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NASB | Mark 12:31 "The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Mark 12:31 "This is the second: 'YOU SHALL [unselfishly] LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these." [Lev 19:18] |
Bible Question:
What is/are the difference(s) between this 2nd greatest commandment and the new commandment (John 13:34)? Which should hold greater weight and coverage? If as according to Mark 12:31 "... there is no other commandment greater than these", why add a new commandment? Thanks and shalom Azure |
Bible Answer: Dear Sister Azure, The question of about what is the greatest commandment is a very ancient one in Judaism. The intellectual exercises in deliberating over the Law is a Jewish tradition that persists to this day. These deliberations, although generally more heated than that word generally connotes, are conducted formally and informally, yet the participants must comply with an accepted set of rules. (You might want to search on the web for the phrase "halakhic process.") It is somewhat analogous to the dialectic used by the ancient Greek philosophers. However, the Jewish process predates the gentile one by many centuries. What is more, although the objectives are similar, the Greeks tended to do it as a form of diversion, a kind of mental gymnastics. Whereas it is my belief that the halakhic process was originally intended as a way of discerning the very mind of God as revealed by the Scriptures... at least, originally. What we see the rabbis doing as recorded by Mark (12:28), and variously translated as "reasoning together" or "arguing,", involved just this process. When Jesus responded so well to the Sadducees (vv24-27) -- a group who cared little about the Law, let alone debating its details -- the Pharisees were present to overhear it. No doubt the debate of the resurrection had been a heated one for quite some time. (To get a feel for it, imagine trying to have a serious Biblical discussion, as you and I know them, with someone who thinks they are quite clever to ask "So who made God?") Consequently, when the Pharisaic rabbis heard this well formed reply to the Sadducees, they were intrigued. They quickly forgot about the silly and annoying Sadducees, and raised a much more sophisticated question that had occupied their own inner-circle debates. I think that this was one of the few times that the Pharisees asked the Lord Jesus a question, intent on the answer, without ulterior motive. Well, here I am going on and on, and it is getting close to my weekday bedtime. :-) Quickly, let me ask you to consider how these two incidents recording Jesus' teaching were different in terms of the people who were addressed. That is what holds the key. I hope to discuss the new commandment with you in a day or two, Lord willing. So while you think about the above, also look at what Paul has to say in Colossians 3. I believe you will find there a very valuable expansion on what Christ meant when He gave the commandment to those He would use to build His Church. In Him, Doc |