After a month away from our study in Mark, we’re returning to the middle of chapter 12, where Jesus faces a series of challenges from religious leaders in Jerusalem during his final week. After Jesus entered Jerusalem to shouts of Hosanna and cleansed the temple, a delegation from the Sanhedrin questioned his authority. Pharisees and Herodians attempt to trap him with a question about taxes to Caesar, and Sadducees pose a hypothetical about marriage, hoping to prove there is no resurrection. This Sunday, we’ll examine the final question from a scribe—a legal expert on God’s law—regarding the greatest commandment (Mark 12:28-37). This leads to a discussion that highlights how someone can be remarkably close to God’s kingdom without actually entering it. The main point is that true entry into the kingdom requires more than intellectual agreement with God’s truths or admiration for Jesus; it demands recognizing, trusting, and submitting to Jesus as Lord, the divine Son of God, who alone has kept God’s commandments in our place and, in the new birth, enables us to love God and others.
I. The Foundational Truth of God’s Law (v. 28-31)
II. The Full Agreement Of A Lost Sinner (v. 32-34)
III. The Faith That Enters The Kingdom (v. 35-37)
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After a month away from our study in Mark, we’re returning to the middle of chapter 12, where Jesus faces a series of challenges from religious leaders in Jerusalem during his final week. After Jesus entered Jerusalem to shouts of Hosanna and cleansed the temple, a delegation from the Sanhedrin questioned his authority. Pharisees and Herodians attempt to trap him with a question about taxes to Caesar, and Sadducees pose a hypothetical about marriage, hoping to prove there is no resurrection. This Sunday, we’ll examine the final question from a scribe—a legal expert on God’s law—regarding the greatest commandment (Mark 12:28-37). This leads to a discussion that highlights how someone can be remarkably close to God’s kingdom without actually entering it. The main point is that true entry into the kingdom requires more than intellectual agreement with God’s truths or admiration for Jesus; it demands recognizing, trusting, and submitting to Jesus as Lord, the divine Son of God, who alone has kept God’s commandments in our place and, in the new birth, enables us to love God and others.
I. The Foundational Truth of God’s Law (v. 28-31)
II. The Full Agreement Of A Lost Sinner (v. 32-34)
III. The Faith That Enters The Kingdom (v. 35-37)
Mark 11:27-33 marks the beginning of a series of confrontations between Jesus and Jerusalem’s religious leaders. Jesus had overturned tables and halted temple commerce in a bold act of divine judgment, and returning the next day, a delegation of chief priests, scribes, and elders (three groups that made up the Sanhedrin) confronted Him. Their loaded question—“By what authority do you do these things?”—isn’t curiosity. They are not seeking to be taught or informed. These men have already begun plotting His death (Mark 8:31). The religious leaders knew of His miracles, heard His teaching astonish crowds, and saw demons flee, yet refused to bow. Mark’s Gospel began focusing on Jesus’ authority. The One who has authority to forgive sins, calm storms, and feed thousands now stands in the holy courts, and His authority is challenged by those who should recognize it most. Yet, Jesus exposes the authority to which these religious men submit with a question of His own. Trapped between admitting John the Baptist was sent from God (and thereby admitting Jesus was the Messiah John pointed to) or facing the angry crowds who believed John was from God, they answer, “We don’t know.” The religious leaders, who claimed to represent God, reveal that their true authority is self-preservation, status, and control. Therefore, Jesus leaves them without any explanation. Having rejected the light, they are left in their darkness. This isn’t mere history; it’s a mirror for every heart. It is easy to claim Christ’s authority in theory. Yet, when He enters our “temple" and starts rearranging our priorities, purging idols, or commanding obedience in our lives, we can respond like these religious men: “Who are you to demand this?” All of us live under authority—either Christ’s or our own corrupted version—and Jesus’ word exposes which rules us. A day is coming when every knee will bow, either in saving faith or under wrath. This passage isn’t academic—it’s urgent. Will you submit to the King who cleanses temples and claims lives, or ride the fence like these priests, saying, "We don’t know."
I. Jesus’ Authority Is Challenged (v. 27-28)
II. Jesus Exposes Our Corrupt Authorities (v. 29-33a)
III. Jesus’ Judgment For Rejecting Authority (v. 33)
Sermon Audio
After a month away from our study in Mark, we’re returning to the middle of chapter 12, where Jesus faces a series of challenges from religious leaders in Jerusalem during his final week. After Jesus entered Jerusalem to shouts of Hosanna and cleansed the temple, a delegation from the Sanhedrin questioned his authority. Pharisees and Herodians attempt to trap him with a question about taxes to Caesar, and Sadducees pose a hypothetical about marriage, hoping to prove there is no resurrection. This Sunday, we’ll examine the final question from a scribe—a legal expert on God’s law—regarding the greatest commandment (Mark 12:28-37). This leads to a discussion that highlights how someone can be remarkably close to God’s kingdom without actually entering it. The main point is that true entry into the kingdom requires more than intellectual agreement with God’s truths or admiration for Jesus; it demands recognizing, trusting, and submitting to Jesus as Lord, the divine Son of God, who alone has kept God’s commandments in our place and, in the new birth, enables us to love God and others.
I. The Foundational Truth of God’s Law (v. 28-31)
II. The Full Agreement Of A Lost Sinner (v. 32-34)
III. The Faith That Enters The Kingdom (v. 35-37)
