Our text tonight starts by emphasizing the unity of God, using the Shema from Deuteronomy 6.
It is called the “shema” from the word “to hear” – “Hear, Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.” Shema Yisrael, Yhvh Elohenu, Yhvh echad.
But having reaffirmed the central monotheistic premise of the Torah, and having reaffirmed the central ethical premise of the Torah – love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself – Jesus immediately points to the Trinitarian nature of the Godhead in verses 35-37, subverting any Unitarian interpretation of the Shema, and then subverting traditional Jewish ethics in his teaching on the widow's mite.
In other words, Mark 12:28-44 is an extended commentary on the Shema. What does it mean to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength?
Well, first you must understand who your God is – and then you must understand what it means to love him – and in the process you will learn what it means to love your neighbor!
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