Mark 12:28-44

A scribe asked Jesus what the most important commandment is. Jesus answered that the Lord is one and we should love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. He also said that loving your neighbor is the second. These two commands show how we should relate to God and to other people. When we love God and love His people, we will want to follow all the rest of God's commands. All the rest of God's commands hinge on loving him and loving others.


Jesus taught in the temple about the identity of the Christ in relation to David. The Christ was commonly referred to as the Son of David, but Jesus showed that David called Christ Lord. He was showing a misconception about the coming Christ in the people's minds. Until they let go of any preconceived notions about who Christ was, they would never be able to see the real Christ standing before them. We need to seek the true Christ, without bringing our own ideas of who He is to the search.


Jesus also taught about the scribes seeking positions of honor among men and keeping up appearances while at the same time taking advantage of widows. It doesn't matter how good we look to men on the outside. God isn't fooled by the show. If we pretend to be righteous and convince others that we are, and all the while we're not letting God in to change our insides, we will face greater condemnation from God. When we know the right thing to do and don't do it or just go through the motions, we have no excuse for our behavior.


Jesus watched as people came to give their offerings. When He saw a poor widow who put in just a few coins, He declared her offering to be the most. Since she gave all she had and the others were giving from their surpluses, her sacrifice was greater than anyone's. It's easy to give when we're doing well. The true mark of faithfulness is how we give when we feel we have nothing to give. Do we dig down deep and find something to give to God or do we keep whatever we have for ourselves? It is in these times that we need to trust God to provide for our needs and step out in faithfulness to give.