Not Far From The Kingdom Of God

NOT FAR FROM THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Mark 12:28-34

You've heard phrases like, "close but no cigar" or “almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades”. These communicate that getting almost there is not good enough. Jesus had an encounter with a teacher of the law in Mark 12 where at the end of the exchange, Jesus tells him he was not far from the kingdom of God. Although it was a positive statement, it was also a challenge. It's as if Jesus was saying, "you're close, but not yet there. What are you going to do now?" Let's take a look at this and see what we can take away from it.

1) Not far from the kingdom.

Mark 12:28-34, "One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions."

This passage opens with the teacher of the law coming upon a debate taking place between the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law. In chap. 11, they questioned Jesus' authority to do what he had been doing. After Jesus put them in their place, some Pharisees tried to trap him with whether it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. That didn't work. Then the Sadducees tried to trip him up regarding marriage in heaven. But no matter what they said, Jesus always had a response that shut them down.

The teacher of the law saw Jesus' wisdom and he asks him a question. Unlike those before him, he wasn't trying to test him or trip him up, he genuinely wanted to hear what Jesus had to say. Not being far from the kingdom of God starts with an acknowledgement that Jesus has something to teach me. Pride will keep us far away from the kingdom.

Nowadays, people try to "trip Jesus up" by looking for apparent contradictions in the bible. It's all for the purpose of being able to find fault with Jesus so they don't have to listen to him or be subject to him. Twisting the word of God or finding fault with the truth will keep us far away from the kingdom of God.

This teacher of the law asks Jesus what the most important commandment is. Earlier, when the religious leaders asked him to explain how he had the authority to do the things he did, Jesus didn't answer them directly, he posed a question back to them. But here, Jesus answered this teacher because he knew this man was genuine.

After hearing Jesus' answer, the teacher of the law commended him and gave a follow up statement. He recognized that loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself was more important that all burnt offerings and sacrifices. That was a wise response and Jesus told him he wasn't far from the kingdom. But why did Jesus tell him this? Let's look at a similar passage but with a few differences.

Luke 10:25-29, "On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Here we see some differences between this person's approach and the man in Mark 12. This expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. He wasn't really looking for the truth, he was looking to trip Jesus up. Sometimes when people ask questions they're not really searching for the truth, they just want to debate.