Mark 12:27-37

27 He is the God of the living, not of the dead. You are completely wrong!"

28 A teacher of the Law was there who heard the discussion. He saw that Jesus had given the Sadducees a good answer, so he came to him with a question: "Which commandment is the most important of all?"

29 Jesus replied, "The most important one is this: "Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. ¹

30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'

31 The second most important commandment is this: "Love your neighbor as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment more important than these two." ²

32 The teacher of the Law said to Jesus, "Well done, Teacher! It is true, as you say, that only the Lord is God and that there is no other god but he. ³

33 And you must love God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength; and you must love your neighbor as you love yourself. It is more important to obey these two commandments than to offer on the altar animals and other sacrifices to God." ⁴

34 Jesus noticed how wise his answer was, and so he told him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." ⁵ After this nobody dared to ask Jesus any more questions.

35 As Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he asked the question, "How can the teachers of the Law say that the Messiah will be the descendant of David?

36 The Holy Spirit inspired David to say: ⁶ "The Lord said to my Lord: Sit here at my right side until I put your enemies under your feet.'

37 David himself called him "Lord'; so how can the Messiah be David's descendant?" A large crowd was listening to Jesus gladly.

Cross References

• 1. 12.29, 30Deuteronomy 6.4, 5.
• 2. 12.31Leviticus 19.18.
• 3. 12.32Deuteronomy 4.35.
• 4. 12.33Hosea 6.6.
• 5. 12.28-34Luke 10.25-28.
• 6. 12.36Psalms 110.1.

Footnotes

• [a]. The Lord our God is the only Lord; [or] The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.