Mark 12:28–44

THE PRIMARY COMMANDS

²⁸One^q of the scribes^r approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all?”

²⁹Jesus answered, “The most important^E is Listen, Israel! The Lord^s our God, the Lord^t is one.^{F 30}Love^u the Lord your God^v with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, ^w and with all your strength.^{GHx 31}The second is, Love your neighbor ^y as yourself.^Iz There is no other command^aa greater than these.”

³²Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher. You have correctly said that he is one, and there is no one^ab else except him.^{ac 33}And to love^ad him with all your heart, with all your understanding,^j and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”^ae

³⁴When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”^af And no one dared^ag to question him any longer.

THE QUESTION ABOUT THE MESSIAH

³⁵While^ah Jesus was teaching in the temple, he asked,^ai “How can the scribes^aj say that the Messiah^ak is the son of David?^{al 36}David^am himself says by the Holy Spirit:^an

The Lord^ao declared to my Lord,

‘Sit at my right hand^ap

until I put your enemies under your feet.’^Aaq

³⁷David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How, then, can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

WARNING AGAINST THE SCRIBES

³⁸He^ar also said in his teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes^as and who want greetings in the marketplaces,^{at 39}the best seats^au in the synagogues,^av and the places of honor^aw at banquets.^{ax 40}They devour^ay widows’^az houses and say long prayers^ba just for show. These will receive harsher judgment.”

THE WIDOW’S GIFT

⁴¹Sitting^bb across from the temple treasury,^bc he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich^bd people were putting in large sums. ⁴²Then a poor^be widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. ⁴³Summoning his disciples,^bf he said to them, “Truly I tell you,^bg this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.^{bh 44}For they all gave out of their surplus,^bi but she out of her poverty^bj has put in everything she had^bk—all she had to live on.”^bl