Jesus, the Scribe, and Our Frustrated Exhaustion

Have you ever been at that place in life where you feel tired, discouraged, uncertain of what the future holds, struggling to go forward with joy, mercy and love as your characterizing attributes?

I've been there

What I notice about those moments or seasons of life, is that there's always a reason.  I can try and re-charge my batteries in numerous ways.

As an introvert, I think that I just need some time alone to get that zeal for life back.
As an athlete, I think that I just need to exercise a little bit to get my energy up.
As a music lover, I  think that I need to play my guitar to get the creative juices flowing.
As a husband, I think that I need to spend some quality time alone with my wife.
As a father, I think that I need to spend some quality time with my kids to have fun just being silly.

On and on it goes...

But what I always tend to forget is that none of those things are my most important identity.  None of those things are the reason I was created.  None of those things will truly help unless I am seeking one thing in the midst of them.  

...

There's this passage in the Bible that is really fascinating.  Jesus is in the midst of these religious elitists (the Sadducees), speaking truth and making them look silly for holding the beliefs which they held.

Funny how Jesus never apologized for speaking offensive truth

As he's talking with these guys, a scholar or expert in the law (a scribe) overhears Jesus' conversation with them.  He hears how Jesus responds to them, and sees that Jesus "answered them well."  

He's come to this moment prepared with 1 question

Perhaps he wanted to see just how solid Jesus was. 

Maybe he wanted to show people that Jesus didn't know what he was talking about.

Maybe he had seen the attention that Jesus was getting and wanted to come flaunt his intellectual superiority. 

Nobody knows why

We don't know why this scholar did what he did, but he asks Jesus a question that, had this happened in today's age, would have been posted all over Facebook, tweeted and re-tweeted, been on the news, etc.  This was a BIG DEAL!  This guy stands toe to toe with Jesus, and asks him, 

"Which commandment is the most important of all?" 

I picture the surrounding area to come to a halt.  People stopped their side conversations.  Children that had been playing were immediately hushed.  Whatever had been going on that seemed important before, suddenly didn't seem important at all.  Everyone knew that the words which were about to be spoken would be worth telling and re-telling.  "The most important commandment of all?"  "Is he allowed to ask that?"  Is he allowed to answer that?"  "Is there a right answer?"

Jesus didn't hesitate

Speaking with confidence that made onlookers wonder if Jesus had written the commandments in the first place, Jesus answered with these words: 

"The most important is, 'Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."

Wow

It sounds pretty straight forward right?  But what in the world does it mean to love God with your heart and with your soul?  What's the difference between our heart and soul?  And how do you love God with your mind and strength?  And what does he mean by ALL of these things?  He doesn't literally mean ALL does he?  This is just allegorical teaching right?  Oh, and how did the scribe respond?  Here's how:

"You are right, Teacher.  You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.  And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

The scribe approves of Jesus' answer.  And from the outside perspective, it seems as though the scribe has the upper hand.  He approved of Jesus' answer.  Like Jesus is the young pup and the scribe is the old dog.  There's this sense that the scribe is somehow trying to keep the upper hand.  But Jesus is the King.  Jesus is the Lord.  Jesus is God.

Jesus has the final word

Jesus sees that the scribe answered wisely and said to him,

"You are not far from the kingdom of God."

Jesus clearly saw some potential in this guy.  But then the writer of this story adds this little sentence at the end.  A little note to let all us readers in on what the feel in the room was, what resulted from this conversation, how people saw Jesus differently.  I love this little sentence.  We see the confidence and authority with which Jesus spoke in these words recorded by the narrator:

And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

The thought of challenging Jesus on any matter terrified everyone.  Jesus had ultimate authority, ultimate confidence, ultimate knowledge.  He even knew where people stood spiritually.  It was as if he knew the hearts, souls, minds and strength of people just by looking at them.  Wow.

Jesus was more than just a great teacher

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So to tie this back into the exhausting, frustrating, discouraging moments of life, I wonder if this has anything to do with that?  Is Jesus telling us, loud and clear, what's lacking in our lives during those moments or seasons?  Is Jesus explaining why our efforts to refresh ourselves without him have been in vain? 

I think he is

In the following days, I'm going to dive into the 2 greatest commandments that Jesus mentions.  I want to find out what Jesus means when he tells us to love in this way.  I think there's a lot there that we're missing.  

I hope you take the ride with me and dive into these words of God with great expectation.