17th July 2023

17th July 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read - Mark 12:28-34


Message Alan Burke 


It was the Beatles in 1967 that released the non album single ‘All you need is love’ and you know they weren’t far wrong. Ok the song written by John Lennon is fairly simplistic and repetitive but the chorus when it says ‘All you need is love’ is true. As we come to this portion in Mark’s gospel which is usually entitled ‘The Greatest Commandment’ Jesus tells a teacher of the law what is required of him and it is love, to love God and our neighbour. That is what required of us, to love and on one level it sounds simple and it would be but we all have a wee problem, one that we don’t like to talk about or even acknowledge and that is we are sinful and as sinners we fail miserably at this, to love. Yes I’ve seen some wonderful examples of love, of sacrificial love, but they all fall short of the love that is required of us to love the Lord your God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength.’ And then to ‘love our neighbour as ourself.’


This interaction in Mark’s gospel is unlike much of what has preceded it while Jesus is in the temple, this is a man, a teacher of the law who comes with a genuine desire to have his question answered by Jesus. This man was one who taught the law, he was an expert in the law and he asks the question “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”. In a sense this wasn’t an easy ask, for in the Torah, also known as the ‘book of Moses’ or the ‘Law of God’, which is the first five books of the bible there are 613 commands. Out of the 613 commands there are 365 in the negative and 248 in the positive, ie there were 365 things that you don’t do and 248 that you were to do. That’s a big list for anyone. In regard to the 613 commandments 365 things that you don’t do and 248 that you were to do what had happened over the years is that Rabi’s had sought to summarise them like a parent with the child about to go into the party when they say ‘be good’. What they had tried to do was to give a summary to live by, and the teacher of the Law is asking Jesus to give him, his own interpretation, his own summary to live by. 


Jesus responds quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 what is known as the Shema and this is what he says; 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’. This is known as the Shema, it is recited daily by Jews it is the first pice of scripture a Jewish child is taught, if you were to go to the synagogue you would hear it as the opening words as the call to worship.  Many Jews say the Shema three times a day: in the morning, in the evening and before they go to sleep.


The Shema comes as the people are about to enter the promised land and they are being given covenant stipulations, basically you keep your part of the agreement and things will be fine, you keep the decease and commands that are being given to you and all will be well, that is how the Shema is introduced, it is a covenant stipulation and how are God’s people to live. We’ll think more about the wording of the Shema and what Jesus says on Wednesday but for now in this command, what is being required of us is total devotion to the Lord. Let me ask, how’s that going for you? If you’re honest like me it’s not going too well. Yet while we may fail miserably the good news is that there is a Saviour who has done what we cannot do, the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though we fail miserably we can give thanks, that through his work, by the Spirits work of faith in us, (Rom. 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 4:6, 11, 10:3) his righteousness is imputed to us. So that when God looks at us He doesn’t see our failure to love Him, he doesn’t see our sin but the perfect righteousness of Christ. We will always fall short but Jesus has perfectly lived this out.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q100 What doth the preface of the Lord’ s prayer teach us?
The preface of the Lord’ s prayer, (which is, Our Father which art in heaven, (Matt. 6:9)) teacheth us to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, able and ready to help us; (Rom. 8:15, Luke 11:13) and that we should pray with and for others. (Acts 12:5, 1 Tim. 2:1–2)
​