Word for the Week

Getting the answer right

Week beginning: 13th January, 2019 | By Janys Scott | Scottish Borders

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. 'Teacher,' he said, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?' He said to him, 'What is written in the law? What do you read there?' He answered, '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.' And he said to him, 'You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.' But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbour?' Jesus replied, 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, …

Then Jesus told the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and asked:

Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?' He said, 'The one who showed him mercy.'

Luke 10:25-37 (NRSVA)

The lawyer in this passage does not get a good press. He thought he could cross-examine Jesus. And inevitably he received more than he bargained for when he stood up and asked his questions.

He was told the story of the good Samaritan, the man from a