Mark 12:30

30 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.

Mark 12:30 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 12:30

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God
Which is to be understood of the one God, Father, Son, and Spirit; for all the three divine persons are to be equally loved, being possessed of the same perfections and excellencies, and having done the same works, and having bestowed like benefits and favours upon men: and though there is now no principle of love to God in men; but, on the contrary, men are enemies to God in their minds, which appears by their wicked works; yet this commandment is still in force, and the obligation to it is the same; the fall of man, the corruption of nature, and the impotency, and even aversion in man to observe this command, do not make it null and void: and in regeneration, when God puts his laws into the heart, and writes them in the mind; love is produced in such persons, to God the Father, who has begotten them again, according to his abundant mercy; and to Christ, who has saved them from their sins; and to the blessed Spirit, who has quickened and comforted them: and this love is in some measure exercised as it should be, and as here directed to,

with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind;
that is, with all the powers and faculties of the soul; or with the affections, as under the influence and guidance of the more noble faculties of the soul, the mind, the understanding, judgment, and will: it is added here, which is not in Matthew,

and with all thy strength;
which answers to the phrase in ( Deuteronomy 6:5 ) , "with all thy might"; that is, with the greatest vehemency of affection, in the strongest expressions of it, and with all the strength of grace a man has. This passage follows the former in ( Deuteronomy 6:5 ) and is what is only cited in ( Matthew 22:37 ) , (See Gill on Matthew 22:37).

Mark 12:30 In-Context

28 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?"

29 Jesus replied, "The most important one is Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord,

30 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.

31 The second is this, You will love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these."

32 The legal expert said to him, "Well said, Teacher. You have truthfully said that God is one and there is no other besides him.

Footnotes

• [a]. Deut 6:4-5