And the scribe said to him: Well, Master, thou hast said in truth that there is one God and there is no other besides him.
και ειπεν αυτω ο γραμματευς καλως διδασκαλε επ αληθειας ειπας οτι εις εστιν και ουκ εστιν αλλος πλην αυτου
5 Church Fathers comment on this verse
The response from the scribe appears to align with the words of the Lord, as he acknowledges love for God as the highest priority, embraces the command to love his neighbor as himself, and holds the love for God and for his neighbor in greater esteem than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.
As the Lord resisted these temptations, some righteous individuals aligned with Him. One such person, although he did not recognize Him as the Messiah, acknowledged Him as a proclaimer of truth and posed a question not purely to seek understanding, but to express his agreement on a significant moral principle. “Teacher,” he inquired, “what is the greatest commandment?” Jesus replied, “It is rooted in two essential commandments: love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. The first is the foremost commandment, and the second is akin to it.” The scribe affirmed this and remarked that love surpasses all forms of sacrifice. Clearly, he grasped the essence of genuine piety.
The Lord lovingly addressed him, saying, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” This man did not earn his place in the kingdom of the Son of Man through his actions; rather, by cultivating such a mindset, he was more likely than others to recognize the need for the Redeemer and thus may come to be part of His kingdom, to which all who labor and are weary are invited.
The distinction between the accounts of Matthew and Mark lies in the portrayal of the lawyer who interrogated Christ. In Matthew's depiction, he serves as a tool of the Pharisees to test the Lord and trap Him in His words. Conversely, Mark presents the lawyer approaching Jesus after observing His adept response to the Sadducees regarding resurrection, and upon replying to Jesus, he is acknowledged for being close to the kingdom of God. This indicates that while Matthew emphasizes the implications of the lawyer's question for the Pharisaic group and their mindset, Mark highlights the personal characteristics of the questioner and how Christ's response impacted him.
What intentions did the Pharisees hold in seeking to challenge the Lord? It is challenging to surmise that they anticipated any alternative answer from Christ other than the one He provided. To unravel this, we can consider that Jesus, after addressing the lawyer, posed a question to the Pharisees to clarify that the Messiah is not merely the son of David as they believed, but also the Son of God. This suggests that the Pharisees recalled Jesus' declarations about Himself as the Son of God, which they perceived as blasphemy, claiming that there is only one God (John 10:33). They expected the Lord, in response to the inquiry about the greatest commandment, to assert the themes of faith and self-love (John 6:28-29) as the Son of God. If He had responded in such a manner, the Pharisees would have condemned Him publicly as a blasphemer and a violator of the law. Instead, He first affirms the singularity of God and subsequently emphasizes love for God as the essence and foundation of the entire moral law, underscoring that love for one’s neighbor is a vital outcome of one’s love for God (cf. 1 John 4:20-21).
The response thrilled the lawyer who had tested Jesus. In his eagerness, he momentarily overlooked the intent behind his question and the ill will of the Pharisees who had sent him. He then declared, “Indeed, Teacher, You have spoken rightly, affirming that there is only one God, and no other besides Him. Moreover, to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, as well as to love your neighbor as yourself, holds a greater value than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
Observing the earnestness of the lawyer, Christ provided him with genuine guidance, stating that the foremost commandment is to love God, with a second similar to it: 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.' The entirety of the law and the prophets is grounded in these two commandments. The lawyer concurred with this understanding, and the Savior replied, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' He was only missing belief in Christ as the Messiah.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 19 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS