Mark 12:28

28 Then one of the Scribes, who had heard them disputing and well knew that Jesus had given them an answer to the point, and a forcible one, came forward and asked Him, "Which is the chief of all the Commandments?"

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 But as to the dead, that they rise to life, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the Bush, how God said to him, `I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?'

27 He is not the God of dead, but of living men. You are in grave error."

28 Then one of the Scribes, who had heard them disputing and well knew that Jesus had given them an answer to the point, and a forcible one, came forward and asked Him, "Which is the chief of all the Commandments?"

29 "The chief Commandment," replied Jesus, "is this: `Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord;

30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, thy whole soul, thy whole mind, and thy whole strength.'