ONE OF THE teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
32“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
35While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? 36David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.”’
37David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”
The large crowd listened to him with delight.
38As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, 39and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.”
41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Original Meaning
THE DEBATES IN the temple with the enemies of Jesus continue. In this section Jesus answers a question given by a teacher of the law regarding the greatest commandment. Jesus then offers a puzzle of his own about David’s Son. This section closes with some words of denunciation from Jesus against the Jewish leaders and his observation concerning a widow’s gift in the temple.
The Greatest Commandment (12:28–34)
AFTER JESUS SILENCES the Sadducees with his argument for the resurrection, a teacher of the law, pleased with what Jesus has done, prods him with another issue, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” The question assumes a distinction among the various commands found in God’s law. Later rabbinic tradition gave the total number of commandments as 613, of which 248 were positive commands and 365 prohibitions. Some were considered to be lighter (smaller) and some weightier (greater).
This teacher is not asking which laws need to be obeyed and which can safely be ignored. He is asking, “What is the fundamental premise of the law on which all the individual commands depend?” Jesus gives an orthodox reply from the daily confession of Israel known as the Shema.1 The confession proclaims that God is the only God, and one is to love him with one’s whole being: heart, soul, mind, and strength. But one cannot love God in isolation from one’s other relationships in life. For this reason, Jesus couples the command to love God with the command to love one’s neighbor as oneself (Lev. 19:18; cf. Rom. 13:10; 15:1–2; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8).
Love is our inner commitment to God that is expressed in all our conduct and relationships. Those who do not show love to others can hardly claim to love God (see 1 John 3:14–18; 4:8, 10–12, 20–22). The statement that no other command is greater than these two can mean that the other commands simply spell out different ways in which to apply these two primary ones. Or it may be more radical: These are the only two commands that matter. A key passage in the Mishnah, ’Abot 1:2, teaches, “The world rests on three things: the Torah, sacrificial worship, and expressions of love.” Jesus does not merely set love above Torah and sacrifice, he ignores them altogether.2 Paul reflects this radical understanding in Romans 13:8 when he writes that “he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.”
The teacher of the law had applauded Jesus’ refutation of the Sadducees (12:28) and now affirms that Jesus has answered his question well (12:32). He repeats that answer and adds that these two commands are “more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” (12:33).3 This affirmation occurs in the context of Jesus’ prophetic condemnation of the temple worship when he overturned the tables (11:15–17) and before Jesus’ announcement of the temple’s destruction (13:2). It therefore provides a scribal endorsement of Jesus’ own position.
At the time Mark wrote, the temple was inaccessible for worship, either because a brutal war was going on and it was occupied by brigands and besieged by Romans or because the war had ended and the temple was reduced to ashes. The statement by the teacher of the law reinforces for Mark’s first readers that the temple cult was irrelevant for fulfilling God’s most vital demands. When people truly exude love for God and for others, they have offered the one sacrifice that is well pleasing to God. That affirmation also shows Mark’s community that those who believe that Jesus is the Christ do not deviate from the fundamental core of Jewish belief: the hope of the resurrection and God’s primary ethical demands.
Jesus only partially affirms what the teacher of the law has said. He had assumed a superior position from which he passed judgment on Jesus’ teaching. Jesus puts things in proper perspective as the final arbiter of the interpretation of the law and, what is more important, as the one who knows who is near or far from the kingdom of God. This teacher of the law is not far from the kingdom. He is not in—that is, he has not fully chosen God’s rule for himself—but he does not have far to go. This answer effectively silences the teacher. To be “in the kingdom” one must do more than simply approve of Jesus’ teaching; one must submit entirely to his authority and person. Can he make the next step and accept Jesus as the Son of David and David’s Lord?
Jesus’ Question About David’s Son (12:35–37)
JESUS NOW OFFERS a puzzle of his own about David’s Son. Hooker points out that when Jesus teaches publicly in the temple, he “comes closer to revealing his identity than anywhere else.”4 He cites the official scribal position that the Messiah is to be the Son of David.5 They are correct, but only partially. Their view needs to be supplemented because they do not fully comprehend God’s plans for the Messiah.
The teachers of the law represent teaching authority in Israel. Jesus admits they have correct theological answers, but their views always need amending. They taught that Elijah must come first, and Jesus concurs (9:11); but they were unable to recognize Elijah when he came. A teacher knows that the two greatest commands are greater than all burnt offerings and sacrifices, but he remains outside the kingdom of heaven as long as he fails to submit to Jesus’ authority (12:28–34). Now we learn that the Jewish leaders teach that the Messiah is the Son of David (12:35). The issue about the Son of David harks back to Bartimaeus’s hailing Jesus as the Son of David (10:47, 48) and to the cries of adulation when Jesus entered the city (11:10, “the coming kingdom of our father David”). It also recalls the tenants in the parable, who recognized the son as the heir, and it points forward to the crucial question raised at Jesus’ trial by the high priest, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” (14:61).
Jesus cites Psalm 110:1 to point out a conundrum. If the Messiah is the Son of David, why does David address him “by the Holy Spirit” as Lord? It is hardly customary for fathers to address their sons in this way. One expects quite the reverse. How then can the Messiah be David’s Son? Jesus leaves it to his audience to figure out the answer. The reader also must infer that David was referring to someone other than his descendants who built the dynasty after him. He must be referring to someone greater than him and to a regime greater than his.
Mark frequently challenges his readers to understand more of Jesus’ full identity by posing questions (see 4:41; 8:29; 11:28). This tantalizer serves to correct the crowd’s exultation over “the coming kingdom of our father David.” The old “imperial vision” shouted by the crowds needs correcting.6 Jesus does not wield the political and military authority of David,7 yet he is greater than the great king of Israel. The kingdom that he brings is greater than that of “our father David”; it is the kingdom of the Father.
Mark reports that the large crowd heard Jesus gladly. This response to his teaching may be less heartening than it seems. The people do not realize that Jesus subverts all of their hopes. The careful reader may remember that Herod also heard John gladly (6:20), but that did not prevent him from beheading this esteemed prophet. A crowd (perhaps composed of different persons) will soon be howling for Jesus’ crucifixion (15:13).
The Denunciation of the Teachers of the Law (12:38–40)
AFTER COMMENDING A particular teacher of the law and citing the Jewish theological leaders’ opinion about the Son of David, Jesus proceeds to denounce them as a class. First, he chastens them for their desire to wear distinguished dress—they like to parade about in long robes. What precisely these long robes were is not important. Why they wore them is—to set themselves apart from others and to augment their authority. Jesus’ authority is connected to his teaching (1:22; 11:27); theirs is connected to their clothing, which also expresses pride that hungers for honors and distinction and arrogance that flaunts its learning and position. What is worse, because they wear flowing robes in the temple, they exalt themselves in the presence of the Lord. An impressive outward appearance hides nothing from Jesus, however (see 13:1–2), and he sees through their pretense.
Jesus also condemns the longing of these teachers of the law for human adulation. They bask in the esteem bestowed on them by those of lesser status, who honor them with formal greetings (contrast 10:18!; see John 5:44; 12:43). He attacks their fight for the first seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts. Jesus demanded the opposite attitude in his disciples when they showed signs of the same egocentrism (9:35; 10:31, 43–44). The longing of the teachers of the law for prestige, however, is coupled with a calloused disregard for the poor. Those who are revered by others mistake that as a license to prey on the weak and vulnerable. They may know what the greatest commands are, but they do not fulfill them. They love recognition more than they love God, and they trample on those who are already crushed.
Jesus accuses the teachers of the law of devouring widows’ houses.8 Widows traditionally symbolized the helpless in the Old Testament, and abusing them was sternly denounced. Isaiah (in Isa. 10:1–4) warned that those who robbed widows would be destroyed.
Woe to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,
to deprive the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless.
What will you do on the day of reckoning,
when disaster comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?
Where will you leave your riches?
Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives
or fall among the slain.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.9
Finally, Jesus castigates the prayers of these teachers of the law. The temple was supposed to be a place of prayer (11:24), but Jesus attacks the motives behind their “lengthy prayers.” Prayers supposedly addressed to God are spoken to win accolades from human eavesdroppers. They do not recognize how despicable their insincerity is and fool themselves into believing that human admiration for their piety accords with God’s.
The Widow’s Offering (12:41–44)
JESUS’ PRESENCE IN the temple began with his condemnation of the buyers and sellers for the animal sacrifices and ends with his commendation of a widow who sacrifices her all for God. He situates himself opposite the treasury—probably a reference to one of thirteen shofar-chests (boxes shaped like a trumpet) that stood around the court of women rather than some special chamber (see John 8:20). The verb “to throw” suggests throwing into a chest. The Mishnaic tractate on the half-shekel dues mentions that shofar-chests were labeled for different types of offerings.10 The small amount of the widow’s contribution suggests that her gift could only go to the free-will offering, which went to the building of the temple (see Ex. 35–36; 1 Chron. 29), or for burnt offerings, from which the priests received the hides (m. Seqal. 6:6; t. Seqal. 3:8).
Jesus disregards the wealthy donors who throw in large sums that are probably announced by the loud clang they make in the trumpet bell (see Matt. 6:2). The rich were still rich even after a sizable offering. Instead, Jesus singles out a woman whose offering makes only a tiny clink. Mark describes her as “a poor widow,” not just a widow. Has she been robbed of her house? Her offering is only a pittance—two lepta. The lepton was the smallest Greek coin (Mark translates it into the smallest Roman coin, the quadrans). It had the least value of any in circulation in the time of Jesus.11 Jesus praises this woman for giving “all she had to live on.” While religious leaders may prefer the large gifts, in the divine currency exchange these can swiftly deflate to nothing. God cares not about the money but about the giver’s heart. The woman gives God all of her heart, soul, and substance. Jesus is about to make an even greater sacrifice.
The resounding of the trumpet when the rich toss in their silver dwarfs the tinkling of the widow’s two coins. But her sacrificial devotion eclipses their perfunctory donations. The rich give from their abundance, but they do not sacrifice their abundance. This poor widow gives all that she has to live on, which is next to nothing. Her unassuming piety sharply contrasts with the conspicuous impiety of the scribes in the preceding denunciation. She shows radical trust in God to provide for her and gives what is surplus for this day to God.
Bridging Contexts
MARK IDENTIFIES JESUS’ third questioner as “a teacher of the law.” One might expect him to be as hostile as the Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees before him, because Mark has told us that the high priests and teachers of the law were seeking how to destroy him (11:18). These teachers have also opposed Jesus before (2:6–7; 3:22), and Jesus’ life ends as they, along with the chief priests, taunt him while he suffers on the cross (15:22). But even enemies may be near the kingdom and ready to be instructed.12 One may find common ground with sworn enemies and should never write them off. The fundamental principles that governed Jesus’ ministry—unconditional love of God and neighbor—were not unique to him. They derive from Scripture, and any who honor Scripture can recognize this fact. The question is whether they will also recognize that Jesus is the fulfillment of the hopes of Israel detailed in Scripture.
The touching story of the widow and her two copper coins has been used as an example of sacrificial giving. I would not disagree that one can interpret this text beneficially in this way. This woman is a classic example of one who loves God with everything she has. She contrasts with the rich because she is impoverished. She contrasts with the teachers of the law who revel in their mystique as learned and pious. As another victim who has fallen through what safety net there was, she has no honor in this society. She still loves God, however, and will sacrifice all that she has for her whole living in service to God.
One can draw three lessons from her example. (1) Jesus commends those who give because they seek God, not because they seek benefits from God (see 1 Tim. 5:5). (2) So-called little gifts, which count as nothing among humans, may eclipse those gifts that have value into the millions. One cannot build magnificent buildings like this temple with its great stones (13:1) on the meager gifts of widows. But Jesus singles out her offering as the most significant. It reminds us that even the poorest “can make a worthy offering to God.”13 (3) If one assumes that the rich were offering God their tithes, this incident reveals a problem with tithing, which focuses on how much we give and allows us to ignore how much we keep for ourselves. The widow serves as a model for the sacrificial discipleship that Jesus requires (see 10:21). It may cost disciples who live through the woes catalogued in the next discourse their whole livelihood.14
One can give this incident a quite different spin, which laments that this widow gives so sacrificially to this den of thieves. The woman is to be praised, but giving sacrificially to a corrupt, spiritually bankrupt, and oppressive temple is to be lamented.15 She exhibits unquestioning devotion to the temple, a fruitless cause that exploits her. The high priests live in luxury on their cut from the contributions made by the poor. Hers is a misguided gesture, a case of the poor giving to the rich, the victim lining the pockets of the oppressor. The costs to operate this extravagant temple are therefore one of the things that “devour the resources of the poor.”16
The temple, in other words, has become a place where widows are robbed (see Isa. 1:14–17, where the prophet connects God’s rejection of sacrifice to their injustice to widows and orphans). Now that she has given all she has, what will happen to her? Who in the temple hierarchy will help her? What will happen to all the money? Will some of it be used to bribe Judas to betray his master? She throws away her living for the sake of the temple. The temple overlords will throw away Jesus’ life to preserve their power base. The new community centered around Jesus places a priority on people rather than cultic rituals and grand edifices that are subject to destruction. What is important is the demonstration of humble faith, sacrificial devotion to God, and care for the poor and needy (1 Tim. 5:16; James 1:27).
Contemporary Significance
OUR LOVE FOR God is a response to God’s love for us. Israel confessed that the one true God was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not some generic god. Christians confess that this God is also the one who meets us in Jesus Christ. It is impossible to love with all our heart some New Age principle or some cosmic force. We can, however, give our whole life to a personal God who has first loved us in such dramatic fashion as to send the beloved Son to give his life for us.
God does not love only certain portions of us, but the whole person; therefore, we are to love God with our whole selves. God does not save us by fractions, and we are not to offer to God a mere fraction of ourselves. Jesus warns elsewhere that as the slave cannot serve two masters, so it is impossible to divide our allegiance between two masters, God and Mammon (Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:13). We will be ruled by one or the other. The one who is double-minded will inevitably fall sway to Mammon. One cannot seek power, wealth, empire, and sensual gratification and at the same time be submissive to God’s will.
Those who present to God a few moments worship in church once a week while ignoring God in the rest of life—at work, at home, at play—will suffer from a religious schizophrenia. Those who try to straddle the fence by allotting God only token love while maintaining a bosom friendship with the world are doomed to be frustrated in this world and doomed in the world to come. With God, it is all or nothing. Love cannot be tithed like money. Few can honestly sing “All to Jesus I Surrender,” but God requires nothing less.
(1) We must love God with all our heart. In the Bible, the “heart” is more than a pumping station. It is the command center of the body, where decisions are made and plans are hatched. It is the center of our inner being, which controls our feelings, emotions, desires, and passions. The heart is where religious commitment takes root. It is in our innermost being, where we decide for or against God. We can give assent with our mind and lips, but it is the telltale heart that betrays our true loyalties (7:6).
The elder brother in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son provides a good example of this. Unlike his younger brother, he stayed home and obeyed his father’s every command (Luke 15:29). But his heart was not in it, or else he would not have begrudged his father’s joy at the return of a lost son. He performed his duties with the heart of a slave, not as a loving son. Deep within he probably longed to be in the far country too. Jesus said that where our treasure is, there our heart will be (Matt. 6:21), and God expects to be the centerpiece.
Everyone perceived the teachers of the law as models of those who loved God. But Jesus saw through their religious showmanship and examined their hearts. They were in love with themselves, their position, and their financial and religious success. The widow was destitute and without honor, but she showed that she loved God no less for it.
Jesus also taught that what really defiles a person is what comes out of the heart—evil thoughts, evil deeds, and doubt (7:21–22). It is in our hearts where our belief and commitment to God take root. Consequently, the new creation must begin in the heart (Ezek. 11:19). This word is particularly applicable for a generation of persons who ramble aimlessly through life and give their hearts to everything and nothing. Those who give their hearts completely to God have set themselves on a spiritual magnetic north, which will keep them from ever being lost.
(2) We must love God with all our soul. God gave breath to the soul of humans. The “soul” is the source of vitality in life. It is the motivating power that brings strength of will. Together with the heart, the soul determines conduct. When we are commanded to love God with all our soul, it refers to the power of our lives. The apostle Paul provides a good example of someone who loved God with all his soul. All of his energies were focused on pursuing God’s purposes in his life. He wrote, “But one thing I do” (Phil. 3:13). It was this commitment that drove him to do and suffer all that he did for Christ (see 2 Cor. 11:23–29). His soul was so consumed by God that he was constrained to preach, to press on, and to fight the good fight. Those who love God with all their soul will, like Paul, commit all of their energy and strength to him.
(3) We must love God with all our mind. The “mind” is the faculty of perception and reflection that directs our opinions and judgments. Our love for God requires more than an emotional response or a swirl of activity in God’s name. We must love God with our intelligence. The statement, “I would rather feel compunction than know how to define it,” is on target. But God does not want us to check our minds in the vestibule when we enter to worship. Thinking about our faith is not something to fear; it is a requirement. God has no use for lazy minds.
What can God do with those who are content to remain forever in spiritual kindergarten and never progress beyond “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayers? The early Christians were tough-minded. They not only outlived and outdied their enemies; the writings of the New Testament testify that they also outthought them. They read, studied, wrote, and served God with all their minds. Christians today should not be conformed to the thinking of this world (Rom. 12:2), but they do little to advance the faith if others can easily dismiss them as ignoramuses.17 We need to commit our minds to God so that we can offer our society the vital “know why” to all our impressive “know how.”
(4) We must love God with all our strength. “Strength” refers to one’s physical capacities, including one’s possessions. The widow provides the best example of this love. She did not come to the temple to recite prayers, she gave all that she had to live on. The rich gave God what they skimmed off the top of their abundance. She gave out of her lack and did not worry about what she would have left over.
(5) We must also love our neighbors as ourselves. This command assumes a healthy egoism and encourages an enlightened self-interest. We want others to deal with us according to their highest ideals rather than according to our merits. In the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37), Jesus expands the definition of neighbor to include those whom we would write off as enemies. One can never ask, “Who is my neighbor?” because the question implies that there is such a thing as a non-neighbor. Whoever needs me is my neighbor, and we express love with active compassion and justice.
Loving our neighbor does not mean that we never confront them with their evil. Jesus did not shy away from offending the powerful religious establishment. He attacked their hypocrisy and injustice. Kierkegaard followed that offensive example in calling the Danish priests paid by the state “parasites, quacks, counterfeiters, cannibals, knavish tradesmen.”18 Jesus zeroed in on the contrived authority, the dress for success mentality, and the pomposity of the Jewish leaders. They exulted in the testimonials to their righteousness, which was duly registered by their plaques and medals.
Paul Minear asks, “Is there any society which does not grant these recognitions, or which does not encourage the desire for them?”19 Jesus would answer that the church should not. James also condemns this dangerous attitude (James 2:1–7). When Mr. Goldfinger comes to the assembly, he is given special treatment, flattery, perks such as special valet parking, and a special couch to sit on. This is the way one may expect to be treated at an expensive boutique, but not in a church. The reason people fawn over the rich and honorable is not because they love them but because they want to win their favor. The poor, on the other hand, are treated with contempt because people ask themselves, “What can they ever contribute to us?” Jesus looked at things from God’s vantage point. The gleaming reputations of the pious and wealthy were stained by a mean-spirited oppression of the helpless poor. The widow, however, was rich in faith, the only thing that counts with God. She had the only honor worth striving for.
Jesus therefore concludes his stint in the temple with one last public protest against hypocritical worship and social abuses. Howard Thurman points out that many Negro spirituals were protest songs. One such protest song is familiar.
I got shoes, you got shoes
All God’s chillun got shoes.
When we get to Heaven
We’re goin’ to put on our shoes
An’ shout all over God’s Heaven
Thurman writes that before the next line these slaves, who many times did not have shoes and had no freedom to shout or walk all over God’s earth, would look up at the big house where the master lived and sing:
But everybody talking about Heaven
Ain’t going there.20