Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 12:33

"and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices." — Mark 12:33 (ASV)

Mark records the favorable response of the teacher of the law. In repeating the commandment he omitted the divine name “the Lord” in keeping with the practice of pious Jews of avoiding the pronunciation of God’s name. The phrase “and there is no other but him” is an interpretive addition from Dt 4:35, which underscores the uniqueness of Israel’s God. The statement by the teacher of the law that love of God and neighbor are “more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” is in keeping with the teachings of the OT prophets (1 Samuel 15:22; Hosea 6:6), though not necessarily in keeping with NT Judaism, which set law and sacrifices side by side with love. What Jesus said was getting through to the teacher of the law and elicited the statement by our Lord that he was close to the kingdom of God—a statement no doubt meant to stimulate and challenge him to further thoughtful reflection and decisive action. Jesus had so forcefully demonstrated his ability to answer questions meant to trap him and to turn such questions back on his accusers that they stopped asking questions. In the next section, Jesus, not the religious leaders, asked a question.