Luke 10:25–28 (ESV)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Part 1)
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
I am breaking this reading into two parts. I see part one being more of a theology question and the second part being more of a teaching point from Jesus. In part one, a lawyer stands up to test Jesus with
a question. The question he ask is a very valid question, even for today. He asks Jesus: “Teach, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This same question was asked by the Rich Young Ruler in Mark 10:17 and Luke 18:18.
A similar question was asked by the Philippian Jailer in Acts 16:30. Jesus responds by asking back a question to the lawyer: “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” It is often good to ask back with a question, for
it tells you how much the person knows and can assist you in answering. However, Jesus already knows all the questions of who, how, why... The Lawyer answers “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” From a Theological point, the lawyer has answered correctly. If you can do this, then you will have eternal life. The problem is
that this is impossible. The whole purpose of Jesus coming down from heaven was reconcile the world which cannot live by the law. If we can fulfill the law perfectly, then we don’t need Jesus. Because we are sinners, we need Jesus.
The first part of the lawyers answer focuses on God, the second part of his answer focuses on the neighbor. His answer is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your
mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus responds “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” It is the doing this and you will live is where we fall short. This is why we need a Savior.
We can’t “do this!”
I pray: O Lord, help me to love you with all my heart, soul, strength and mind, and help me to put that
love into action by loving my neighbor as yourself. I know I have fallen short and I repent and want to do better. Help me in my daily walk to be a better witness and to walk according to your ways, yet trusting in you that we are saved by faith
alone. Amen.