Mark 12:34, in context, reads: "28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
1. The scribe's question appears to be a genuine one -- he wants to know how to put all of the Law into one bundle of clarity. Jesus' clarity is what I call the Jesus Creed
2. The scribe's attempt not only to restate Jesus' point but also extend it lead us, so I think, to his heart: he gets it. Yes, Love of God and love of others is the heart of the Torah and they "more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." This puts the scribe with some of the prophets who also called Israel to the heart inside the ritual.
3. Jesus' response touches on kingdom of God: this man's response reveals that he is not far from the kingdom -- and it is not hard to see that "not far from" might be a litote (deliberate understatement) to say this: "You are in, brother."
4. I infer that "entrance" into the kingdom involves perception of the essence of God's will as taught by Jesus and commitment to that Jesus.
5. Some see the "not far" to be descriptive only (not a litote). That is, this response reveals the scribe is close -- very close -- to entrance into the kingdom of God. He gets it; he's on his way ... that sort of thing. (There is no reason to be dogmatic about this for we can't tell from this grammar if it is a litote or a description; furthermore, both views are consistent with things Jesus teaches.)
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God is love and he who lives in love lives in God. Back to the same idea and it's a great one: building loving relationships builds the Kingdom of God.
It seems pretty clear that the Kingdom is here and now. I get those critics who say God's kingdom won't be until His return. It is hard to misunderstand those words though.
So..
"getting it"...loving God and loving others...essentially means Christ in us, God in us, The Spirit in us...So then we can be in the Kingdom without any outward mental or psychological assent to propositions about Christ or even naming him, but must simply express the reality of "getting it?" The reality of being in the Kingdom is an incarnate life...As simple and profound as that is, it certainly begs an argument from all sorts of pharisees, even the emergent few who are certain their version(s)of the Kingdom are correct... thanks for the topic and the good discussion.
I wonder if, "not far from the Kingdom" may be the difference between simply knowing the right answers and actually altering your life in such a way that you live out these Kingdom values. Go back to Mark 10:17-31 to see an account of how difficult actually living these values out can be. I think many get to the "door" of the Kingdom but aren't willing to give up the "keys" to the kingdom of self so they never "enter." So, perhaps one can be "not far" but never enter.
Bryan,
Not likely that we can really know too much about this, but the view you mention is entirely possible. The tone of Jesus with respect to this man is different than with the Rich Young Ruler. It is more like the tone of Nicodemus, who appears to be a disciple because of his connection with Joseph of Arimathea.
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