Mark 12:28-34, The Great Commandment

²⁸ And 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?” [The question is constructed to trap Jesus into putting down some aspect of the law as less important while they are all equally binding.] ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And 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.’ [Deuteronomy 6:5. These are not different parts of a person but different ways of describing the whole person in loyal relationship with God.] ³¹ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ [Leviticus 19:18] There is no other commandment greater than these.” [The two stand together on a level all their own in relationship to all the other commandments with these hanging on them and proceeding from them. This statement directs us to understand and apply the other commandments within the context of loving God and neighbor.] ³² And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. ³³ And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions. [When humans dare to judge the claims of Jesus, they find instead that Jesus is judging them! They stand either self-condemned or justified by their attitude to him. It is not surprising that, after this, no one dared ask him another question.]