Not far from the kingdom

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“When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” 
(Mark 12:34, NIV)

On the Tuesday of Holy Week, Jesus spent a great deal of time in the temple, teaching his disciples and debating with those around him. In particular, different groups of religious leaders come to question Jesus and try and catch him out. They ask him about tricky topics such as paying taxes to the Romans, how marriage will work in the resurrection, and generally question Jesus’ authority to teach. Not only does Jesus demonstrate powerful wisdom as he answers their traps, but he also shows the infinite patience of God in dealing with them.

One of the final questions is about the greatest commandment from the law. Jesus famously replies that the greatest commandment is to love God with all we are and all we have, and that following close behind is the command to love our neighbour as ourself. The teacher who asked the question acknowledges Jesus’ answer as full of wisdom, because loving God is better than all religious activities.

Jesus then tells him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” I always wonder what happened to that man after this. Did he take the next step into the kingdom? Did he know what the next step was?
We tend to think that ‘not far from the kingdom’ means that there was some small task left for him to do. One more thing for him to understand. But I don’t think that’s what Jesus actually meant. The teacher of the law had recognised that loving God was the most important thing. Would he recognise that the God he loved was standing right in front of him?

Jesus tells this man he is not far from the kingdom because the king was right before him. Will we recognise that the same king stands before us this Holy Week with the same invitation to enter his kingdom by following him?

Lord Jesus, thank you that you are the king over all situations and over all circumstances. Thank you that your kingdom comes not by doing but by loving and following. Please help me to love and follow you more closely, for your name’s sake. Amen.

Comments

  1. Unknown7 April 2020 at 16:40

    Thank you for this beautiful reminder of Jesus' teaching - so simple but so hard to grasp.

    ReplyDelete

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