The Hopeful Scribe.
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? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of
all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
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. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than
these. 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: 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. 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 scribes and Pharisees were (however bad otherwise) enemies to the
Sadducees; now one would have expected that, when they heard Christ argue
so well against the Sadducees, they would have countenanced him, as they
did Paul when he appeared against the Sadducees (Acts xxiii. 9); but it
had not the effect: because he did not fall in with them in the ceremonials
of religion, he agreeing with them in the essentials, gained him no manner
of respect with them. Only we have here an account of one of them, a scribe,
who had so much civility in him as to take notice of Christ's answer to
the Sadducees, and to own that he had answered well, and much to the purpose
(v. 28); and we have reason to hope that he did not join with the other
scribes in persecuting Christ; for here we have his application to Christ
for instruction, and it was such as became him; not tempting Christ, but
desiring to improve his acquaintance with him.
I. He enquired, Which is the first commandment of all? v. 28. He doth
not mean the first in order, but the first in weight and dignity; "Which
is that command which we ought to have in a special manner an eye to, and
our obedience to which will lay a foundation for our obedience to all the
rest?" Not that any commandment of God is little (they are all the commands
of a great God), but some are greater than others, moral precepts than
rituals, and of some we may say, They are the greatest of all.
II. Christ gave him a direct answer to this enquiry, v. 29-31. Those
that sincerely desire to be instructed concerning their duty, Christ will
guide in judgment, and teach his way. He tells him,
1. That the great commandment of all, which is indeed inclusive of all,
is, that of loving God with all our hearts. (1.) Where there is a commanding
principle in the soul, there is a disposition to every other duty. Love
is the leading affection of the soul; the love of God is the leading grace
in the renewed soul. (2.) Where this is not, nothing else that is good
is done, or done aright, or accepted, or done long. Loving God with all
our heart, will effectually take us off from, and arm us against, all those
things that are rivals with him for the throne in our souls, and will engage
us to every thing by which he may be honoured, and with which he will be
pleased; and no commandment will be grievous where this principle commands,
and has the ascendant. Now here in, Mark, our Saviour prefixes to this
command the great doctrinal truth upon which it is built (v. 29); Hear,
O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord; if we firmly believe this, it will
follow, that we shall love him with all our heart. He is Jehovah, who has
all amiable perfections in himself; he is our God, to whom we stand related
and obliged; and therefore we ought to love him, to set our affections
on him, let out own desire toward him, and take a delight in him; and he
is one Lord, therefore he must be loved with our whole heart; he has the
sole right to us, and therefore ought to have the sole possession of us.
If he be one, our hearts must be one with him, and since there is no God
besides, no rival must be admitted with him upon the throne.
2. That the second great commandment is, to love our neighbour as ourselves
(v. 31), as truly and sincerely as we love ourselves, and in the same instances,
and we must show it by doing as we would be done by. As we must therefore
love God better than ourselves, because he is Jehovah, a being infinitely
better than we are, and must love him with all our heart, because he is
one Lord, and there is no other like him; so we must love our neighbour
as ourselves, because he is of the same nature with ourselves; our hearts
are fashioned alike, and my neighbour and myself are of one body, of one
society, that of the world of mankind; and if a fellow-Christian, and of
the same sacred society, the obligation is the stronger. Hath not one God
created us? Mal. ii. 10. Has not one Christ redeemed us? Well might Christ
say, There is no other commandment greater than these; for in these all
the law is fulfilled, and if we make conscience of obedience to these,
all other instances of obedience will follow of course.
III. The scribe consented to what Christ said, and descanted upon it,
v. 32, 33. 1. He commends Christ's decision of this question; Well, Master,
thou hast said the truth. Christ's assertions needed not the scribe's attestations;
but this scribe, being a man in authority, thought it would put some reputation
upon what Christ said, to have it commended by him; and it shall be brought
in evidence against those who persecuted Christ, as a deceiver, that one
of themselves, even a scribe of their own, confessed that he said the truth,
and said it well. And thus must we subscribe to Christ's sayings, must
set to our seal that they are true. 2. He comments upon it. Christ had
quoted that great doctrine, that the Lord our God is one Lord; and this
he not only assented to, but added, "There is none other but he; and therefore
we must have no other God besides." This excludes all rivals with him,
and secures the throne in the heart entire for him. Christ had laid down
that great law, of loving God with all our hearts; and this also he explains--that
it is loving him with the understanding, as those that know what abundant
reason we have to love him. Our love to God, as it must be an entire, so
it must be an intelligent, love; we must love him with all the understanding,
ex holes tes syneseos--out of the whole understanding; our rational powers
and faculties must all be set on work to lead out the affections of our
souls toward God. Christ has said, "To love God and our neighbour is the
greatest commandment of all;" "Yea," saith the scribe, "it is better, it
is more than all whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifices, more acceptable
to God, and will turn to a better account to ourselves." There were those
who held, that the law of sacrifices was the greatest commandment of all;
but this scribe readily agreed with our Saviour in this--that the law of
love to God and our neighbour is greater than that of sacrifice, even than
that of whole-burnt-offerings, which were intended purely for the honour
of God.
IV. Christ approved of what he said, and encouraged him to proceed in
his enquiries of him, v. 34. 1. He owned that he understood well, as far
as he went; so far, so good. Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, and
was the more pleased with it, because he had of late met with so many even
of the scribes, men of letters, that answered indiscreetly, as those that
had no understanding, nor desired to have any. He answered nounechos--as
one that had a mind; as a rational intelligent man, as one that had his
wits about him; as one whose reason was not blinded, whose judgment was
not biassed, and whose forethought was not fettered, by the prejudices
which other scribes were so much under the power of. He answered as one
that allowed himself liberty and leisure to consider, as one that had considered.
2. He owned that he stood fair for a further advance; "Thou art not far
from the kingdom of God, the kingdom of grace and glory; thou art in a
likely way to be a Christian, a disciple of Christ. For the doctrine of
Christ insists most upon these things, and is designed, and has a tendency
direct, to bring thee to this." Note, There is hope of those who make a
good use of the light they have, and go as far as that will carry them,
that by the grace of God they will be led further, by the clearer discoveries
God has to make to them. What became of this scribe we are not told, but
would willingly hope that he took the hint Christ hereby gave him, and
that, having been told by him, so much to his satisfaction, what was the
great commandment of the law, he proceeded to enquire of him, or his apostles,
what was the great commandment of the gospel too. Yet, if he did not, but
took, up here, and went no further, we are not to think it strange; for
there are many who are not far from the kingdom of God, and yet never come
thither. Now, one would think, this should have invited many to consult
him: but it had a contrary effect; No man, after that, durst ask him any
question; every thing he said, was spoken with such authority and majesty,
that every one stood in awe of him; those that desired to learn, were ashamed
to ask, and those that designed to cavil, were afraid to ask.
Christ the Son and Lord of David.
35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How
say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David? 36 For David himself said
by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
till I make thine enemies thy footstool. 37 David therefore himself calleth
him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him
gladly.
Here, I. Christ shows the people how weak and defective the scribes
were in their preaching, and how unable to solve the difficulties that
occurred in the scriptures of the Old Testament, which they undertook to
expound. Of this he gives an instance, which is not so fully related here
as it was in Matthew. Christ was teaching in the temple: many things he
said, which were not written; but notice is taken of this, because it will
stir us up to enquire concerning Christ, and to enquire of him; for none
can have the right knowledge of him but from himself; it is not to be had
from the scribes, for they will soon be run aground.
1. They told the people that the Messiah was to be the Son of David
(v. 35), and they were in the right; he was not only to descend from his
loins, but to fill his throne (Luke i. 32); The Lord shall give him the
throne of his father David. The scripture said it often, but the people
took it as what the scribes said; whereas the truths of God should rather
be quoted from our Bibles than from our ministers, for there is the original
of them. Dulcius ex ipso fonte bibuntur aquæ--The waters are sweetest
when drawn immediately from their source.
2. Yet they could not tell them how, notwithstanding that it was very
proper for David, in spirit, the spirit of prophecy, to call him his Lord,
as he doth, Ps. cx. 1. They had taught the people that concerning the Messiah,
which would be for the honour of their nation--that he should be a branch
of their royal family; but they had not taken care to teach them that which
was for the honour of the Messiah himself--that he should be the Son of
God, and, as such, and not otherwise, David's Lord. Thus they held the
truth in unrighteousness, and were partial in the gospel, as well as in
the law, of the Old Testament. They were able to say it, and prove it--that
Christ was to be David's son; but if any should object, How then doth David
himself call him Lord? they would not know how to avoid the force of the
objection. Note, Those are unworthy to sit in Moses's seat, who, though
they are able to preach the truth, are not in some measure able to defend
it when they have preached it, and to convince gainsayers.
Now this galled the scribes, to have their ignorance thus exposed, and,
no doubt, incensed them more against Christ; but the common people heard
him gladly, v. 37. What he preached was surprising and affecting; and though
it reflected upon the scribes, it was instructive to them, and they had
never heard such preaching. Probably there was something more than ordinarily
commanding and charming in his voice and way of delivery, which recommended
him to the affections of the common people; for we do not find that any
were wrought upon to believe in him, and to follow him, but he was to them
as a lovely song of one that could play well on an instrument; as Ezekiel
was to his hearers, Ezek. xxxiii. 32. And perhaps some of these cried,
Crucify him, as Herod heard John Baptist gladly, and yet cut off his head.
