Near To The Kingdom

APRIL 11, 2024

 “And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:34)

This was Jesus’ answer to a certain scribe who was the last in a string of scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees who were intent upon catching Him in His words, in an all-out effort to expose Him as a fraud. Jesus had just spoken to them a parable in which a householder had let his vineyard out to some evil husbandmen who plotted the death of his son in order that they might have the vineyard for themselves. The Jewish religious leaders correctly perceived that our Lord was talking about them. After word reached them that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43-46), they called a meeting and concluded that if they did not get rid of Him, they would end up losing their place and nation. (John 11:47, 48) The parable of the wicked husbandmen made clear that He knew exactly what they were up to. They would have laid hold on Him then and there, but they feared the people. (Mark 12:12)

The only thing they felt they could do was to try to entangle Him in His talk, and thus, discredit Him in the eyes of the people. First, they sent a group made up of Pharisees and Herodians with a question about paying tribute to Caesar – whether it was lawful to do so. This He easily answered, and they marveled at Him. (Verses 13-17)

Next came some representatives of the sect of the Sadducees. They did not believe in the resurrection, so they took an example from the writings of Moses regarding a brother’s responsibility to marry a deceased brother’s wife to raise up seed to his brother. And what if the same scenario was repeated until seven brothers had taken the same woman to wife? Whose wife would she be in the resurrection? How embarrassing for the Sadducees to see how easily He solved the problem, while at the same time, exposing their ignorance of the Scriptures and the power of God. (Verses 24, 25) As a bonus, Jesus proved from Exodus 3:6 the absolute, undeniable truth of the resurrection. (Verses 26, 27) This is noteworthy because the Sadducees, who rejected much Old Testament Scripture as uninspired, did believe the Book of Moses to be God’s Word.

Finally, a scribe came with his question. But, having heard the former exchange between Christ and his interrogators, he “perceived that He had answered well.” He asked a good question, inquiring as to which commandment was the greatest of all. (Vs. 28) Jesus felt that the question was good and sincere, and He answered it in truth: “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength…And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Verses 29-31) The scribe said to our Lord, and before all his fellow religious leaders who sent him to try and catch Jesus in His words, “Well, Master, thou hast said the truth.” They must have been furious! What a traitor! They sent him to expose Jesus as a fraud, and what does he do but affirm that Jesus spoke the truth. This reminds us of the band of soldiers in John chapter seven who were sent by this same bunch to arrest Jesus. When they returned empty-handed, and the angry council demanded an account, they simply answered “Never man spoke as this man.”

Clearly, the scribe was moved by what he heard and by the One who spoke. As the man expressed his agreement, Jesus saw in him a spirit of true understanding, noting that he had answered discretely (with understanding). “Thou,” said Jesus, “art not far from the Kingdom of God.”

What did he lack? What must one who is so near to the Kingdom do? He must “press into it.” Luke says, “The Kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.” He would surely meet with opposition, so press, he must!

“I am resolved to enter the Kingdom.

Leaving the paths of sin,

Friends may oppose me, foes may beset me,

Still will I enter in.”

Virus-free.www.avast.com