The Word this Week
Luke 10:24…
We come to one of the most famous of Jesus’ many parables…
It begins with a question from a legalist. It is the most important question anyone could ever ask: What must I do to inherit eternal life?
Emphasis on the word ‘DO,’ because this is the way legalists usually phrase this question. Being a lawyer can be a great blessing, but it can also be a curse, since expertise in the Jewish Law can lead one to think it is by the keeping of the Jewish Law one may inherit eternal life.
Jesus, in His usual fashion with one who is a genuine seeker, answers this lawyer’s question with a question: “What is written in the Law? What is your reading of it?
This is a good question to ask of ourselves. As you read God’s Word, what is your understanding of how anyone may inherit eternal life? Unfortunately, I believe most people do not spend much time pondering how to inherit eternal life. Not really. And especially those who have been mired in any sort of works-based doctrine, such as Judaism or Roman Catholicism.
It is very difficult for humans to escape thinking there is something they must DO to earn God’s favor.
Even when there has been a comprehension of the doctrine of salvation by God’s grace alone – which the Bible fully teaches - there can be great difficulty departing from despairing over a sense there is WORK to be done…
This legal expert, (the word ‘lawyer’ in this case literally means ‘expert,’) has a very generous handling of God’s Law, seeming to understand it is indeed a Law of love.
Likewise, Jesus is very generous with His response to this lawyer’s interpretation, in which he has boiled down all of God’s Law to two essential points: 1. Love God, and 2. Love your neighbor.
Jesus’ answer is fascinating. “You have answered rightly, DO this and you will live.”
The problem for all mankind - including this inquisitive lawyer - is no one can DO these things as the Law of God demands. This well-meaning lawyer certainly hasn’t, and the discomfort of his experiencing the conviction of the Holy Spirit prompts a follow-up question devised to bring relief from what he knows and Jesus knows about himself: “And who is my neighbor?”
Can anyone be disqualified from being considered my neighbor? Perhaps the dreaded Samaritans?
Pastor Bill
We come to one of the most famous of Jesus’ many parables…
It begins with a question from a legalist. It is the most important question anyone could ever ask: What must I do to inherit eternal life?
Emphasis on the word ‘DO,’ because this is the way legalists usually phrase this question. Being a lawyer can be a great blessing, but it can also be a curse, since expertise in the Jewish Law can lead one to think it is by the keeping of the Jewish Law one may inherit eternal life.
Jesus, in His usual fashion with one who is a genuine seeker, answers this lawyer’s question with a question: “What is written in the Law? What is your reading of it?
This is a good question to ask of ourselves. As you read God’s Word, what is your understanding of how anyone may inherit eternal life? Unfortunately, I believe most people do not spend much time pondering how to inherit eternal life. Not really. And especially those who have been mired in any sort of works-based doctrine, such as Judaism or Roman Catholicism.
It is very difficult for humans to escape thinking there is something they must DO to earn God’s favor.
Even when there has been a comprehension of the doctrine of salvation by God’s grace alone – which the Bible fully teaches - there can be great difficulty departing from despairing over a sense there is WORK to be done…
This legal expert, (the word ‘lawyer’ in this case literally means ‘expert,’) has a very generous handling of God’s Law, seeming to understand it is indeed a Law of love.
Likewise, Jesus is very generous with His response to this lawyer’s interpretation, in which he has boiled down all of God’s Law to two essential points: 1. Love God, and 2. Love your neighbor.
Jesus’ answer is fascinating. “You have answered rightly, DO this and you will live.”
The problem for all mankind - including this inquisitive lawyer - is no one can DO these things as the Law of God demands. This well-meaning lawyer certainly hasn’t, and the discomfort of his experiencing the conviction of the Holy Spirit prompts a follow-up question devised to bring relief from what he knows and Jesus knows about himself: “And who is my neighbor?”
Can anyone be disqualified from being considered my neighbor? Perhaps the dreaded Samaritans?
Pastor Bill