Not Far, Not In

Mark 12:28-34 October 3, 2021 Pastor Vince Corpus

Thesis We must know Jesus personally through faith, not merely know things about him or believe certain doctrines, because only knowing Jesus himself—trusting in his perfect obedience and atoning sacrifice—brings us into the kingdom of God.

Series

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Type

Expository

Tone

pastoralpropheticevangelistic

Method

grammatical-historicalapplicatorycanonical

What's in this sermon

The shape of the argument

48 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.

Pastoral correction · unit #42

"The pastor issues a direct evangelistic invitation to those who may be close to the kingdom but not yet in it, urging them to come through the cross to find faith, forgiveness, death to the old self, new life, and assurance—emphasizing Christ's willingness to save regardless of the number or severity of sins."

Doctrinal loci· 11 surfaced

Soteriology · 24 Christology · 10 Hamartiology · 7 Sanctification · 6 Ecclesiology · 5 Ethics / Moral Theology · 4 Bibliology · 3 Eschatology · 3 Theology Proper · 3 Anthropology · 1 Pneumatology · 1

Bible citations· 14

Illustrations· 2

historical example · unit #3 — The pastor recounts John Wesley's spiritual journey from religious expert to converted believer, showing how Wesley—despite extensive theological education, religious discipline, and missionary activity—came to realize he lacked saving faith, culminating in his discovery of Mark 12:34 which spoke directly to his condition as one close to but outside the kingdom.
historical example · unit #38 — The pastor recounts Wesley's conversion experience at Aldersgate, where hearing Luther's teaching on justification by faith alone caused his heart to be warmed and gave him assurance that Christ had paid for his sins, completing the arc from religious expert to genuine believer.

Theological claims· 12

We must know Jesus personally through saving faith, not merely know information about him, because only personal trust in his identity, works, and character—not intellectual assent to facts—brings salvation. unit #4
Religious knowledge, orthodox beliefs, and even teaching others about Jesus are insufficient for salvation if they lack personal faith—one can be extremely close to the kingdom yet still be outside it and eternally lost. unit #5
Knowing facts about Jesus produces legalism and endless striving, but knowing Jesus personally produces trust in his completed work on our behalf, which is the only path to salvation. unit #19
Total love for God is impossible for fallen humans because sin has corrupted every aspect of our being—our hearts deceive us, our souls are darkened, our minds are led astray, and our strength fails. unit #26
The law should have functioned as a tutor driving the scribe to recognize his need for Christ, and tragically, Christ himself stood within arm's reach—yet the scribe remained outside the kingdom despite his proximity and understanding. unit #29
The scribe's failure to recognize Jesus as Lord rather than merely teacher, and his failure to confess his inability to fulfill the commands, demonstrates that believing correct things about Jesus without personal trust in him as Savior leaves one outside the kingdom. unit #30
Only the blood of Jesus is sufficient for salvation—proximity to truth, theological knowledge, and moral effort all fail to save. unit #31
God's desire for mercy rather than ritual sacrifice finds its perfect fulfillment in Jesus' merciful sacrifice on the cross to pay for the sins of his people. unit #32
At the cross, Jesus the Holy One died as a substitute for unholy sinners, making the atoning sacrifice that his people could never make for themselves. unit #33
Through faith, believers can love God with all their being (though imperfectly) and genuinely love their neighbors, even sacrificially, because faith breaks the power of sinful self-centeredness that otherwise dominates us. unit #36
God's love, grace, and patience with sinners is demonstrated supremely in the Father's willingness to send his Son to die on the cross for our specific sins. unit #40
Knowing Jesus personally—trusting in his sacrifice, his perfect obedience, and his divine authority—rather than merely knowing facts about him is what brings us into the kingdom through faith in his cross-work. unit #41

Quotations· 9

"I went to America to convert the Indians, but oh, who shall convert me?" — John Wesley (unit #3)

"You are not far from the kingdom of God" — John Wesley's Bible reading (unit #3)

"It is possible to be within an inch of heaven, yet go to hell." — Kent Hughes (unit #5)

"Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and slow dancing." — Folk saying (unit #5)

"The commandment to not covet awakened in me all sorts of covetousness." — Paul (unit #15)

"Good men don't drink, cuss, or chew, or associate with women who do." — The preacher's grandmother (unit #18)

"It does not take much of a man to be a believer, but it takes all there is of him." — Kent Hughes (unit #24)

"He must increase, I must decrease." — John the Baptist (unit #28)

"In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street where one was reading Luther's preface to the epistles to the Romans. About a quarter before 9, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." — John Wesley (unit #38)

Read it

Full transcript

27,206 characters 48 units ~30 min reading time

0 · A church member introduces himself and his family, then reads the sermon text aloud from Mark 12:28-34, which recounts Jesus' conversation with a scribe about the greatest commandment and Jesus' assessment that the scribe is 'not far from the kingdom of God

Today's reading is going to be in Mark chapter 12, verse 28-34. My name is John Paul. This is my wonderful wife Carolina and Annabella and Sammy, my beautiful kids. We serve— I serve in the usher ministry. Carolina serves in the kids ministry. We've been a member for about 2 years, attending the church for about 5. Okay, okay, if you would please stand while we read God's word. 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? Jesus answered, 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. 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, 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 a whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 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.

1 · The pastor introduces himself, then pauses the sermon flow to address a pastoral concern about church members who are preparing to leave the congregation, urging them to inform the leadership so the church can commission them properly as people sent out into God's harvest field

Thanks, man. You guys can sit down. So my name is Vince. If you're new here and don't know me, I'm one of the pastors, and I get the privilege of preaching the Word this morning. And just, you know, kind of as a little note, we see a lot of people come into this church and a lot of people get sent out from this church. If you are, you know, here and you know you're leaving, not just Army PCSing, I know we've got nurses and doctors and like we've got other reasons that people are here. But if you know you're leaving, let us know so that we know you're leaving, so that we know, man, they're leaving, they're going here, the Lord is sending them out. You're not ours, you're the Lord's. And we just want to know, hey, the Lord is moving them to this place to minister there because it's his harvest field and the fields are white with harvest. And when you go, like Oscar and Teresa are after today, they are going to move somewhere and get involved and get planted and start ministering there as well. So if you're leaving, let us know.

2 · The pastor engages in a brief exchange with the congregation about service length, then transitions into prayer asking God to open hearts and minds to receive the word through the Spirit's work

And then quick question. What time are we shooting to aim to finish this service? Is it— are we like 90-ish? I know, I don't remember what the answer was. I remember like we're aiming for this, but like I don't remember because I got told we finished way late last time and I just, you know, I don't want to do that again. We used to go 90 minutes. We've been working our way back. Yeah. Target's 80, 85. Okay, all right, we didn't finish too late then. You're good. All right, we're good. All right, preach on, brother. All right, buckle up. No, let's, uh, let's pray. Father, thank you, uh, for your word. Lord, thank you that we now get to come to your word and be addressed by your word. And, uh, Father, we need your help. Open our eyes, our ears, our minds, and most importantly, our hearts. Lord, change us by your word and your Spirit interacting with your word in our hearts. We ask in Jesus' name, amen.

3 · The pastor recounts John Wesley's spiritual journey from religious expert to converted believer, showing how Wesley—despite extensive theological education, religious discipline, and missionary activity—came to realize he lacked saving faith, culminating in his discovery of Mark 12:34 which spoke directly to his condition as one close to but outside the kingdom

All right, Kent Hughes in his fabulous commentary, Preaching the Word commentary on Mark, tells us a story about John Wesley. And it's such a powerful story, I was like, man, I got to tell it, okay? So John Wesley was like the 15th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and he was born to be a minister, all right? He had a particularly devoted and gifted mom who did all that she could to bring him to the Lord. And the guy was really smart, okay? When he was grown, after going to college, he went and taught at both Oxford and Charterhouse. 2 classes: Greek and logic. Okay? Like, I don't even know what they teach you in logic, but it sounds very logical and like you have to be a smart guy to teach logic. All right? He had a great career at both Oxford and Charterhouse, then later went to serve in his father's church. And he was ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1728. He then returned to Oxford and joined his brother Charles and George Whitefield— yes, that George Whitefield— in a group that was called the Holy Club, right? They were dedicated to building a holy life, and while not yet truly converted, Wesley joined these men in prayer, study of the Greek New Testament, and devotional activities. He dedicated an hour each day for prayer and reflection. He'd take communion weekly. He set to conquer every sin. Fasted twice a week. Visited the prisons. Helped the poor and the sick. Hughes says all of these things helped him to imagine he was a Christian. Then in 1735, he went to America to convert the Indians and failed miserably. He wrote of his time there, 'I went to America to convert the Indians, but oh, who shall convert me?' In his travels, he met some German Moravian Christians who made an impression on him. And on his return to London, he sought out one of their leaders and writes that he was clearly convinced of unbelief and of the want of that faith whereby alone we are saved. And then Hughes writes, 'Then on the morning of May 24th, 1738, something happened that Wesley would never forget. He opened his Bible haphazardly and his eyes fell on the text in Mark 12:34, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' Beautifully, not only the verse but its setting— the Lord conversing with a scribe, a lost clergyman of the house of Israel— bears remarkable parallels to Wesley's own lostness.

4 · The pastor establishes the sermon's central theological distinction: knowing facts about Jesus versus personally knowing Jesus through faith, asserting that only the latter brings salvation, and that this text in Mark demands we examine which category we fall into

The story of John Wesley helps us by asking us a question down through the halls of time. Do we know things about Jesus or do we know Jesus? You see, knowing things about Jesus doesn't save a man. Wesley is proof of that. Believing things about Jesus does not save you. Again, Wesley illustrates that believing in and knowing Jesus saves us. So again, church, do we know about Jesus or do we know him? Do you believe some things about Jesus or do you believe in him, namely in his identity, his works, his character? See, this text holds out a truth for us today that we must know Jesus, not know about him.

5 · The pastor drives home the danger of proximity without entry, showing that both Wesley and the scribe possessed extensive religious knowledge and even taught others, yet lacked the personal faith that would have saved them, illustrating that being close to the kingdom does not count for salvation

See, John Wesley knew a lot about Jesus. He knew a great deal about Jesus. He even believed some of the things about Jesus that he knew. As a matter of fact, he taught others about Jesus. He even went to America to convert people to become Christian and to believe in Jesus. But he lacked faith. He didn't really know Jesus. Likewise, the scribe, a legal expert in the Old Testament law, that is the Old Testament system of faith and belief. He knew a great deal about and even believed some of the things that the Bible teaches about the Messiah. But he didn't know him. He didn't recognize him when he was standing in front of him. You know, a saying from my hometown comes to mind. You've probably heard it because it's probably not just from my hometown. 'Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and slow dancing.' It's true, check it out. It certainly doesn't count when we're talking about the kingdom of God. Kent Hughes says, 'It is possible to be within an inch of heaven, yet go to hell.'

6 · The pastor lays out the sermon's two-part structure, previewing how both movements will converge on the central thesis that personal knowledge of Jesus, not knowledge about him, is what matters for salvation

We're going to look at this text today in two sections. Section 1, 'Not Far from the kingdom.' And then the second part, 'not in the kingdom.' And both of those are going to combine to show us that we must know Jesus, not know about him.

7 · The pastor situates the scribe's encounter within Mark's narrative, noting that Jesus has been engaged in a series of contentious disputes with religious authorities since chapter 11, setting up the contrast between the scribe's approach and the others'

So, 'not far from the kingdom.' Think about where this passage lands in Mark, okay? Since the end of chapter 11, Jesus has been, as it's said here in verse 28, he's been disputing with the Pharisees and the Sadducees and even the Herodians, right? They come and they try to examine Him and they challenge Him.

8 · The pastor distinguishes the scribe from the hostile questioners by noting that while the first group came to challenge Jesus' authority and received a counter-examination exposing their murderous intent, the scribe approached with a different spirit after observing Jesus' wisdom

And the scribe is quite different from the others. Seeing that He answered them well— you know, the first group, they came to examine Jesus to see where His authority is from. 'By what authority do You do these things, Jesus? Why are You driving these animals out? Why are You overturning Our table's full of money. Who told you to do this?' Jesus' answer to them is that He has already examined them. And He knows that they plot His destruction. We see that when He tells the parable against them.

9 · The pastor recounts the second challenge—the question about taxes to Caesar—highlighting how Jesus' wisdom-filled answer proved the trustworthiness of his words and caused universal amazement

Then comes those who would trap Him in His words. Asking about paying taxes to Caesar, and he lets them know very, very plainly that his words are trustworthy and true. His answer, Mark records for us, everyone marveled at him because of his answer.

10 · The pastor summarizes the third challenge from the Sadducees, noting that Jesus directly rebuked their self-satisfied wisdom as fundamentally mistaken

And then come the Sadducees who come with wisdom that's right in their own eyes, and Jesus tells them, you are quite wrong.

11 · The pastor highlights what distinguishes the scribe's question: unlike the hostile questioners, the scribe comes with genuine curiosity after witnessing Jesus' wisdom, prompting Jesus to give the first direct, unguarded answer to a religious expert in this section of Mark

And then the scribe, seeing that he answered them well, comes with this burning question that he has to know. And you see his, like, legal mind. 'Which commandment is the greatest?' Like he sees, he recognizes the truth in Jesus' answers and he's like, man, this guy knows. I'm going to— which one is the greatest? Tell me. And we see that his answer is different. We see that his question is different because the answer he gets from Jesus is different. See, this is the first instance that we can recall where Jesus answers the question of an expert very clearly and plainly. Up until then, he answers the experts' questions in parables, or he asks them more questions that expose their heart, or he tells a little story that makes them go, 'Oh, maybe we're not going to—' We're not going to answer.

12 · The pastor quotes Jesus' full answer to the scribe—the double command to love God with all one's being and to love one's neighbor as oneself—and identifies this direct response as an act of grace from God toward a sincere seeker

And He tells this man plainly, 'The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, and you shall love the Lord your God with 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.' Jesus, seeing that this is a sincere question, answers him. And grace, the God of grace, answers the sincere scribe.

13 · The pastor analyzes the scribe's response, noting both the strength of his affirmation in the Greek and the courage it took to publicly commend Jesus in the presence of hostile religious leaders, showing the depth of the scribe's conviction about Jesus' answer

And then it goes on. The scribe then at great peril to himself commends Jesus. You are right, teacher. You are right. You could also translate this as like truly said or truly teacher or even like well said, teacher. I think the best translation is really right you are. 'Right you are, teacher.' The construction in the Greek is one which brings with it like the fullest heart, like it's the most kind of clear of like, you are this. 'Right you are, teacher.' It speaks to like the concept of being. You can be nothing other than right with that kind of answer. Is what the scribe is telling him. And he commended Jesus in public.

14 · The pastor emphasizes the political danger of the scribe's public commendation, noting that by affirming Jesus in the presence of those who had already plotted to kill him, the scribe was essentially defecting from his own camp and validating Jesus' authority as a teacher

See, the Pharisees and Sadducees and the other leaders are still around. All of the public, all of the people are around, and this guy's like, 'You are right! Yes!' He's breaking ranks. See, the Pharisees and the Herodians, Mark tells us earlier in his gospel, had plotted already to destroy Jesus. And this guy is sitting there going, 'You're right. Yep. That's it.' He's cheering for the other side. 'Well said, teacher.' He not only commends Jesus' answer, but also his standing as a teacher. He validates him and affirms his authority.

15 · The pastor places the scribe's statement in vivid physical context—surrounded by temple sacrifices—to show that the scribe understood that God desires heart transformation over ritual, that the law reveals our inability to keep it, that animal blood cannot remove guilt, and that the entire system points to something greater, yet he remained trapped within the system he recognized as inadequate

But he goes even further. '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.' Where are they? Where are they? Well, they're at the temple. And while they're not inside the place where the animals were slaughtered, they're out in the court of the Gentiles still, more than likely, because that's where all of this was taking place. You are going to see the animals as they're led by into the temple to be slaughtered. You're going to smell them. You're going to hear their braying. While you're not inside where there are tracks cut in the stone for the blood to drain, you're going to smell the blood. You're going to smell the fires of the altar where the burnt offerings were consumed. You're going to hear it and see it and smell it. And he's saying, 'Yeah, these sacrifices aren't really what God is after.' He understands that the sacrifices are there because the heart is not right with God. And the sacrifices can never, can never change where our heart is. See, he understood a little bit, and this is why Jesus can say of him that he is not far from the kingdom of God. This man understands something about God and His righteous requirements. He understands that the law is, as Paul says, it's a tutor that should lead us somewhere. It should lead us to a place where we say, 'I can't do it. I can't do all that is required of me.' He understands that following the law is impossible since, again, Paul, a good Jew who knew his Bible, knew the Word probably as good as the scribe, Paul says, 'The commandment to not covet awakened in me all sorts of covetousness.' And if we're honest, it does the same thing. And he knows that the blood of the sacrificial animals cannot remove guilt since it needs to be done every day, every time one sins, every day, every week, every month, every year until you die. He knows that the law and the sacrifices point to Jesus. Point to something greater. He knows that they point to the Messiah. But he's still part of a system.

16 · The pastor transitions from the scribe's theological insight to his theological captivity, noting that despite his understanding, he remained embedded in the Pharisaic system that had multiplied 613 laws as a means of achieving holiness and divine acceptance

He's still part of the system. He's still part of a system. Out of just the Pentateuch, the Pharisees had built 613— they had identified 613 laws and they built them into a system. If we follow these things, we will be holy. We will be accepted by God. These things that I do mark me out as a holy person, as a person accepted by God.

17 · The pastor pivots to direct application, confronting the congregation with the uncomfortable truth that despite our distance from Pharisaic Judaism, we engage in the same logic of building systems of rules to mark ourselves as holy

And we sit here oftentimes and we think, man, I'm glad I don't do that. But we do, don't we? We do.

18 · The pastor presses the application deeper by asking what external rules we use to mark ourselves as holy—clarifying that while some practices guard the heart, others function as self-righteous markers—and uses his grandmother's rules as an illustration of how we create systems of external behavior to define holiness

What kind of laws are we following that we think mark us out as a holy person? What external laws do we follow thinking that those things add to our salvation or mark us out as holy? Now look, there are certain There are certain practices that we should be doing that guard our hearts. Okay? Don't get me wrong. But then there are other things that we do because we think, 'Oh, that's what a holy person should do.' You know, maybe there are things, a type of movie we don't watch. There are things we don't drink. People we don't associate with. You know, my grandma illustrates this perfectly. She used to tell me, 'Good men don't drink, cuss, or chew, or associate with women who do.' As an unbelieving teenager, I argued with that. What about us? What are some of those rules like that that we think good people don't do? Or conversely, good people do? What is it that we're trying to build and measure ourselves up against? We think that these rules that we make are something that Jesus wants us to do.

19 · The pastor reasserts the sermon's central distinction: knowing about Jesus produces endless rule-keeping attempts that can never succeed, while personally knowing Jesus leads to trust in his finished work rather than our performance

The truth is we must know Jesus. Not know about him, not know some rules that we think would maybe make him happy, not do those rules that we think would make him happy. Knowing about Jesus, that he is holy, that he is perfect, that he is sinless, that he is all the things the Bible teaches of him, leads us to a list of things to do. Leads us to a list of never-ending stuff because we'll never measure up. But knowing who Jesus is, knowing Jesus himself leads us to trust in what he's done.

20 · The pastor explicates what Jesus accomplished: perfect obedience to the very commands he gave the scribe—loving God completely and loving neighbor sacrificially—culminating in the cross where his love for both God and neighbor was fully demonstrated

And what has he done? Oh, he kept not only all of the law perfectly, he kept perfectly what he was telling this scribe to do. To love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength. He did that perfectly. And He also loved His neighbor as Himself perfectly. And then He went to the cross for His neighbors. Because he loved God with all that he had.

21 · The pastor returns to the diagnostic question with renewed urgency after showing what Jesus accomplished, pressing the congregation to examine whether their relationship with Jesus is personal faith or mere intellectual assent, and reiterating the danger of proximity without entry

So do we know Jesus or do we just know about him? Do we believe in Jesus or do we just believe some things about him? You know, it's possible to be close but not in.

22 · The pastor signals the transition to the sermon's second major movement by posing the question that will drive the exposition: how could the scribe's response be both praiseworthy and yet leave him outside the kingdom, requiring deeper examination of Jesus' words

How can one be close but not in is the question that we come to now. What about this scribe is at the same time commendable but also damnable? What is it about him? Well, we got to look deeper into Jesus' answer to understand this, okay?

23 · The pastor re-quotes Jesus' command to love God with all one's being, preparing to exposit its demands more closely to show why the scribe's affirmation was insufficient

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 strength and with all your mind and with all your strength.

24 · The pastor explicates the force of Jesus' command by focusing on the repeated word 'all,' showing that Jesus demands total devotion of every faculty, not just partial religious commitment—a demand that should have stopped the scribe in his tracks

The emphasis here, it's not on the 4 different aspects as some people think of like, oh, Jesus is laying out a psychology of what makes up a human. No. The emphasis is on the all. The repetition of the all is what's important here. Jesus is saying, 'You must love the Lord with all that you are.' To which this guy should have said, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. Time out, Jesus. With everything?' And Jesus says, 'D-d-d-did I stutter? Yes, with all.' Kent Hughes again helps us. He says, 'It does not take much of a man to be a believer, but it takes all there is of him.' God demands all there is of us to follow him, and every facet of our being should be involved in our all.

25 · The pastor imagines the scribe's inner monologue, showing how his expertise and life dedication would have convinced him that he already loved God completely, revealing the self-deception that expertise and religious devotion can produce

And the scribe likely thought that he did love God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his mind, and with all his strength. Of course, of course I love God. How could I not? I'm an expert in the law. These guys, like, literally were an expert. They could tell you on page 3 of the law, 3 lines down, 6 lines over, what character was there in Hebrew. They knew the law that well. They were literally experts. 'I have dedicated my life to this. Of course I love God with all of my heart and with all of my soul and with all of my mind and with all of my strength. Don't you know who I am, Jesus? Don't you know?'

26 · The pastor asserts the anthropological reality that makes the command impossible to fulfill: human fallenness pervades every faculty mentioned in the command, making complete love for God utterly beyond our capacity

He failed to see that he was incapable of loving God in that way. It's impossible, absolutely impossible, because our heart is deceitful above all else. Our soul is darkened. Our mind is led astray and our strength fails us.

27 · The pastor exposes the impossibility of the second command by showing how our idolatrous self-love—which seeks glory, exaltation, and even God's throne—makes genuine neighbor-love impossible since there is no room for others when we are consumed with ourselves

And the second commandment is equally impossible for a man to keep. You should love your neighbor as yourself. You know, that's impossible because I love me too much. And there's just not room for you if I love me as much as I love me. My love for myself is far more than I love anyone else. I seek to exalt myself far too often to exalt another. I love my own glory and standing too much to lift up another. No, I cannot love anyone as I love myself since my self-love is often idolatrous. Because I'd even like to knock God off of His throne and sit down there many days.

28 · The pastor shows how the scribe would have rationalized his fulfillment of the second command through his teaching ministry, then applies John the Baptist's principle to show that true neighbor-love requires not only Christ's increase and our decrease, but also our neighbor's increase

And the scribe failed to see that about himself. Of course I love others. I use my expertise in the law to teach the law to them. That's love, right? Right, Jesus. And as John the Baptist says of Jesus, 'He must increase, I must decrease.' Well, now you could say that Jesus comes and says, 'Not only must Jesus increase, but I must decrease. Also, my neighbor must increase.'

29 · The pastor makes explicit the tragic irony: the law's proper function is to drive us to Christ by exposing our inability, and Christ himself was physically present before the scribe, yet the scribe failed to make the connection and enter through faith despite his proximity

The command to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself should have done to this man what Paul says the law does. It leads us to Christ. Paul says that the law is a tutor that leads us to Christ, and Christ was standing right in front of him. Within arm's reach, likely. The kingdom, the one who is bringing the kingdom was right in front of him and he didn't get in. He was not far, but he was not in.

30 · The pastor identifies the decisive failure: the scribe called Jesus 'teacher' rather than 'Lord,' failing to recognize Jesus' identity and his own inability, revealing that believing correct things about Jesus without personal faith in him leaves one outside the kingdom

And finally we see he was not in because he didn't recognize Jesus. 'Right you are, teacher.' He should have said, 'You are right, Lord. Help me because I can't. I can't do what you're telling me to do. But you're right.' And he didn't. He didn't because he believed some good things about Jesus. He knew some good things about Jesus. He was close, but he was not in the kingdom because we must know Jesus, not know about him.

31 · The pastor transitions from diagnosis to solution by asserting that since proximity and knowledge are insufficient, only one thing can save: the blood of Jesus

Being close is not good enough. So what is? Well, there's only one thing that's good enough, and that is the blood of Jesus.

32 · The pastor connects Old Testament prophetic critique of empty sacrifice with its fulfillment in Jesus, showing that God's desire for mercy finds its perfect expression in Christ's sacrificial death for sinners

You see, God desires mercy, not sacrifice. And we see that that comes to perfection in the merciful sacrifice of Jesus to pay for the sins of his people.

33 · The pastor grounds the substitutionary nature of the atonement: the holy Jesus died for unholy sinners, making atonement that we could never make for ourselves

Oh, man. We see it displayed on the cross where the Holy One is killed for the unholy ones. We see it where Jesus made atonement for the sins of his people.

34 · The pastor shows that the scribe possessed all the theological data and even recognized that the sacrificial system was inadequate, yet failed to submit to the logical conclusion of his own reasoning by asking Jesus to show him the better way

You see, the scribe knew about it, but he didn't know it. If he would have only submitted himself to his own logic, like all of the things Jesus was saying were fitting in his logical mind, boom, and he even said, 'Yeah, you're right. All of this stuff around us isn't gonna work. There's another way.' Submitting to the logic, 'Show me the other way, Jesus.'

35 · The pastor explicates Jesus' identity and work through Philippians 2, showing that Jesus was not merely a teacher but the Lord who perfectly embodied the double love command through his incarnation and cross-death, accomplishing what he commanded the scribe to do but could not

He knew some things about Jesus, but he failed to know Jesus and who he was. He knew the Scriptures pointed to the Messiah, but he failed to know the Messiah Jesus, and only Jesus could save him. He was way more than a good teacher. He was far more than a taskmaster laying out impossible tasks. He was the Lord telling him, telling this man, the scribe, the way of the cross. See, at the cross, the one who was in the very form of God, who did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, He emptied Himself by taking the form of a slave, and He was first a slave to the Father, loving God with all of His heart and with all of His soul. With all of His mind and with all of His strength, being in submission to the plan of the Father. See, all that Jesus did was not for His glory but for the glory of the Father. And He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, and became obedient even to the point of death on a cross. He did it for love for God and love for His neighbor. Us, his people. Jesus was laying out for this man what it is to be like Christ.

36 · The pastor shows the transformative power of faith: while we cannot fulfill the commands in our own strength, faith enables us to love God with all we are (though imperfectly) and to genuinely prioritize our neighbor's good, breaking the power of self-centeredness

A tall order, an impossible task if ever there were one. Yet through faith, we can love God with all of our being. Not perfectly like Jesus, no, but with all that we are. Every facet of our life can be touched with that love. And with the gift of faith, we can love our neighbors as we love ourselves, sometimes even more, as we seek their good over our good, as we seek to sacrifice things that we have or do on behalf of our neighbors. Why? Because through faith we can leave behind our wicked, sinful self-centeredness.

37 · The pastor signals a return to the Wesley illustration to show the resolution of his spiritual crisis and provide encouragement for the congregation

And church, we come back again to the story of John Wesley. Let's be encouraged by this.

38 · The pastor recounts Wesley's conversion experience at Aldersgate, where hearing Luther's teaching on justification by faith alone caused his heart to be warmed and gave him assurance that Christ had paid for his sins, completing the arc from religious expert to genuine believer

Kent Hughes writes again, 'Finally, it was May 24th, 1738, and as Wesley randomly opened his Bible, he read that beautiful statement that in 9 words condensed the progress of his spiritual pilgrimage. You are not far from the kingdom of God. Then came evening, and the famous statement in his journal tells the story. In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street where one was reading Luther's preface to the epistles to the Romans. About a quarter before 9, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me. That he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.'

39 · The pastor applies the Wesley story personally, testifying to his own conversion from being far from the kingdom, then addressing both categories of listeners—those raised in the church who may be close but unconverted, and those far from the kingdom—with the promise that the gospel can warm any heart and give assurance of Christ's payment for sins

See, when the gospel warms our cold, dead hearts, we can see that Christ died for our sins. Church, I was not near the kingdom. Like John Wesley. I was far, far from the kingdom for much of my life. The gospel warmed my heart, gave me assurance that Christ paid for my sins, even mine, though they were many. Maybe you grew up in the church not far from the kingdom of God, and when the gospel comes and warms your heart, it will give you an assurance that Christ paid for your sins, even yours. Maybe you were like me and you were far off, and you know what? The gospel warmed your heart and gave you that same assurance. Even yours he paid for.

40 · The pastor pauses to worship, marveling at God's love, grace, and patience with sinners, and the demonstration of the Father's love in sending the Son to the cross specifically for the congregation's sins

What a precious reminder of the love and the grace and the long-suffering of God with us in our sin. What an encouragement today, Christian. What love displayed by the Son, what love proven by the Father in sending him even to the cross to pay for our sins, even ours.

41 · The pastor returns to the sermon's central thesis one final time before the invitation, specifying what it means to know Jesus: trusting in his sacrifice, his perfect obedience, and his divine authority—this personal faith, not mere information, brings us into the kingdom

You see, the truth is we must know Jesus, not just know about him. Knowing about him does nothing, but knowing him, knowing his sacrifice, his perfect law keeping. His authority to do and say things because He is God. He has the authority of God. Those are the things. Knowing that. Believing that. Those things bring us into the kingdom through His sacrifice on the cross.

42 · The pastor issues a direct evangelistic invitation to those who may be close to the kingdom but not yet in it, urging them to come through the cross to find faith, forgiveness, death to the old self, new life, and assurance—emphasizing Christ's willingness to save regardless of the number or severity of sins

And maybe this morning you are here and you're not far from the kingdom of God. Come through the door of the cross and find faith. Come and see who Jesus is and know Him and His love and sacrifice. He can forgive your sins, even yours, even yours. No matter what they are, no matter how many they are, He can pay His precious blood His payment, and He paid it willingly. Come through the door of the cross and find your death that has been taken up by our Lord and find a new life that's been given by the same Lord, one where your heart has been warmed by the gospel and you can have assurance that He paid for your sins. He is trustworthy. Won't you come and trust Him? We must know Him, not know about Him. Won't you come and know Him?

43 · The pastor transitions to communion, framing the sacrament as proclaiming the same message as the sermon—that we must know Jesus personally—and setting participation boundaries based on saving faith while pointing to the eschatological hope of the messianic banquet

And now we come to the Lord's table and receive from Him bread and a cup that speak to us of His sacrifice. They speak to us that we must know Jesus, not know about Him. In order to be saved. If you don't know Jesus, we ask that you just observe this meal, not participate. If you've put your faith and trust in him to pay for your sins, then this table is for you. This is our covenant meal where we look forward to the day when Jesus once again serves the meal to his disciples as he did the first time it was served.

44 · The pastor institutes the bread element of communion by quoting the words of institution from Mark 14, calling the congregation to reflect on Christ's physical sacrifice and to examine their own beliefs before partaking

So let us open the bread. In Mark 14, Mark tells us this in verse 22, 'And as they were eating, He took bread and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to them and said, 'Take, this is my body.'' So let us reflect for a little bit on the Lord giving up His body for us. Maybe we reflect on some of the things that we believe that we shouldn't or the things that we don't believe that we should. Church, let us eat the bread.

45 · The pastor signals the transition to the second element of communion

Now let's open the cup.

46 · The pastor institutes the cup element by quoting Jesus' words about the blood of the covenant and the eschatological promise, calling the congregation to reflect on Christ's blood payment for sins and the future hope of being with him in glory

Mark continues in verse 23 of chapter 14. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, 'This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.' Let us reflect on the Lord shedding his blood to pay for our sins and the hope that we have in that sacrifice, that one day he will come and take us to be with him where he is. Alright, church, let's drink the cup.

47 · The pastor closes with prayer, thanking God for the word and the sacrament, acknowledging communion's function as gospel proclamation to one another and promise of Christ's return, and interceding for those present who may not yet know Christ personally

Now let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you, Lord, for your word once again. Lord, we thank you for the sacrament of communion. Lord, that it is a reminder to us of what Jesus has done for his people. That it speaks to us the gospel, that it proclaims the gospel to us, that through it we corporately proclaim to one another the greatness of the Lord and his actions. Lord, that it promises us again of that day, that great day when the Lord will come and make all things new. Father, for those who are here today that maybe don't know you, we pray that you are working, that you are showing them who Jesus is so that they would know him and not just know about And that they would find life in him. We ask these things in his name. Amen.

Where this fits

Recent preaching context

The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.

Jun 6, 2021

Be The Church Again

God has gathered believers to Himself through Christ so that they would prioritize gathering together in corporate worship, because something uniquely glorious happens when God's people assemble in God's house under God's Word.

Hebrews 10:19-25

Aug 1, 2021

The Fruit and the Root

Our spiritual fruit is directly determined by our root — where our hearts are planted and what they draw from determines what we produce, and only by being rooted in Christ rather than ourselves can we bear fruit for God's glory.

Mark 11:12-18, 20-21

Sep 19, 2021

God of the Living

God is the God of the living, not the dead, and this truth—revealed in Scripture and supremely demonstrated in Christ's resurrection—means that death for believers is merely a change of address, not cessation of existence.

Mark 12:18-27

October 3 · This sermon

Not Far, Not In

We must know Jesus personally through faith, not merely know things about him or believe certain doctrines, because only knowing Jesus himself—trusting in his perfect obedience and atoning sacrifice—brings us into the kingdom of God.

Mark 12:28-34

Take it further

Discuss · apply · pray

Small groups

6 discussion questions

In Mark 12:28-34, the scribe demonstrates considerable theological knowledge—he affirms Jesus' teaching about loving God and neighbor, and e…

Daily readings

5-day reading plan

This week traces the perilous gap between knowing facts about Jesus and knowing Jesus himself through saving faith—moving from the law's role as a tutor to Christ, through the sufficiency of his atoning work, and finally to the transformed love that flows from personal trust in him.

Prayer

Prayer for Personal Faith in Christ

Father, we adore you for your supreme mercy and patience toward us. You have sent your Son, Jesus Christ, to stand before us not merely as a…

Family table

Close But Outside

This prompt invites your family to reflect on the scribe's moment in the sermon—he understood Jesus' teaching, affirmed it, even stood out f…

Couples

Knowing Jesus, Not Just About Him

What did the sermon reveal to you about the difference between believing correct things about Jesus and actually trusting in him personally—…

Memorize

Mark 12:34

This verse is the sermon's pivot point: it reveals that proximity to theological truth and even wise answers about God do not equal salvation—the scribe remained outside the kingdom despite his understanding. Memorizing this verse guards us against the fatal error of mistaking doctrinal knowledge or religious practice for personal faith in Christ.

Daily readings · Monday–Friday

5-day reading plan

Monday Galatians 3:24

Paul teaches that the law was our pedagogue leading us to Christ—it exposes our inability to obey perfectly and drives us to faith in him alone. The tragedy of the scribe is not ignorance of the law, but failure to let the law's impossible demands lead him to despair of his own righteousness and trust in Christ's finished work instead. We must ask ourselves whether Scripture's commands humble us toward the cross or merely fuel our own striving.

Tuesday Mark 14:22-25

In instituting the covenant meal, Jesus declared his blood to be poured out for the forgiveness of sins—the one sacrifice that no human obedience could ever accomplish. The scribe's theological accuracy and moral seriousness could never bridge the gap between his sinfulness and God's holiness; only the substitutionary death of the God-Man could do that. We are invited into this meal to declare, week by week, that we trust not in our own righteousness but in his atoning work on our behalf.

Wednesday Philippians 2:6-8

Paul unveils the cosmic nature of Christ's obedience: the eternal Son emptied himself, took on human flesh, and humbled himself to death on a cross—the very instrument of shame and curse. His perfect obedience as the Son of God satisfied the Father's justice in a way no mere teacher or moral exemplar could accomplish. In grasping this—that the Lord of glory died in our place—we move from admiring Jesus as a great teacher to trusting him as our Savior and Lord.

Thursday Romans 7:7-8

Paul's confession reveals that knowledge of God's law—even truthful knowledge—can leave us trapped in the prison of sin's power if that knowledge is not met by faith in Christ's liberating work. The scribe, like Paul before his conversion, possessed accurate doctrine but lacked the personal trust that breaks sin's grip and transfers us from death to life. Our Sunday school answers and theological correctness mean nothing if they do not drive us into the arms of Christ in faith.

Friday Mark 12:34

Jesus' declaration that the scribe was 'not far from the kingdom' is both grace and judgment: the man understood correctly what Jesus taught, yet remained outside because he had not crossed the threshold of personal faith in Christ as Savior. The distance from 'not far' to 'in' is the distance of a single step—the step of trusting Jesus himself, not merely his words. We must examine our own hearts today: are we content to admire Jesus from a distance, or are we willing to surrender our lives entirely to him in faith?

Draft · pending review

Pray together this week

Prayer for Personal Faith in Christ

Father, we adore you for your supreme mercy and patience toward us. You have sent your Son, Jesus Christ, to stand before us not merely as a teacher or example, but as our atoning sacrifice—the Holy One who died in our place for sins we could never pay for ourselves (Mark 14:23-25). We confess that we are prone to the same deception that trapped the scribe: we can affirm correct doctrine about Jesus, know Scripture, even teach others about him—yet our hearts may remain outside the kingdom, trusting in our own understanding and striving rather than in his finished work. We acknowledge that proximity to truth is not salvation, and that religious knowledge without personal faith leaves us eternally lost, however close we may seem to the kingdom of God.

We thank you that the gospel breaks through this deadly deception. In Jesus we have everything the scribe lacked: a Savior who loved us with all his being when we could not love you at all, whose perfect obedience fulfilled what our corrupted hearts could never accomplish, whose blood alone is sufficient for our sins (Philippians 2:6-8). By faith in his cross-work, we are brought inside the kingdom—not by our moral effort, our theological precision, or our religious duties, but by personal trust in him as Lord and Savior.

Grant us, we pray, the grace to examine our own hearts this week: where have we substituted correct beliefs for genuine faith? Where have we created external systems of holiness instead of trusting in Christ's atoning work? Give us courage to confess our inability to fulfill the law, and strength to abandon the deadly pursuit of self-justification. Transform our faith from mere mental assent into the kind of personal knowing that breaks the power of self-centeredness and enables us to love you and our neighbors with genuine sacrifice (Galatians 3:24). To you alone belongs the glory—Father, Son, and Spirit—for your merciful work of salvation accomplished for us in Christ.

Draft · pending review

Sunday-evening family table

Close But Outside

For the parent

This prompt invites your family to reflect on the scribe's moment in the sermon—he understood Jesus' teaching, affirmed it, even stood out from the religious crowd, yet Jesus said he was 'not far from' rather than 'in' the kingdom. Listen for whether your kids grasp that knowing *about* Jesus is different from trusting *in* Jesus.

The scribe in today's passage knew the right answers about God and even agreed with Jesus. But Jesus said he wasn't quite in God's kingdom yet—he was close, but not inside. What's the difference between knowing a lot about Jesus and actually trusting him to save you?

works for ages 8+

Draft · pending review

Small-group discussion

6 questions for your group this week

In Mark 12:28-34, the scribe demonstrates considerable theological knowledge—he affirms Jesus' teaching about loving God and neighbor, and even acknowledges that this is more important than burnt offerings and sacrifices. What does the scribe's understanding reveal about the difference between knowing correct things about Jesus and knowing Jesus himself?

Mark 12:28-34

→ Can you think of an area in your own faith where you might possess orthodox beliefs about Jesus without yet having surrendered your life to him in personal trust?
Jesus tells the scribe that he is 'not far from the kingdom of God,' yet the sermon emphasizes that proximity to truth does not equal salvation. What is the danger of being near the kingdom but not entering it, and how does this rebuke apply to religious people today?

Mark 12:34
The sermon traces how John Wesley understood Christian doctrine and practiced Christian discipline for years before he truly knew Christ through faith. Why do you think religious knowledge and moral effort can substitute for genuine faith in our hearts, and what makes that substitution so dangerous spiritually?

→ What spiritual practices or doctrinal positions in your own life might you be trusting as evidence of your salvation rather than trusting in Christ's work alone?
According to the sermon, the law was meant to function as a tutor driving us to recognize our need for Christ (Galatians 3:24). The scribe recites the law, affirms it, and yet does not seem to recognize his inability to fulfill it perfectly. What prevents religious people from using the law as God intended—as a mirror that reveals our sinfulness and drives us to Christ?

Galatians 3:24
The sermon emphasizes that only the blood of Jesus is sufficient for salvation—that proximity to truth, theological knowledge, and moral effort all fail to save. How does understanding Christ's substitutionary sacrifice on the cross change what we are actually trusting in for our acceptance before God?

Mark 14:23-25

→ In what ways might you still be tempted to add your own efforts or righteousness to Christ's finished work, rather than resting entirely on his cross-work?
The sermon claims that knowing Jesus personally through faith in his sacrifice breaks the power of the self-centeredness that otherwise dominates us, enabling us to genuinely love God with all our being and love our neighbors sacrificially. How have you experienced this liberation in your own life, and what would it look like to live more fully in the freedom Christ's blood purchased for you?

Draft · pending review

Couples · three questions over coffee

Knowing Jesus, Not Just About Him

What did the sermon reveal to you about the difference between believing correct things about Jesus and actually trusting in him personally—and where do you sense that tension in your own faith?
As a couple, are there places where we've settled for religious knowledge or external practices instead of letting faith in Christ's finished work transform how we actually live and love each other?
How can we pray for one another this week to deepen our personal trust in Jesus' sacrifice and obedience, rather than relying on our own efforts or knowledge to secure his favor?

Draft · pending review

Memory verse this week

Mark 12:34

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.

Why this verse: This verse is the sermon's pivot point: it reveals that proximity to theological truth and even wise answers about God do not equal salvation—the scribe remained outside the kingdom despite his understanding. Memorizing this verse guards us against the fatal error of mistaking doctrinal knowledge or religious practice for personal faith in Christ.

Draft · pending review

Where this was preached

About the church

Cross of Grace Church

About us · What we believe

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# Cross of Grace Church

A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible.

## Sermons
- [Be The Church Again (Hebrews 10:19-25, 2021-06-06)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2021/06/be-the-church-again)
- [The Fruit and the Root (Mark 11:12-18, 20-21, 2021-08-01)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2021/08/the-fruit-and-the-root)
- [God of the Living (Mark 12:18-27, 2021-09-19)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2021/09/god-of-the-living)
- [Not Far, Not In (Mark 12:28-34, 2021-10-03)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2021/10/not-far-not-in)

## About
- [About the church](/about)
- [Plan a visit](/visit)

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