By The Rev Ron Purkey
Guest Columnist

Read: Luke 10:25-37

The Rev. Ron Purkey

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

The lawyer’s question: A lawyer, one who was an expert in the law of Moses, asked Jesus a familiar question: “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” But he really didn’t want to know the answer, he was only trying to trick the Lord.

The Lord’s response: Jesus responded by asking the lawyer a question in return: “What is written in the law? How readest thou?”

The lawyer immediately quoted Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. This man knew the answer, but he wasn’t doing it! He had a head knowledge, but wasn’t living out the truth.

Jesus told him, “Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.” (Luke 10:28)

Through the parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus teaches us how to love our neighbors and shows us who they are. What do we see when we look at others?

There are several characters in this parable. The thieves, the religious men, the Samaritan, and the “certain man” (read verses 30).

Like some theologians and Bible students today, Jewish rabbis enjoyed debating the fine points of doctrine; and this lawyer (a student of the OT law) wanted to hear what Jesus had to say. We get the impression the man was not seeking truth, but was only trying to involve Jesus in a debate he hoped he would win.

The lawyer proved to be evasive when it came to facing truth honestly and obeying it.

Our greatest responsibility is to obey the greatest of the commandments, which the man quoted accurately from Leviticus 19:18 and Deuteronomy 6:5. But we cannot rightly love God or our neighbor until we have God’s love in our hearts (Romans 5:5; 1 John 4:19).

If we cannot keep the greatest of the commandments (Mark 12:28-34), how can we ever hope to please God? How important it is to see that salvation is by faith, not by keeping the law; but once a person places their faith in Christ, he or she can depend on the Holy Spirit to help fill their hearts with love.

The parable of the Good Samaritan was given to answer the evasive question of the lawyer. “Define your terms!” is an old trick of lawyers and debaters. Instead of getting involved in abstract terms, Jesus presented a concrete case; and the lawyer understood the point.

We must not “spiritualize” this parable and turn it into an allegory of salvation. The point is simply that our neighbor is anybody who needs us, anybody whom we can help.

The “hero” of the story is a Samaritan caring for a Jew; the priest and Levite — professional religious workers — are not heroes at all. The question we must answer today is not “Who is my neighbor?” but “To whom can I be a neighbor?”

Read Ron Purkey’s Bible study outlines free at rcpbibleoutlines.com. Purkey has been an ordained Baptist minister for 50 years.