Luk 10:27 | KingComments | STEP | After unfolding the glorious heavenly and eternal things about the Father and the Son, a lawyer stands up and takes the floor. He feels that the Lord Jesus is talking about things that cannot be fitted into the law. That is why he considers them to be in conflict with it. If the Lord says that He comes from God, He must surely maintain the law. That is why the lawyer sets up a trap. The Holy Spirit notes that the intention of the lawyer is to put the Lord to the test. The question of the lawyer is what he must do to inherit eternal life. He cannot possibly do this outside the law. In his judgment, the Lord would make Himself implausible in His claim that He is the Christ if He showed another way. And if He only referred to the law, He was not the merciful One Whom He also pretended to be. The lawyer does not ask: ‘What do I have to do to be saved?’, but raises a subject for discussion with his question, to which he does have an answer with his knowledge of the law. His question is not really sincere, it’s just theory for him. He is not really concerned about the salvation of his soul and he has no understanding of his own state or of God. The law does not assume that a sinner is hopelessly lost and does not present salvation to him. The law can only hold a person accountable for his responsibility, which he can never fulfill, because he is a sinner. The poor, desperate jailor in Philippi did ask how he could be saved ( ). That is the question that fits a sinner much better. In His response to the question, the Lord reverses the relationships. He asks the questions and the lawyer must answer Him. He asks him not only what is written in the law, but also how he reads. The Lord asks the lawyer the right question, for that man places himself on the basis of the law. To him, inheriting eternal life was something you could achieve through your own efforts. He sought his salvation in fulfilling the law. The Lord answers in His wisdom the fool according to His folly ( ). A fool thinks he can keep the law and thus inherit eternal life. With His question the Lord wants to convince him of the futility of all attempts to inherit eternal life on that basis. The lawyer answers the question what is written in the law. Without being aware of it, he also answers the question of how he reads. He knows exactly what it says, but he reads it without his heart being involved. This is also how we can deal with Scripture. We know what it says and we know the right answers to biblical questions. However, it is only theory if not the whole of Scripture controls our heart and life. The lawyer controls the law with his mind, but the law does not control his heart and life. The Lord says to the lawyer that he has answered correctly. He considers his answer to be correct. That is indeed what it says. That is how He had let it written down. If the lawyer abides by this, he will live, that is, he will receive eternal life as an inheritance. The lawyer has answered the Lord’s question, but feels that he is defeated. He does not want to admit that. Immediately he has another question that connects to his own answer. He asks who his neighbor is. He also expects an answer to this question that is in line with the law. So his neighbor could only be someone from God’s people. If the Lord did not give that answer, He could not be the Christ. The man does not realize that he is in the process of challenging the wisdom of God and that he is setting a snare for himself.

‏ Luke 10:27

A Lawyer Puts the Lord to the Test

After unfolding the glorious heavenly and eternal things about the Father and the Son, a lawyer stands up and takes the floor. He feels that the Lord Jesus is talking about things that cannot be fitted into the law. That is why he considers them to be in conflict with it. If the Lord says that He comes from God, He must surely maintain the law. That is why the lawyer sets up a trap. The Holy Spirit notes that the intention of the lawyer is to put the Lord to the test.

The question of the lawyer is what he must do to inherit eternal life. He cannot possibly do this outside the law. In his judgment, the Lord would make Himself implausible in His claim that He is the Christ if He showed another way. And if He only referred to the law, He was not the merciful One Whom He also pretended to be.

The lawyer does not ask: ‘What do I have to do to be saved?’, but raises a subject for discussion with his question, to which he does have an answer with his knowledge of the law. His question is not really sincere, it’s just theory for him. He is not really concerned about the salvation of his soul and he has no understanding of his own state or of God.

The law does not assume that a sinner is hopelessly lost and does not present salvation to him. The law can only hold a person accountable for his responsibility, which he can never fulfill, because he is a sinner. The poor, desperate jailor in Philippi did ask how he could be saved (Acts 16:30). That is the question that fits a sinner much better.

In His response to the question, the Lord reverses the relationships. He asks the questions and the lawyer must answer Him. He asks him not only what is written in the law, but also how he reads. The Lord asks the lawyer the right question, for that man places himself on the basis of the law.

To him, inheriting eternal life was something you could achieve through your own efforts. He sought his salvation in fulfilling the law. The Lord answers in His wisdom the fool according to His folly (Pro 26:5). A fool thinks he can keep the law and thus inherit eternal life. With His question the Lord wants to convince him of the futility of all attempts to inherit eternal life on that basis.

The lawyer answers the question what is written in the law. Without being aware of it, he also answers the question of how he reads. He knows exactly what it says, but he reads it without his heart being involved. This is also how we can deal with Scripture. We know what it says and we know the right answers to biblical questions. However, it is only theory if not the whole of Scripture controls our heart and life. The lawyer controls the law with his mind, but the law does not control his heart and life.

The Lord says to the lawyer that he has answered correctly. He considers his answer to be correct. That is indeed what it says. That is how He had let it written down. If the lawyer abides by this, he will live, that is, he will receive eternal life as an inheritance.

The lawyer has answered the Lord’s question, but feels that he is defeated. He does not want to admit that. Immediately he has another question that connects to his own answer. He asks who his neighbor is. He also expects an answer to this question that is in line with the law. So his neighbor could only be someone from God’s people. If the Lord did not give that answer, He could not be the Christ. The man does not realize that he is in the process of challenging the wisdom of God and that he is setting a snare for himself.