The Scribe who answered wisely.

One day some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to trap the Master Yeshua in His own words. They asked  Him whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. Later came some Sadducees who asked the Master a tricky question about the resurrection which they do not believe in. After that came a scribe who was impressed by the answers that the Master Yeshua had given to all those deceptive questions and asked:

Mark 12:28-31 NKJV
“Which is the first commandment of all?”
Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Note the answer from our Master Yeshua the Anointed One. He answered with the Shema from Deuteronomy 6: 4-5, the first part of a very important prayer of Jews all over the world today. Shema means  "Hear" and this passage in Deuteronomy chapter 6 is called the Shema prayer. By saying "Shema Yisrael, YHWH Eloheinu, YHWH echad", the Master Yeshua was telling the scribe that the greatest of all commandments in the Torah must be based on the affirmation that our God is One. There is no other God besides YHWH. He is the Only True God (see John 17:3)

Furthermore, in v32-33, the scribe affirmed his understanding of the Messiah's words. Note the scribe's reference to God as a singular person "Him" and "He". He is our Only True God.:

Mark 12: 32-33 NKJV (emphasis added)
So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but HE. And to love HIM with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul,and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Finally, the Messiah confirmed the words of the scribe by telling him that he had answered wisely and that he was not far from the Kingdom of God.

Mark 12:34 NKJV
Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

Shema Yisrael. YHWH Eloheinu YHWH echad.

P.S. Just realised that I wrote a post with the same title almost exactly two years ago:
The Scribe Who Answered Wisely 15Jan2011