Luke 10:25-28

Rachel Workman: ²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[d]”
²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” Do this and you will live. Easier said than done. I love Jesus. Probably more than most. But do I love Jesus with all my heart and all my strength? If I'm honest the answer is no. There are parts of my heart I have not turned over to God. One day He will have all of me. Until then I rely on his unfailing mercy.

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John Burnett: 

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[d]”

²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”  The question, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” was a trick question asked to test Jesus.  It was easy to answer but impossible for man to achieve due to our selfish sinful natures.  The key word is “I”.  There is nothing “I” can do to inherit eternal life.  If we could love our God and our neighbors in this way, we would have no need for Jesus.  Jesus knows the heart of man and knew that this standard was impossible for us to achieve.  He came to earth as man, lived a perfect life to fulfill the law on our behalf, died on the cross to take the punishment we deserve, and rose from the dead to demonstrate His power over sin and death.  We must realize we cannot meet this standard, repent of our sins, and believe that we inherit eternal life by trusting we are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.  There is nothing “I” or anyone can do to inherit eternal life, it is a gift of God.  

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Reading for Luke 10:29-37

²⁹ The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰ Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

³¹ “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. ³² A Temple assistant^[d] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
³³ “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. ³⁴ Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,^[e] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
³⁶ “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
³⁷ The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”