The topic of morality is very relevant for us now. We live in a world that has much debate on what is right and wrong. In the past, many cultures debated whether some
action was moral or immoral, but there has always been a consensus view usually. But what we have today is a unique situation in history–where there is not much of a
moral code that is ultimate.
A teacher of the law came to Jesus and posed a question. In this conversation we realize that:
WE ALL HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM
“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?’ ‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.‘ ‘The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ ‘Well said, teacher,’ the man replied. ‘You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but Him. To 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.’ When 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.” Mark 12: 28-34 (NIV)
There were 613 laws or rules the Jewish people followed in the New Testament. That was crushing, a huge burden to try to keep all those to get God’s love and blessing
(which is what they believed). So, the question is basically, Surely we don’t have to obey all 613? Surely, some of the laws are more important.
The problem we all have is: How good is good enough? Because we can’t keep the laws, they just make us guilty, condemned and oppressed. We can’t live with rules and
we know we can’t live without rules. So, maybe Jesus you can point us to just a couple of rules we really need to obey.
THERE IS A LIFE WE ALL NEED
Most commentators on this passage say that probably these people who came to Jesus were expecting Him to choose one or two of the Ten Commandments. But if Jesus
had done that, He would have been playing into the desire of the questioner. Because the question really was: Help us make some more doable rules.
Instead Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:4 and Leviticus 19:18, and says this is what the law is all about. He’s not saying just do these and forget about the rest. “All the Law
and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:40 (NIV). In other words, you can’t follow the rules and then be a harsh, ungenerous, cold,
unapproachable person. In all we do, love should lead the way. Actually, the laws just got harder, not easier, because it matters not only what we do, but how we do it.
When Jesus said that all of the law boils down to loving God and loving others, Jesus is telling why God gave the law. God gave the law to show us what is the loving
thing to do, how to live it out. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus takes the commandment: Do not murder and elevates it to–don’t hate someone either. Loving others
comes out of a heart filled with love for God. What kind of love? Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. This is language
that we only use to talk about people who are passionately in love with each other.
HOW GOOD IS GOOD ENOUGH?
“‘Well said, teacher,’ the man replied. ‘You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To 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.’ When 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.” Mark 12:32-34 (NIV)
Offerings and sacrifices will never close the gap of trying to be good enough. Jesus tells this teacher: You are not far from the Kingdom of God. Why? Two reasons:
You moved. You’ve gotten past pride, superiority and begun to understand a love relationship with God. Because you are moving toward conviction and not trying to be
good enough.
You’re not there yet. A follower of Jesus will obey the law out of a full heart, just simply trying to delight God.
Grace says: You are a sinner and there is an ultimate sacrifice. And there is only One who really offered the ultimate sacrifice for you. The Gospel’s first step is: I am more
wicked than I ever believed, and I can’t be good enough. And the second step is because of Jesus Christ I am more loved and accepted than I ever could hope. The first step
destroys pride, and the second step destroys fear.
