start!). Each day you could journal on how to love God and others. You could note challenges and pray for strength when loving others becomes hard. Part of loving God might be spending time each day in His Word and then communicating back what you think God is saying to you through a prayer journal.
Prayer: God thanks for the simplicity of what you require of us. To love you with all of our being, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. God we know we often don’t love you or our neighbors. Often we are more concerned about loving ourselves than either you or others. Forgive us of our sin, and help us to focus more on the two things you have commanded us to do and send Your Spirit to help us in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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