28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 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.’ 31 The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 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.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
— Mark 12:28-34, ESV

The men who hold high places,
Must be the ones who start,
To mold a new reality,
Closer to the heart.
— Rush

The men who held high places in Jesus’ day were the Pharisees.  I know, I know, we boo them in our church every chance we get.  But today, we find one for whom we can actually cheer.  

In every way, the Pharisees were far away from our God and Savior Jesus Christ.  The Pharisees took advantage of people.  Jesus came to serve and save people.  The Pharisees preached salvation by works, through keeping rules and regulation.  Jesus preached salvation by grace, through repentance and faith.  The Pharisees had a head full of Scripture, but no heart for God.  Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament, inspire the New Testament, and bring people closer to the heart, the heart of God.

So, how did a lost, far away Pharisee get to the place where he was “not far from the kingdom of God”?  He got closer, one step at a time, closer to the word of God, closer to the Son of God, closer to the salvation of God, closer to the heart, of God.

Closer to the Word

To get closer to the heart of God, you have to get closer to the word of God.  

The text tells us that the man who came closer to Jesus that day was “one of the scribes.”  All scribes were Pharisees, but not all Pharisees were scribes.  The scribe was a special Pharisee who was responsible for making copies of the word of God, distributing them to the synagogues, and teaching the people their meaning and application.  

The Pharisees considered themselves to be experts on the Bible.  But, as Jesus repeatedly pointed out, they were not (“You have heard it said …, but I tell you …”).  Their way into “the kingdom of God” was through commandment keeping, particularly the ten commandments, especially the fourth.  

The Pharisees thought if they could invent and invest in a litany of “do’s” and “don’ts” on the Sabbath, then keep them, all of their many sins committed on the other days of the week would be wiped out.  This Pharisee, however, was beginning to think differently.  He stood by while his colleagues peppered Jesus with tricky questions about taxes on earth and time in Heaven.  He saw that Jesus “answered them well,” with a wisdom far exceeding his peers and his own.  

This Pharisee, then, drew closer to Jesus to ask a Bible question.  Steeped in commandment-keeping as he was, he asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the most important of them all?”  It was a serious question that received a joyful answer, straight from the word of God.  Only it was the “Shema” (Deuteronomy 4), not the “Torah” (Exodus 20), Jesus used.  “Love,” said Jesus, who is the Light of the World, love is the answer.  Cue the music … 

Light of the world,
Shine on me,
Love is the answer.
— Todd Rungren

Love is the answer, Jesus said.  We must love from the heart, a new heart received at the new birth.  Advice on the new birth was given to another Pharisee, Nicodemus, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  Now at the end, Jesus is pointing another Pharisee, whose name we do not know, closer to the heart of God.  So far, this Pharisee was “not far.” 

Closer to the Lord

Getting closer to the word of God invariably brings us closer to God.  Though this Pharisee did not know it at the time, his questions about God’s word and the gospel were being answered by God Himself, in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

But this Pharisee did not call Jesus “Lord,” or “God,” or any term of endeared deity.  Remember, he was not yet inside the kingdom of God, which is the place where people do call Jesus “my Lord and my God” (to quote the disciple Thomas in John 20:28).  This Pharisee was not standing there, yet, but he was standing “not far.”  

This Pharisee called Jesus “Teacher.”  This is what most people called Jesus during His public ministry.  But, there are two different words for “teacher” in the Greek text of the Gospels.  One was used by Pharisees and one was used by disciples.  

Pharisees called Jesus “didaskolos,” a teacher of some doctrine of which I may or may not believe.  Disciples called Jesus “rabboni,” meaning my Teacher, my supreme Teacher, with whom I totally agree.   This Pharisee used the former term, not the latter, because he was not a disciple, not yet.  But, he was “not far.”

Notice how the Pharisee is coming closer to Christ.  He confessed he agreed with Jesus’ teachings.  “You are right, Teacher,” he said to Jesus.  He, a Pharisee, agreed with Jesus, that salvation is not found in religion and ritual.  It is found in love, a specific love from God, for God, and for others.

Now you see why Jesus said this Pharisee is “not far.”  He had drawn closer to a right understanding of the word of God.  He had drawn closer to realizing Jesus is “Emmanuel,” “God with us,” the Son of God.  He was “not far.”  You might say he was so close, perhaps just one step away.  

Closer to the Cross

This conversation between this Pharisee and the Lord Jesus Christ took place on the final days of the Jewish Passover.  Passover was a celebration of salvation, of freedom from bondage, a festival designed to bring the Jewish people closer together, and closer to God.  

For this Pharisee, it had been just another Passover.  It was just another rule, regulation, and ritual to cross of his list.  As he was going through the motions, someone must have motioned for him to come and join the debate his colleagues were having with Jesus.  He did, he participated, and there he stood, “not far” from the King and His kingdom.  

For Jesus, it was His last Passover.  He would soon take His next steps from the temple, to the upper room, to Gethsemane, to Calvary.  There Jesus became the very fulfillment of the Passover, “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (ref. John 1:29).  I would like to think this Pharisee followed Him there.

Even if he did not show up at Calvary, this Pharisee was “not far.”  He at the least heard about it in detail.  He witnessed or was witnessed to about Jesus being the scapegoat for Barabbas, about Jesus’ seven sayings from the cross, about the repentant thief who was promised Paradise, about the total eclipse, about fellow Pharisees Joseph and Nicodemus taking Jesus’ dead body off the cross and laying it in a borrowed tomb.  

This Pharisee was standing “not far,” from where Mary Magdalene spoke of seeing her “Rabboni,” risen from the dead, from where the risen Christ met with His disciples once again in that upper room, from where Jesus lingered with the first Christians for forty days before ascending to Heaven with an angelic escort.  

I would like to believe that the combination of God’s word, God’s Son, and God’s salvation, brought this Pharisee to God’s heart.

Closer to the Heart

This Pharisee from high places, 
Became the one to start,
To forge a new theology,
Closer to the heart.

We know the early church consisted of diverse groups of people.  Some of the believers, believe it or not, were believing Pharisees (ref. Acts 15:5).  I want to think this Pharisee was one of them, maybe even one of the first.

He came closer to the word, by asking the right questions and interpreting the right answers through the Lord Jesus Christ.  He came closer to the Lord, by discovering the Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life (ref. John 14:6).  He came closer to the cross, without which there is no gospel.  Finally, he came closer to the heart, with his new heart, received by grace through faith in Christ.  

I will be surprised if I don’t see him in Heaven.  I hope to see you all there, too.  Music will be playing.

In the highest of all places,
We’ll make a brand new start,
To enjoy a sweet eternity,
Closer to the heart, of God.