28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard Jesus
arguing with the Sadducees. Seeing that Jesus gave good answers to their
questions, he asked Jesus, “Which of the commands is most important?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important command is
this: ‘Listen, people of Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. 30 Love the
Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your
strength.’ 31 The second command is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love
yourself.’ There are no commands more important than these.”
32 The man answered, “That was a good answer, Teacher.
You were right when you said God is the only Lord and there is no other God
besides him. 33 One must love God with all his heart, all his mind, and all his
strength. And one must love his neighbor as he loves himself. These commands
are more important than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God.”
34 When Jesus saw that the man answered him wisely,
Jesus said to him, “You are close to the kingdom of God.” And after that, no
one was brave enough to ask Jesus any more questions.
How does a person love others
as much as he loves himself? Or even more? How does he show that kind of love to God? Jesus witnessed this example and pointed
it out to his disciples.
41 Jesus sat near the Temple money box and watched the
people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money. 42 Then a
poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which were only worth a few
cents.
43 Calling his followers to him, Jesus said, “I tell
you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. 44 They
gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she
had; she gave all she had to live on.”
(Mark 12, New Century Version)
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