Mark lesson 28
Read Mark 12:28-44 – https://www.bible.com/bible/59/mrk.12.esv
Mark 12:28-34
A scribe tried his hand at stumping Jesus. He asked Him to name the
greatest commandment in the law. Jesus easily replied that it was to
love God. He added that the second was to love others. This response
demonstrated remarkable insight. Instead of choosing a specific command,
Jesus cited the principles that form the foundation for all of the
God's laws. Even the scribe had to admit that Jesus' answer was right.
1. What did Jesus say are the greatest commands? Answer: The greatest command is to _____ God, and the second greatest is to _____ your neighbor as yourself.
Mark 12:35-‐40
After weathering their barrage of questions, Jesus asked His opponents a
question: How could the Christ be both David's son and David's Lord?
This question was crucial, because the scribes' objection to Jesus was
that He (a mere man , they thought) claimed divine authority. Jesus
showed by His question that the Old Testament had predicted that the
Messiah would be both David's son (human) and David's Lord (divine).
2. How did Jesus show that the Jewish leaders misunderstood the Christ? Answer: They thought the Christ would just be David's son (that is, He would be human), but Jesus quoted a passage showing He would also be David's _____ (He would be Divine).
Mark 12:41-‐44
Jesus sat and observed people contributing to the temple treasury. He
saw many rich people deposit large offerings. He also saw an
impoverished widow give two small coins of small value. The Lord
explained that the widow had contributed more than the rich-‐-‐she put
in everything she had, while they had simply given out of their
surplus.
Note: Jesus contradicts modern views of giving: Many modern churches seem to regard large donations more highly than small ones. Some honor wealthy donors in special ways and allow them more influence in church policy; occasionally they even ridicule small contributions as unworthy of the Lord. It is clear that the Lord Himself viewed giving in a very different way. He was unimpressed by the absolute size of the offering, whether large or small, but very concerned with the attitude of the giver. To Jesus, the gift of the widow, while having almost no monetary value, was worth much more than the large and impressive donations of the rich. We need to think of riches like Jesus did.
3. How did Jesus' view of giving differ from that of most religious leaders then and now? He said the most important thing is: a) how much we give, b) the attitude with which we give, c) we must give a tenth, d) we must give as much as others give. Answer: _____