Chapter 54

“So Near Home, Yet Lost!”

“And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 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 12:28-34)

No doubt this scribe came to the Lord Jesus with the same malicious intent as the others. The Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducees had come to the Master with the specific determination to “catch him in his words” (v. 13). But as he listened to the Savior’s conversation with the Sadducees, he realized that everything the Lord Jesus said made perfectly good sense. He perceived “that he had answered them well,” that is with purpose and understanding.

The Question

This scribe asked the Lord Jesus, “Which is the first commandment of all?” No doubt he had often debated that question with others. Religious people love to debate intricate points of doctrine, striving about words to no profit (2 Timothy 2:14). They imagine that they know much, though they know nothing. And their debate is but the outward display of their inward lust for recognition and praise (Romans 1:29). The religion of the self-righteous is all about themselves. They exercise their religion only “for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness” (Isaiah 58:4).

            Be warned. Nothing spiritual is ever gained by religious wrangling. We all love debate, because we all love to impress others with our knowledge; but it is always carnal and sinful. Debate is not witnessing. It is only debate, the display of carnal pride. It is never for the glory of God or the good of immortal souls. Therefore, we are admonished to “avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain” (Titus 3:9). Witnessing is not showing people what you know, but telling them “how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee” (Mark 5:19).

The Master’s Answer

Wicked as this man’s motives were, we have reason to give thanks to God that he asked it. Otherwise, we might never have been given the instruction of infinite wisdom given by the Lord Jesus in verses 29-31. Here, again, we see our God overruling evil for good (Psalm 76:10). He makes even the most malicious designs of wicked men beneficial to his elect, and uses them for his own praise. — "Out of the eater came forth meat" {Judges 14:14).

            This scribe asked the Master, “Which is the first commandment of all?” He probably expected to receive some instruction about the observance of some outward ceremony, or some very costly duty. Instead, the Lord Jesus seized the opportunity to declare the supremacy of the triune God and that which he both requires and deserves of his creatures.

            First, the Savior sets before this scribe the great supremacy of our God in the trinity of his sacred persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. — “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord” (v. 29). In verses 29 and 30 our savior quotes a portion of Scripture with which the scribe had to have been very familiar (Deuteronomy 6:4-5), and asserts that this is the matter of utmost priority. — “Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord!” That is the first thing God commands, that we recognize and worship him alone as God. He who is our God, the covenant God of his people, is alone God.

            This simple sentence is bursting with meaning. First, the Lord, Jehovah, the triune God, is one Jehovah (1 John 5:7). Second, he is the God of Israel in a special, distinct way. He is God over all; but he has made himself our God. — “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance” (Psalm 33:12).

            I am not sure why, but Mark never uses the word “law” in his gospel narrative. But in verse 30, quoting Deuteronomy 6:5, the Lord Jesus declares that the whole commandment of God, that is all the law of God, directs us to and requires faith in Christ, who is Jehovah the Son. We know that this is the meaning of our Savior’s words here because that is what the Holy Spirit declares in 1 John 3:23. — “And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.”

            The law of God has but one purpose. It is designed to shut us up to Christ alone as our God and Savior, and to faith in him as our God and Savior (Galatians 3:19-25). And that faith that is given to and wrought in sinners by the grace of God is “faith which worketh by love” (Galatians 5:6). The law of God demands that we love both God and our fellow man perfectly. Read the Master’s words just as they stand.

“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

            God does not simply command us to love him sincerely. He commands us to love him perfectly in all his character as God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. And he demands that we love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Though all hate God by nature (Romans 8:7), there is no question that every heaven born soul loves God in all his character as God; and every ransomed sinner loves his brother. But none would ever dare presume to assert that he loves God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, or that he loves his brother as he loves himself.

            Yet, by faith in Christ, we establish and fulfill the law (Romans 3:31; 8:1-4). God gives what he requires; and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ we offer to God that which he requires, perfection (Leviticus 22:21). As our Representative, covenant Surety and Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ lived the full age of a man, loving God and his neighbor, perfecting, fulfilling all righteousness, a righteousness of infinite merit and efficacy, for God’s elect. Then he died under the penalty of our sins, being made sin for us, satisfying God’s offended justice for the redemption of our souls that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13). When he accomplished this great work, we were one with him and in him, so really and truly one with him and in him that when he obeyed we obeyed, and when he died we died. Therefore he is called “The Lord our Righteousness” and we are called “The Lord our Righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6; 33:16). In the words of John Kent…

‘Twixt Jesus and the chosen race

Subsists a bond of sovereign grace,

That hell, with its infernal train,

Shall ne’er dissolve nor rend in vain

Hail! sacred union, firm and strong,

How great the grace, how sweet the song,

That worms of earth should ever be

One with incarnate Deity!

One in the tomb, one when He rose,

One when He triumphed o’er His foes,

One when in heaven He took His seat,

While seraphs sang all hell’s defeat.

This sacred tie forbids their fears,

For all He is or has is theirs;

With Him, their Head, they stand or fall,

Their life, their surety, and their all.”

Far Off, In or Near

            On October 26, 1859 a Welsh ship called, “The Royal Charter,” safely sailed around the world, navigating treacherous waters in every part of the globe. When the ship docked briefly at Queenstown, Ireland, one of the sailors telegraphed his wife, telling her that he would be home in a few hours. You can imagine her excitement. She had not seen or heard from her husband in months, and months, and months. With joy and anticipation, she hurriedly prepared supper, set the table, and got all spruced up. Excitedly, she sat in the parlor, waiting for her husband to walk through the door. Instead, a messenger appeared at the door who told her that as the ship approached its homeport, it was smashed to pieces in Moelfre Bay, on the coast of Wales, and her husband was drowned!

            As soon as her pastor, William Taylor, heard what had happened, he hurried over to minister to this shocked and grieving widow. He said later, “Never can I forget the grief, so stricken, and tearless, with which she wrung my hand.” As that lady held her pastor’s hands, these are the words with which she expressed her grief — “So near home, and yet lost! So near home, and yet lost! So near home, and yet lost!”

That is precisely where our Savior said this scribe was, near the kingdom of God but not in it, near home but lost. He said, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.”

“And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 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” (vv. 32-34).

It is possible for a person to be very near the kingdom of God and not be in it. It is possible for a sinner to perish upon the doorsteps of mercy, “not far from the kingdom of God.” There are many to whom the Savior’s words to this scribe apply, — “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.” This Scribe was a man of far greater knowledge than most. He saw things most of the scribes and Pharisees could not see. His knowledge was such that our Lord said to him, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.” Yet, he was lost. He was near, but not in the kingdom. Be warned. You may have great knowledge of truths and never know him who is the Truth. Salvation is not knowing about Christ. Salvation is knowing Christ (John 17:3).

            The kingdom of God is that kingdom of grace in which all are voluntary, loyal subjects, under the rule of Christ. It is a spiritual kingdom, governed by Christ through the power of his Spirit and the Word of his grace. The kingdom of God is the church and family of God in this world.

Some are in the kingdom of God. Some are far off from the kingdom of God. And some are near, but not in the kingdom of God. Those who are in the kingdom of God are sinners who have been quickened, regenerated and made alive by the Spirit of God (v. 27; Ephesians 2:1; Revelation 20:6). They have been brought to the obedience of faith by the Spirit of God (Romans 16:25-26). They have been adopted into the family of God (Ephesians 1:4-6; 1 John 1:9). They are led, ruled, governed and directed in life by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9, 14). If you are in the kingdom of God, you are in it because God, by a work of his almighty grace, has put you in it. He “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13).

            Most are far off from the kingdom of God. They have no interest in the things of God, no interest in their souls, no interest in Christ, and no interest in the gospel of his grace. Like a brute beast, they live only for time and only for the physical, sensual pleasures of life.

But there are some of who, like this scribe, are “not far from the kingdom of God.” What did the Savior see in this man that he did not see in the Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducees who had come before him? Why did he say he was not far from the kingdom of God? Let me show you.

The Lord Jesus saw standing before him a man of sincerity and truthfulness. This scribe was something more than a religionist. He was no hypocrite. He sincerely studied the law of God, saw something of the supremacy of God and tried to order his life by the law of God. Like the Jews Paul spoke of, he had a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge (Romans 10:1-4).

This man seems to have understood something of the spiritual nature of the law. He saw that the law had more to do with the glory of God and the inward principle of love for God and man than it did with mere outward deeds. He saw that the worship of God was inward, not outward, spiritual, not ceremonial. He saw more than the papist, who makes worship nothing but ceremonies. He saw more than the doctrinalist, who puts head knowledge above heart experience. And he saw more than the legalist, who puts outward morality above love and kindness.

The Lord Jesus saw in this scribe a teachable spirit. What a rare thing that is! Here was a man who was willing to learn. He was willing to have his doctrine, his religion and his opinions examined and corrected by the Word of God.

This man appeared to be in a very hopeful condition. He saw the unity, the breadth and the spirituality of the law. And he appears to have realized something of his own inability to keep the law. He knew that God required what he could not give. There is reason to have hope for a man who knows that much. Few do!

Are you like this scribe? Do you, like the five foolish virgins, have the lamp of religion? If you do, do not be content. They perished with the lamp of religion. You must have the oil of grace. Like the rich young ruler, this scribe had much, but he lacked the one thing needful. He lacked faith in Christ. He was near, but not in the kingdom. Do not be content to live and die in such a position. If you die near, but not in the kingdom of God, eternal damnation will be your portion forever. The borderland is a place of danger. If you are satisfied with being “not far from the kingdom of God,” you will in the end be shut out forever (Luke 13:23-30). If you do not enter in by Christ into the kingdom of God, either you will go back into hopeless apostasy (Hebrews 10:25-31; 2 Peter 2:1-2, 20-22; 1 John 2:19), or you will become content without Christ, indifferent, and gospel hardened.

The borderland of religion without Christ is the most dangerous place in all the world! If you die without Christ, you will be forever lost. “So near home, and yet lost!” God has opened the way by which sinners may enter into the kingdom (Hebrews 10:19-23) — “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16). The only Door by which sinners enter into the kingdom of God is Christ (John 10:9). We must enter in by his blood and his righteousness. Will you enter into the kingdom of God; or will you die “not far from the kingdom of God”? God help you now to enter in, for Christ’s sake.

Don Fortner

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