Two commandments: love God and neighbor

Text: Mark12:28-32

Sermon:

• Last week we discussed how Jesus loved his disabled brothers and sisters. He treated

them as valued members of the community before he healed them. This week, we are
continuing this discussion with this scripture.

• At the beginning of this scripture, the writer states that Jesus is visited by a teacher of the

law, that is “one skilled in Jewish law and theology scribe, expert, scholar (Mt 2.4).
Grammateus also referred to a chief executive officer of a governmental entity such as a
town official secretary, town clerk.”

• Now, with that information we must ask: Was this line of questioning from the Teacher

of the Law meant to catch Jesus in false teaching? Was the teacher trying to catch Jesus in
blasphemy? Or was the teacher asking for clarification on a subject that they did not fully
understand?

• In verse 30, we hear the phrase “Love the Lord your God.” This phrase comes from the

word “Agapao” which is related to “Agape” it means “to love unconditionally and
sacrificially as God Himself loves sinful men.” Note that agapao is a verb and by its
verbal nature calls for action. This quality of love is not an emotion but is an action
initiated by a volitional choice.

• In verse 31, we hear the phrase “Love your neighbor as yourself” This uses the same love as the previous statement. The word Neighbor “literally means near (literal use only in John 4:5), quite near, nearby = position quite close to another position.” We all meet people and are near people daily; some of them are like us and some are vastly different than us. Regardless of our differences, we are love are neighbors. We love our neighbors through actions and compassion.
• Since our neighbor is the ones that are near us and we are called out to the world, then

everybody is our neighbor. We should love our neighbor and express that love to our
neighbor. Regardless of who they are or what they look like or their financial status.
Regardless of their religious beliefs or their religious practices.

• It seems that at no point in scripture does Jesus put theology above love and compassion.

Jesus often emphasized us loving our neighbors above having the “Correct” theology.

• When our hearts show love and compassion to all our neighbors, then we are close to

God in Spirit. When we connect with people through love and understanding, we are
living in the will of God, bringing God’s love to the world.

• The teacher soon understands that God honors our love for God and our love for

neighbors more than our offerings and sacrifices. This is not to say that the offerings are
not important, but our heart for others is more important.

Conclusion: Let us be people who has a heart for others.