Message
Mark 12:30
All Your Strength
We are really getting to know this one verse, aren’t we:-
Mark 12:30
30 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
In this verse Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 6:5.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
The word in the command which we want to focus on today is “strength”.
And, as we have seen again and again, having a closer look at each of these words has revealed aspects of the verse that you just can’t see in English.
Looking at the Hebrew of Deuteronomy 6:5
(You can find the text online - the word on focus is the last Hebrew word in the verse)
The highlighted word … in Hebrew it is pronounced meode.
The highlighted word is the one translated “strength” in English – it is the least common Hebrews word you would use for the word “strength”.
Some Hebrew “strength-words” convey the idea of physical power and might.
Some Hebrew “strength-words” convey the idea of capacity and energy.
Some Hebrew “strength-words” convey the idea of having emotional strength and courage.
Meode doesn’t have these meanings. Let’s have a look at a few verses.
Regularly throughout Genesis 1 we see a pattern.
God creates on a day.
The summary of the day … “God saw that it was good”.
However, after the sixth day:-
God saw all that he had made, and it was very (meode) good. (Genesis 1:31).
Psalm 92 is a psalm which describes why we should praise God.
How great are your works, Lord, how exceeding (meode) profound your thoughts! (Psalm 92:5)
1 Kings 7 is describing the furnishings in the temple which Solomon built. When the passage talks about the bronze pots, shovels and basins …
Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because there were so many (meode meode) of them; the weight of the bronze was not ascertained.
1 King 7:47
Meode is nearly always an adjective … it gets added to a noun to give a fuller description.
Not just good … but very good.
Not just profound … but exceedingly profound.
Not just a quantity … but a “beyond measure” quantity.
So, when it comes to conveying the idea of strength, meode.
… isn’t a measure of muscle.
… it isn’t a measure of energy.
… it isn’t a measure of power.
Meode focusses on intensification; a higher level of quality; abundance.
Meode is a word that focus on moving beyond.
Meode is almost always an adjective, except for two times … two times out of 300 … when it is used as a noun. Two times when it stands all by itself as a describing word.
The first time is
Deuteronomy 6:5
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (meode).
The other time is in the context of talking about the reforms of Josiah who, at the age of 18, restored the worship of the temple and the law of God.
25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did – with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength (meode), in accordance with all the Law of Moses.
2 Kings 23:25
Josiah’s actions
Fully listening to God in repentance when the book of the law was discovered.
Removing all the false places of worship … and all the false priest … and all the false religions.
Restoring the temple as the only place of worship to the one an only God.
Josiah’s love for God had an intensity, and a higher level of quality and an abundance that moved his dedication and commitment beyond any king who came before or after … that includes King David.
Loving God with all his “beyond-strength”.
Meode.
That is how the word works in the Old Testament.
Jesus in our text takes Deuteronomy 6:5 and applies that verse …
… laying the foundation for the first commandment.
… Jesus takes that verse and applies it to His hearers.
The Scriptures in Mark 12:30 also could have chosen a number of different words that get translated as “strength”
The most common word – 120 times in the New Testament – is the Greek word dynamis
Dynamis … dynamite – you see the connection don’t you.
dynamis is “ability”.
dynamis is “power in action”.
dynamis is “mighty works”.
dynamis is “strength”.
dynamis is not the word Jesus uses.
The word which is used is the much less common Greek word - hiskus
Apart from the verses where the greatest commandment is being spoken about this word only occurs 7 times. But those seven times speak profoundly into what it means to love God with all our strength. Again, looking at a few verses.
In Ephesians 1 Paul prays a prayer.
Part of this prayer reads:-
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power (dynamis) for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength (hiskus) 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power (dynamis) and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Ephesians 1:18-21
God exerts great power to those who believe. That power is intensified and becomes the strength which raises Jesus from the dead – placing Jesus far above all earthly powers.
Hiskus is “above and beyond strength.”
Hiskus is “defeating all the worldly powers, and authorities strength.”
Hiskus is “death conquering, grave defeating, resurrection strength.”
When the first commandment calls us to love the Lord our God with all our strength – this is the type of strength Jesus had in mind.
It sounds like a strength that is so out of reach. Yet it is a strength that is totally available and accessible. Paul tells us about this in Ephesians 6.
10 Finally, be strong (endynamow) in the Lord and in his mighty power (hiskus). 11 Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers (dynamai) of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Ephesians 6:10-13
Look at all the “strength” and “power” words here!
*endynamow same word family as dynamis … means “to make strong”.
*dynamai is the verb of dynamis.
Be strong in the Lord literally translated means “know that you are a recipient of the strength that has its source in the Lord”. You have no strength in yourself, but only that which comes from God Himself. That is the “source” … for want of a better description … that is the ”source” of your power.
But – knowing that there is a source of power – and having access to the power are two separate issues.
A friend from my past, who some of you know, Craig Bennett.
Craig is an electrical engineer. Every now and then people would ask Craig to help with electrical problems. Craig told me that a very common electrical fault was, what he called, “an air-gap problem”.
In other words, you haven’t plugged it in.
That power point on your wall has the power right there. It is power backed by a system of power lines and power generation and massive infrastructure. But all that power and energy is of absolutely no benefit unless you plug the appliance in.
God in his grace has provided all that is necessary for you to know that you are the recipient of His strength.
We are created in His image.
When we rebelled and sinned at the fall God had a salvation plan.
When the time was exactly right, God sent His Son … a baby born of a virgin.
Jesus paid the price for our sin and defeated death.
God’s strength … God’s hiskus … raised Jesus from the dead.
Now that same strength … “above and beyond” … “defeating worldly powers” … “death conquering” … strength is able to be ours.
10 Finally, be strong (endynamow) in the Lord and in his mighty power (hiskus). 11 Put on the full armour of God …
Ephesians 6:10-11
How do you love God with all your strength-hiskus?
How do you bring your love for God to a greater intensity, and a higher level of quality, and an abundance that moves you beyond?
You put on the armour – God forged armour – so you can stand and stand.
Put on the Belt of Truth.
Jesus is the truth and the truth sets us free – allowing the truth to convict us daily is how we put on the belt. We don’t just put into practise the easy parts of the truth, but also those parts which call for serious transformation and repentance. The belt makes us secure.
Put on the Breastplate of Righteousness
Righteousness is at the same time
… a gift from Jesus who makes us righteous.
… a response to Jesus who calls us to live in righteous obedience.
Just as the breastplate protected the most vital organs in our body, righteousness is a vital foundation in our relationship with Jesus.
Put on the Sandals of the Gospel of Peace
Peace is “shalom” … it is a peace which comes in all circumstances and at all times regardless of what is happening around you. A peace which flows out of the reality that God has a plan and He will fulfil His purposes. When we have this gospel peace we stand on a secure footing.
Put on the Shield of Faith
Faith is the heart of our relationship with Jesus. In faith we believe all the promises. In faith we hold firm to the eternal security which is ours in Christ. When the world tries to make us doubt we stand behind this shield knowing the doubts will be extinguished.
Put on the Helmet of Salvation
Salvation comes the moment we place our trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Salvation is also the life-long journey. The greatest battlefield in this journey is our mind. It is the place which needs protection.
Put on Sword of the Spirit
The verse says it all … “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”. Even Jesus would use the Word of God as His protection – the Word is the most effective weapon against temptation.
How do you love God with all your strength?
You make sure there is not a spiritual air-gap problem between you and all the power and might that God is willing to give when we are strong in the Lord.
You put on the armour.
Not just out of mere obedience. But because you are committed to living a life of love for God which has
… a greater intensity,
… and a higher level of quality,
… and a superior abundance.
A love that is not just mere physical strength … but is “beyond-strength”.
That is how we fulfil the commandment to love God with all our strength.
Prayer
