Charles Ellicott Commentary Mark 12:34

"And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question." — Mark 12:34 (ASV)

You are not far from the kingdom of God.—The words are significant as showing the unity of our Lord’s teaching. Now, as when He spoke the Sermon on the Mount, the righteousness which fulfills the law is the condition of the entrance into the kingdom of God (Matthew 5:19–20). Even the recognition of that righteousness as consisting in the fulfillment of the two commandments that were exceedingly broad, brought a man to the very threshold of the Kingdom. It is instructive to compare our Lord’s different method of dealing, in Luke 10:25-37, with one who had the same theoretical knowledge, but who obviously, consciously or unconsciously, minimized the force of the commandments by his narrowing definitions.

And no man after that dared ask him.—St. Mark states the fact before, St. Matthew after, the narrative that now follows.