Mark 12:28-34

Mark 12:28-34

The Greatest Commandment. Before Jesus, a scribe asked concerning the greatest commandment. Here is the narrative:

Mark 12:28-34: And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one. 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.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Jesus affirmed the theology of a non-trinitarian Jewish scribe. Jesus was a practicing Jew. Jesus was a Jew who believed the same about God as the Jews. As such, first century Jews did not believe in the Trinity. The Jewish Scriptures proclaimed radical monotheism.

Deuteronomy 4:35: To you it was shown, that you might know that Yahweh is God; there is no other besides him.

Deuteronomy 4:39: know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that Yahweh is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.

Deuteronomy 6:4 [the Shema]: Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one.

Jesus did not alter the Shema Yisrael (i.e. Deuteronomy 6:4). If someone knew the Scriptures, it was a Jewish scribe. This interchange is important because of verse 32 which reads: And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him." This was a perfect opportunity for Jesus to correct him or in some way alter his monotheistic viewpoint, but he did not. Rather, Jesus affirmed it.

Trinitarian misconception. The trinitarian response is that "one" means one in "being" or "essence." That is, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one "being," because they have one basic nature or essence (Greek: homoousios, "of one essence"). It goes somewhat along the lines of a father, mother and children are one family because they are a human unit called a "family" which consists of a father, mother and children. However, here in Mark 12, the word "one" (in the Shema) is intended to mean "there is no other besides Him" (verse 32). Quite clearly, the scribe is referring to a singular, divine Person—a Who and not an essence of Many. "Yahweh is God; there is no other besides Him" (Deuteronomy 4:35).

Christ's God. Jesus identified with the Shema. When Jesus said, "Yahweh our God...," he was including himself in that declaration. Yahweh is Jesus' God as well as our God. Jesus was consistent all throughout his life on earth with regard to the Father being his God and Father. Even in the morning of his resurrection he said to Mary Magdalene, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God" (John 20:17). Jesus Christ's God was his Father alone. "You shall have no other gods besides Him" (see Exodus 20:3).