The lawyerâs first question was intended to âtemptâ Jesus, which here seems to mean, rather, âto testâ; that is, to ascertain His orthodoxy or His ability. Christ walks calmly through the snare, as if not seeing it.
Jesus knew their hearts. He knew that when the law has done it's work in the heart of a man or women they will come asking for mercy, not for direction on what good things they could do to gain eternal life. We see this quite often in the gospels: If a person comes by the law, Jesus answers them with the law. If they come by grace, they receive grace. We are 2000 years on but âŚ
But actually I think the lawyer posed this second question because he sensed that Jesus had subtly shifted the ground beneath him. When he asked that first question, it was clearly Jesus who was on trial, Jesus who was being asked to name the essence of the Torah, Jesus who was being cross-examined about the nature of his mission, Jesus who was being judged by public âŚ
It was simply a test-question to see if the new Teacher was sound in His view of the ethical obligations of the Law. The question, though the same as that of the young man in Matthew 19:16, is not asked in the same tone. There it was asked by one anxiously seeking to âŚ
a 34 But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, gathered themselves together.. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, b one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, a asked him a question, trying him [he was evidently deputed by those who counseled to ask this question]:
First, we must remember that this whole conversation started when the lawyer asked Jesus this question: âWhat must I do to inherit eternal life?âJul 15, 2016
Jesus was accused of blasphemy by the Jewish leaders. Blasphemy is a religious offence, when a person says or does something regarded as being disrespectful to God.
But He said, âWoe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers.â â Luke 11:46 (New American Standard Bible).Dec 2, 2015
The parable of the Good Samaritan is told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. It is about a traveler (implicitly understood to be Jewish) who is stripped of clothing, beaten, and left half dead alongside the road.
According to the Gospels, the Sanhedrin, an elite council of priestly and lay elders, arrested Jesus during the Jewish festival of Passover, deeply threatened by his teachings. They dragged him before Pilate to be tried for blasphemyâfor claiming, they said, to be King of the Jews.Mar 6, 2019
He notes that our earliest accounts of the crucifixion, such as the Gospel of Mark written circa 60-70 C.E., make clear that it was Pilate who had Christ crucified. Gospels written much later, such as those of Matthew and Luke, reflect different interests and viewpoints, and each places more and more blame on the Jews.Feb 18, 2004
Yes. A âChristian lawyerâ does not constitute an irreconcilable oxymoron. Rather, in most instances, a Christian lawyer may effectively serve God and his clients morally, ethically and without conflict with Biblical principles.
Zenas the Lawyer (Ancient Greek: ÎΡνវĎ) was a first-century Christian mentioned in Paul the Apostle's Epistle to Titus in the New Testament. In Titus 3:13, Paul writes: "Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them" (KJV).
A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnessesâ (Deuteronomy 19:15). âBut if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses'â (Matthew 18:16).
So the lawyer then answers his own question, with the response that could have been predicted all along: âYou 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.â The lawyer says this with his grown-up lawyer's ...
When asked which commandment is greatest, he responds (in Matthew 22:37): âThou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mindâŚthe second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.âApr 25, 2005
Just as you love your self by feeding your self with what builds up your self, so also your love for your neighbor must serve for building up of their self. Love for a neighbor that is of the same skin as love for the self is love that builds up, love that in it's very essence is altruistic.Oct 20, 2018
Jesus undermines the lawyerâs standing in order to show that the lawyer, like all the rest of humanity, needs not to stand his ground but to see the face of grace, and then to move, to repent. It is important to keep in view that the story Jesus told the lawyer was a parable, not an example story.
Luke says the lawyer intended to put Jesus to the test, and to do so, he asks two questions.
The lawyer depended upon the concepts âlove Godâ and âlove neighborâ to remain fixed and stable, a system of religious justification, and, again like most of us, he had found a sweet spot in that religious system that allowed him to be satisfied with himself and his life.
Jesus was not born to justify the righteous; he was born, as the angels over Bethlehem proclaimed, to be a savior. In Jesus, the system is not standing still. God is moving toward humanity in mercy and calling humanity to move toward God in repentance. And that is why Jesus throws the lawyer into the ditch beside the Jericho road.
But that is precisely the beginnerâs blunder committed by the well-known Torah attorney who shows up in the tenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke. At this point in Luke, Jesus has âset his face to go to Jerusalemâ (9:51) and is beginning the long journey to the city of his destiny, the city of his death, the city of his glory.
In one breathtaking move, the court is turned upside down. The lawyer is now in the dock; the lawyer is now the one on trial. No longer the solicitor prosecuting the case, the lawyer is now the accused defending his righteousness. So, the lawyer, now suddenly the defendant, seeks to do what every accused person desires.
Only the Samaritan, the despised Samaritan, the one by whom the lawyer would not want even to be touched, only the Samaritan lifted him up, dressed his wounds, cared for his life, helped him move from a place of death to a place of life.
His intent was wrong. He was trying to get the lawyer to evaluate his life and his heart and see that his intentions were off.
Interestingly, a common question of invitation Jesus asked was, âWhat are you looking for?â (John 1:38)
Jesus asked a LOT of questions in his years walking this earth. By one estimate, he asks a total of 307 questions that are recorded in the Gospels. What makes that number truly surprising is how few questions he actually answered. We only have 8 recorded answers that Jesus gave.
He will not force anyone. Jesus asks this question in hopes they will choose a relationship with him over other pursuits in life. Jesus asks a question of invitation, rather than demand obedience.
Itâs in these questions, Jesus asks his disciples if they truly love him. If they actually want to be with him. The first one comes in John 6. After Jesus teaches a very hard lesson, everyone listening decides following Jesus is too difficult and they get up and leave.
The only character in the Bible who comes close to filling the job of a prosecuting attorney is Tertullus, an orator who was knowledgeable of Roman law and who was paid by the Jews to present their initial case against Paul before Governor Felix ( Acts 24:1 ).
The Bible mentions human accusersâthose who bring a charge against another in front of a court or magistrateâ but they are usually witnesses, not lawyers for the prosecution ( Luke 12:58; Matthew 5:25 ).
In the case of the Christian, the extenuating circumstance is Jesusâ sacrifice, which paid our debt to the Lawgiver and allowed us to go free, despite our guilt according to the Law ( Romans 8:1â5 ). Lawyers today face many ethical and moral challenges. One is how far a lawyer should go to protect and defend a client.
Israel was under the legal jurisdiction of Rome during Jesusâ time, so when the Bible mentions âteachers of the lawâ ( Luke 5:17) or âlawyersâ ( Luke 14:3, ESV ), it is referring to the religious leaders who were experts in the Mosaic Law. The modern-day court system, with prosecuting attorneys and defense attorneys, ...
A Christian lawyer should not knowingly defend a guilty client if the defense would involve falsehood, excusing the crime, or blame-shifting. Ignoring justice is something that God âdetestsâ ( Proverbs 17:15 ).
The concept of prosecutors and defense attorneys, or advocates, is a biblical one. We have a spiritual Advocate in Jesus Christ, the righteous ( 1 John 2:1 ). He defends our cause before the Judge, God the Father. There is a prosecuting attorney, too: the Accuser, Satan ( Revelation 12:10 ).
Third, on principle, it is wrong to acquit a guilty man, because we must all come to the recognition of our guilt before God if we are to be saved ( James 2:10; Romans 3:19â20, 28; 8:1â2 ). Defending a client knowing of his guilt is no different, morally, from aiding and abetting the crime itself. Return to:
Jesus tells the man, âIf you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow meâ ( Matthew 19:21 ). The young man decided that Jesus was asking too much.
This man also had âgreat wealthâ ( Matthew 19:22 ), and Jesus later used His conversation with this man to teach the detrimental effect money can have on oneâs desire for eternal life (verses 23â24). The lesson Jesus draws from this incident concerns money, not salvation by works.
In His conversation with the rich young ruler, Christ did not teach that we are saved by the works of the Law. The Bibleâs message is that salvation is by grace through faith ( Romans 3:20, 28; 4:6; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:9; 2 Timothy 1:9 ).
Since the lawyer wanted to know âwhat to do,â Jesus gave him a summary of the law, âââLove the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mindâ; and, âLove your neighbor as yourself.ââ.
Jesus did not tell the story to teach us about brotherly kindness or good neighborliness but to show the lawyer how impracticable it was to perfectly keep the law, because that lawyer would never have accepted a Samaritan as his neighbor (Luke 10:25-37).
God in the Old Testament spoke to the people through prophets using parables. Jesus, being a âProphetâ, used this method to communicate certain lessons to the audience of His day. One of such parables that was told by Jesus was that of the Good Samaritan. What was the parable about?
So, Jesus told this story, in response to the question by the lawyer about who he should consider and relate with as his neighbor; in this case, a Samaritan.
The Bible says that the law cannot justify (Galatians 2:16, Rom 3:28), rather it accuses (John 5:45) and gives sin-consciousness (Romans 3:20). We can only receive the righteousness of God by grace through faith. It is not of works, lest any man boasts (Romans 3:22-24,28; Romans 5:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-9). Spread the love.