Mark 12:28  “…perceiving that He had answered them well…”
Was listening with an open mind.  Not sure of his intentions, but at least he was really listening to Jesus.  He asked the first important question when looking for the Messiah.

31  “And the second, like it, is this…”
Jesus picked up on the question, answered it, and took it to the next step to see how the man reacted.

33  “…is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices”
A flower among all the weeds.  This man had taken his education and profession to heart, and his mind was open to what God said.  Nothing more is said about him.  I hope he continued to listen to Jesus and eventually trusted in Him.

34  “…But after that no one dared question Him.”
Wonder why.  Was it because they were ashamed one of their own had spoken the truth instead of playing along with their sham.  Made them look foolish.  When the scribe asked the question, he listened to Jesus’s answer and actually checked it for the truth.  He wasn’t looking for some mistake to use against Him.  Showed the others were only making a pretense of searching for the truth.

35  “…the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David”
Scribes knew the letter of the law and the prophecy, but they never made the connection to the heart or spirit of what was said.  They swallowed camels and strained at gnats.  Didn’t understand the Messiah was both God and man, He would be the Son of God and also the son of David.  Knowing the letter isn’t good enough.  You have to go deeper to the true meaning.  It has to be a heart issue.

40  “…These will receive greater condemnation.”
Claiming to know and teach the truth, but missing the heart of it.  Also a warning to us to make sure our source is His word, the ultimate truth.  We mustn’t be flippant in conveying what it says.  We must be serious about finding the truth.  Rightly dividing the Word of truth.

44  “…put in all that she had, her whole livelihood”
She considered being able to give more important than having it for herself.  Certainly Jesus isn’t teaching that everyone must give up all they have monetarily.  The issue is knowing it all belongs to God to be used as He sees fit.  In the case of this woman, she was the total opposite of the rich man who walked away sorrowful because he loved his wealth more than God.  I imagine she did it out of love for God rather than any command or requirement.

I hope you enjoy reading and studying His word.  May it accomplish what He desires.  Please feel free to comment or post questions.  Thanks for reading!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.