Why Not More Questions?

Twenty-forth Sunday after Pentecost

November 8, 2015

Mark 12:34

Why Not More Questions?

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

If Jesus showed up right now, what would you say to Him?

A few things to note. First of all, you wouldn't have to say anything right away, because we'd all be on the floor, prostrate or kneeling with fear. (Almost everytime God shows up in the Bible, people are falling over with fear. As they should.)

Secondly, you'd have sometime to think, but sooner than later, Jesus would come to you and tell you not to be afraid. Maybe He'd even show you His nail-marked hands and use them to pick you up off the floor.

And lastly, if you asked Him a question that isn't in Holy Scripture, would He even answer it?

“Lord, what should I do about my government?”

Render unto Caesar.

“What should I do about my parents?”

Honor your father and mother.

“What should I do about my children?”

Love your enemies.

“Lord, what is heaven like?”

Like a wedding banquet.

“What does eternity feel like?”

He'd probably just smile.

On the other hand, Jesus' enemies loved to hammer Him with questions. Just a bit earlier they had tried to trap Him over questions about the government and the afterlife (Mark 12).

But now a new voice was heard. One of the teachers of the law, a man who devoted his life to scribing down the words of the Law of Moses, asked Jesus which command of the Law was the most important. This man spent his life writing down and re-copying the scrolls of the Old Testament. He was the ancient version of the medieval monk, using pen and ink and parchment to painstakingly recopy more editions of God's Word.

This man knew the Law of Moses that Jesus had handed down to His people at Mt. Sinai like the back of his hand. And he was deeply invested in his question:

“Which command is the most important of all?” (Mark 12:28)

Unlike a bit earlier, I don't think this wasn't a set-up question, trying to trap Jesus. He recognized Jesus' wisdom and knew His answer to this question would be wise and true. And Jesus answered well.

“This is the most important,” Jesus answered:

Listen, 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 mind, and with all your strength.

“The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)

Jesus summed up the Commandments with their essence: Love. When there is love for God, we will fear and love Him above all else, we will use His name well, and we will remember His Sabbath. When there is love for the people in our lives, we will honor our parents, watch out for the physical needs of children, we will protect and cherish all marriages and reserve sex for the married man and wife, we will respect other peoples' property and possessions and help them kept their stuff, and we will speak well of others and defend their good names. When there is love for God and our neighbors, good works abound.

When the scribe, the teacher of the law, heard Jesus' answer, he was correctly excited. He repeats back to the Good Teacher what he has just heard, because he had been listening carefully.

Then the scribe said to Him, “You are right, Teacher! You have correctly said that He is One, and there is no one else except Him. And to love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Mark 12:32-33)

It might seem bold to our ears as we hear the scribe tell Jesus that He was right. We think, “Well, duh. Of course, Jesus is right. He always right.” But this man had probably struggled with this question for a long time, and to hear this wise Rabbi confirm his own thoughts must have been electric. A eureka moment, perhaps. His answer revealed that he had always hoped that the key truth of God's promise was not sacrifice, but love for God and fellow human beings. He had correctly confessed God's Law. In a word, it demands love, relentlessly, without fail.

When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:34a)

But this man had not confessed the Gospel; he still did not have the truth that would save his soul. He was close, but not there yet. Jesus didn't tell him that he in or even near the kingdom of God. Instead He told the scribe that he was not far off from the kingdom. The only other time this expression (“not far off”) is used is when Paul is talking to a crowd of heathen philosophers in Athens (Acts 17). Jesus and Paul weren't talking to believers.

Jesus' questioner, this scribe, was right to love the Law, but he was trying to use the Law to save himself. He had dismissed the false religion of going-through-the-motions with the false religion of be-really-busy-and-full-of-love.

This false religion is tempting to us today. We reject a religion of going-through-the-motions, but we also hear the siren song that our hearts and the world coos at us: be really nice and busy and loving. Every day a famous broadcaster from Minnesota urges his national audience with his trademark: Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.® (Garrison Keillor, Writer's Almanac)

I think our deeply held hope that we can save ourselves shows up in our potential questions to Jesus. Typically our questions are the side of the spectrum that wants to know what I can do for God. This is a “good impulse” that can hurt us spiritually. Notice what happened after Jesus' final remark,

“You are not far from the kingdom of God.” . . . no one dared to question Him any longer. (Mark 12:34b)

In the Gospel of Mark, there were no more questions from the scribes or Pharisees, at least not until the illegal trial of Good Friday. Why not more questions? Why didn't they dare to ask Him anything else?

Because finally the lovers of the Law, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees understood that Jesus was never going to embrace the Law as the way of salvation. He is the Way. And so they had nothing more to say to Him. They were done with Him, the living enfleshed Word of God.

By His choice and will, we are saved from ourselves, from our sin. So it is natural we have questions. About how to live and serve, yes. About what is coming in the future, of course. But above all, let us ask Him Gospel questions, “Why did You did die for me? And when are You coming back?”

And He answers to each of us in turn, “Because I have had mercy on you and care about you above all others. And I am coming back soon.”

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners―of whom I am the worst. Alleluia! Amen!