Mark 12:28–44

The Great Commandment

^28uAnd 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?” ²⁹Jesus answered, “The most important is, ^v‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, ^wthe Lord is one. ³⁰And 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.’ ^31xThe second is this: ^y‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment ^zgreater than these.” ³²And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that ^whe is one, and ^athere is no other besides him. ³³And to love him with all the heart and with all ^bthe understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, ^cis much more than all ^dwhole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^eAnd after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

^35fAnd as ^gJesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that ^hthe Christ is the son of David? ³⁶David himself, ⁱin the Holy Spirit, declared,

^j“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies ^kunder your feet.” ’

³⁷David himself calls him Lord. So ^lhow is he his son?” And the great throng ^mheard him gladly.

Beware of the Scribes

³⁸ⁿAnd in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces ³⁹and have the best seats in the synagogues and ^othe places of honor at feasts, ^40pwho devour widows’ houses and ^qfor a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Offering

^41rAnd he sat down opposite ^sthe treasury and watched the people ^tputting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴²And a poor widow came and put in two ^usmall copper coins, which make a penny.^{6 43}And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^vthis poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. ⁴⁴For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her ^wpoverty has put in everything she had, all ^xshe had to live on.”