Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

Lesson Helps for the Week of March 7Sabbath SchoolLessonfor March 7,1971LIVING BY THE LAW OF LOVE:Luke 10:25-37; Mark 12:28-34Comments by John K. GaultThis lesson presents to us two interviewswhich Jesus had withquestioners. The first, as recorded in Mark12:28-34, tells us about the scribe, whosebusiness it was to copy and interpret thelaw. He asked of Jesus, "Which is the firstcommandment of all?" Jesus replied bytelling him that the first of all the commandmentswas to love God with one'swhole personality. And the second, Hesaid, was "thou shalt love thy neighbor asthyself." The scribe then admitted thatJesus had spoken the truth and to love Godand man in the way that Jesus had said,was, "more than all whole burnt offeringsand sacrifices." Jesus then said to him,"Thou art not far from the kingdom ofGod."In the second interview presented inthis lesson a lawyer, whose duties weremuch the same as those of the scribe,asked of Jesus, "Master, what shall I do toinherit eternal life?"Jesus then led the lawyer into answeringhis own question, as He askedhim, "What is written in the law? howreadest thou?" When the lawyer repeatedthe statements of the law dealing with lovefor God and man, Jesus told him, "Thouhast answered right; this do, and thoushalt live."1: One Must Come to Christ FromRight Motives.This the lawyer did not do. It is said inLuke 10:25, "A certain lawyer stood up,and tempted him." The meaning is thatthe lawyer sought to test Jesus. Heevidently thought highly of himself and ofhis knowledge of the law. To show thatJesus was unlearned in some of the finepoints of the law, was evidently thelawyer's objective in asking this question.The manner in which the lawyer asked thisquestion showed that he had no conceptionof Jesus' divine omniscience and that toask from such a motive would inevitablyresult in his being ensnared in his owntrap. Jesus knows all the answers and noone can entrap Him in what He hasrevealed in His Word. The lawyer knew thelaw as is shown by his repeatingDeuteronomy 6:5, which speaks of one'srelationship to God, and he repeated, also,Leviticus 19:18, which is a summary ofone's relationship to his neighbors. Jesussaid to the lawyer, "This do and thou shaltlive," implying that it is not what oneknows that wins the Lord's commendationbut one's practice of what he knows.2: No One Can Justify Himself.The lawyer, "willing to justifyhimself, said unto Jesus, and who is myneighbor?" Instead of admitting hisfailings he continued to seek some way inwhich he could be made to appear good.So, he resorted to a subject about whichthere had been some speculation, that is"who is one's neighbor?" for the lawdistinctly said to "love thy neighbor asthyself." Perhaps, he thought, he couldrely upon the uncertainty of this questionand thus receive favorable commendationfrom Jesus. The lawyer purposelyoverlooked the fact that "all have sinnedand come short of the glory of God." Theonly way out of one's moral predicament isto confess one's failures and to ask forforgiveness. Justification is an act of Godand one's moral situation is much worsenedby an effort to make oneself to appearbetter than he really is. Eternal lifecan be gained only through repentance andthe lawyer, therefore, should have admittedpast offenses and should haveprayed to Jesus for forgiveness.3: Jesus Answered the Lawyer byTelling of a Probable Actual Occurrence.This account is not called a parable.Jesus just said, "A certain man went downfrom Jerusalem to Jericho and fell amongthieves which stripped him of his raimentand wounded him, and departed leavinghim half dead." The road going down fromJerusalem to Jericho was a real "goingdown" for the altitude dropped perhaps3000 feet in the course of twenty-five miles.It passed through rocky crags and banditinfestedhiding places along the way and itwas not uncommon for a single traveler onthis road, to be assaulted by a band ofhoodlums. Because of the danger of thisroad, the travelers usually went in groupsto better protect themselves. There was atime when the Romans maintained agarrison of soldiers on this road to protecthelpless travelers.1: Misfortune Can Happen to AnyOne.There are plenty of opportunities tobe a neighbor and Jesus said, "As ye wouldthat men should do to you do ye so tothem." Jesus implied to this lawyer thathe need not ask, "Who is my neighbor," forthere were unfortunate people on everyhand. Neighbors, then and now, are nothard to find. In I John 3:17 that apostlesays, "But whoso hath this world's good,and seeth his brother have need, andshutteth up his bowels of compassion fromhim, how dwelleth the love of God in him?"Jesus taught the self-justifying lawyer, bythis story, that his neighbor was any onewhom he was in a position to help. Thegreatest act of neighborliness is to offer tounbelievers the opportunity of salvationthrough Christ. This was what Peter andJohn did for the paralyzed man at thebeautiful gate of the Temple. Peter said tothe unfortunate man, "Silver and goldhave I none butsuch as I have, give I thee;in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazarethrise up and walk." They were real neighbors.5: It Is Expected of Religious Peoplethat They Be Neighbors.The thieves stole everything theywanted from the unfortunate traveler andthen they beat him so badly that he was"half-dead." Then Jesus continued to say,"And by chance there came down a certainpriest that way and when he saw him,he passed by on the other side. Andlikewise a Levite, when he was at theplace, came and looked on him, and passedby on the other side." The priests,descendants of Aaron, were those whowere consecrated to the task of mediatingbetween the people and God. They hadcharge of the sacrifices andit was expectedof them that they know and practicethe will of God as outlined in the lawThev were of the tribe of Levi. The others