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Sermonette: The Most Important Commandment
#1882s
Clyde Finklea
Given 27-Jun-26; 23 minutes
2026-06-27
summary: Jesus' answer to the scribe in Mark 12:28-30 reveals that the greatest commandment is rooted not only in what God requires, but in who God is. By quoting the Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Christ declares that the Lord is utterly unique—without equal in nature, character, authority, or saving power—and calls His people to hear, understand, and obey this truth. Because God alone is the sovereign Creator and Redeemer, believers are commanded to love Him with unwavering, sacrificial devotion, embracing Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. This wholehearted love flows from an intimate knowledge of God and demands the complete surrender of every affection, thought, breath, ability, and purpose, leading to a deep and authentic relationship with the one true and incomparable God.
transcript:
Um, if you do not mind start up in your Bibles now to mark the 12th chapter. We're going to begin in verse 28. Mark 12:28. It says and one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, saying that he answered them well, ask him, talking about asking Jesus Christ. Uh, asking him which commandment is the most important of the, of all. Now depending on what translation you use, it may say which commandment is, what is the first commandment of all. Um, the one I just read here was out of the ESB. Um, anyway, so let's continue on here. The question that is asked by the scribes, it's supposed to be an expert in the law, by the way, was the one that was a matter of contention and constantly under debate by the Pharisees. The Pharisees had codified the law into like 248 positive commandments and 365, what they call prohibitions. Now regarding these 613 precepts, there was constant debate over which one was the most important. Now some claimed it was the positive commands and others said the negative prohibitions were more important. And as a result, the Pharisees were always describing the law in terms of light and heavy and small and great. So when they asked Jesus to command which commandment is the most important of all, I want to look here because I want to look at this word which because this, this is different. Um, I'll explain this as we go, which is not, it's not the normal Greek word for which or what. Uh, it's the Greek word that means of what sort, kind, or quality. It was not merely a question of identity as in which one, but of quality and nature. It meant which was the most important and why. So notice Jesus' answer here. He begins to answer the, I guess the why portion first. Um, because he says in verse 29, he answered and said, the most important is Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Now, but Jesus begins his, his answer with a quote actually from Deuteronomy 6 in verse 4. If you want to turn over there with me, that's fine, we are gonna, I'm going to be reading probably we will look at 6, Deuteronomy 64 and 5. Where it says, where it says there, hear, O Israel, our one God is the Lord, the Lord. In verse 5, it says, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Now, these two verses were, were part of what we call the Shima that's what the Jews call it, the, the Shima. I, I think it's probably more pronounced Shima. Uh, but it's the portion of the, of the scripture, um, Quoted both morning and evening by, by these devout Jews and, and also they are warming their phylacteries on the arm and forehead. They were worn by the Pharisees. So these verses were called the the Shamah because the first word of Deuteronomy 6 in verse 4 is here. Here is the Hebrew word shamah. To, and it literally means to hear and obey. Now the Greek word that um Jesus uses means to hear and understand. Hear and understand, O Israel. We, that is you and I as part of the church are the Israel of God. The spiritual, we are looking at this in a spiritual sense, we are the spiritual, spiritual Israel, the church, the ecclesias, the, the first fruits that, that Christ built, that he said he would build. So these words actually spiritually ring out loud and strong to us as well. Now, Jesus wants us to understand. That the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You know This is not just a number. You see, Um, it's, it's not a number, it's, it's that he is unique. He's one of a kind is what Jesus, what they are expressing here. There is no one like him and he is our God. Now we know that um that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God, so there was actually two. Uh, personalities there and the one with the call the Word became flesh and dwell among us, which we know to be Jesus Christ. So Jesus was saying here that that God is unique, he's one, he's unique, but even now we have the Father and the Son. Uh, in the God family. So when we look at this, we need to look at it in the sense of who and what he is, really is. Um, in Deuteronomy. Um, Deuteronomy 33:26, let's turn over there. And catch a, catch, catch a phrase here. Deuteronomy 33:26 says there is none like God like the God of Jeshura. Uh, now, Jeri is a symbolic name for Israel. So he, we are, we are talking about there is none like the God of Israel. It says, who rise, who rides on the heavens to your help in His Majesty in the skies. Now let's, let's just take a look go through this a little more because there is a lot of places in the scripture where it talks about this, especially in the book of Isaiah. So turn with me over to Isaiah and we will look at this in verse 43. Um, we are starting verse 43, chapter 43, excuse me. Um, In verse 10, we will start there. Isaiah 43:10 where it says, you are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me, no God was formed. Nor shall there be after me. And in verse 11, he says, I, even I am the Lord, and beside me, there is no savior. Remember, this is Jesus Christ was the one that's inspiring these writings. Verse 12 I have declared and have said and I have shown. When there was no strange God among you, therefore you are my witnesses, says the Lord, that I am God. And that was certainly what Israel was supposed to do. They were supposed to be a priestly nation and who um Who who's God that the rest of the world did not know. Remember it says that of all the families of the earth that Israel was the only one that God knew, and meaning he had an intimate personal relationship with. So the strange God that they are talking about here are false gods. These are, you know, like Satan. He's a, he's the ruler of this world, probably the God of this world as well, um. And there are other false gods, a lot of his demons pretend, they all pretend to be God, but they are not, they are no God. OK, so he says, therefore you are my witness, says Lord, that I am God. In verse 13, continue there. Yeah, before the day was, I am he. And no one delivers out of my hand, I will work, and who can, who can reverse it? I flip over a chapter to chapter 44. In uh, in verse 6. Let's catch this one right here. It says, thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his redeemer, even the Lord of hosts. I am the first and I am the last. And besides me, there is no God. Now, I want you to reference this, what he just said here with Revelation 22 and verse 13 because this Jesus Christ is speaking here again, where he says, I am Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the end, the first and the last. There is no one before him. There is not going to be anyone after him that's like him. He is completely unique. All right, let's go let's see a few more of these and let's kind of drive this home a little bit, the uniqueness of God. So Isaiah 45, let's flip over another chapter. Uh, this, these are written all through Isaiah. Isaiah 45 and we will begin in verse 5, where it says, I am the Lord and there is none else. There is no God besides me. I clothe you, though you have not known me. And in verse 6 it says that they that they may know from the rising of the sun from the west that there is none besides me. I am the Lord. There is none else. And in verse 7, we will, we will read verse 7 too. I formed the light and create darkness. He was the Creator. He created the days. In the night, I make peace and create evil or that probably calamity would be a better word, he says, I make peace and create calamity. He said, I, the Lord, do all these things. He's completely sovereign over everything. There is no one above him. There is no one like him. Now, um, drop down to verse 18 here, we will catch a few more. Verse 8 says, for thus says the Lord. The Creator of the heavens. Remember what it says there in Genesis, in Genesis one? Um, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Uh, and the word used for God there was Elowing, which is understand to be kind of a unipplural, meaning there is more than one. And we understand that now to be the Father and the son as they are, as they are today. All right. So, um, He said, the Lord is the Creator of the heavens. He Himself is God who formed the earth and made it. He has established it. He created it, not in vain. But formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord. Again, what's he's saying now Mr. Armstrong always used this, these lowered in capital letters as you'll see it is comes from the YHVH. Um, he always Said eternal, eternal one. And according to him, he would say, I am the eternal, and there is no other. Once again we see there is certainly, absolutely no one like him. Now, let's drop down to verse 22. Where he says turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else. There is no other way to the Father except through Jesus Christ, as John 6:44 tells us, um no one can come to me as Christ said, unless the Father draw him. So But he's offering, God doesn't want anyone to perish. He, he doesn't want anyone to perish. He, he wants all to come to repentance. And he's been very patient with people and dealing with uh, with uh, even, even his people Israel, who's totally and completely have rebelled against him. Um, but he still wants us to repent and turn to him and return to him and in repentance. And we know that there is coming a time right toward the end when there is going to be an innumerable multitude that's going to come out of all the nations calling upon Christ. And we know that from the Revelations, I believe it's the 7th chapter. Um, So we are looking at God, this God, he is unique. He is one of a kind. There is no one like him, and he is our God. That's the God we worship, the God of Israel. He personally chose each and every one of us, and he knows us personally. That means we have, he knows us intimately. Um, we have uh, an intimate relationship with him. He, that's what he's called us to have. And uh, you know, you got to think about that. What an awesome privilege. That, that we've been given here. I mean, what do we do to deserve that, right? And this is why I'm stating that the this commandment. Um, is the most important one of all, or maybe the greatest of all. is to know God. And to hear him and to, and with understanding and, and being obedient to Him. All right, Mark 12, let's go back there and let's finish up in verse 30. With this section. Should have told you was coming back down, but here, we will, we will read one more verse there, verse 30, and kind of look at it a little closer. He says, and you shall love. The Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul or life, and with all your mind and with all your strength. Literally verse 30 says you shall love the Lord your God. Now, let's, let's take a look at this word here, shall. Uh, for those who may not understand this, um, as a certified inspector, I dealt with a lot of, a lot of different Codes. I still do deal with, with uh, with some companies deal with different codes. Uh, now code by definition is a body of laws as a city, state, or a nation. My sister code consists of laws having legal status. It will always be considered mandatory. And Um, when the word shall is written in an article or provision that means that the article of provision is mandatory. You have no other options. Now, if the word um should you use, if the word should is used, what I should say, then that would be a recommendation, meaning that you have other options. So We have to understand that the Bible also is a coded book from God. Uh, and the same rules will apply. So this word shall means um that this statement is mandatory and there are no other options. It doesn't say you should love him with all your heart and soul and all that stuff, but no, it says you shall. This is what he requires. And that word love, of course, is the verb agao, and we all, we've heard this many times. This is the love of intelligence and purpose and of sacrifice and hard decisions, and agapeo is a willful love, a determined love that generously chooses for the interest of other people. Um, Agapeo and agape, which is the noun form, speak of a love that grows out of knowledge. It grows out of knowledge. God of knowing Him and having that intimate relationship with Him. It comes from knowing the true God and all of his greatness and uniqueness and His grace. I want to quote here from um a, a Greek scholar. Well, actually, he's a Hebrew and Greek scholar Hampton Keighley the 3rd. Uh, and I quote, he says the words uh, with all your is literally from the source of. With is the Greek preposition e which denotes origin. The point from which action or motions proceed. Furthermore, the word all means whole, entire, complete. These words with all your strongly stresses the fact that there can be no holding back or incompleteness in our commitment. To God without serious repercussions on our capacity to love Him. Now remember what Jesus said, if you're not willing to give up everything, even your life, you're not fit to be his disciple. I note that the words. With all, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Uh, I'm, I'm continuing quoting from Hannah McKeith if I should have said that, are not condensed as in with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Instead, the words with all your are repeated with equal emphasis on each faculty that we are to use in loving God, unquote. Now, let's go ahead and take a look at each of these faculties that Jesus said we are to love God with. Of course, the first one he said with the loving with all our heart. Now Hart would, would, um first of all, bring out the concept of the inner person. Uh, that which is the center of our life. Our relationship with God, He is central. Uh, God is no side issue. Uh, he's not a once a week involvement on the Sabbath. Um, he's not a genie in a bottle when we call on Him when we think we need something, you know, and we just call on Him to get it for us. Perhaps above, above all else, Hart stresses the idea of our affections, which ultimately determine our actions and our deeds. And how we treat other people. It means setting our affections on him. And Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, he said, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. It means desiring God above all else as the deer pants after the water brook, as it stated in, in, in Psalm 42:1. Now the next faculty we will look at is soul. We're to love him with all our soul. Now this is used to refer to the physical life. Uh, to love God with all our soul, life means to be willing to give one's life to God and devote it all to Him. It means to total and complete commitment. The Greek word for so literally actually here means breath. We're to love God with every breath of air that we breathe. Every day Now the next one is mind. Mind refers to our ideas and um our viewpoints perspective of life. To love God with all our mind means to submit our minds, our thought patterns, our opinions, our decisions to God's word. Uh, it means to lean not on, on our own understanding, as it says back in the proverb, but to bring every thought into obedience and captivity of the, of the Savior. That was stated by the apostle Paul, I believe. This means we act then not on what we think. Uh, or how we feel, but in accord with the facts of the word of God. It's not what we think, how we feel, but it's how what God says. So the last one here is strength. Uh, which are loving with all our strength. Now this refers to our abilities, our talents, our gifts and all of these are, are to be surrendered and devoted to Him for His glory. Um, we are not to lean on our own strength. We are to use our strength as we lean by faith on him. Every fiber of our being, every aspect of our lives is to be caught up and focused on the majesty and essence of our unique God. He is to be the reason for our being and our actions. All right, so I need to. Kind of bring this to a A close here, so. So we can, we, we should be able to or we should be beginning to see a picture forming here. God does not want us to love Him with just parts of our being, rather, with all our being. Whether our affections and desires with every breath we take. With all our thoughts being in subjection to Him, with all our abilities, gifts, and talents being used for His glorification. Not ours Then and only then will we have an intimate personal relationship with this unique God. So the first and foremost, commandment is to hear and understand that our God is unique and there is no one like Him. He is our lifegiver, life sustainer, our provider, our protector, our healer. And we are commanded to love Him with all our heart, with all our soul or life, with all our mind, and with all our strength.
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