Responding to God

“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.” Mark 12:34
In the Scriptures, we see two kinds of people, with opposite reactions to Jesus. There are those who came asking questions only in order to catch Him out, attempting to discredit His ministry. Then there are those who came genuinely seeking answers. Here is a man who was a teacher of the law (Mark 12:28). But he was not like the other teachers, who only sought to trap Jesus, while questioning His qualifications (c.f. John 7:15). He was open to what Jesus had to see. He hadn’t made up his mind about Jesus before listening to what He had to say. Rather, he considered what Jesus had to say, and concluded that His words were “well said” (Mark 12:32).
This man was on the same wavelength as Jesus. He listened to Jesus’ words without prejudice, and was able to accept them. He realised that Jesus was saying that the commandments given in the Scriptures concern our heart attitude, not only our outward actions. His answer demonstrates that his heart was soft towards the things of God, and responding to Him. So Jesus replies, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” It was only a small step for this man to accept Jesus as Messiah, and enter the kingdom.
Even today, Jesus has a polarising effect among people. There isn’t anyone who simply doesn’t mind or doesn’t care – people either seek to discredit Jesus and Christianity, or they are open to the things of God and are on the path to accepting Jesus as their Saviour. I hope you are in the latter group!