Mark 12:28-44
The most important one is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."
Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' house and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely."
Window's offering is out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on. So the offering rely on the heart of man, not focus on the amount of offering.
The third question is a genuine one. With 613 commandments to choose from. Jesus replies in the words of Israel's creed and Leviticus. If the Pharisees hoped for an unorthodox reply they were disappointed. The astonishing wisdom of Jesus silences his opponents - but he has not finished with them.
The scribes took the prophecy that Messiah would be a son of David literally, as a matter of physical descent. To the delight of the listening crowd. Jesus show that David's own messianic psalm makes their position untenable.
In strong contrast to the self-advertisement of the men of religion comes the little incident in verse 41-44. What counts with God is not the size of the cheque, but the amount of love and self-sacrifice it represents.
Why?
Jesus is wise to answer those questions from teachers of the law.
offering shows the amount of love and self-sacrifice.
How?
How much I love the Lord? Do I love the Lord with all I have?
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