Lesson 1674

(Lesson 1674)(05-10-16) Mark 12:28-34

"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? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 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. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 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: 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. 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."

In today's quote, as a part of His answer to the scribe, Jesus pointed out that there are only two "great" commandments. He said, "There is none other commandment greater than these." The Matthew account makes the meaning of this exchange more clear, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ON THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS HANG ALL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS. (Matthew 22:37-40)

The Matthew account is more to the point of what is meant by the quote, in that it clarifies that all the other commandments, after the coming of Christ and His new law of faith, were wrapped up in just those two "great" commandments.

The apostle Paul said that if we believe in the saving power of Jesus Christ, our sins are JUSTIFIED. "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and WHOSE SINS ARE COVERED. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." (Romans 4:4-8) Therefore, those of us whom have accepted Jesus Christ as our intermediary before God, need only concern ourselves with obeying those two "great" commandments, and if we do, all the others commandments will have been also obeyed. ~