Old/New Testament

A Scribe Asks, Which Is The Foremost Commandment?

²⁸ And having come to Him, one of the scribes— having heard them debating, having seen that He answered them well— asked Him, “Which is the foremost^[a] commandment of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered that “Foremost is: ‘Hear, Israel. The Lord our God is one Lord. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart, and from your whole soul, and from your whole mind, and from your whole strength’ [Deut 6:4-5]. ³¹ Second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ [Lev 19:18]. There is not another commandment greater than these”. ³² And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher! In accordance with [God’s] truth, You said^[b] that He is one. And there is not another except Him. ³³ And the statement ‘to love Him from the whole heart, and from the whole understanding, and from the whole strength’, and the statement ‘to love the neighbor as himself’, are more [important] than all the whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifices”. ³⁴ And Jesus, having looked-at him because he responded thoughtfully, said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God”.

Jesus Asks How The Messiah Can Be The Son of David Since David Calls Him His Lord

And no one was daring to question Him any more. ³⁵ And having responded, Jesus was saying while teaching in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself said by the Holy Spirit [in Ps 110:1], ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Be sitting on My right side until I put Your enemies under Your feet”’. ³⁷ David himself calls Him ‘Lord’. And in what^[c] way is He his son?”

Jesus Warns The Crowds To Beware of The Scribes

And the large crowd was listening-to Him with-pleasure. ³⁸ And in His teaching He was saying, “Beware of the scribes— the ones delighting to walk around in robes, and to receive greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and seats-of-honor in the synagogues, and places-of-honor at the banquets. ⁴⁰ They are the ones devouring^[d] the houses of the widows, and praying long for a pretense^[e]. These ones will receive greater condemnation”.

Jesus Uses The Widow’s Offering To Illustrate True Giving

⁴¹ And having sat-down opposite the treasury^[f], He was observing how the crowd throws money into the treasury. And many rich ones were throwing much money. ⁴² And one poor widow having come threw two leptos^[g], which is a quadrans^[h]. ⁴³ And having summoned His disciples, He said to them, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow threw more than all the ones throwing into the treasury. ⁴⁴ For they all threw out of the money abounding^[i] to them. But this one, out of her need^[j], threw all that she was having— her whole living^[k]”.