Not Far from the Kingdom
Jesus meets honest questions with generous truth.
The approach by which we come to Jesus with questions matters.
In the two examples before us today, the Sadducees bring a gotchya question. The legal expert rather, seems inquisitive, seeking an honest answer to an honest question.
The Sadducees’ question is theological bait. Their scenario is absurd, and their motive is clear: to trap Jesus, not to learn from him. They’re not actually interested in the resurrection; they’re interested in winning the argument. But Jesus answers not just with logic — he points them back to Scripture and reminds them of the power of God, which they’ve underestimated.
The legal expert, by contrast, seems genuinely open. His question — which commandment is most important? — is one many people have asked in good faith. Any one of us has likely spent time with such a question: Jesus, the Bible’s kinda thick — can you boil it down to a Cliff’s Notes version? Where do I even begin?
And Jesus responds with equal clarity and generosity: Love God. Love neighbor. There is no greater commandment than these.
The difference is not in how hard the question is — it’s in the posture of the heart behind it.
Jesus isn’t afraid of questions. But he’s not interested in games.
This isn’t to say that we don’t learn from Jesus’ answer to the Sadducees. There’s deep theological significance in it — the Kingdom is not what we expect in our human logic.
Though as we see from Jesus’ response to the legal expert, it also is exactly what we might hope — not far from us in our honest questions and understandings.
The difference between testing and trusting often comes down to how we ask — and whether we're ready to receive.
Mark 12:18-34
Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a widow but no children, the brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman; when he died, he left no children. The second married her and died without leaving any children. The third did the same. None of the seven left any children. Finally, the woman died. At the resurrection, when they all rise up, whose wife will she be? All seven were married to her.”
Jesus said to them, “Isn’t this the reason you are wrong, because you don’t know either the scriptures or God’s power? When people rise from the dead, they won’t marry nor will they be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like God’s angels. As for the resurrection from the dead, haven’t you read in the scroll from Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to Moses, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He isn’t the God of the dead but of the living. You are seriously mistaken.”
One of the legal experts heard their dispute and saw how well Jesus answered them. He came over and asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
Jesus replied, “The most important one is Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, You will love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.”
The legal expert said to him, “Well said, Teacher. You have truthfully said that God is one and there is no other besides him. And to love God with all of the heart, a full understanding, and all of one’s strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself is much more important than all kinds of entirely burned offerings and sacrifices.”
When Jesus saw that he had answered with wisdom, he said to him, “You aren’t far from God’s kingdom.” After that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Psalm 25:4-10
Make your ways known to me, Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth—teach it to me—because you are the God who saves me. I put my hope in you all day long. Lord, remember your compassion and faithful love—they are forever! But don’t remember the sins of my youth or my wrongdoing. Remember me only according to your faithful love for the sake of your goodness, Lord.
The Lord is good and does the right thing; he teaches sinners which way they should go. God guides the weak to justice, teaching them his way. All the Lord’s paths are loving and faithful for those who keep his covenant and laws.
Prayer
God,
Thank you for Sundays, this one in particular. From where I sit, the air is fresh, the wind is blowing, the sun is shining, the grass and the trees are as green as can be, and my tea is hot and gingery.
It’s these specifics of life that I need to remember. The big picture matters, but I often make it matter too much. Or at least, I let it overshadow the current moment with blinders to the experience before me.
So open my eyes to the life you give in this moment. Help me to begin even with the breath I’m taking this very moment.
Holy Father of all creation: I see your loving justice in Jesus of Nazareth. By your Spirit & in Christ, make me more like him.
Amen.