Luke 10--part 1

My apologies for the long delay, but here I'd like to comment on a passage people tend to think they're more familiar with than they actually are (including me): the story of the Good Samaritan. First of all, look at the question: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" How would you answer that question? I'd probably say, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you'll be saved" (Acts 16:31--Paul's answer to the Philippian jailer's question, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"). I think that's a good answer, but notice it isn't Jesus' response: "What does the Torah say?" Notice Jesus responds with a question--how cool is that! But Jesus points him to the Torah--the Law. How does that work? The way I had looked at this passage, I figured Jesus wanted to point out that he couldn't keep the whole thing, so he'd need something else (grace). But that came from my NOT UNDERSTANDING THE ORIGINAL QUESTION. "To inherit eternal life" doesn't just mean "how do I get to heaven," it is an idiomatic expression meaning "how do I live the way God wants me to? NOW." So it's not a question about forever-after as much as it's a question about living well right now. Again, if it's a question about salvation, Jesus' responses don't make sense. Jesus points him to the Law, the guy recites Shema along with "Love your neighbor as yourself" and Jesus says, "You have answered correctly. Do this and you will LIVE [really live--God's way]." I think Jesus is talking about really living NOW.

Second thing--there were 8 great debates about the Torah in Jesus' day. Different rabbis interpreted the Torah differently and they argued feircely about their differences. One of those debates was "What is the greatest commandment?" Actually, everyone agreed on the greatest (Shema Israel...), but the disagreement about which was next most important raged. Why the discussion? Aren't they all important? Well, yes, but what if you were in a situation where you couldn't keep both commandments? Which would you keep and which would you break? For example, Exodus 20:8-12: Keep the Sabbath Holy--don't do any work on it. Exodus 23:4-5: If you see someone else's animal wondering off, take it back to him. Two commands. What if you see someone's animal wondering off on the Sabbath? Bringing it back would definitely qualify as work. So do you bring it back (keeping the second commandment and breaking the first) or do you not bring it back (keep the first commandment and break the second)? Your answer will depend on which commandment you think is more important. By the way, for those who think this Sabbath thing is passe, read Isaiah 56:1-7--the chapter that talks about Gentiles (you and me) coming to know God. Three times God talks about how important Sabbath is. Anyway, if you ask Rabbi "A" what is the most important commandment he may say something like Shema, then Sabbath, then Kosher, then touch no unclean thing, then love your neighbor as yourself,... (although you probably wouldn't get a list--that's Western--you'd probably get a series of stories/parables). Ask Rabbi "B" and he may say, Shema, then love your neighbor, then Sabbath, then touch no unclean thing, then kosher,... We're used to seeing this as cut and dried because we're at least a little familiar with Jesus' sayings, but here Jesus was entering a debate, but anyone following Jesus as closely as this guy was would have known Jesus' answer to this question, so his pals are probably laughing at him at this point for having such a nudnick question. The Text says, "He wanted to justify himself, and so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'" Enter another one of the great debates! To be continued in the next post...