“And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendeth more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
“Which one of these three, thinkest thou, was a neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that had mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”-Luke 10:30-37.
At this point our study for today opens. A lawyer thought to entrap the master by asking the question: “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” In those days, when the only law of Israel was God’s Law, a lawyer was one well versed in the teachings of the books of Moses.
Jesus therefore said to this theological doctor: “How do you understand the matter? You know what is written in the Law.” The lawyer replied: “We shall love the Lord with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, with all our mind; and our neighbor as ourselves.” Jesus approved this, saying that it was true. “Do this-keep the Law-and you shall live. You will never die.”
The lawyer was caught before he knew it. He knew that the people of Israel had been dying for centuries, notwithstanding the Law; yet himself and others were outwardly claiming that they were keeping the Law. Jesus showed him out of his own testimony that he was not keeping the Law, as he pretended to do and as the Pharisees in general pretended to do. The fact is that no imperfect, fallen human being can keep the perfect Law of God; for it is so comprehensive that only a perfect man could keep it thoroughly.
The lawyer sought to make the best of a bad argument and, instead of acknowledging his defeat, turned the question to Jesus again: “Who is my neighbor” whom I am to love as myself? This was one of the points which Jesus had particularly made against the Pharisees that outwardly they were pious, religious, they prayed, fasted, etc., yet in their hearts they were unjust and would take unjust advantage of widows and orphans-not loving them as themselves. The lawyer sought to imply that God’s Law did not include everybody as his neighbor but only certain special ones.
Jesus, however, again said to him, I will give you a parable. A certain man went down to Jericho; and on that lonely mountain road he was beset by thieves, who stripped him, wounded him and left him half dead. There happened that way a priest, one of the highest representatives of the Law; and when he saw the man he passed by on the other side. Likewise there passed by a Levite, next in relationship to service to the Law, the service of God. He went a little nearer and looked at the poor man, but did nothing. Then came along a Samaritan, an outsider, not a Jew at all; and he was filled with compassion. He bound up the wounds, put the man on his beast, brought him to an inn and took care of him, sacrificing his own time and strength in the wounded man’s interest. He did more than this. He paid for the man’s keep until he should return from Jerusalem.
“Now,” said Jesus to the lawyer, “I put the question to you, Which of these men acted the part of the neighbor to this man who fell among the thieves? Which one of these treatments of the case would fulfill the requirements of the Law, according to your judgment?” The lawyer answered that the one who showed mercy on the man was the one who had surely done the neighborly act. Jesus replied that this should be an example to the lawyer, that he should do likewise-that he should be kind, thoughtful generous toward any human being who was in affliction, in need of help.
Love Fulfills the Law
We do well to remember God’s real object in giving laws, commandments, etc. He is not taking pleasure especially in the number of times that we bow the knee or bow the head, nor in the number of times that we attend divine worship, nor in anything that we can do along the lines of worship. The Lord especially delights to see us cultivate his own spirit of love and kindness and generosity. “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God.” -1 John 4:16. As the Apostle says, “He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he claim to love God whom he hath not seen?” How could he know that he would love God?-1 John 4:20. Well does the Apostle Paul tell us that love is the fulfilling of the law. -Romans 13:10.
We are not to understand the Apostle to mean that simply to have love would fulfill God’s Law and give us everlasting life. No! It is only for those who have accepted Christ that love fulfills the Law. For all those who become disciples of Jesus, God has made a special arrangement, that the merit of Jesus’ sacrifice shall cover their blemishes; so that if they cultivate and possess the heart quality of love (God-likeness) it will be acceptable-because Jesus’ sacrifice makes good all deficiency. We are “accepted in the Beloved.” “The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us who are walking, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
St. Paul remarks that love is the principal thing in our character in the divine estimation. He tells us that if we should give all our goods to feed the poor or even if we should give our bodies to be burned in some worthy cause, and yet not have love-not do these things from the spirit of prompting of love-it would all count for nothing in God’s sight.-1 Corinthians 13. Evidently the great lesson for Christian people to learn is to put away all these-anger, malice, envy, hatred, strife, and to put on all these-meekness, gentleness, long-suffering, brotherly kindness, love. St. Peter declares that if we do these things we shall never fall, but that an entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be granted to us. -2 Peterl:10, 11.
R 5369 (1913)