Mark 12:28 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?”
This is an interesting question and one that I believe most Christians would answer incorrectly, which makes it all the more interesting.
If asked, I suspect that most Christians would say the foremost command was to love the Lord with all their heart and second would perhaps be to love their neighbor. It seems correct, doesn't it?
Deut 6:5 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Perhaps they would say it is that thou shall have no other God before Him.
Ex 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
So what did Jesus answer to that scribe? Perhaps you are remembering that He said something about loving the Lord with all your heart?
Let's take a careful look;
Mark 12:29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD;
"HEAR, O ISRAEL!" - is a command!! "THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD" is just a statement, not a command. It is a statement about what you find if you "HEAR, O ISRAEL!"
So hearing the Lord is the foremost command and it results in the realization that the Lord your God is one Lord.
It results in more than that also, hearing Him and thus paying attention to what He personally has to say to you also results in you loving Him.
Mark 12:30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’
You see the "And you shall" part? That is a conclusion and thus what happens if you keep the foremost command to listen to Him! Now is also happens to be a command to "LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’" - but the foremost command to "HEAR, O ISRAEL!" is the command that if followed enables you to fulfill the command to ""LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART..."
So then Hearing the Lord and loving Him with all your heart pretty much go together! You can't love Him with all your heart if you don't listen to Him, and if you don't listen to Him you are not loving Him with all your heart. But the foremost and thing that must come first is the listening to Him.
You read them one after another back in Deuteronomy
Deut 6:4“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!
Deut 6:5“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
And apparently we are to take some extreme actions to make sure we know the "Hear, O Israel" command because it 'shall' results in loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, and might.
Deut 6:6“These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.
Deut 6:7“You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
Deut 6:8“You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals [on your forehead.
Deut 6:9“You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
So how did we miss it? Not only did we miss it but those before us missed it also! Isaiah wrote to them.
Isaiah 1:2 Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, “Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me.
Isaiah 1:3 “An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand.”
We need to know, that the foremost command is to hear what our Lord Jesus Christ has to say to us!! The Father said it:
Luke 9:35 Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”
We realize we are talking the same command - to listen to the Son, Jesus Christ. He and the Father are One, because He says and does only what the Father tells Him. So if we want the words God has for us we must "Listen... and hear... For the LORD speaks" If we do that and do not forget to do that then we will learn to love the Lord our God with all our heart!
It just comes down to keeping the foremost commandment
This is an interesting question and one that I believe most Christians would answer incorrectly, which makes it all the more interesting.
If asked, I suspect that most Christians would say the foremost command was to love the Lord with all their heart and second would perhaps be to love their neighbor. It seems correct, doesn't it?
Deut 6:5 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Perhaps they would say it is that thou shall have no other God before Him.
Ex 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
So what did Jesus answer to that scribe? Perhaps you are remembering that He said something about loving the Lord with all your heart?
Let's take a careful look;
Mark 12:29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD;
"HEAR, O ISRAEL!" - is a command!! "THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD" is just a statement, not a command. It is a statement about what you find if you "HEAR, O ISRAEL!"
So hearing the Lord is the foremost command and it results in the realization that the Lord your God is one Lord.
It results in more than that also, hearing Him and thus paying attention to what He personally has to say to you also results in you loving Him.
Mark 12:30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’
You see the "And you shall" part? That is a conclusion and thus what happens if you keep the foremost command to listen to Him! Now is also happens to be a command to "LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’" - but the foremost command to "HEAR, O ISRAEL!" is the command that if followed enables you to fulfill the command to ""LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART..."
So then Hearing the Lord and loving Him with all your heart pretty much go together! You can't love Him with all your heart if you don't listen to Him, and if you don't listen to Him you are not loving Him with all your heart. But the foremost and thing that must come first is the listening to Him.
You read them one after another back in Deuteronomy
Deut 6:4“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!
Deut 6:5“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
And apparently we are to take some extreme actions to make sure we know the "Hear, O Israel" command because it 'shall' results in loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, and might.
Deut 6:6“These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.
Deut 6:7“You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
Deut 6:8“You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals [on your forehead.
Deut 6:9“You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
So how did we miss it? Not only did we miss it but those before us missed it also! Isaiah wrote to them.
Isaiah 1:2 Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, “Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me.
Isaiah 1:3 “An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand.”
We need to know, that the foremost command is to hear what our Lord Jesus Christ has to say to us!! The Father said it:
Luke 9:35 Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”
We realize we are talking the same command - to listen to the Son, Jesus Christ. He and the Father are One, because He says and does only what the Father tells Him. So if we want the words God has for us we must "Listen... and hear... For the LORD speaks" If we do that and do not forget to do that then we will learn to love the Lord our God with all our heart!
It just comes down to keeping the foremost commandment
