Today’s Bible Study, Authored by Arthur Cincotti. 06/23/2024
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Wanting to Justify Ourselves
But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Lk. 10:29
We spend so much time and energy trying to justify our words, thoughts and actions. This may take two forms. In some instances we try to make a case for our own righteousness. In others we can seek to demonstrate that we are victims of circumstances beyond our control. This is a consequence of the fall wherein, knowing good and evil, we must sort it out with our carnal mind unsuccessfully. We have constructed an intricate legal system to try to help us in this endeavor, equally compromised.
In our passage, which starts at verse. 25, it seems no coincident that it is a lawyer who stands up to confront Jesus.
25. And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
This person is not a lawyer in a secular sense as we understand the profession today, but an expert in the law of Moses. Also, it’s interesting that he’s not engaging with Jesus on matters of the natural world, but with issues of eternity. This is a weighty subject that has vexed man since the fall.
Ecc 3:11 says, “…He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” It seems interesting that he should use the word “inherit” as if he has some notion of legacy, family and genealogy.
He came to the right place to ask this question.
He recognizes Jesus as a teacher who, most likely, will have something of value to say on the subject.
Jesus answers him in His typical fashion; with a question?
26. He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
This is an excellent tactic that Jesus uses, which we also should adopt. By doing this Jesus draws out his presuppositions. Christian apologist Greg Koukl has written and entire book on this technique, entitled “Tactics”. Also, the statement, “What is your reading of it?” exposes the divisiveness within Judaism of the time. Perhaps very similar to our divisiveness within Christianity today.
27. So he answered and said, “’You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”’
The lawyer gives the rabbinic summary of OT law from Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18. In a parallel passage found in Mt. 22:34-40, Jesus gives the same answer, going on to say, “On these two commandments hang all the Law and Prophets.”
This statement begins to weave in the idea of a moral framework being applied in the natural world as having impact on eternal life.
Jesus commends him saying:
28. “...You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
Jesus is invoking and agreeing with the Old Covenant which is steeped in matters of the written code. Up to this point nothing unusual has happened. Just a couple of theologians finding some common ground.
The lawyer should have stopped there, but they never do! Neither do we. He must have figured, knowing Jesus’ reputation, that He has something more to say on the subject. We likewise often get confused, thinking that we’re missing something.
The problem arises when, in his next question, the lawyer personalizes what has been thus said.
29. But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
The “wanting to justify himself” part is an inference, accurately made by Jesus who knows the thoughts and intents of the heart. He demonstrated this on several occasions. In Mt. 9:4, says, “But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts?”
Does the lawyer really want to know who his neighbor is? Do we?
The problem in the equation is the word “love”. Rom. 13:10 says, “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Love is a fruit of the Spirit from Gal. 5:22, which goes on to say, “Against such there is no law.” The Message Bible says, “Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way.”
Jesus is about to give him an example which we call, “The Parable of the Good Samaritan.” Jesus might just be asking him, “are you really ready to tell me that you love the LORD your God… and love you neighbor as yourself?”
Of course he doesn’t. None of us do. Only God Himself so loved the world…Jn. 3:16, in such a perfect fashion.
The lawyer loves the law but realizes that he has to justify himself in order to fit into the rigid code. He has to create a long, tedious explanation of situations and circumstances in order to force the law to work on his behalf in order to win eternal life.
That’s not the gospel.
Rm. 3:20-26 says: “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
If we don’t have to justify ourselves before the God of the universe, the Creator of all that is see and unseen, and we should be cautious about trying to justify ourselves to lesser beings. This doesn’t mean that we never have to give an explanation for our actions to people we profess to love, but our explanations should always be with the intent toward reconciliation, with a willingness to admit our failure and repent when applicable.
I Pe. 4:8, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” NIV
II Cor. 5:18,19: “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”
Christ is also in us expecting us to do the same toward one another.
Col. 1:27: “…Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
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