LUKE 10:25-29 LAWYER SEEKS LOOPHOLE

LAWYER SEEKS LOOPHOLE

Luke 10:25-29

Luke 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Susie: This man was a scribe who was an expert in Jewish law. He was looking for a way to trip Jesus up, asking him a “trick” question.

Susan: He acted like he wanted to know the requirements or prerequisites to being sure to have life forever with God.

Susie: He is not the only person in the New Testament to ask this question:

Matthew 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

Luke 18:18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

John 3:1-4 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

Susie: It is a question many ask. People want to know how to live in Heaven forever.

Luke 10:26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

Susan: Jesus answered the lawyer’s inquiry with a question of His own.

Susie: The Jews believed that keeping the Law was the key to eternal life, so Jesus asked the lawyer what the Law said and how he interpreted it.

Luke 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

Susie: When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus had answered with the same Scriptures this lawyer quoted:

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Susie: They were both citing from the Law:

Deuteronomy 6:5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

Susan: These two verses encompass the priority and the whole of the Law. If you love God and your neighbor with complete abandon, you uphold fulfill the Law. But of course, no human except the God-Man Jesus can perfectly love God completely and his neighbor as himself. No one can obey the Law 100% of the time.

Luke 10:28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

Susie: We know that no person can love God and others perfectly, so why would Jesus say doing this would bring life? He was expressing what was written in the Old Testament:

Leviticus 18:5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the Lord.

Ezekiel 20:11 And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.

Susan: The Law was to teach us that we could never measure up to the standards of a holy God, and we must throw ourselves on the altar of His tender mercy.

Galatians 3:24-25 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Luke 10:29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

Susie: The expert in the Law, instead of humbly admitting he could not perfectly love God and his neighbor, tried to pin Jesus down on exactly who that neighbor was. Some Jewish leaders taught that the neighbor was only fellow pious Jews, therefore excluding Gentiles and even people they saw as blatant sinners. The man was looking for an “out.”

Luke 10:29 (MSG)   Looking for a loophole, he asked, “And just how would you define ‘neighbor’?”

Susan: The expert in the law seemed to be approaching Jesus with a haughty demeanor from the start. After all, he was looking to entrap him in a legal debate.

Ponder this and Apply it: We know we do not receive eternal life because of our works because no person can fully meet God’s standards:

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

However, even though we are saved by grace through faith the Lord has given us, we are saved unto good works.

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

The question we must ask ourselves is, “Am I wholeheartedly loving God and loving my neighbor as myself, or am I seeking a loophole to avoid demonstrating love to a difficult, seemingly unlovable person in my path?” Seek the Lord honestly about this question and ask Him for the grace to show His love to those He places around you.