Short answer
Jesus said the first commandment is "Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord". A scribe had asked him which command comes first. Jesus gave the creed of Moses, then the command to love God (﷾) with all your heart. He said nothing about a Son or a Holy Spirit. The scribe repeated it back: there is one God, and none other but he. Jesus told him he was not far from the kingdom of God (﷾). If God (﷾) were three persons, this was the moment to say so. Elsewhere Jesus called God "my God, and your God". Islam teaches the same creed: Allah (﷾) is One, and there is none like Him.
Full explanation
The question Jesus was asked
In Mark's Gospel a scribe, an expert in the Law of Moses, asks Jesus which commandment is the first of all. Jesus answers with Deuteronomy 6:4-5, from the fifth book of the Bible. These words are known as the Shema, the creed that Jews recite every morning and evening. The 1917 translation of the Jewish Publication Society puts the Hebrew plainly: the LORD is one. Matthew's shorter account records the command to love God (﷾). It calls this the first and great commandment.
“And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?”
“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:”
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”
“HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE.”
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.”
The scribe's creed and Jesus' verdict
The scribe repeats the answer in his own words: there is one God, and none other but he. That is the language of Deuteronomy 4:35. Jesus sees that he has answered wisely and tells him he is not far from the kingdom of God (﷾). The man confessed one God (﷾) with nobody beside Him, and he did not mention a Trinity.
“And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:”
“Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.”
“And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.”
| Who | Words |
|---|---|
| Moses (Deuteronomy 6:4) | “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” |
| Jesus (Mark 12:29) | The first of all the commandments: “Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord” |
| The scribe (Mark 12:32) | “there is one God; and there is none other but he” |
| The Qur'an (112:1-4) | Allah (﷾) is One; He begets not, nor is He begotten, and there is none like Him. |
Asked for the first commandment of all, Jesus said nothing of a Son or a Holy Spirit.
How Christians read the answer
Christians also confess the Shema. They believe in the Trinity, the teaching that the one God exists as three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So they do not read Jesus' answer as a denial of the Trinity.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:”
“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:”
The moment to teach a Trinity
Jesus was asked for the first of all the commandments, the one that matters most. He gave the oneness of God (﷾) and the love of God (﷾). He said nothing of a Son to be worshipped or of three persons. Elsewhere he called God "my God, and your God", placing himself with the people who worship Him. In Mark's Gospel he asks a man why he calls him good, since there is none good but one, that is, God (﷾). He also says that only the Father knows the hour of the end.
“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:”
“Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”
“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”
“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”
The same creed in the Qur'an
The Qur'an states this creed so that nothing can be added to it. Allah (﷾) is One, He neither begets nor is begotten, and nothing is like Him. It then invites Jews and Christians to meet on exactly this ground. They are to worship none but Allah (﷾) and set up no partners with Him.
“Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.”
“Say: "O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back, say ye: "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will).”
Verse by verse
Mark 12:29 — Gospel of Mark, chapter 12, verse 29
“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:”
Cited for
Jesus affirms that God is one. Christians agree, and hold that the one God is three persons, so nothing in this answer denies the Trinity.
The response
The scribe spelled out what the words mean: one God (﷾), and none other but he. Jesus did not correct him or add anything. He saw that the answer was wise and told the man he was not far from the kingdom. Jesus himself said "the Lord our God", speaking as one who worships that God (﷾). He also called Him "my God, and your God". In Mark's Gospel Jesus says that only the Father knows the day and hour of the end, and the Son does not. The one God (﷾) of the creed knows what the Son does not.
Where it lands — The creed stated in this passage is one God with none beside Him, and the Trinity is nowhere in it.
Perspectives
Mainstream Christian
Jesus affirmed the Shema, and the church affirms it too. Christians hold that the one God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so the Shema and the Trinity do not conflict.
Jesus quotes the Shema, and Christians confess the same one God, understood as three persons in one being.
Rebuttal
Jesus does quote the Shema, and Christians do confess one God (﷾). But the scribe spelled it out as "one God; and there is none other but he", and Jesus, seeing he had answered wisely, added nothing. The Trinity is not in this creed, and Jesus said "the Lord our God" and "my God, and your God", as a worshipper.
Jewish: the Shema, said every morning and evening
Jews recite the Shema twice a day: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. It is the heart of Jewish faith. Judaism holds that it rules out any God made of persons or born as a man.
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Rebuttal
Islam agrees fully. Saadia Gaon, the 10th-century Jewish scholar, rendered the Shema in Arabic as "Know, O people of Israel, that Allah our Lord is Allah, the One". Jesus gave the same words as the first commandment. The Qur'an calls Jews and Christians to that common word: that we worship none but Allah (﷾).
The Islamic perspective
Jesus' own summary of the faith is the oneness of God (﷾), the creed of Moses and of every prophet. It is the creed the Qur'an teaches, and the creed of Islam: there is no god but Allah (﷾).
Asked for the first commandment of all, Jesus answered with the Shema: the Lord our God (﷾) is one Lord.
The scribe restated it as one God (﷾) with none other beside Him. Jesus told him he was not far from the kingdom of God (﷾).
Jesus' answer names no Son and no Spirit, although the question asked for the most important commandment of all.
Jesus called God "my God, and your God". In reciting the Shema he spoke of "the Lord our God" as one of the worshippers.
The Qur'an teaches that Allah (﷾) is One, begets no one and has no equal. It calls Jews and Christians to worship Him alone.