Anchor My Faith

Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Scripture: Luke 10:25-26

With this lesson we begin a new section covering the parable of the good Samaritan. It begins with a lawyer asking Jesus a question: ^{Lk 10:25} “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”’  

The lawyer who stood up to ask Jesus a question, did so mainly to justify himself (v 29) and to put Jesus on the spot, if he could, in the process. This lawyer refers to Jesus as a teacher, but he has no intention of sincerely learning from him. The question he asked was a good question and was one asked later in Luke 18:18 by a rich ruler. This same question was asked in Acts 2:37 by those who heard Peter preach. Later in Acts 16:25 – 30 when the jailer was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped, “Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”’ The jailer then asked Paul and Silas the same question. It is a question that each person should ask and find the answer to.

Before we look at how Jesus answers the question, let us look back to John 3:16 and review what we covered then. Looking at several verses leading up to John 3:16, we obtain the context. Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again (born spiritually) which happens through humble belief in Jesus. Up to this point the Old Testament and other Jewish writings had spoken only of God’s love for his people Israel and now Jesus said that “God so loved the world.” This makes it possible for anyone who believes in Jesus Christ to obtain eternal life. To demonstrate God’s love for the world, “he gave his only Son.”

Giving his only Son was a life long process for Jesus. “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18 ESV). Joseph was not the father, God was. This was necessary in order for Jesus to be born without a sin nature like us. Jesus then lived a life free of sin as reported by Peter in 1 Peter 2:22, and as he did tensions grew between him and the Jewish leadership and eventually led to him being flogged (John 19:1) and then crucified (Luke 23:33). Jesus died in our place, taking upon him our sin and in return providing us with our salvation. ⁸ “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8 – 9 ESV).

With Nicodemus, Jesus told him that he must be born again, but to this lawyer Jesus responds with a question: ^{Lk 10:26} “He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”’ Jesus asks this question because for the lawyer the Old Testament is the definitive, unerring standard of faith and practice and he wanted to test the lawyers understanding.

Conclusion

As we walk with Jesus along the gospel path and meet people, he approaches each one with the gospel in a different way. He first learns something about the person that can be used as an entry point for presenting the gospel. It is important to determine the spiritual level of the person and that is what Jesus is about to do with the lawyer.