Knowing The Word in Luke 10:25-28

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

10:25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put Jesus 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.”

Comments

At some unspecified time (“and behold”), a lawyer, one who was an expert on the first five books of the Old Testament, put Jesus to the test, meaning the lawyer was not interested in the actual answer to his question about eternal life, but as to how Jesus would answer it. The lawyer’s interest was in works, what one was to do, and not, most likely, in grace. He was interested in withholding his compassion instead of being generous with it.

To answer, Jesus turned to the authority of scripture. Elsewhere, Jesus used these same passages from Deuteronomy 5:6 and Leviticus 19:18 to sum up the Law that the lawyer used for his own answer. In commending the lawyer’s answer, however, Jesus was not commending a system of works. If we really love God in the way of which Jesus spoke, then we rely on him, not ourselves, for eternal life. This kind of love for neighbor is our response to God’s love for us, not the cause of our acceptance. When the lawyer mentioned “neighbor,” however, he meant those inside his community and/or fellowship, not those outside these domains. Jesus will challenge the meaning of neighbor with the parable he is about to tell. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is unique to Luke and stands out as one of the most important and beloved parables Jesus told.

Application

We all have our own definitions of neighbor. What is yours? Jesus’ parable that followers tomorrow, the Parable of the Good Samaritan, challenges all of our neighbor definitions.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, open my eyes to how I define neighbor. Through your Spirit, give me a wider, more generous and liberal understanding of neighbor, that I may not exclude people from my definition but be gracious and inclusive as you were gracious and inclusive. I want you to be my standard, not the standards of the world.