The Greatest Command

We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise in Psalm 100, the first version of the psalm, the Scottish Psalter, page 362, the Tunis Duke Street.

Psalm 100, the first version, all people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice and say with mirth, his praise forth tell, come ye before a man rejoice, we'll stand to sing to God's praise.

All people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice, him said with mirth, his praise forth tell, come ye before them and rejoice.

Know that the Lord is God indeed, where thy daily feet did us make.

We are his hope, he doth the seed, and for his sheep he doth us take.

Oh, enter then his gates with peace, approach with joy his courts unjewed.

Praise God and bless this name always.

Please, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if

O times firm he stood

and shall proclaim to his endew.

Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer.

Let us pray.

Lord, our gracious God,

we come thankful for this day,

a day that you have given to us,

a day set aside for the great joy

and privilege and delight

of coming to worship you.

We thank you for these words

that we have sung together,

that we are joining in

with a multitude of people

who sing praise to you this day,

who come to worship you,

to hear your word,

your very voice speaking to us,

for you are one who,

your word is living and active,

as it says,

and we thank you

that there is such power

in your word

to help us in all our daily needs

and to remind us

that you are God

and there is no other.

And help us today

that we would come

to love the Lord

with all our heart

and to love our neighbour

as ourselves.

As we think of

who you are, Lord,

your greatness,

how great you are

as creator of heaven and earth,

and yet you're the one

who draws near to us,

the one who shepherds us.

And we thank you too,

Lord,

that you give us

people in our lives,

you give us people

around us,

friends and families

and neighbours

and colleagues

and even the strangers

around us, Lord.

We thank you

for the world

in which we live in,

for the billions of people

that there are in it,

and everyone is known to you.

And we pray, Lord,

that you would give

all people of this world

a sense of wonder

of who you are,

but also a sense of love

towards you.

But I ask, well, Lord,

that we would see

a people loving

their neighbours

as themselves,

that we would think

of places

where there are

such difficulties

and conflicts

and wars

and so many

terrible things happening.

We pray, Lord,

for your gospel,

the good news of God

to help in every situation.

So here is today, Lord,

look down upon us.

We thank you

for our young people.

We thank you

for a time of holiday

for the schools,

and we pray

that teachers

and pupils

and all the staff

would be refreshed

and encouraged

in this time.

May you bless

and watch over

all who come

and go over these weeks.

May you remember us

in the church here

as well as

the holiday tweenies

goes on

and the creche

goes on, Lord.

We thank you

for all who help

in these things

and for all who attend

and even today

that your spirit

will be upon us

to bless us.

Watch over us

then, we pray,

and continue with us.

It's all we ask.

We ask for the forgiveness

of our sin.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

It's good to see

the young ones out today.

I know it's a time

of holiday

and I hope you all

enjoy a good holiday,

a break from school.

Some of you

will be staying at home

over the holiday time.

Some will be going away.

But I think of holiday time

as a time

just to take our eyes

off the busyness

of what's happening

around us every day,

whether it's school work.

You maybe want to put

that away for a while.

But then you think to yourself,

well, what am I going to do?

What am I going to focus on?

It's not just going to be

sleep and eat, I hope.

I hope there's going to be

more than that.

I'm sure some of you

will be helping

just now with lambing time.

Some of you will be just

maybe out and about

doing different things.

And whether it's at home

or whether you're away,

keep your eyes out

for just different things

you might see

that you haven't seen before.

And with that in mind,

I think of just recently

I was in Edinburgh.

Hands up if you've ever

been to Edinburgh.

Anybody ever been to Edinburgh?

Yeah, there's a few hands

going up all right.

Who's been on the Royal Mile?

Anybody been on the Royal Mile?

Do you know where that is?

It's near the castle,

Edinburgh Castle.

The Royal Mile

goes up towards it.

It's that road.

Well, I was at the

free church offices,

which are just beside

the Royal Mile.

And we had meetings there.

And that's where I used

to go to college

when I was training

to be a minister as well.

And every day,

I would be walking up

and down the Royal Mile.

Not the whole mile,

but just a part of it

to get to the college.

And so when I was down

just now,

just recently,

I was thinking about

the number of times

I'd walked up and down.

And the many things

I hadn't even noticed before.

And a place I didn't often pass

when I was down in college,

but I passed this week,

was a place called

John Knox's House.

Now, anybody heard of

John Knox?

He was a very famous

Scottish minister

a very long time ago

in the 1500s.

And he was used by God

very powerfully in Scotland

for the church in Scotland.

And there was this house,

it's called

John Knox's House.

And I thought,

wow, that's interesting.

It looks a very old building.

And it is a very old building.

Apparently,

it was built in about 1470.

So that's more than

500 years ago.

He didn't always stay in it.

There was somebody else in it

before him.

And what was amazing

was on the outside

of the walls,

there was letters

in gold.

And I stopped

and I started to think,

I hadn't noticed that before.

What does it say?

Well, what it said was

to love God above all

and love your neighbour

as yourself.

And I thought,

wow, that's amazing.

Love God as yourself

and love your neighbour,

love God

and love your neighbour

as yourself.

There's a verse

from the Bible

in gold

on the side

of this house.

And it had been there

since it was built.

Now,

in Edinburgh

many years ago,

there was a fire

that destroyed

many of the buildings

around the Royal Mile.

But this one stood.

This one didn't get burnt down.

It stood

even in the midst of fire.

And there's God's word

still speaking to us.

And the Royal Mile

is called such

because

at the bottom

of the Royal Mile

is a palace,

Holyrood Palace.

And then on the top

of the hill

is Edinburgh Castle.

And between that,

the distance is a mile.

And it's called

a Royal Mile

because the royalty

would go from the palace

to the castle

and back and forth.

And I was thinking,

well, imagine

how many of these royals

and how many of the servants

and how many of the people

saw this verse?

Love God above all else

and your neighbour

as yourself.

A great reminder

to all of us

of what's important

in life.

And this is the text

we're going to be looking at

today in our service.

Love the Lord your God

with all your heart

and your neighbour

as yourself.

It doesn't matter

if you're royalty,

it doesn't matter

if you're a servant,

it doesn't matter

who you are,

this is a great command

to us all today.

So keep your eyes peeled

as to what you might see.

Many buildings,

many old places,

they very often have

Bible verses

in there somewhere.

And this one spoke to me

that week

just saying,

love God

above all else

and love your neighbour

as yourself.

So may we be able

to do that.

Well,

we're going to say

the Lord's Prayer

together now.

Let's say the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father,

which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

thy will be done

on earth

as it is in heaven.

Give us this day

our daily bread

and forgive us

our debts

as we forgive

our debtors.

And lead us

not into temptation,

but deliver us

from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power

and the glory

forever.

Amen.

We'll again

sing to God's praise.

Now we're going to sing

in Psalm 92,

again in the Scottish

Psalter version.

Psalm 92,

page 352

of the psalm books.

We're going to sing

from verse 1

down to verse 6.

The tune is Paisley.

Psalm 92 at verse 1.

To render thanks

unto the Lord

it is a comely thing

unto thy name

o thou most high

due praise

allowed to sing.

We'll sing

from verse 1

to 6.

To God's praise

we stand to sing.

Amen.

To render thanks

unto the Lord

To desert the living

And to thy name, O the Lord,

To face the life to sing

Thy loving kindness to show forth

When shines the morning light

And to declare thy faithfulness

With pleasure every night

On a tempting instrument

Upon the solitary

And on the harvest

All ensign

And gifts with melody

For thy Lord, my mighty words

Has made my heart my cloud

And I will triumph in the words

Which by thy hands were made

How great Lord, thy words teach God

Of high and deep it is

And if thy thy name

And if thy thy name

Orthrophot

We can turn together to read God's words in the Gospel of Mark, in chapter 12.

We're going to take up our reading at verse 28, reading down to verse 40.

Mark, chapter 12, at verse 28.

Mark 12 · chapter mention

In this passage we read there's a question that one of the scribes comes to Jesus with.

And what has been happening up to this point is that there have been a number of people coming with questions to Jesus, trying to catch him out.

You see at the end of chapter 11 at verse 27 there, the authority of Jesus was challenged.

They tried to catch him out on his authority.

And then in verse 13 of chapter 12, they've got a question about paying taxes to Caesar.

So they're trying to catch him out politically.

And then in verse 18, they ask about the resurrection.

They're trying to catch him out on a theological point.

So they're trying to catch Jesus out in all these different questions that they have.

But then there's a sense of change as you come into verse 28 with this question that's asked of Jesus.

And this is where we're going to focus our attention today.

So at verse 28 we read,

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another.

And seeing that he answered them well, asked him,

Which commandment is the most important of all?

Jesus answered,

The most important is,

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

The second is this,

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no other commandment greater than these.

And the scribes said to him,

You are right, teacher.

You have truly said that he is one,

and there is no other besides him.

And to love him with all the heart,

and with all the understanding,

and with all the strength,

and to love one's neighbor as oneself,

is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely,

he said to him,

You are not far from the kingdom of God.

And after that,

no one dared to ask him any more questions.

And as Jesus taught in the temple,

he said,

How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?

David himself,

in the Holy Spirit,

declared,

The Lord said to my Lord,

Sit at my right hand

until I put your enemies under your feet.

David himself calls him Lord.

So how is he his son?

And the great throng heard him gladly.

And in his teaching,

he said,

Beware of the scribes

who like to walk around in long robes,

and like greetings in the marketplaces,

and have the best seats in the synagogues,

and the places of honor at feasts,

who devour widows' houses,

and for a pretense make long prayers.

They will receive the greater condemnation.

And so on.

And may God add his blessing

to that reading from his word.

Well, let's again engage in prayer.

We'll bow our heads in a word of prayer.

Our gracious God,

we do thank you for your word.

We thank you for the wonder

of how you continue to speak to us as a people,

that you show grace towards us

as undeserving sinners.

And yet, Lord,

you still desire that mercy upon us,

that we would come and know you

and love you with all our heart.

And we pray today, Lord,

that you would bless your word,

that you would bless it

not just in our hearing here,

or to those who listen in online at home,

or who at some point come to hear this service.

We pray, Lord,

that your word will be blessed

to all ends of the earth.

For we know that you have your people

to all ends.

You have your people near and far.

That you are one who is building his church.

And we thank you, Lord,

that your kingdom comes with power.

And even in the words that we've read,

we're reminded of that kingdom

and of how this scribe who came to Jesus

with a question was told,

you are not far from the kingdom of God.

And it can often be a case

where we feel close to your kingdom.

But sometimes it's so near and yet so far.

And we pray today, Lord,

that for those who hear your voice

and feel that there is still

that little distance to be overcome,

that you would help, Lord,

that by your spirit,

you would apply your words

to each one of us

to remind us of your kingdom

and the way to your kingdom.

That is to see that you have

first loved us

and given yourself for us.

And that we would then come

to love you with all our hearts.

So bless us, Lord,

around your word today.

And remember us as a people.

Remember us here

and remember your people

throughout all ends of the earth.

So we thank you, Lord,

for the power of prayer.

We thank you for the many prayers

that will be offered up to you today.

Not just here,

but through all your people

in so many different languages

and so many different places

and so many different circumstances.

We thank you that prayer is made to you.

And we pray, Lord,

that as the hearer of prayer,

that you would answer

and answer according to your will.

And we pray, Lord,

today just to see your kingdom

come in power,

to know that power of Christ

in our midst,

to know the power

of the resurrection,

to know the power of your word

and your spirit working.

And we pray, Lord,

that indeed there would be

much blessing and rejoicing

to all ends of the earth today.

May there be rejoicing

in one sinner who repents

and one who comes

to know you and to love you.

And we thank you, Lord,

for all the kingdom work

that you are doing.

We thank you, Lord,

for the way that you remind us

that you are building your church.

We think even of the Gambia partnership.

Thankful for the very generous collection

that was made

and for the blessing that that is.

It's not just to those

who work with the Gambia partnership,

but especially to those

who receive the Bibles,

whether they're written Bibles

or audio Bibles.

We thank you, Lord,

for the great ways

that your word goes out there.

We pray that it would be blessed.

We thank you for all belonging

to our congregation here.

And indeed, throughout our island,

many people have visited there

and seen the work going on

and been involved in it.

And we pray, Lord,

that you will bless each one

and encourage them in their hearts

and help us to have

that prayerful awareness

of your people there.

We thank too of Myanmar

and Thailand at this time

with the devastating earthquakes there.

Having recently heard

of the work of the gospel in Myanmar

and thankful for your people there,

we pray for all people there just now

in the midst of the devastation

that has been brought.

The loss of life

and those still missing.

And we just pray, Lord,

for your blessing over them,

your help towards them.

There and in Thailand as well, Lord,

we just pray for even good

to come out of even these circumstances

that people would recognize

their need of you

and recognize that you alone are God

who is able to help.

We think too of the ongoing conflicts

in the Middle East and the Ukraine

and the devastation that that brings.

And we just pray, Lord, for peace.

We pray, Lord, to see

your power at work in these places.

We pray to see that, Lord,

throughout our lands,

to give wisdom and help

to those who rule over us,

to give blessing to people

throughout our nations, Lord,

to see their great need of Jesus,

a Savior who has come into this world.

I mean, as we think of Easter time

and the way the gospel is heard

in different places

and in different ways,

we thank you that there is still

that heritage in our land

that we are a Christian nation.

And though we may have drifted

very far from it,

we thank you for the Christian influences

around us,

even the testimony of your word

and of your grace

down through the years.

We pray, Lord,

that in these days

you will have mercy upon us

and turn us again towards you.

Continue to bless us

as we worship you this day,

Lord, look after us

and all our loved ones

as we commit each other

into your hands.

Remember those who are away

at this time

and those who will be coming

and going over these weeks

of holiday, Lord.

Keep people safe and travel

and watch over each one.

Remember our community,

so, Lord,

we do pray for your help

towards us as a people

in all our different needs,

those who are unwell,

those who are anxious

and afraid of the future

and what changes might come

into our lives.

We think of those

who are maybe awaiting test results

or anxious about ill health,

Lord.

We pray for help towards them.

And especially at this time,

Lord,

as we have seen so many deaths

in our communities

in this past week

and even in this day

and in the days ahead

when there are so many funerals

to take place,

Lord,

we do remember

all who mourn

and grieve at this time,

asking for your comfort

and your blessing

over each one.

Especially remember

our undertakers

at this time

and what has been

a particularly busy period,

Lord.

We pray for them,

each one,

that you will bless them

in their hearts

and in their souls.

In the midst of

seeing so much grief

and sorrow,

Lord,

we pray that

you would minister

to their hearts

and into their lives.

We pray that

for all who feel

that voice of grief

at this time,

Lord,

that you will be near

to all such

and just pray

your blessing over them.

Hear our prayers,

Lord.

Continue with us

in this day

and throughout it,

Lord,

may we be able

to lift our eyes

to Jesus

and look on him,

the one who came

to die for our sins,

but the one

who is risen,

who is ascended,

who is at the right hand

of God our Father.

And we pray

in his name

all of these things

with the forgiveness

of our sins.

In his precious name,

Amen.

We're going to sing

to God's praise again

before we turn back

to look at this passage.

We're singing in Psalm 43

in the Sing Psalms.

Psalm 43,

we'll sing the whole

of this psalm together.

Page 54 of the psalm books,

the tune is Finart.

Come,

vindicate me,

O my God,

against this nation.

Plead my cause.

Deliver me

from wicked foes

and hypocrites

who break your laws.

And then at verse 3,

it says,

send your light forth

and your truth.

Let them direct me

in your grace

and bring me

to your holy hill

and to your sacred

dwelling place.

We'll sing

the whole of this psalm

to God's praise

and we stand to sing.

Amen.

Come,

vindicate me,

O my God,

against this nation.

Plead my cause.

Deliver me

from wicked foes

and hypocrites

who break your laws.

You are my stronghold

and my God.

Why then have you

rejected me?

Why must I go

about and leave

down to the

by the enemy?

O Savior,

I've forth

found your truth.

Let them direct me

and bring me

to your holy hill

into your sacred

dwelling place.

then to God's altar

I will go

to God my joy

and my delight

and I will place you

with the hand

O God you are

O God you are

my Lord

O my

Why are you

I will cast

to my soul

Why are you

so

disturbed

in me

Trust God

for I

will

listen

yet

my

Savior

and

my

God

is

He

Amen

We can turn back to our reading in Mark chapter 12 and look at verse 28 in this section.

Mark 12 · chapter mention

Where one of the scribes came and had heard him disputing with one another and seeing that he answered them well asked him,

which commandment is the most important of all?

That's the question that we see here.

And then we see Jesus answering the question.

The most important is,

Hear O Israel,

the Lord our God,

the Lord

is one

and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

with all your soul,

with all your mind

and with all your strength.

And the second is this,

you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

What's the best bit of advice you've ever been given?

It might be something that's just stuck with you all your days since you heard it being given to you.

Not the kind of advice that says,

Why are you doing it like that?

You should do it like this.

It's that kind of annoying bit of advice we can often get frustrated with,

but a bit of advice that's been given to you and you've thought,

I need to listen to that.

But did you listen?

Are you still listening to it?

It might have been a bit of advice about planning for the future,

maybe financially planning your future.

It might have been about what job to take or not to take as you were considering that.

Maybe it's advice you're sort of hearing just now.

If you're younger and you're thinking,

What am I to do going forward?

Am I going to go to university or college?

Am I going to go to work?

What should I do?

And there's all kinds of advice being offered to you.

In the midst of all this advice that's coming your way,

the trouble is what to listen to.

And do we listen to it?

Somebody once put it like this,

The trouble with good advice is that it usually interferes with your plans.

That's often the sense that we get good advice often interferes with your plans.

And when you think of the gospel and what Jesus says to us in the gospel,

it isn't just advice.

It's not just a bit of advice in the midst of what other people are offering to us.

Here is an option for us to listen to.

It's not advice.

Yes, it's commands.

And because it's commands,

we have to ask ourselves,

Are we listening to it?

And as Jesus was speaking to the scribes and the Pharisees,

as we're reading here,

they were hearing what he was saying,

and it was almost like they were taking it as advice.

Here is an option for you.

But what Jesus was saying,

it's not advice,

it's commands.

And are you listening to these commands?

And as we think of this setting of this passage before us,

it's in the midst of Jesus' final week before the crucifixion.

And if you like,

tensions are running high.

There are those who have seen and heard what Jesus was doing.

They've marveled at him,

and many have come to follow him.

But there are those also who have seen him as more of a threat,

someone that needs to be dealt with,

someone that needs to be got rid of.

And so there's this tension that's mounting.

And ultimately,

this tension is going to come to the point where Jesus is put onto the cross,

where he's crucified.

But before you come to that point,

you see that they're trying to catch him out.

They're determined to get something that they can hold against him.

And that's what I was pointing out before we read,

as you see at the end of chapter 11 and into chapter 12,

they're trying to catch him out on all these different things.

Whether it's his authority or political ways,

paying taxes to Caesar,

who are we to pay?

Or the resurrection and questions of theology.

They're trying to catch him out.

Trying to catch him so that they can put down on him.

But Jesus, as he answers all of these challenges,

he comes to say that you do not know the Scriptures.

You do not understand what the Word of God is saying.

If you did, you wouldn't be asking these questions in this way.

But then you come into verse 28.

And there's this encounter of Jesus here,

and one of the scribes who comes up to him.

And they've heard this debate that's going on.

And you sense there's just something different here.

There's something more to this encounter than just trying to trick Jesus or catch him out.

The question that we have here is more looking from the heart.

Not to catch him out, but almost coming pleading with a help me understand kind of attitude.

We're hearing what you're saying.

And maybe it isn't just advice that we can choose whether we follow or not.

Instead, is it a command that we are to obey?

That's what's at the heart of this question.

And it's an encounter with Jesus, with Jesus meeting this man.

And he's got this question, this burning question in his heart.

He wants to understand.

So how do you come to the Word of God today?

How do you come here today?

Or how do you come as you tune in online to come and hear the Word of God?

How are you approaching Jesus?

Is it to come and find fault with him?

To find something wrong with him?

To find a reason to turn away from him?

Or are you coming with that heart, seeking to understand?

With that longing to come and see for yourself,

Jesus, help me.

Help me to understand what this means for my life.

Well, Jesus, in the midst of this question that he's asked,

gives a wonderful answer that goes right to the heart.

It goes right to the heart of what it means to be saved.

It goes right to the heart of what it means to worship.

And so what Jesus says to this man and those who are hearing,

in his hearing there as well,

it is so much to say to us today.

Even just thinking of the context of Jesus here,

on his way to Jerusalem,

on his way to the cross,

to be crucified,

knowing what's ahead of him.

How we often see he has that heart for the people,

that longing,

that they would come to understand

all that he has come to do.

How he has come to show them such a great love,

and that they are to show him that love in return.

And we want to see three things

from this passage together this morning.

And the first thing we're going to look at

is the question that's asked.

And then secondly,

we're going to look at the question answered.

And then the third thing is

we're going to think of the question applied.

So the first thing we want to look at

is the question that's asked.

And where does this question come from?

Where does this question come from?

Which commandment is the most important of all

is the question.

Where does it come from?

Well, the first thing we notice

about the question asked

is the one who asks the question.

One of the scribes came up

and heard them disputing with one another

and seeing that he answered them well,

asked him.

So who is it that's asking this question?

It's one of the scribes,

one of the teachers of the law.

He was one of those who would have been

the group who were opposed to Jesus and his teaching.

They were looking and seeing him

almost as a threat to their authority,

to their position.

They were the ones who had the law.

They were the ones who told the people

what they should do and not do.

And so Jesus is a threat to them.

And yet with him,

with this scribe,

there seems to be something different.

He came up and heard them disputing with one another

and seeing that he answered them well.

What Jesus was saying,

it stood out to him.

It made an impact on him.

It started to open his mind

to something that he was hearing,

something different

and a different way for him to see things,

seeing that he answered them well.

And that's what being in the presence

of Jesus can do to you.

It can do to us all

as we come into the presence of Jesus.

We come to hear the word of God speaking to us.

It reminds us of all that God has done well.

All that God has done for us.

What he heard from Jesus impacted upon him.

And to this day,

that is what it does to people as well.

No matter how opposed people might be at first,

the word of God is powerful to speak.

And we always need to have that

in the back of our minds.

Whatever we're doing for the Lord,

whatever we're sharing the word of God,

the word of God is powerful to speak.

We think even of that encouragement

with the Gambia partnership

and the Bibles going out there,

audio Bibles, written Bibles.

That word is powerful to speak.

A minister recently was sharing

about a home Bible study group

that we're meeting through his church.

Different parts of a city they were meeting.

And in one group,

a woman had come in who was an atheist.

She didn't believe in God at all.

And yet someone had spoken to her

and told her about this group that was meeting

and invited her along.

Probably maybe wondering,

I wonder, will she come?

After all, she's an atheist.

What interest would she have

in the things of God?

And yet she did.

She came along to this group.

Came along one week and listened.

And then she was back the next time as well.

She began to enjoy hearing about the word of God,

hearing about Jesus,

and beginning to question atheism.

Is there a God?

Could this God be real?

Is this word speaking to me

in a more powerful,

in a more meaningful way?

And that's the power

that God's word has.

That's what we see with this scribe

who came to ask this question.

He came having seen something in Jesus,

how he answered well

in all the disputes

that they had been having.

And so the second thing we see

about this man,

the question being asked,

is that what he heard

was good.

And you see that

in how he sees Jesus

and he answered them well.

It wasn't just a clever answer

that Jesus was given.

It means more than that.

But he answered them well.

There was something more powerful

about what Jesus was saying

compared to anything else

that he was hearing.

This word was full.

What Jesus was saying

had no comeback.

We see that

and how in all these different ways

he'd been asking questions.

You see at the end of this section

in verse 34,

it says,

after that no one dared

to ask him any more questions.

What Jesus was saying

was complete.

It was good.

It was full.

There was no way

of coming back against it.

And that's what we can take

for ourselves as well

of the word of God.

It gives answers to us

that are complete and full.

Even the most searching questions

that we might have.

You have to give

the word of God a chance.

So many people just dismiss

God's word.

They don't want to hear.

They think they know

the answers.

But if you're truly wondering,

what does the word of God say?

Well, give it a chance.

Have you given the word of God

a chance to speak

into your heart,

into your situation?

Or have you just pushed it away

thinking you know

the answer already?

You think to yourself,

what questions do I have

that the Bible can answer?

Well, come and see

the wonderful range of answers

that the Bible gives to us

about life,

about death,

about eternity,

about all the big issues

in life.

We find the word of God

speaks into every one of them.

It speaks truth.

It speaks well.

It speaks good.

It speaks in a way

that we have no way

of coming back against it.

You almost might come

to the point

where you dare ask

no more questions

if you're against it

because you're afraid

the answers might be given

to you.

If you could ask

one thing of the Lord,

what would it be?

What question would you

want to come and ask

the Lord?

Well, come with it.

Give the word of God

a chance to answer

those questions.

That's what this scribe does.

He has this question

that he wants to ask.

And the third thing

we see about the question

being asked,

it's a personal question.

It's something that's

very much weighing

heavy upon him.

Probably a question

he's maybe been

mulling over

in his own mind

long before he's heard

Jesus talking

at this point.

Wondering,

is this really the way

we should be living?

You see,

the question is so personal.

Which commandment

is the most important

of all?

Why is he asking that?

Why is he asking about

which commandment

is the most important

of all?

Well, because

as a scribe

he was so used to

having hundreds

of laws,

hundreds of commandments

that he taught

the people

that this is how

you are to live.

There was more than

600 laws

or commands

that the people

had to live by.

And there was

always discussion,

always debate

going on about

which were the most

important.

Some were of a

positive nature,

some of a negative

nature.

And then they were

divided into groups

of the heavy

and the light

commands.

And so they were

weighing down,

there was a heavy

burden on the people.

They couldn't agree

amongst themselves

which were the

most important

ones.

And so that's

what's behind

this question.

Which is the most,

which commandment

is the most

important

of all?

Of all the

hundreds

of commands

that we have,

which is the

most important

of all?

Which one

can we focus

on?

They loved

to debate.

debate.

They loved

to discuss

all these

different commands

but so often

they were just

weighing heavy.

And that's

often the case

with ourselves

as well.

The questions

we have

are ones

we might love

to debate

back and forth

and discuss

in different ways

but we have

to come to the

point and ask

ourselves

but which is

the most

important question?

What's the

most important

thing that we

have to focus

on?

What am I

to do?

That's what's

behind the

question that's

asked.

Which is the

most important

commandment?

Well we see

the answer

then is given.

It's the second

thing we see

the question

answered in

verse 29.

Jesus answered

the most

important is

hear O Israel

the Lord our

God the Lord

is one and

you shall

love the

Lord your

God with

all your

heart with

all your

soul with

all your

mind with

all your

strength.

And the

second is

this you

shall love

your neighbour

as yourself.

As well as

a good

question there

is a great

answer.

There is a

wonderful

answer given

and as is

often the

case with

Jesus he

doesn't bring

them something

new something

that they

might find

hard to

understand.

Instead he

reiterates

what's at

the heart

of the

gospel.

What's at

the heart

of what

they already

know from

the Old

Testament.

And what

he does

here is

bring them

right back

to the

very

teachings

that they

have

themselves.

In that

version 29

where it

says hear

O Israel

the Lord

our God

the Lord

is one.

That's a

prayer that

the Jews

had from

the Old

Testament

days.

Still have

to this

day.

It's called

the Shema.

And it's

a declaration

they make

every day

morning and

evening.

Those words

hear O

Israel the

Lord our

God the

Lord is

one.

It's a

declaration

there is

only one

God.

And it

goes right

back to

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

hear O

Israel the

Lord our

God the

Lord is

one.

Love the

Lord your

God with

all your

heart with

all your

soul with

all your

strength.

these

commandments

that I

give to

you today

are to

be upon

your

heart.

So he

takes them

right back

to the

scriptures of

the Old

Testament and

there it

is this

prayer that

they already

knew.

Hear O

Israel the

Lord your

God the

Lord is

one.

You see

in the

midst of

asking all

our questions

in life

what do I

need to

do?

Where do I

need to

go?

How can

I find

this hope

this salvation

that Jesus

offers?

It's in

his truth.

It's in

his word.

It is here

before us.

And what

Jesus does

is he sums

up for them

here this

command.

He says

basically come

back to

this because

this is the

heart of our

relationship

with God.

It's not

about the

weighing down

of law.

It's not

about the

weighing down

of trying to

keep the

hundreds of

laws that

are before

you in

order to

be right

with God.

That's

not what

it's about.

It's not

about sacrifices.

It's not

about rewards.

It's not

about any

of these

things.

It's about

love the

Lord your

God with

all your

heart.

And love

your neighbor

as yourself.

love.

You wonder

what impact

this had

on not

just on

the scribe

but on

those around.

The same

impact as

the word of

God so

often does.

Some would

listen and

some would

put it

away.

But what

Jesus is

saying to

him here

is love

is at the

heart of

it.

Love here

as you

see in

English

the word

love is

just one

word.

But when

you look

at it

in the

text

itself

in the

original

language

it's

agape

love

that we

have

here

which

is

a

love

associated

with

God

himself.

And this

is a

love that

he has

shown to

us

that is

behind

it all

because

we can

only

love

when we

see

he

first

loved

us.

And so

he's

telling us

that this

love is

a costly

love.

Just as

his love

has been

a sacrifice

that was

made.

So

our love

is to

have that

sacrifice

as well.

The

advice

the

commands

that

interfere

with

our

plans

that

is

the

ones

that

we

are

to

listen

to.

And

because

they

disrupt

our

plans

or

interfere

our

plans

it

means

there

are

things

we

have

to

leave

behind.

Attitudes

we

have

to

change.

Things

we

have

to

put

away

and

listen

instead

to

the

word

of

God.

So

you

have

this

love

that

he

speaks

of

here

and

he

says

there

is

no

other

command

greater

than

these

love

the

Lord

your

God

with

all

your

heart

love

your

neighbor

as

yourself.

God

So

as

you

hear

this

question

it

would

ask

of

them

it

asks

of

us

do

I

love

the

Lord

with

all

my

heart

do

I

love

my

neighbor

as

myself

Jesus

is

here

stripping

away

every

layer

as he

is

getting

to

their

heart

stripping

away

all

the

laws

that

they

have

tried

to

keep

all

the

things

that

they

have

tried

to

do

themselves

and

he

is

getting

to

the

core

he

is

getting

to

the

center

of

it

all

and

saying

do

you

love

the

Lord

do

you

think

your

heart

is

right

today

with

God

or

have

the

years

sort

of

put

layers

on

top

of

your

heart

where

you

think

but

I'm

a

good

person

I'm

doing

well

!

things

are

going

!

well

the

Lord

kind

of

just

strips

all

these

layers

back

think

of

it

in

this

way

you've

got

a

wooden

bench

in

the

garden

it's

been

there

maybe

20

years

and

every

year

you've

painted

it

with

a

gloss

paint

and

just

each

year

put

a

new

coat

on

top

and

you

think

to

yourself

this

bench

is

fine

this

bench

is

good

it's

lasted

for

years

but

you're

getting

to

the

stage

now

you're

thinking

well

it's

so

many

coats

of

paint

now

I

better

strip

it

right

back

to

the

wood

and

just

start

with

a

fresh

coat

again

but

to

your

horror

when

you

strip

back

all

the

layers

of

paint

you

find

the

wood

underneath

is

starting

to

rot

all

that's

been

holding

it

together

has

been

the

paint

all

these