What does Mark 12:28-34 mean?

²⁸ And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? ²⁹ And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: ³⁰ And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. ³¹ And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. ³² And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: ³³ And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. ³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question. (Mark 12:28-34 KJV)

The Great Commandment

The scribes and Pharisees were (however bad otherwise) enemies to the Sadducees; now one would have expected that, when they heard Christ argue so well against the Sadducees, they would have supported him, as they did Paul when he appeared against the Sadducees (Acts 23:9); but it had no effect: because he did not side with them in the ceremonial aspects of religion, his agreement with them on essentials gained him no respect. Only one of them, a scribe, had enough civility to notice Christ’s answer to the Sadducees and to acknowledge that he had answered well and to the point (Mark 12:28); and we have reason to hope that he did not join with the other scribes in persecuting Christ; for here we see his sincere approach to Christ for instruction, not to tempt him, but to grow in knowledge of him.

He asked, Which is the first commandment of all? (Mark 12:28). He did not mean the first in order, but the first in importance: “Which command should we prioritize, and obedience to which will lay a foundation for obeying all the rest?” Not that any commandment of God is small (they are all from a great God), but some are greater than others, moral precepts more than rituals, and some may rightly be called the greatest of all.

Christ gave him a direct answer (Mark 12:29-31). Those who sincerely seek to know their duty will find that Christ will guide and teach them. He tells him that,

First, the greatest commandment, which includes all others, is to love God with all our heart. Where love rules in the soul, there is a readiness to obey every other duty. Love is the leading affection of the soul; love for God is the primary grace in the renewed heart. Where this love is lacking, nothing good is truly done, or done properly, or accepted, or done consistently. Loving God with all our heart will turn us from all things that compete with him for our hearts and move us to do everything that honors him and pleases him.

No commandment will feel burdensome when love has the upper hand. Jesus begins this commandment with a foundational truth (Mark 12:29): “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.” If we truly believe this, it follows that we will love him with all our heart. He is Jehovah, full of all excellence; he is our God, and we are bound to him; so we should love him, desire him, and take delight in him. And he is one Lord, so he must have all our heart; he alone has the right to us and should have complete possession of us. If he is one, our hearts must be united in love to him, and since there is no other God, no rival should be allowed to share our devotion.

Secondly, the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31), sincerely and in the same ways we love ourselves, and to show this love by doing to others as we would have them do to us. Just as we must love God more than ourselves because he is infinitely greater than we are, and must love him with all our heart because he is the one Lord, so we must love our neighbor as ourselves because we share the same nature. Our hearts are alike, and my neighbor and I are both part of humanity; if my neighbor is a fellow believer, the obligation is even stronger. Has not one God created us? (Malachi 2:10). Has not one Christ redeemed us? So Christ rightly said, “There is no other commandment greater than these,” for in these all the law is fulfilled, and if we are careful to obey these, obedience in other areas will follow.

The scribe agreed with what Christ said and commented on it (Mark 12:32-33).

1. He praised Christ’s answer: “Well, Teacher, you have said the truth.” Christ’s words needed no praise, but the scribe, being a man of influence, thought it might add credibility to Christ’s answer to commend it. It also stands as evidence against those who later accused Christ of being a deceiver, since one of their own—an educated scribe—confessed that Christ spoke the truth, and spoke it well. We must likewise affirm the truth of Christ’s words.
2. He elaborated on Christ’s point. Christ quoted the foundational truth that the Lord our God is one Lord; the scribe not only agreed, but added, “There is no other but he,” and so we must have no other god. This removes all rivals from God’s throne in our hearts. Christ gave the law of loving God with all our heart, and the scribe expanded on it, saying that it is to love God with understanding, knowing how much reason we have to love him. Our love for God must be complete and intelligent; we must love him with all our understanding—our rational faculties must lead our affections toward God. Christ said that to love God and our neighbor is the greatest commandment; the scribe added, “Yes, it is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices,” more pleasing to God and of greater benefit to us. Some believed the law of sacrifices was the greatest commandment, but this scribe agreed with Christ that the law of love is even greater, even than whole burnt offerings given purely to honor God.

Christ approved what he said and encouraged him to continue seeking truth (Mark 12:34).

1. He affirmed that the scribe understood well, as far as he had come. Jesus saw that he answered wisely, and was all the more pleased because he had recently encountered so many scribes who answered foolishly, as though they had no understanding or desire to understand. This scribe answered thoughtfully, like a rational man whose mind was not clouded, whose judgment was not biased, and whose reasoning was not trapped by the same prejudices that ensnared other scribes. He spoke like one who took time to consider and reflect.
2. He told him he was close to the kingdom of God: “You are not far from the kingdom of God,” the kingdom of grace and glory. You are on a good path to becoming a Christian, a disciple of Christ. The doctrine of Christ emphasizes these very things and is designed to bring you to them. There is hope for those who make good use of the light they have and follow it, that by God’s grace, they will be led further. What became of this scribe we are not told, but we may hope he took Christ’s hint and, having learned the greatest commandment of the law, went on to ask him or his apostles what the greatest commandment of the gospel was. Still, if he did not go further, we should not be surprised; many are not far from the kingdom of God, and yet never enter.

Now, one would think this would have encouraged many to consult Jesus, but the opposite happened: “No one dared to ask him any more questions” (Mark 12:34). Everything he said carried such authority and majesty that everyone stood in awe of him; those who wished to learn were ashamed to ask, and those who wanted to argue were afraid.