Y’all made it through Monday? Me too.
Here are some reflections on the cross and Jesus’ peculiar words to the Scribe in Mark 12, “you are not far from the Kingdom of God.” What was he talking about? No idea. But here are a few thoughts.
Much love and more ☕️,
Glenn || PATREON / BUY ME A COFFEE
In the 12th chapter of Mark's Gospel one of the Scribes asked Jesus which of all the commands of the Torah was the most important to which Jesus responded ...
ONE - Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength.
TWO - Love your neighbor as yourself.
Mark says that the Scribe then responded and told Jesus that he was correct and emphasized that these 2 commands are, for sure, much more important than burnt offerings, sacrifices, etc.
Then Jesus said something that I find quite peculiar - "you are not far from the Kingdom of God."
Interesting, right? Growing up I was taught that this meant that although the Scribe had the right understanding, he didn't have "faith in Jesus" as his "Lord and Savior" and so although he was close to "getting into heaven" or "earning a spot in the Kingdom", he wasn't quite there yet.
That's simply not true, though.
Because.
How could the Scribe have faith in Jesus as his "Lord and Savior" if Jesus hadn't yet died to save him from anything? Right? I mean that entire narrative is built on Jesus DYING to save people from their sins and so if Jesus wasn't dead yet then how could the Scribe be held responsible to believe something that hadn't happened yet?
It seems like a pretty big stretch, no?
That explanation that I was taught also assumes that "the Kingdom of God" refers to "heaven" and that "not being far from it" means that the Scribe is close to getting "into heaven", but isn't quite there yet ... that he still has more things to do and more hoops to jump through before he gets his golden ticket.
That's a very modern understanding of "the Kingdom of God", though, and not a very Jewish or Biblical one.
The Kingdom of God, for Jesus, wasn't so much a place that we go to when we die as it was an age that is coming to our present day more and more and more and more each and every moment as we live and act and speak in ways of love and grace and inclusion ... in the Ways of God.
And so this morning I wondered what on earth Jesus meant when he said that the Scribe wasn't far from the Kingdom of God.
It the Scribe didn't need to believe something more than he already believed.
AND.
If the Kingdom of God that he wasn't far from wasn't a place that we go to when we die.
... Then what was Jesus talking about?
Perhaps Jesus was cryptically telling the Scribe that although he had fully embraced the Way of Love that Jesus modeled and the Hebrew Scriptures taught, he hadn't yet witnessed the full extent of that Love and (therefore) couldn't yet understand just how profound and deep the Love of God truly is and how profound and deep the Love is that God desires to see poured forth from us?
In other words, perhaps the full extent of these commands to ...
Love God.
And love our neighbor.
... Could only be realized after the witnessing of Jesus' gruesome death and the Love that he displayed, spoke, and poured out with his very last breaths?
Perhaps Jesus modeled for us once and for all what true love looks like when he shouted to heaven with his last breath and asked God to forgive those who had just crucified him ...
Forgive his enemies.
Forgive his murderers.
Forgive his mockers.
... to forgive these people who didn't even ask for forgiveness - they never said they were sorry, they never repented, they never confessed, they never turned their lives around, they never came to the realization that they were wrong or evil or misguided.
And yet.
Jesus used his dying breaths to beg for their forgiveness.
I know of no greater love than that. Do you?
And so perhaps Jesus wasn't telling the Scribe that he just needed to trust him as his Lord and Savior to get into heaven, but that he just needed to wait a little longer in order to see the full extent of God's love on display and then he would understand the true depths of those commands and be able to respond accordingly.
You see, friends - this is why I wear a cross around my neck.
I used to wear a cross because I believed that the cross was a symbol of my salvation - a reminder that Jesus took my punishment and that his blood was shed on my behalf so that by believing in him and trusting him as my Lord and Savior, I might be closer to the Kingdom of God than the Scribe in Mark 12 was.
Nowadays, however, I wear a cross because it is the ultimate symbol of love ...
It's a reminder that even when people crucify me with their words and with their actions, I can offer love and forgiveness in return.
It's a reminder that love doesn't mean I get off the cross and invite my crucifiers back into my life.
That's important, right?
Don't miss that - the cross is a reminder that forgiveness and love are the ultimate goal, but that forgiveness and love don't always mean the restoration of a relationship. Jesus didn't get off the cross and have coffee with his crucifiers ... and we don't need to either. (He did, however, forgive them ... and we can too.)
It's a reminder that love and forgiveness have the power to raise me and my life to a dimension that is higher and deeper than that of my crucifiers.
It's a reminder than when I decide that I will love and forgive those who crucify me, the Divine will raise me up to live in another dimension, to live from a place that can only be understood and fully embraced after witnessing and experiencing the deep meaning of the cross.
I wear a cross around my neck because having witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus from the pages of Scripture and having witnessed my own crucifixions (as trivial as they may seem in light of his) ... I am now much closer to understanding the true extent of God's love and, therefore, ever so much closer to the Kingdom of God coming forth in my life.