Mark 12:29–31
I have a handy mnemonic for remembering the 10 commandments in two halves: Oh, I never sin, Mom! My awesome smart friend Christian. Allow me to explain:
O: One God (or no Other gods)
I: No Images (or no Idols)
N: Don’t take the Name in vain
S: Honor the Sabbath Day
M: Honor your Father and Mother
M: Don’t murder
A: Don’t commit adultery
S: Don’t steal
F: Don’t bear false witness
C: Don’t covet
These two halves offer a great way to view the commandments in general. The first half (1–5) has to do with honoring God, while the second half (6–10) has to do with how we treat others (#5 may seem like it has to do with neighbors, but one must remember that our parents are not our neighbors —like they Sabbath, they are gifts from God, and our relationship with our parents tends to have some influence on our relationship with God, but if you disagree with this view, you can divide the commandments into uneven halves: 1–4, 5–10).
I used to think that in this passage, Yeshua (Jesus) was ignoring the 10 Commandments in His response and inventing a commandment (basically, I didn’t realize that verse 29–30 was an explanation of the commandments and I thought verse 31 was a whole new commandment). I think this might be a common view among believers that lack a foundational knowledge of the Torah or have been mislead by replacement theology. But take note that in verses following this passage (32–33), the scribe is not offended by Yeshua’s response — if Yeshua were rejecting or ignoring the Torah, this scribe would certainly be offended. Rather, the scribe recognizes that Yeshua’s response is a very sound teaching of the commandments. When we read the words of Yeshua in light of this two-halves view of the 10 Commandments, it’s clear that Yeshua is summing up all of the commandments in these two statements — first half: love God, second half: love your neighbor. In essence, the whole of God’s law has to do with regarding God as One supreme being worthy of love, and loving our neighbors as He loves us. Thus, Yeshua remains true to His promise, that He would not abolish the Torah, but fulfill (teach) it (Matthew 5:17), and He reveals Himself to be the greatest teacher of all.
