AP

The Parables of Jesus (Part I)

By James Jeffery

When Russian dictator Joseph Stalin died in 1953, his body was embalmed and put on display next to the corpse of Vladmir Lenin. These displays gave Russians the impression that their former dictators lived on, and thus had conquered death.

It’s not just dictators who seek to escape death. Legend has it that before Walt Disney passed away on 15 December 1966, he arranged for his body to be frozen. Whether this is true or not, there are many who live with the hope was that one day technology will defeat even death.

One of the deepest longings of the human heart is to live forever. We cannot imagine the idea of not existing once we die. This is a correct impulse, because the Bible says God has ‘set eternity in the human heart’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We will all live forever whether we like it or not.

The great question is: How can we inherit eternal life, and not face eternal damnation?

The Lawyer’s Question

Today, we begin a short series looking at the parables of Jesus. In a nutshell, parables are stories that teach spiritual truths about the kingdom of God. We shall look this week at the well-known — yet commonly misunderstood — parable of the Good Samaritan.

In Luke 10:25-37, we read of Jesus’ encounter with an unnamed lawyer. This lawyer desired to put Jesus to the test, and so asked him, ‘What shall I do to inherit eternal life?’

Eternal life is the greatest gift a man can ever receive. It is the assurance of living with God and His people forever. In this sense, the lawyer was right to be concerned with eternal life.

However, there are a couple of problems with the lawyer’s question.

First, we are told that he was testing Jesus. That is, he was not seeking truth, but rather to trap Jesus. This is often the case with those who ask questions about Christianity. They are not interested in answers; only debating and arguing for the sake of it.

Second, the lawyer asked Jesus ‘what can I do to inherit eternal life.’ What’s the problem with this? You cannot earn an inheritance. An inheritance is a gift bestowed on someone because they are a son. Therefore, the lawyer was asking what he could do to earn something that cannot be earned by sinful people.

In response to the lawyer’s question, Jesus asked him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” (10:26). The lawyer responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.” (10:27). Jesus said he was right.

Rather than acknowledging his own failure to keep the law, the lawyer got technical with Jesus. Trying to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?”

In other words, the lawyer was trying to find the exception-clause with God’s commandment. The lawyer wanted to put boundaries around the definition of ‘neighbour’ so that he did not have to love his enemies. Sadly, this is what we all do with God’s commandments at times.

In response to the lawyer’s legalism, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. He showed that the category of ‘neighbour’ includes our enemies. There is a sense in which Jesus is the Good Samaritan.

Like the Good Samaritan, Jesus saved us when we were dying, helpless, and undeserving. Salvation is a gift of God received by faith. It is only once we receive this salvation that we can show mercy and grace to those in need.

Eternal Life is a Gift, not a Reward.

There is only one person who has lived in perfect obedience to God, and His name is Jesus Christ. Because Jesus is the Son of God, He is the only rightful heir of eternal life. Therefore, without Jesus, we cannot receive eternal life.

This is one of the hardest truths for sinful people like us to accept. It is difficult to swallow because we want to earn our way to God through our own deeds. More than this, we believe the delusion that we are righteous. In actuality, we are all sinners against a Holy God.

Instead of scrutinizing God, Jesus calls us to humble ourselves before our Maker. By acknowledging our helplessness, we entrust ourselves to the only one who can help us: Jesus Christ. He alone has the right to eternal life, and He alone has the ability to share this gift with us by faith in Him. 

Dear Father,

We have not loved you with all our heart, and we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. Forgive us for the times we put you to the test. Help us to know that eternal life is a gift we inherit through faith in Jesus Christ, the rightful heir.

In His name we pray,

Amen.