Can you imagine hearing Jesus say this to you-
'THOU ART NOT FAR FROM THE KINGDOM OF GOD.'
Just imagine it! How wondrous would it be to hear those words. That particular scribe wasn't far from the kingdom of God. This, when Jesus went about saying that is wasn't good to be a scribe-
Mat_23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Scribes as a rule were not very receptive to Jesus .
This particular scribe however was receptive to the Lord's teachings.
Read the following--
Mar 12:28 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?
Mar 12:29 And Jesus answered him, THE FIRST OF ALL THE COMMANDMENTS IS, HEAR, O ISRAEL; THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD:
MAR 12:30 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.
MAR 12:31 AND THE SECOND IS LIKE, NAMELY THIS, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF. THERE IS NONE OTHER COMMANDMENT GREATER THAN THESE.
Mar 12:32 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:
Mar 12:33 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.
Mar 12:34 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.
The scribe agreed with Jesus.
To love God and to love others is MORE than ALL WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES.
The scribe said this! It was true! No wonder Jesus told him that he wasn't far from the kingdom of God. To most scribes and Pharisees the sacrificial system was everything. The form of godliness was everything. To have a scribe say that love meant more than all that was truly amazing.
Love is of God, to love and have all our actions, every single one borne out of that love is everything.
Love in every single commandment, how else could our Savior tell us this--
Joh_14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
If loving God and loving others are the greatest of all the commandments it stands to reason that loving God and loving others is found in the ten moral laws of God. Is it? We've discussed it before but let's quickly recap.
1- Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2- Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
3- Exo 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
4- Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
5- Exo 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
6- Exo 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
7- Exo 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8- Exo 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.
9- Exo 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
10- Exo 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
The first four reveal our love for God, the last six reveal our love for others.
It makes PERFECT sense!
A summation- love God, love others.
God is love!
The scribe comprehended this. The scribe knew that even though they were bound under a sacrificial system in order to be at-one with God, that the love of God made all that possible and without that love for God and man, the sacrifices meant nothing.
Our Savior became the ultimate unique Sacrifice of all Sacrifices and His death meant the end of the old sacrificial system. Perhaps the scribe was 'not far' from the kingdom because he had a little bit further to go, accepting Christ as God's Son, accepting Christ and His sacrifice.
I'd like to imagine this scribe will be one of those that will make it to the kingdom of heaven, that he will rise upon that day of Christ's return to call all of us to the kingdom with Him.
By the grace of God ALL of us will enter the kingdom to be with our SAVIOR, to be with LOVE.
Please LORD we would be in Your kingdom with You!
Let us fully comprehend the truth of Your love revealed to us perfectly in Your Ten Moral Laws all by the grace of GOD, all through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord. Help us to LOVE GOD and to LOVE OTHERS, always!
Help us, LORD. Bless us! Keep us in You!
'THOU ART NOT FAR FROM THE KINGDOM OF GOD.'
Just imagine it! How wondrous would it be to hear those words. That particular scribe wasn't far from the kingdom of God. This, when Jesus went about saying that is wasn't good to be a scribe-
Mat_23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Scribes as a rule were not very receptive to Jesus .
This particular scribe however was receptive to the Lord's teachings.
Read the following--
Mar 12:28 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?
Mar 12:29 And Jesus answered him, THE FIRST OF ALL THE COMMANDMENTS IS, HEAR, O ISRAEL; THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD:
MAR 12:30 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.
MAR 12:31 AND THE SECOND IS LIKE, NAMELY THIS, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF. THERE IS NONE OTHER COMMANDMENT GREATER THAN THESE.
Mar 12:32 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:
Mar 12:33 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.
Mar 12:34 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.
The scribe agreed with Jesus.
To love God and to love others is MORE than ALL WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES.
The scribe said this! It was true! No wonder Jesus told him that he wasn't far from the kingdom of God. To most scribes and Pharisees the sacrificial system was everything. The form of godliness was everything. To have a scribe say that love meant more than all that was truly amazing.
Love is of God, to love and have all our actions, every single one borne out of that love is everything.
Love in every single commandment, how else could our Savior tell us this--
Joh_14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
If loving God and loving others are the greatest of all the commandments it stands to reason that loving God and loving others is found in the ten moral laws of God. Is it? We've discussed it before but let's quickly recap.
1- Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2- Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
3- Exo 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
4- Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
5- Exo 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
6- Exo 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
7- Exo 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8- Exo 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.
9- Exo 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
10- Exo 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
The first four reveal our love for God, the last six reveal our love for others.
It makes PERFECT sense!
A summation- love God, love others.
God is love!
The scribe comprehended this. The scribe knew that even though they were bound under a sacrificial system in order to be at-one with God, that the love of God made all that possible and without that love for God and man, the sacrifices meant nothing.
Our Savior became the ultimate unique Sacrifice of all Sacrifices and His death meant the end of the old sacrificial system. Perhaps the scribe was 'not far' from the kingdom because he had a little bit further to go, accepting Christ as God's Son, accepting Christ and His sacrifice.
I'd like to imagine this scribe will be one of those that will make it to the kingdom of heaven, that he will rise upon that day of Christ's return to call all of us to the kingdom with Him.
By the grace of God ALL of us will enter the kingdom to be with our SAVIOR, to be with LOVE.
Please LORD we would be in Your kingdom with You!
Let us fully comprehend the truth of Your love revealed to us perfectly in Your Ten Moral Laws all by the grace of GOD, all through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord. Help us to LOVE GOD and to LOVE OTHERS, always!
Help us, LORD. Bless us! Keep us in You!
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