Begin with prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you. 

Read Mark 12:18-34 in your Bible. 

As you are reading, ask the questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how as well as any repeated words or phrases. We’ll go through these together. Look for a verse(s) that stand out to you the most. The one that grabs your attention. 

Now let’s go through these questions together.

Who? Who is speaking, who is being mentioned?

Jesus, Sadducees, scribe (there is mention of a widow and the widow’s 7 brothers but that’s in an analogy) 

When?

Continuation from the previous verses. Keep on going.

Where?

Jerusalem/Temple

What? What is happening in these verses?

The Sadducees are question Jesus about the resurrection because they did not believe in it. So they posed a ridiculous question to him as they typically did with all the teachers. 

Then there is the scribe who is asking Jesus what commandment was the greatest of them all.

Why? Why is this being mentioned? Why is this/will be happening?

Sadducees didn’t believe in the doctrine of the resurrection because they only followed the first 5 books of the Bible known as the Torah. They were trying to make a point about it.

On the other hand the scribe genuinely wanted to know what Jesus thoughts were because he was impressed in how Jesus handled the Sadducees.

How does this happen/take place?

Jesus replied to each of them accordingly in a Jesus manner.

Repeated words or phrases?

Commandment, love

Before we continue any further, what verse(s) stood out to you? 

What does this mean?

The Sadducees were trying to stump Jesus about life after death. They did not believe in it because in the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) it did not specifically discuss the after life and resurrection. And remember they were firm in their believes and their way of service to God. So they came up with a scenario that would sound crazy. But life after death/heaven is something that we cannot understand in our human form. Jesus refuses to answer their little riddle by giving them a different answer. Even though they were asking about marriage in heaven, the question was not so much about marriage as much as it was about the doctrine of the resurrection. They were trying to make a point that there was no life after death. But Jesus actually makes a reference from Exodus 3 about God speaking to Moses through the burning bush that God IS the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Jesus points out that God is the God of the living and not a God of the dead.

And then there is the scribe asking about what commandment is the greatest of all the commandments. In the Old Testament, there are 613 commandments/laws. Typically the religious leaders would argue about the importance of those commandments or the laws if you will. Jesus broke down all of the commandments down to two. Love God and love others. That’s it. 

What does this mean to me?

This get simple real quick. First of all, there is life after death. We know this because Jesus was resurrected himself. And one day we will all die here on this earth and if you believe in Jesus and what he did on the cross, then you too will experience heaven. But until that day comes, Jesus told us what we need to do. 

In the Old Testament, Moses was given a list of 10 items about what Israel was to do and not to do known as the 10 Commandments. These 10 Commandments were to be followed and obey. They were the bar for moral code and conduct. And they still apply to us today. But that still leaves a whole lot of laws that God had given Israel that needed to be addressed. If you read and study those laws you will quickly see and understand that Jesus fulfilled majority of those laws by being the ultimate sacrifice that cleanses us from all of our sins. So Jesus broke it all down for us to keep it simple. The only commandments that we are to follow is to Love God and Love others. When you compare the Old Testament 10 commandments to these 2 commandments from Jesus, all of the 10 will fit into these 2 commandments. They were about loving God or about loving each other. And this is what we are to do as well. We love God, and we love people. When we do that everything else falls into place.

What verse spoke out to you and what is God trying to show you through it? Write it out in your journal. Then say a prayer and have a conversation with God about it.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I am a simple person. Thank you for giving us simple commandments to love you and to love other people. But Lord God, sometimes following these commands are difficult specifically loving people. People can be cruel and mean and very unloveable. Holy Spirit, help me to see them through your eyes. Help me love those that are difficult to love. Help me be loving even to you, Lord God. Give me those nudges when I need them at the times when I need to show love. I ask all of this in the name of Jesus. AMEN.