Mark 12:28

28 And ther came one of the scribes that had hearde them disputynge to gedder and perceaved that he had answered them well and axed him: Which is the fyrste of all the commaundemetes?

Mark 12:28 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 12:28

And one of the Scribes came
Matthew calls him a lawyer, ( Matthew 22:35 ) , an interpreter of the law, as a Scribe was:

and having heard them reasoning together;
being present at the dispute between Christ and the Sadducees, which he diligently attended to:

and perceiving that he had answered them well:
in a most beautiful manner. The Jews have adopted the very Greek word here used, and make use of it in the same sense as (Mwlaq hyl rma) ^F14, "he answered him well": or, as the gloss upon it, "praise worthily"; in a manner deserving praise; and is the same with (trmaq rypv) ^F15, "thou hast said well", or beautifully; and so the answer here was with great solidity, and judgment, and strength of argument, to their utter confusion and silence; whereby he understood he had considerable knowledge in the law, and yet was willing to try if he could not puzzle him with a question relating to it:

asked him, which is the first commandment of all?
of all the commandments in the law, moral and ceremonial.

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FOOTNOTES:

F14 T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 108. 1.
F15 Zohar in Lev. fol. 2. 3. & 15. 1.

Mark 12:28 In-Context

26 As touchynge the deed that they shall ryse agayne: have ye not redde in the boke of Moses howe in the busshe God spake vnto him sayinge: I am the God of Abraham and God of Ysaac and the God of Iacob?

27 He is not the God of the deed but the God of the livynge. Ye are therfore greatly deceaved.

28 And ther came one of the scribes that had hearde them disputynge to gedder and perceaved that he had answered them well and axed him: Which is the fyrste of all the commaundemetes?

29 Iesus answered him: the fyrste of all the comaundementes is. Heare Israel: The Lorde God is one Lorde.

30 And thou shalt love the Lorde thy God with all thy hert and with all thy soule and with all thy mynde and with all thy strength. This is the fyrste commaundement.