Mark 12:29-34 (HCSB) 29 “This is the most important,”[n] Jesus answered: Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One.[o] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.[p][q] 31 “The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself.[r] There is no other command greater than these.” 32 Then the scribe said to Him, “You are right, Teacher! You have correctly said that He is One, and there is no one else except Him. 33 And to love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding,[s] and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any longer.
Mark 12:29-34 (TS2009) 29 And יהושע answered him, “The first of all the commands is, ‘Hear, O Yisra’ěl, יהוה our Elohim, יהוה is one. Deu_6:4. 30 ‘And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ Deu_6:5. This is the first command. 31“And the second, like it, is this, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ Lev_19:18. There is no other command greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one Elohim, and there is no other besides Him. Deu_4:35. 33 “And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the being, and with all the strength, Deu_6:5 and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is more than all the ascending offerings and offerings.” 34 And when יהושע saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the reign of Elohim.” And after that no one was bold enough to question Him.
I grew up playing a game called horseshoes. I believe that this is a southern United States created and loved game. Stakes are placed at a specific distance from one another. Participants each have 2 horseshoes and stand beside one stake and then they take turns throwing their horseshoes at the opposite stake hoping to place the U of the horseshoe around the stake in order to gain the maximum points available. If you don’t get it around the stake then you want to get it within a short distance of the stake so that you are able to accumulate some points. With every throw that is made each participant desires to always accumulate some points by getting as close to the stake as possible…if they are not able to place the U around the stake. Some points are always better than no points. Close but not there!
Horseshoes can be a lot of fun and competitive at the same time. It is an easy game to learn and an easy game to set up…..as long as you have land to set up the game. Hours and hours have been consumed by southern families and friends who have pulled out the horseshoes while participating in a gathering of loved ones. There have always been winners and losers, and there always be winners and losers of the game of horseshoes. The winners won the game/match because they accumulated the most points by sometimes getting the U on the stake and by other times getting close enough to accumulate points. The losers lost because they came close enough but were still too far away from the needed point accumulation to win the game/match. Close but not there!
As we look at the conversation that has occurred in Mark 12, we see that our Messiah has been questioned by a supposedly learned one – one educated in The Scriptures. The learned one has studied The Scriptures and is able to quote The Scriptures with some understanding. How do we know that he had some understanding? Well, our Messiah saw the he answered ‘intelligently/wisely’. You cannot answer a question wisely/intelligently without having spent some time reading and gaining an understanding of The Scriptures. Today, we have many that have no clue of what The Scriptures are really saying and how to apply Scriptural understanding to their daily lives. This learned one had some understanding but he had no application of what it is that he had read and come to understand in his daily life. Close but not there!
Family, we must learn that reading and understanding The Scriptures is important to our growth as followers of The Way. In getting our understanding in The Scriptures, putting that learning into daily practice is a sign or are signs of Whose we are and The Life that we live because of Him. If we only read and understand The Scriptures without daily putting that understanding into practice, then we are close to the Kingdom of The Father but we are NOT in The Kingdom. There are many today who are close to The Kingdom but are NOT in The Kingdom. There are many today that are close to following The Messiah but are NOT truly following Him. There are many that are close to eternal life but do NOT have it because they refuse to fully obey HIM. Close but not there!
Family, life is not about playing a game of horseshoes where you are close enough to get some points. Some points do NOT give you the victory. Some points will have you frustrated and angry because you do NOT get to where it is that you say you want to be. Some points will fool you into thinking that are you good enough to win but at the end of the game (during this life and at the end of this life) you have lost because you lived your life close to The Kingdom but you refused to enter The Kingdom. Don’t be that learned one who has all of the information that is needed to enter The Life but refuses to put all of that learning and understanding into effect in your life! Close = NOT in The Kingdom!
Scriptural References & Note:
e-Sword: Free Bible Study for the PC
Note: TS2009 is the 2009 version of The Scriptures developed by Institute For Scripture Research (https://www.isr-messianic.org/). The Scriptures is a literal bible translation that utilizes the Masoretic letters and symbols for the true name of The Father and The Son (Messiah) without utilizing replacement titles or a position created by men. In order to minimize the debate over proper name enunciation, they have elected to utilize the theologically and historically accepted symbols for Their Names and have left the enunciation to the reader and/or student. They have also approached this translation from a Hebraic perspective in lieu of a Latinized, Greek, Roman, Greco-Roman, or Hellenized perspective. Why would I be led to introduce you (or some of you) to this method of translation?
Well, let’s go to The Scriptures for the answer – 1John 19:19-20 (HCSB) 19 Pilate also had a sign lettered and put on the cross. The inscription was: JESUS THE NAZARENE THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew,[f] Latin, and Greek; and 2Romans 3:1-2 (HCSB) 1 So what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Considerable in every way. First, they were entrusted with the spoken words of God.
If the Jews (Israelites) were entrusted with The Word of God and during the time that The Messiah walked in the flesh they spoke Hebrew (some will say they spoke Aramaic), then why would we not read, understand and apply The Scriptures the Hebraic spiritual, familial, cultural, linguistic, etymological, historical and generational context? After all, they were reminded in
Jeremiah 10:1-2 (HCSB) 1 Hear the word that the Lord has spoken to[a] you, house of Israel. 2 This is what the Lord says: Do not learn the way of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
although the nations are terrified by them,
buildinglivesforeternity.com 