Mark 12:28-34
What the Bible says...
Mark 12:28-34 (excerpt)
[28] One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
[29] "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. [30] Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' [31] The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
[32] "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. [33] To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
[34] When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
...and how it can be interpreted
Dr. James B. DeYoung
In this particular text Jesus discusses what is the most important commandment (to love God with one's entire being; see Deuteronomy 6:5 and following verses) and what is the next greatest commandment (to love one's neighbor as oneself; Lev. 19:18). These are more important than ritual sacrifices. All the rest of the teaching of the Old Testament, Jesus says, hangs on these two commands (see Matthew 22:40).
Clearly Jesus' words have universal significance. For all time and for all people, they provide the standard of love for our relationships, first to God, then to people. Apologists for homosexual behavior cite these as the only, or chief, concern that we should have for what it means to please God. Yet what does it mean to love God? The rest of the NT, including Jesus himself, makes it clear that love equals obedience and the doing of God's will. Jesus said: "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me... If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching... He who does not love me will not obey my teaching" (John 14:21, 23-24). Thus love is identified by obedience, and obedience assumes a standard of truth to be obeyed. Jesus not only emphasized love but also the truth: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).
We can assume that homosexuality comes under sexual immorality. Jesus' words to a homosexual person would be what he said to the adulterous woman: "Go now, and leave your life of sin " (John 8:11).
What is the truth, the teaching of Jesus, regarding homosexuality? While Jesus never mentioned homosexuality, this is not an obstacle to discovering what his view would be. Jesus never mentioned incest (but Paul identifies it as sin, 1 Corinthians 5), nor circumcision (but the Church saw it as unnecessary to becoming a Christian, Acts 15), nor bestiality, child sacrifice, rape, abortion, etc. He did list evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander as sins (Matthew 15:19). We can assume that homosexuality comes under sexual immorality. Jesus' words to a homosexual person would be what he said to the adulterous woman: "Go now, and leave your life of sin " (John 8:11).
Dr. David M. Carr
For centuries Christians have found in this text (and parallels) a guide to how to apply the morals of the Bible. Amidst all of the rules of the Old and New Testaments, Jesus lifts up just two as primary: 1) Love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul and strength (Deuteronomy 6:4-5); and 2) You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). Some contemporary Christians have taken the first command ("love the LORD") to mean an unquestioning acceptance of a particular, selective reading of the Bible. Nevertheless, this command originally urged a devotion to God that replaced worship of "idols," material images of God. Contemporary analogies to such ancient idols could include love of money, an addiction, or even devotion to the Bible in a way that interfered with love of God and neighbor.