The Main Thing

When it comes to pleasing God, to worshiping Him in a way that He accepts...

Loving Him in the way that He deserves and desires.

What is the key to approaching God in a way that pleases Him? Is it that we begin by focusing on the outward actions, on the external requirements, the do's and the don'ts? That is what first century Judaism was focused on in the attempts by the religious leaders in Jesus' day to keep the traditions, to maintain the regulations and the rituals that they believed made them right with God.

It was a number of months ago that I heard an interview with conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro, in which he was talking about the difference between modern Judaism and evangelical Christianity.

Shapiro, as you know, is Jewish.

And he made the observation that even today, Judaism is focused, at least initially, on modifying behaviors on the outside.

It's focused on what you do, on action.

And the hope is that those actions eventually begin to work their way to the inside.

But evangelical Christianity, as Shapiro himself noted, is different because Christianity begins by focusing on the inside, on the heart.

It's a heart transformation that is required, and then out of that heart transformation flow the behaviors, the obedience.

It all begins inside.

And that is our Lord's point here in this text, that it all begins with the heart.

By the way, if most of you, of course, have seen this, but if you've not found Pastor John's conversation with Ben Shapiro from a few years ago where Pastor John shared the gospel from the Old Testament, you need to look that up.

It's an incredible conversation and a great encouragement to see the gospel presented so clearly from the Old Testament texts.

But in the first century, in first century Judaism, whether it was the Pharisees or the Sadducees, they had emphasized the externals.

We see that back in Mark chapter 7, for example, when the Pharisees in Galilee had confronted Jesus' disciples because the disciples were not properly washing their hands in keeping with the dietary restrictions and, in particular, the rabbinic washing rituals that the Pharisees held so dear.

And our Lord responded to them by confronting them and indicting them for their hypocrisy.

They're so focused on the outside, they have forgotten about the heart.

In fact, in that text in Mark chapter 7, Jesus says to them, quoting from Isaiah, where the Lord says, "'With your lips you honor Me, but your heart is far from Me.'" And then our Lord goes on to indicate and to instruct His disciples that it's not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, it's not what you eat, but it's what's in the heart that defiles the man and what comes out of the heart, the wicked intentions and actions of the heart.

And even in our passage in Mark chapter 12, a little bit later in this text in verses 38 to 40, our Lord is going to again confront the Pharisees for their hypocrisy.

And in the parallel passage in Matthew 23, He will explain that on the outside they look very good, but on the inside they are corrupt.

They're like whitewashed tombs, clean on the outside but full of dead men's bones.

And in our passage here in Mark chapter 12, 28 to 34, our Lord will focus on the heart of the matter.

And, of course, the Old Testament is not unclear about this.

In spite of the confusion that persisted in Jesus' day among the Jewish religious leaders, the Old Testament is not unclear about 2 Chronicles 16.9, the eyes of the Lord go to and fro throughout the earth so that He might strongly support those whose hearts are fully His.