Mark 12:38 Commentary and Bible Study

There is here a lesson for anyone who would become his disciple: ‘Beware of the scribes.’ It is a lesson about what not to do, based on the terrible example of the scribes. And this was said publicly, and in the longer passage in Matthew’s Gospel, these things are also addressed to the scribes and Pharisees as well as to the disciples and the crowd, and form Christ’s final word of condemnation of their hypocrisy. Mark summarises it considerably. We are not surprised that he does, because, after all, the Gospel of Mark is really an evangelistic tract. That is what distinguishes it among the other Gospels. It is briefer in many respects, because it is a tract for the unsaved, for the unconverted. Therefore, the extended material against the scribes and the Pharisees, exposing their self-love and self-seeking, and their hypocrisy, is largely omitted from the Mark, because it isn't relevant so much for the winning of souls; it is relevant for believers. ‘Beware of the scribes which love to go in long clothing.’ The long clothing, probably refers to the extended hems that they would put on their garments to show their office and their station, and their piety, supposedly. Their eyes are entirely on themselves and the impression they make. They can scarcely think of anything else but themselves, and relate all around them to themselves. ‘And love salutations in the marketplaces.’ They love to be greeted as superior. They are waiting for the recognition of those who pass by. They may not know who those others are, but they expect them to know who they are. They meet such greetings with feigned humility, but they would be upset if they didn’t receive it.