"And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 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. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 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 spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise."
In today's quote, when a certain young lawyer asked Jesus how he could attain eternal life, Jesus told him to fully obey the Law of Moses, to love God with all that he was and to love his neighbor as he loved himself. Then, in order to explain what the word neighbor meant, Jesus told him the parable of "The Good Samaritan". That parable demonstrated that everyone is the neighbor of those who believe in God.
What Jesus said to that young lawyer in today's lesson should not be misunderstood to be a means by which a lost soul can achieve salvation today. We must remember that Jesus was a Jew and in order to maintain perfection under the Law of Moses, Jesus was required to abide by the law until He had been offered up as a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. Until the death of Jesus, eternal live could only come after achieving perfection under the law. Therefore, Jesus was bound to tell that young lawyer to obey the Law.
As we now know, only after Jesus lived a perfect life, fulfilled the law and ascended back to heaven, are the lost able to achieve eternal salvation through the new law of grace through faith in the life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. ~
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