Don’t Ask If You Really Don’t Want to Know
“And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Luke 10:25
Lawyers have been the subject of jokes for as long as I can remember. Collectively they have a reputation for not being completely honest and finding ways to win their cases by means that may not be quite ethical. Not all lawyers are like that, but the ones who are disparage the entire profession. It seems this lawyer which questioned Jesus had an ulterior motive to portray Jesus as a hypocrite. We know that because it is stated that he stood up and tempted Jesus.
His question was basic: “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus, as was His custom, answered the lawyer with a question: “What does the law say?” This attorney answered correctly: “Love the Lord thy God with all one’s heart, soul, strength, and mind and one’s neighbor as oneself” (paraphrased). Now apparently this man of the law had heard Jesus say this before, or he had heard someone quote Jesus because he answered as Jesus had previously stated and not directly from the law. In Matthew 22:35-40, a lawyer, perhaps the same one, but perhaps not, had asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was, and Jesus answered as the lawyer had just answered Him.
Jesus acknowledged his correct answer and told him to pattern his life after that commandment, and he would live. (This lawyer was a Jew, living under the law, and Jesus had not yet been crucified and resurrected. The law was what they had at the time. The Old Testament saints also lived under the law and died believing in the promise of a Savior. If the lawyer could manage to live by this commandment, it would not save him. He would still have to repent and believe in Christ, but it would help him to understand the gospel better, and I believe it would make his heart more willing to receive Christ’s atonement for his sins.) However, the lawyer was not satisfied with Jesus’ answer. He couldn’t let it go, like some politicians who will not be satisfied until they get their way. The lawyer had not proved that Jesus was anything other than what He claimed to be.
To continue to try and prove that Jesus was a hypocrite, he asked Him, “And who is my neighbor?” as if God would not hold a person accountable for not helping someone unless they fit a certain profile. Jesus then relayed to him the story of the “good Samaritan” who didn’t let cultural differences stop him from helping an injured fellow traveler (Luke 1o:30-37). The lawyer had to admit that mercy is not prejudiced. Jesus then advised him to be like that good Samaritan. Jesus showed him who the real hypocrite was. In conclusion, if you ask the Lord a question, you may not get the answer that you seek, but you will get the answer that you need.