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Day 126

Luke 10 : 25-37 "A LONG-DRAWN BATTLE"

Day 126 – Luke 10

Text: Luke 10 : 25-37

A LONG-DRAWN BATTLE

The Scribes, the lawyers, and the Pharisees had tried again and again to trip Jesus up. They had come up from “every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem” to listen to Him as He taught (Luke 5:17).

They held counsel among themselves to figure out how they might entrap Him (Luke 5:21). They were convinced that Jesus wasn’t the Messiah. They resorted to every tactic they knew.

They attacked Him by harassing His Disciples (Luke 5:30; 6:2). They confronted Jesus directly when they plucked up the courage to do so (Luke 5:33). They “watched Him closely” (Luke 6:7), to see if He broke the Law, particularly the Sabbath law, so that they could “find an accusation against Him” (Luke 6:7).

Time and again, the Scribes and Pharisees were defeated. “They were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus” (Luke 6:11). Every encounter with Jesus saw them humiliated. The authority and power of the Lord Jesus just could not be resisted! They could not find a reply to the miracles that they witnessed with their own eyes!

Nevertheless, the Scribes, the Pharisees and the lawyers tried to find some area of weakness in the life or teaching of Jesus. They probed everything He said and did. If they could just get a toehold, they would feel that they were getting somewhere! Once again, they tried. Their tactic changed. They became a little bit more civil, but their questions were as barbed as ever, no matter how cleverly they tried to disguise their attacks.

“TEACHER, WHAT SHALL I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?” Luke 10:25

A lawyer, that is, an expert in the Law of Moses, approached Jesus and sought to engage Him in a theological discussion. Luke noted that the lawyer sought to “test” Jesus (Luke 10:25. This same root word was used to describe how Satan sought to “test” Jesus in the Wilderness- Luke 4:2).

“Teacher” – the lawyer sought to be as polite as possible, even as he approached Jesus. The title, “Teacher”, was not easily conferred on just anybody. It was an earned title. The person who wore that title must of course be willing to be tested in his knowledge of the Scriptures, if he was indeed worthy of that title.

The greatest question anyone could raise was that of inheriting eternal life! Who would inherit eternal life?

Where was this lawyer coming from? How would Jesus be able to discern what this lawyer was trying to get at? Was it really an earnest question? Why would this most basic question be raised at all?

A QUESTION IN ANSWER TO A QUESTION

With tremendous wisdom and perception, Jesus answered his question with a question of His own. He raised two questions.

“What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” Luke 10:26

The lawyer swiftly and smugly answered the twin questions Jesus raised. The lawyer must have been quite excited at this duel that he was having with The Teacher. As Jesus parried his question, the lawyer was emboldened to make another thrust.

He answered confidently,

“You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your strength,
with all your mind,
and your neighbour as yourself.”
Luke 10:27

The lawyer knew that he had answered. This was indeed an excellent summary of the Mosaic Law. Surely, The Teacher must acknowledge that he was right in his summary!

“YOU HAVE ANSWERED RIGHTLY, DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.” Luke 10:28

Very graciously, Jesus received this reply and commended the lawyer. He had no quarrel with his theoretical answer. However, Jesus added an important word.

“,,.do this and you will live.” Luke 10:28

The lawyer must have been very sharp indeed. He saw how Jesus parried his thrust and made one of His own. The thrust that Jesus made was so subtle and yet so powerful, he knew he was defeated!

“Do this…!” Jesus challenged him to show that he truly LOVED God with ALL His heart, soul, strength and mind!

He knew within his own heart that Jesus was indeed a Great Teacher! How could anyone actually live up to this challenge to love God with complete devotion! No one would dare to claim that he could do this!

The lawyer was in danger of being publicly humiliated! He could not best The Teacher in public debate. He was cornered. His defences were in disarray!

REFUSING TO ADMIT DEFEAT

Instead of admitting defeat, the lawyer sought to salvage whatever he could from this duel that he knew he was losing. He wanted to “justify” himself. The idea behind this word is that the lawyer wanted to appear “righteous” before Jesus.

With desperation, he raised the question that no one had ever answered fully…

“And who is my neighbour?” Luke 10:29

How sad it is to be so near and yet so far from the Kingdom of God! How we all are guilty of desiring to appear “righteous” before men especially! The lawyer had such a good grasp of the Scriptures, and yet self-righteousness and foolish pride stood in the way. May the Lord deliver us from these sins!