Luke 10:25-28 “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ‘What is written in the Law?’ he replied. ‘How do you read it?’
Full Answer
“Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “ ‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied.
10:25-37 If we speak of eternal life, and the way to it, in a careless manner, we take the name of God in vain. No one will ever love God and his neighbour with any measure of pure, spiritual love, who is not made a partaker of converting grace. But the proud heart of man strives hard against these convictions.
Luke 10:25-37 25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?"
Jul 17, 2018 · So who are we dealing with in Luke 10? We cannot be certain, but the lawyer whose question resulted in the parable was probably a Pharisee. There are several reasons for believing this. The strongest indication is the lawyer’s first question: “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” . The Pharisees believed in resurrection, whereas the Sadducees did not.
The Sadducees were primarily aristocrats. Most were priests , but not all priests were Sadducees. (Emil Schürer points this out in his five-volume History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ .) It was the “aristocratic priests: those who by their possessions and offices also occupied influential civil positions” (Second Division, Volume 2, p. 30) who were the substance of the Sadducee party. This group was highly political, generally more interested in retaining power than in providing spiritual leadership.
The Torah, or Five Books of Moses, is the core of that Law. Here’s where it gets tricky, though. A lawyer who was also a Pharisee – as many of them were – would regard the oral law as equally binding. (This oral law eventually became the Talmud after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D.)
The story of the Good Samaritan teaches some very important lessons to law keepers, to those who wrongly supposed they can earn eternal life by doing good works. It teaches that those in the highest offices of Judaism are guilty of a lack of compassion, which is at the heart of what the law required:
When the two Jewish religious leaders saw the injured man, they seem to be repulsed, and they do everything they can to ignore and avoid him . The Samaritan, moved with compassion, does everything possible to minister to the needs of the injured victim.
The Jewish lawyer who approached Jesus wanted to know what he must do to inherit eternal life. He was looking at his own works and trying to justify himself. He was thinking that what he did was enough. On one level, Jesus' answer about the good Samaritan pointed out that this man didn't love like he should. It pointed out that he was actually like the priest and the Levite in the story who were only willing to help those they liked. But the story was used to teach this lawyer much more. It also pointed out the inadequacy of the law to actually save a man. Instead, it pointed the lawyer to the One, the despised One... the Lord Jesus, who was the true good Samaritan who went out of His way to save mankind. Jesus didn't cross over to the other side of the road. He saw the problem and didn't look for someone else to sort the problem. He made no excuses. He counted the cost and, knowing it would cost Him His very life, gave up all to bring us back to God.
Luke 10:30-35 NIV In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. (31) A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. (32) So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. (33) But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. (34) He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. (35) The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
Jericho was cursed in the Old Testament by Joshua. As a type it is a picture of the world. So the picture is of a man leaving the city and presence of God and going downward unto the cursed place. The man: He is robbed and left for dead.
Here is the very familiar story of the good Samaritan. A man has been beaten, robbed and left for dead. It is of a story that would have been familiar to Jesus' hearers for it was common for thieves and muggers to hide along the road between Jerusalem and Jericho.