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people th a t day, was th e only answer to th e law ’s demands. He fully loved His God and F ath e r w ith H is whole being, and was manifesting H is love for His neighbor in coming to the rescue of a lost world. (3 ) THE HEART-SEARCHING QUESTION, v. 29. “Who is my neighbor?”' The lawyer is rebuked by the answer of th e Lord. His conscience pricks him. He seeks to ju stify him self by th e question, “Who is my neighbor?” He hopes to extricate himself by involving Christ. He th ink s it will be difficult for Him to define th e relation of neighbor. (Luke 1 6 :1 5 ): “ A n d h e s a id u n to th e m , Y e a r e t h e y w h ic h j u s t i f y y o u r s e lv e s b e f o r e m e n ; b u t G o d k n o w e th y o u r h e a r t s ; f o r t h a t w h ic h i s h ig h l y e s te e m e d a m o n g : m e n i s a b o m i n a t i o n i n t h e s i g h t o f G o d .” The Jews had a circumscribed sphere, a treadm ill of obligation, in,w hich they walked. Outside of th a t they had no thoughts. To them th ere was no neigh bor who was not a Jew. Jesus was to illum inate the subject for them , and for all men for all time,— to give a once- for-all answer to th e questions: “W hat is th e sphere of my obligation? Who is worthy of my sympathy? To whom shall I m inister in loving sacrifice?” He will show th a t real love knows no bounds, and he th a t speaks of defining the lim its of love, denies th e life of love. The sphere of th e h ea rt m ust be th e world; and th e sphere of the hand, — whomsoever it can reach. (Matt. 5:43, 44)': “ Y e h a v e h e a r d t h a t i t h a t h b e e n s a id , T h o u s h a l t lo v e t h y n e i g h b o r , a n d h a t e t h i n e e n e m y . B u t I s a y u n t o y o u , L o v e y o u r e n e m ie s , b le s s th e m t h a t c u r s e y o u , d o g o o d to th e m t h a t h a t e y o u , a n d p r a y f o r th e m w h ic h d e s p it e f u ll y u s e y o u a n d p e r s e c u t e ' y o n .” (4) THE HEART-SATISFYING AN SWER, vs. 30-37. The law does not answer th e question, bu t the Gospel- does, and th is beautiful parable is th e Gospel in action. Jesus takes up an incident which had, no doubt, actually occurred and through it He illu strates a tru e neighbor’s heart.
They loved th e chief seats; were fond of parading th e ir knowledge. This scribe stood up to a ttra c t atten tion . He proposes to te st th e qualities of th is young teacher. H is question is one of th e deepest importance,— th e g reat question, “W hat shall I do to inherit etern al life?” It is framed in legal form as a scribe would natu rally p u t it. E tern al life was to him something to be attain ed by human effort, a rew ard for services or sacrifice. A lthough the subject was so v ital the scribe was .not in earnest. He no doubt th ink s he has etern al life by v irtu e of his being a Jew and a scribe. ’The question is th e equivalent to the ques tion “W hat must I do to be saved?” and its answer is to be found only in Jesus Christ. (2) THE LEGAL ANSWER, vs. 26-28. The Lord answers th e question by asking one. He throw s th e scribe back on the law. He will give him an oppor tu n ity to show h is knowledge of the law. The scribe was in ten t on testing Jesus, b u t Jesus -tu rn s th e tables on him and makes him prove his acquaint ance w ith the Scriptures. The scribe answers well, summ ing up th e whole law by bringing into contact, two widely separated passages *which contain the tru th in a nutshell,—Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18: “ A n d t h o u 'S h a lt lo v e t h e L o r d t h y G o d w i t h a l l t h i n e h e a r t , a n d w i t h a l l t h y s o u l, a n d w i t h a l l t h y m i g h t.” “ . . . . T h o u s h a l t lo v e t h y n e i g h b o r a s t h y s e l f .” All th e faculties of man are to be swayed by love to God and love to man. This obligation, if kept, would en title any man to a seat in the kingdom, bu t -—alas! simple as it seems, it is heaven- high above th e attainm en t of any scribe or Pharisee. In th e effort to do th is the whole race from Adam down has made a spectacle of itself and stands self-con victed— a to tal failure. (Rom. 3 :1 0 ): “ A s I t is w r i t t e n , T h e r e i s n o n e r i g h t - e o n s , n o , n o t o n e .” Jesus, Himself, in the m idst of the
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