Mark 12:32-33

‘And the scribe said to him, “Teacher, you have well said that he is one, and there is none other but he. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself is much more than whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ’

The scribe was thoughtful and even more impressed. In his response his attitude reflected that of Isaiah 1:10-20; Hosea 6:6; compare also 1 Samuel 15:22. Sacrifices and whole offerings were required, and when offered from a true heart were good, but without rightness of heart and behaviour they were nullified. Obedience truly was better than sacrifice for it indicated a genuine response towards the One Who was worshipped, which, if missing, made the ritual empty and meaningless.

‘You have well said that He is One, and there is none other but He.’ This idea combines Deuteronomy 6:5 with Deuteronomy 4:35. The lack of actually mentioning ‘God’ is typically Jewish and a sign of authenticity. The oneness of God was a basic tenet of the Jewish faith and all important to them. The scribe liked Jesus’ emphasis on it. But he also demonstrated that his own heart was genuine by his recognition of the need for love towards God and neighbour, and of its primary importance, a love without which religious ritual and ‘law-keeping’ was meaningless.

‘Whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ This covered the whole of the sacrificial system, the sacrifices wholly offered to God and not partaken of, and those of which men were allowed to partake.