The Old and New Testaments work side by side this week, underlining a shared faith instead of distinctions. From the twelfth chapter of Mark's Gospel comes Jesus' own commentary on the Deuteronomic-Levitic laws and traditions. It should cause no surprise to see Jesus involved in such a didactic exercise. His identity as a teacher, stressed throughout Mark, is made especially clear in this section of the gospel. In three out of the four potentially combative confrontations with religious leaders (Mark12:14, 19, 32), Jesus is accosted as "Teacher." This week's pericope differs from all the other churlish challenges to Jesus' teaching authority in that it stands as Mark's single positive example of Jesus' encounter with a scribe.

The scene begins rather ambiguously - we are not told anything…