Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. LukeMaclaren, Alexander
Religion
Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. Luke
Maclaren, Alexander
Bible. Luke -- Commentaries
'And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted
Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal
life? 26. He said unto him, What is written in the law?
how readest thou? 27. And he, answering, said, Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with
all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28. And He
said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and
thou shalt live. 29. But he, willing to justify
himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30. And Jesus, answering, said, A certain man went down
from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves,
which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and
departed, leaving him half dead. 31. And by chance
there came down a certain priest that way; and when he
saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32. And
likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and
looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33. But
a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he
was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34. And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring
in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and
brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35. And on
the morrow, when he departed, he took out two pence,
and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care
of him: and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come
again, I will repay thee. 36. Which now of these three,
thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among
the thieves! 37. And he said. He that showed mercy on
him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.'
--LUKE x. 25-37.
The lawyer's first question was intended to 'tempt' Jesus, which
here seems to mean, rather, 'to test'; that is, to ascertain His
orthodoxy or His ability. Christ walks calmly through the snare, as
if not seeing it. His answer is unimpeachably orthodox, and withal
just hints in the slightest way that the question was needless,
since one so learned in the law knew well enough what were the
conditions of inheriting life. The lawyer knows the letter too well
to be at a loss what to answer. But it is remarkable that he gives
the same combination of two passages which Jesus gives in His last
duel with the Pharisees (Matt. xxii; Mark xii.). Did Jesus adopt
this lawyer's summary? Or is Luke's narrative condensed, omitting
stages by which Jesus led the man to so wise an answer?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account