Mark 12:34Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

See how He has enumerated all the powers of the soul; for there is a 1living power in the soul, which He explains, when He says, With all thy soul, and to this belong anger and desire, all of which He will have us give to Divine love. There is also another power, which is called natural, to which belong nutriment and growth, and this also is all to be given to God, for which reason He says, With all thy heart. There is also another power, the rational, which He calls the mind, and that too is to be given whole to God.

Nor let it trouble us that Matthew says, that he who addressed this question to the Lord tempted Him; for it may be that though he came as a tempter, yet he was corrected by the answer of the Lord. Or at all events, we must not look upon the temptation as evil, and done with the intention of deceiving an enemy, but rather as the caution of a man who wished to try a thing unknown to him.

This question is only that which is a problem common to all skilled in the law, namely, that the commandments are differently set forth in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Wherefore He brought forward not one but two commandments, by which, as by two paps rising on the breast of the bride, our infancy is nourished. And therefore there is added, And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; the Lord thy God is one God.

He shews when he says, this is greater than all sacrifices, that a grave question was often debated between the scribes and Pharisees, which was the first commandment, or the greatest of the Divine law; that is, some praised offerings and sacrifices, others preferred acts of faith and love, because many of the fathers before the law pleased God by that faith only, which works by love. This scribe shews that he was of the latter opinion. But it continues, And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.

As the Lord resisted these temptations, some individuals of goodwill allied themselves with Him. One of them, although not acknowledging Him as the Messiah, recognized Him as a proponent of the truth and posed a question not merely to learn His perspective but to express his agreement on a significant moral issue. "Teacher," he inquired, "what is the greatest commandment?" Jesus replied, "It is twofold: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. The first is the greatest commandment, and the second is similar to it." The scribe affirmed this and added that love surpasses all forms of sacrifice. It was clear that he grasped the essence of true piety.

The distinction between the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark lies in their portrayal of the encounter between Jesus and the lawyer. In Matthew, the lawyer functions as a tool of the Pharisees, aiming to tempt Christ and ensnare Him with His words. Conversely, in Mark, the lawyer approaches Jesus after witnessing His adept handling of the Sadducees' inquiry about the resurrection. Following his own inquiry, this lawyer receives Jesus' affirmation of his closeness to the kingdom of God.

Jesus was touched by the earnestness and true passion evident in the lawyer's words, recognizing that this sinner had the potential for repentance and transformation if he maintained such an attitude toward the truth. Thus, He replied, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." Following three unsuccessful efforts to trap Jesus with a careless statement, the Pharisees, who had previously kept their distance, gathered together and moved closer to Him, yet they hesitated to pose any questions.

Observing the genuineness of the legal expert, Christ offered him profound guidance, stating that the foremost and most significant commandment is to love God, and the second, akin to it, is ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ The entirety of the law and the prophets rests upon these two commandments. The lawyer concurred with this understanding, and the Savior responded, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ What he lacked was faith in Christ as the Messiah.

"More valuable than all burnt offerings and sacrifices": focused primarily on the superficial aspects of faith, the Jewish people, particularly the Pharisees, frequently prioritized outward rituals over fundamental moral obligations of love. They believed that by adhering to these rituals, they could compensate for neglecting their moral duties and, whether consciously or not, viewed ceremonial offerings as superior to acts of love toward their fellow humans. Throughout the Old Testament, the Lord frequently admonished the Jewish people for this attitude (Isaiah 1:11 and elsewhere; Psalm 49:8 and others), yet their attachment to external practices persisted even as their inner virtues declined.