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JESUS THE GOOD SAMARITAN
MONDAY, JULY 14
Luke 10:29-37

Matthew 5:43-48

 

“…And who is my neighbour?”

 

JESUS THE GOOD SAMARITAN
 
Salvation is no longer by works but by grace alone. But does that mean that God no longer requires obedience to the law for entrance into heaven? Not at all. The requirement still holds. The Edenic covenant of works is still in force. If man wants eternal life, he must work for it by obeying the law perfectly. Only the pure in heart can see God (Matt 5:8). That is why Jesus said, “this do, and thou shalt live.” But the problem with man is sin. He is already guilty under the law. As such, he can never obtain righteousness by keeping the law (Rom 7:10-13). That is why Jesus had to keep the law perfectly for us. He was “made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law” (Gal 4:4-5).
 
Jesus told the lawyer that if he wanted to inherit eternal life, he had to fulfil the law of love — to love God and neighbour perfectly. In order to clear himself from any guilt, the lawyer questioned, “And who is my neighbour?” In his mind, only the Jew was his neighbour, all others were enemies (cf. Matt 5:43). The Lord corrected his wrong thinking through a parable involving a Samaritan whom the Jews hated deeply. The Jew who was waylaid by thieves was not helped by the priest, nor the Levite (his fellow countrymen, and what more, his pastors!) who just passed him by, but by a Samaritan, an enemy, who spared no effort and expense to take care of him. Jesus then asked the lawyer, “Now answer, who is my neighbour?” “He that shewed mercy on him,” came the answer. This was a B+ answer. He would have scored an A+ if he had replied, “the Samaritan.” But this proud lawyer could not bring himself to utter that name. Jesus then charged the lawyer: “Go, and do thou likewise.” In other words, “Be like this Samaritan; love your enemies!”
 
This lawyer was thus indicted for his sin of hatred. Jesus in effect pronounced him guilty. Sinful man by himself can never fulfil the law. Only Jesus, the sinless Son of man, can. Indeed, in the good Samaritan, we see Jesus. He came to save His enemies that they might become His friends. (Read Romans 5:8.) Jesus truly kept the law of love to the fullest extent by His sufferings on the cross for sinners.
 
THOUGHT: Only Jesus, the Perfect Law-Keeper, saves!

PRAYER: Father, cover my sins by clothing me with Thy righteousness.

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