THE K I NG ' S BUS I NE S S
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class ■ they were cold, calculating, self- seeking hypocrites, thoroughly in structed in th e law. They loved the chief seats; were fond of parading th eir knowledge. This scribe stood up to a ttra c t atten tion . He proposes to test th e qualities of th is young teacher. His question is one of the deepest import ance— the g reat question “W hat shall I do to in h erit 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 some th ing to be attain ed by hum an effort, a rew ard for service or sacrifice. A lthough th e subject was so vital, th e scribe was no t 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 the equivalent of “W hat m ust I do to be saved?” and its answer is found only in Jesu s Christ. (2) The Legal Answer, vs. 26-28. The Lord answers the question by asking one. He throw s th e scribe back on the law. The scribe was in ten t on testing Jesus and tu rn s th e tables on Him, making Him prove His acquaint ance w ith th e Scriptures. He answers well, summ ing up the whole law by bringing into contact two widely separated passages which contain the tru th in a nutshell. He quoted from Deut. 60 and Lev. 19:18. All th e faculties of man are to be swayed by love to God and man. This obligation, if kept, would en title any man to a seat in th e kingdom. But, alas, simple as it seems, it is heaven- high above the attainm en t of any scribe or Pharisee. In the effort to do this, the whole race from Adam down has made a spectacle of itself and stands self-convicted— a to tal failure. (Rom. 3 :10-12). Jesus Himself, in the m idst of th e people th a t day, was the only answer to the law ’s demands. He fully loved H is God and F a th e r w ith His whole being (Rom. 10 :4 ) and was mani festing love for His neighbor in coming to th e rescue of a lost world. (John 3 :16 ; 1 5 :1 3 ).
(3) The H eart-Searching Question, v. 29. “Who is my neighbor?” The lawyer is rebuked by th e answer of th e Lord. His conscience spurs him, and he seeks to ju stify him self by th e counter-ques tion, “Who is my neighbor?” He hopes to extricate him self by involving Christ. He th ink s it will be difficult for Him to define the relation of neighbor. The Jews had a circumscribed sphere in which they walked in the treadm ill of obligation. Outside of th a t they had no thoughts. To them there was no neighbor who was not a Jew. Jesus was to illum inate th e subject for all men and for all tim e; to give a once-for-all answer to the question: “W hat is the sphere of my obligation?” “Who is w orthy of my sym pathy?” “To whom shall I m inister in loving sacrifice?” He will show th a t real love knows no bounds. He th a t speaks of defining the lim its of love, denies th e life of loye. The sphere of the h e a rt must be the world, and th e sphere of the hand,— whom it can reach. (4 ) The H eart-Satisfying Answer, vs. 30-37. The law does not answer the question, but the Gospel does, and th is beautiful parable is the Gospel in action. Burden bearing, (Gal. 6:2, 9 -10 ); faith and works, (Jas. 2 :1 4 -1 6 ); doing for others, (Acts 3 :1 -7 ). Jesus takes up an incident which had no doubt actually occurred, and through it He illu strates a tru e neigh borly h eart. “A certain man” (he may stand for the first Adam and rep resen ta tive of all m en), goes from Jerusalem , th e city of God, to Jericho, the city of judgm ent. It- is down hill all the way, a perilous road, infested by robbers. A man sta rts in life w ith his back to God and face hellward. W’e have a picture of the man falling among thieves, stripped, wounded and left to die. The Devil is a highway robber. He allows no one to pass by w ithout robbing him.
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