"[...]One of the most noticeable things about Jesus' interactions with others is how people loved to ask him questions. Crowds press in with questions; Jesus' disciples call him aside for questions; and those who disagree with Jesus try to trap him with questions. It's easy to dislike this third group, and it often seems as though Jesus is wasting his time when talking with them. Doesn't he know that their questions are just thinly veiled attempts to trick him into saying something they can use to accuse him? Yet he patiently listens to their questions, and he answers them one by one.
This day the questions are coming fast and furious. One group asks a question about paying taxes; another group launches into a series of questions about marriage. Jesus' answers are brilliant and right to the heart, as always, but it seems that maybe it's time to move on and talk to some who are more open to what he has to say. Then a teacher from the edge of the crowd asks a question with a slightly different tone. There seems to be a genuineness to his question not heard from the others. He simply asks, 'Of all the commandments, which is most important?'
In Jesus' answer is the most important statement about relationships you'll ever hear. As Jesus speaks, he leaves no doubt as to the value he places on relationships:
'The most important [commandment] ... is this: ... Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your sould and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Mark 12:28-34)
- Tom Holladay, The Relationship Principles of Jesus (pp. 25-26)
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