Deity of Christ – Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

Mark 12:28-44

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” ²⁹Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³²And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. ³³And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

³⁵And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?³⁶David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet.”’

³⁷David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.

³⁸And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces ³⁹and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, ⁴⁰who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

⁴¹And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴²And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. ⁴³And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. ⁴⁴For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Questions to Consider

1. Briefly review lesson 17 (link above). Who were the three groups of people Jesus addressed in verses 1-27? Who is the “they” in verse 28? The “he/him”? How does the first half of verse 28 indicate that this event (28-34) took place immediately after Jesus’ discussion with the Sadducces (18-27)?

2. Examine verses 28-34. What kind of person is Jesus addressing in this section? (28) Why did the scribe ask Jesus his question? (28) Considering his reason (28), Jesus’ evaluation of him (34), and the general tenor of the conversation, do you think this scribe was trying to trap Jesus as Jewish leaders in 1-27 were trying to do, or do you think this was a genuine question by someone truly trying to follow God?

3. Why would a Jewish leader need to ask what the most important commandment was? (28) Where does Jesus point the scribe for the answer to his question? What does Jesus say is the greatest commandment? (29-30) This commandment deals with the relationship between man and Whom? What does Jesus say is the second greatest commandment? (31) This commandment deals with the relationship between man and whom? Can you think of another place in Old Testament law that deals with these two relationships? (Hint: Review question 8 from lesson 14 (link above).) Which relationship always comes first? If we obey the greatest commandment, what impact will that have on our obedience to the second greatest commandment?

4. Explain the scribe’s response to Jesus (32-33) in your own words. What did Jesus mean when He said the scribe was “not far from the kingdom of God”? Why didn’t Jesus say the scribe was in the kingdom of God? What was the scribe lacking? Were Jesus and the scribe discussing Old Testament law or New Testament gospel? Are we saved by obeying Old Testament law or repenting and believing the gospel? How does the gospel fit with the laws Jesus and the scribe were discussing? Is it possible to truly love the Lord or others if the gospel hasn’t first changed your heart?

5. Compare verses 35-37 to Psalm 110 (Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1 in verse 36) and Acts 2:29-36. Who is “The Lord” in verse 36? Who is “my Lord”? David was regarded by the Jews as the greatest king in Israel’s history. Would it make any sense for David to call a merely human descendant of his (a “son of David”) “my Lord”- a higher rank than his own? What would have to be true of the spiritual nature of this descendant of David’s that David calls Him “my Lord”? What does God say to the Messiah in verse 36? Could a mere human be qualified to sit at God’s right hand and have his enemies put under his feet? What is Jesus trying to convey about His deity to those who didn’t believe He was God and to those who expected the Messiah to be only a great human king like David?

6. In what location (35) did Jesus teach verses 38-40? Was this a public place? To whom (37) was Jesus speaking? What were some of the things the scribes were guilty of? Why will the scribes receive greater condemnation? Greater than whom? How does this passage demonstrate that it is biblically permissible and appropriate to publicly warn God’s people against false teachers and false doctrine?

7. Compare Jesus’ description of the scribes in 39-40 with His description of the widow in 41-44. What was Jesus trying to teach the disciples (43) by contrasting the two? How does this reinforce what Jesus taught the disciples in Mark 10:42-45?

8. As an Old Testament Jew the widow was under the law of the tithe, but how much did she choose to give? (43-44) Christians are not required by Scripture to tithe, but we are instructed to be generous givers. How does the widow set an example for us of New Testament, sacrificial giving?

9. Prosperity gospel preachers often urge people to give sacrificially to their ministries and promise that God will repay their generosity with wealth. Do verses 41-44 support this idea? Did Jesus walk over to the woman and miraculously make her wealthy on the spot? Does God promise anywhere in Scripture to reward Christians with wealth for their sacrificial giving?

Homework

In lesson 17, we saw several people who were merely trying to be argumentative or to trap Jesus by asking Him questions about the Bible. Today, we saw what seemed to be a genuine question by a scribe seeking to learn. Have you ever been asked either, or both, of these types of questions? What was the question, and how did you respond? Compare your response to 2 Timothy 2:24-26. Were you quarrelsome? Kind? Patient? Write down three ways you could respond better in the future according to this passage.

Suggested Memory Verse

And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. Mark 12:33

John 14

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

Questions to Consider:

1. Who is speaking, and who is being spoken to in this chapter?

2. What does it mean that “no one comes to the Father except through” Jesus? (verse 6) What does this mean for followers of religions which exclude Jesus or do not have a correct, biblical understanding of who Jesus is?

3. Some people say that Jesus was only a man and never claimed to be God. Does this chapter support or refute this idea? Which verses would back up your answer?

4. Does verse 14 mean that God will give you anything you ask for in prayer as long as you say the phrase “in Jesus’ name” when you ask for it? What does it mean to ask for something in Jesus’ name?

5. According to verses 15, 21, 23, and 24, what is the evidence that someone truly loves Christ as she claims to?