Since last week’s story, Jesus has entered Jerusalem riding on the royal donkey, his followers shouting hosannas. He has curse the fig tree for not bearing fruit and has used this as a living parable for his disciples.
Most importantly, Jesus has driven the moneychangers and merchants out of the temple courts, and has occupied the temple with his followers.
Pharisees come, scribes come, the elders come, the Sadducees come, all with the express intention of trapping Jesus into saying something arrest-able. It begins with the important question: what gave Jesus the authority to whip the moneychangers out? Jesus ends by not answering the question, because they can’t answer his.
This is the question looming behind the ongoing interrogations. Does Jesus have the authority of God?
A tricky question about taxes and an attempt to cast doubt on the resurrection follow. Jesus defeats them all, with luminous wisdom and righteousness.
Mark tells us that this particular unnamed scribe had been listening the whole time.
There’s been a series of ads on TV, very well produced, very striking. I have to say I loved it. You’ve seen them: “He gets us.”
Well, Mark wants us to know that Blind Bartimaeus, who we met last week, and this scribe, are positive examples of just the kind of disciples Jesus is looking for. They get Jesus.
We have to remember the imminent danger hanging over Jesus’ head, and any head that sympathized with him. By now, everyone would clearly have known that Jesus would end up crucified, no matter what authority he had. The Romans could not tolerate a start-up king. Bartimaeus cared nothing about the danger to himself; he believed that God’s mercy had come in Jesus and he cried out for it, and when he got it, he followed in Jesus’ way, knowing well the cost.
In just this same way, Mark wants us to know that the scribe believed, and because he had heard the authorities scheming to destroy Jesus, he knew the cost of giving Jesus credit.
And he asks the most important question in the world.
One of the reasons I’ve been harping on the story of Jesus for the past three years is that Mark, Matthew and Luke preach a different gospel from that of Paul. They are consistent with each other in important ways, and this particular passage is one of them, because it’s one of only a few I’m aware of in which Paul actually quotes Jesus.
Paul’s gospel is the only one most Protestants actually know. “Justification by faith apart from the works of the law.” “Believe that Jesus died for your sins, live a new life in Christ, and receive eternal life as your reward. Death and resurrection.”
But Jesus preached not the abolition of the law of Moses, but a new interpretation of that law, and following him entailed embracing that interpretation and obeying it. This is why the scribe asks the most important question anyone could ask.
Once we know which of all the commandments reigns over all the others, we can embrace the whole law without even needing to know the other 612. We need only dedicate our lives to these two Great Commandments and we will enter into the kingdom of God, and yes, even eternal life.
Because, according to Mark’s gospel, the kingdom of God, Jesus’ family, enters the world, when the will of God is done on earth as it is in heaven.
“Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength.”
When we talk about the Passion of Christ, this is what we mean.
Jesus’ authority comes from God because Jesus loves his Father with all his heart and all his soul and all his mind and all his strength.
Heart: This one comes first, as well it should. In this Jesus and Paul agree: the desire of the heart comes first. We are saved not by what we do, but by what we desire. There’s little hope of loving God with your soul or your mind or strength, if you don’t desire to.
Soul: When we hear a first century Jew use the word “soul” we need to think of the wholeness of our being. What we do, what we say, what we represent, our physical presence in the world. We are commanded to love God with our whole being.
Mind: Learning is essential to enter the kingdom of God. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, or even if you have some kind of disability, God commands us to love him with our minds. We do this with the study of scripture, with a regular and frequent practice of prayer, meditation, self-examination. We need to think of divine things to do divine things.
Strength: We are to love God with all our strength. Whatever power or agency we have in the world is to be directed toward God’s will. All of it.
To strive to obey this commandment is to enter into the passion of Christ, and through this passion, to channel heaven into this fragmented world.
We are blessed as disciples of Jesus to live in a society that permits us to worship as we please. But this doesn’t mean that there will not be resistance to us if we are serious about obeying the commandment. Particularly if we take its essential corollary, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The scribe got his confirmation, and publicly affirmed the authority of Jesus, noting that indeed this was more important than any of the temple rituals. The initial question had been answered, by what authority Jesus disrupted the temple.
And after that, no one dared to ask him any questions.
It’s an interesting note. I’m not sure about putting the ten commandments in classrooms, courts of law, or government buildings. But what if the second commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself” were put in those places?
What if every public school student, every attorney, every government official saw “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” every time they went to do their work?
As you imagine this, I think you can see why Jesus’ words silenced those who questioned him. It is a radically new way to think about God’s law.
The Jesus described in Mark came to establish a new kingdom on earth, one not defined by temples or cities or lands, but one defined by its justice and peace, the Spirit of God himself dwelling not in a particular city or in a temple made with hands, but in the temple of the faithful community, a community that has repented of the world’s ways to embrace a society built on love.
The gospels tell of a savior who founded a new nation. Or perhaps more accurately, one who invited a nation to reinvent itself.
The church, for better or worse, is that new nation Jesus came to found. Our dedicated members are excellent examples of striving to keep these commandments front and center.
When I see our volunteers spending their mornings taking meals to isolated and lonely seniors, I see these commandments in action. Can I get an amen?
When I see the shoes piling up in the barrel to benefit the poor in third world countries and to support families suffering domestic violence, I see the people of God obeying this commandment. Can I get an amen?
When I see our members welcoming children welcome to our children’s choir, I see these commandments at work.
When I see checks made out to Philippi Christian Church to support the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I see that passionate love for God and neighbor.
Can I get an amen!
Most importantly, Jesus has driven the moneychangers and merchants out of the temple courts, and has occupied the temple with his followers.
Pharisees come, scribes come, the elders come, the Sadducees come, all with the express intention of trapping Jesus into saying something arrest-able. It begins with the important question: what gave Jesus the authority to whip the moneychangers out? Jesus ends by not answering the question, because they can’t answer his.
This is the question looming behind the ongoing interrogations. Does Jesus have the authority of God?
A tricky question about taxes and an attempt to cast doubt on the resurrection follow. Jesus defeats them all, with luminous wisdom and righteousness.
Mark tells us that this particular unnamed scribe had been listening the whole time.
There’s been a series of ads on TV, very well produced, very striking. I have to say I loved it. You’ve seen them: “He gets us.”
Well, Mark wants us to know that Blind Bartimaeus, who we met last week, and this scribe, are positive examples of just the kind of disciples Jesus is looking for. They get Jesus.
We have to remember the imminent danger hanging over Jesus’ head, and any head that sympathized with him. By now, everyone would clearly have known that Jesus would end up crucified, no matter what authority he had. The Romans could not tolerate a start-up king. Bartimaeus cared nothing about the danger to himself; he believed that God’s mercy had come in Jesus and he cried out for it, and when he got it, he followed in Jesus’ way, knowing well the cost.
In just this same way, Mark wants us to know that the scribe believed, and because he had heard the authorities scheming to destroy Jesus, he knew the cost of giving Jesus credit.
And he asks the most important question in the world.
One of the reasons I’ve been harping on the story of Jesus for the past three years is that Mark, Matthew and Luke preach a different gospel from that of Paul. They are consistent with each other in important ways, and this particular passage is one of them, because it’s one of only a few I’m aware of in which Paul actually quotes Jesus.
Paul’s gospel is the only one most Protestants actually know. “Justification by faith apart from the works of the law.” “Believe that Jesus died for your sins, live a new life in Christ, and receive eternal life as your reward. Death and resurrection.”
But Jesus preached not the abolition of the law of Moses, but a new interpretation of that law, and following him entailed embracing that interpretation and obeying it. This is why the scribe asks the most important question anyone could ask.
Once we know which of all the commandments reigns over all the others, we can embrace the whole law without even needing to know the other 612. We need only dedicate our lives to these two Great Commandments and we will enter into the kingdom of God, and yes, even eternal life.
Because, according to Mark’s gospel, the kingdom of God, Jesus’ family, enters the world, when the will of God is done on earth as it is in heaven.
“Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength.”
When we talk about the Passion of Christ, this is what we mean.
Jesus’ authority comes from God because Jesus loves his Father with all his heart and all his soul and all his mind and all his strength.
Heart: This one comes first, as well it should. In this Jesus and Paul agree: the desire of the heart comes first. We are saved not by what we do, but by what we desire. There’s little hope of loving God with your soul or your mind or strength, if you don’t desire to.
Soul: When we hear a first century Jew use the word “soul” we need to think of the wholeness of our being. What we do, what we say, what we represent, our physical presence in the world. We are commanded to love God with our whole being.
Mind: Learning is essential to enter the kingdom of God. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, or even if you have some kind of disability, God commands us to love him with our minds. We do this with the study of scripture, with a regular and frequent practice of prayer, meditation, self-examination. We need to think of divine things to do divine things.
Strength: We are to love God with all our strength. Whatever power or agency we have in the world is to be directed toward God’s will. All of it.
To strive to obey this commandment is to enter into the passion of Christ, and through this passion, to channel heaven into this fragmented world.
We are blessed as disciples of Jesus to live in a society that permits us to worship as we please. But this doesn’t mean that there will not be resistance to us if we are serious about obeying the commandment. Particularly if we take its essential corollary, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The scribe got his confirmation, and publicly affirmed the authority of Jesus, noting that indeed this was more important than any of the temple rituals. The initial question had been answered, by what authority Jesus disrupted the temple.
And after that, no one dared to ask him any questions.
It’s an interesting note. I’m not sure about putting the ten commandments in classrooms, courts of law, or government buildings. But what if the second commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself” were put in those places?
What if every public school student, every attorney, every government official saw “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” every time they went to do their work?
As you imagine this, I think you can see why Jesus’ words silenced those who questioned him. It is a radically new way to think about God’s law.
The Jesus described in Mark came to establish a new kingdom on earth, one not defined by temples or cities or lands, but one defined by its justice and peace, the Spirit of God himself dwelling not in a particular city or in a temple made with hands, but in the temple of the faithful community, a community that has repented of the world’s ways to embrace a society built on love.
The gospels tell of a savior who founded a new nation. Or perhaps more accurately, one who invited a nation to reinvent itself.
The church, for better or worse, is that new nation Jesus came to found. Our dedicated members are excellent examples of striving to keep these commandments front and center.
When I see our volunteers spending their mornings taking meals to isolated and lonely seniors, I see these commandments in action. Can I get an amen?
When I see the shoes piling up in the barrel to benefit the poor in third world countries and to support families suffering domestic violence, I see the people of God obeying this commandment. Can I get an amen?
When I see our members welcoming children welcome to our children’s choir, I see these commandments at work.
When I see checks made out to Philippi Christian Church to support the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I see that passionate love for God and neighbor.
Can I get an amen!
