518
The Desire of Ages
And since all the commandments are summed up in love to God and
man, it follows that not one precept can be broken without violating this
principle. Thus Christ taught His hearers that the law of God is not so
many separate precepts, some of which are of great importance, while
others are of small importance and may with impunity be ignored. Our
Lord presents the first four and the last six commandments as a divine
whole, and teaches that love to God will be shown by obedience to all
His commandments.
The scribe who had questioned Jesus was well read in the law, and
he was astonished at His words. He did not expect Him to manifest
so deep and thorough a knowledge of the Scriptures. He had gained a
broader view of the principles underlying the sacred precepts. Before
the assembled priests and rulers he honestly acknowledged that Christ
had given the right interpretation to the law, saying:
“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
[608]
strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole
burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
The wisdom of Christ’s answer had convicted the scribe. He knew
that the Jewish religion consisted in outward ceremonies rather than
inward piety. He had some sense of the worthlessness of mere ceremo-
nial offerings, and the faithless shedding of blood for expiation of sin.
Love and obedience to God, and unselfish regard for man, appeared
to him of more value than all these rites. The readiness of this man
to acknowledge the correctness of Christ’s reasoning, and his decided
and prompt response before the people, manifested a spirit entirely
different from that of the priests and rulers. The heart of Jesus went
out in pity to the honest scribe who had dared to face the frowns of
the priests and the threats of the rulers to speak the convictions of his
heart. “And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto
him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.”
The scribe was near to the kingdom of God, in that he recognized
deeds of righteousness as more acceptable to God than burnt offerings
and sacrifices. But he needed to recognize the divine character of
Christ, and through faith in Him receive power to do the works of righ-
teousness. The ritual service was of no value, unless connected with
Christ by living faith. Even the moral law fails of its purpose, unless